Elon at Columbia

Columbia went 16-12 last season, four more wins than the 12-15 the year before, and Kevin Hovde opens his second year as head coach. Elon went 14-18 and finished 6-12 in the CAA. Those records sit close together, so the roster turnover carries the argument. Elon has 10 newcomers among its 13 scholarship players, seven of them transfers, and Bryson Cokley and Randall Pettus II are the only returning double-figure scorers. Billy Taylor is in his fifth season, and he is breaking in that rotation on the road in the opener. Columbia adds seven newcomers to an 18-man roster, and sophomores Miles Franklin and Connor Igoe both made their college debuts in last year's opener. That group won 90-80 over Villanova last season and scored 104 against Cornell in January, so the Lions have shown they can put up points against bigger programs and conference rivals alike. Elon's offense has to rebuild its rhythm without most of last year's rotation, and every possession it runs is with teammates it has known for months, not seasons. I make Columbia the right side on the spread tonight against a visitor that has yet to play a regular-season game with this roster.