Hovde has amassed a 16-11 overall record heading into Friday’s season finale at Harvard in his first season at the helm of the Lions. Columbia has the 10th-best rebounding margin in the country and ranks inside the top 40 nationally in rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. Through 13 Ivy League games, Columbia leads the conference in offensive rebounds (157). Columbia also leads Ivy League teams in field goal percentage defense (43.0).
Columbia has secured its first season over .500 since 2015-16, when the Lions went 25-10 and won the Collegelnsider.com Tournament. Hovde was an assistant coach on Kyle Smith’s staff that season.
The Joe B. Hall award is named in honor of longtime Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He won two-thirds of his games (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year honors, and won a National Championship in 1978. He also steered the program to two other Final Fours, won eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984).
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
The 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, IN, site of the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.
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