When you've won 24 Ivy League titles and reign as the back-to-back conference champion, you're used to teams coming after you with their best shot.
For the Quakers, perhaps nobody plays with that attitude more than the Yale team they'll face tomorrow night.
In the game that could stand as the biggest obstacle between Penn and a 25th championship, the Elis (7-10, 3-1 Ivy), like always, will be ready to go.
"Since the Ivy League is what it is with no end-of-season tournament, every game is important," Yale swingman Casey Hughes said. "But with Penn, you don't know how many games they're going to lose, so you have to beat them yourself. Penn might not lose any other time to anybody else."
The Elis enter the weekend in a tie for second place in the league, sitting alongside Cornell at 3-1.
The formula to this point has been balance, illustrated by the fact that Yale has eight players averaging 5.4 points per game or better. Leading the way is point guard Eric Flato, who in addition to scoring a team-high 14.4 points per game also leads the Elis in assists and steals.
Complementing Flato is Hughes, a tremendous natural athlete, who brings plenty more to the game including senior leadership and solid defense.
Hughes chips in over 10 points per game as well as a team high 6.1 rebounds per game, helping to replace some of the frontcourt production lost when All-Ivy center Dominick Martin graduated.
Yale turned that balance into a road sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth, putting four in double figures against the Crimson.
The results of last weekend were a major turnaround from a very rough beginning to the season. The Elis went through their non-conference schedule 4-9, including a season-opening win over Division III Allegheny.
Their losses included games against Ohio, Wagner, Sacred Heart and Hartford.
After a split with Brown in the early travel partner games, head coach James Jones seems to have his team back on track at just the right time.
Jones said that the momentum of last weekend will be important as Princeton comes to town tonight, followed by the Quakers' visit tomorrow.
"You feel good about what you're doing," Jones said. "It gives you more confidence in what you're doing at both sides of the court."
Recent history should add to that confidence. Yale has beaten the Quakers three out of the last five years at John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Since Jones took over as coach prior to the 1999-2000 season, Yale is 34-16 in its Ivy League home games and just 21-31 in conference on the road.
"Part of it is just the atmosphere," Penn forward Stephen Danley said. "It's easy for them to get a lot of energy out of it. I don't know it's something we've done, but Yale has done so much better in that atmosphere."
Even last year, when the Quakers clinched the Ivy League title in New Haven, Conn., Yale climbed back from 17 points down, and Flato had a shot to win the game at the buzzer.
Considering that 23 hours before tomorrow's 6 p.m. tip, Penn will take on a Brown team eager to beat its old coach, this is shaping up to be a huge weekend for the Ivies' only unbeaten team.
"We expect two very difficult games," Glen Miller said. "If we can come out ahead in both of them, it will be a very good start."
