THE GOOD – There is no good to be taken away from this rout. A mere 24 hours after giving up 46 points to Dartmouth in the second half of a 67-58 loss, Penn surrendered 44 in the first half to Harvard, and this one was over by halftime. Harvard got every look it wanted and more, going 57.1 percent from the field in the first half and converting a 12-for-20 shooting performance from beyond the arc to eliminate any chance of the Quakers even hinting toward a comeback.
THE BAD – Take your pick. The 37 percent shooting in the first half? The 7-for-15 shooting from the foul line for the game? The 21 fouls numbering one fewer than Penn’s rebound total? The reasons for Penn basketball facing 30-plus point deficits in three of its last six games are endless. No Penn basketball fan can scan the Quakers’ recent stat sheets without feeling the pain.
THE UGLY – Following up a loss to a pedestrian Dartmouth squad missing its leading scorer and rebounder by getting summarily embarrassed on national television. Anyone could tune into NBC Sports Network Saturday night to watch the Quakers flounder for 40 minutes. Routs like this mean further rot for a Penn basketball brand that many one-time supporters have already left for dead. For every Princeton upset special there is a 30-plus point deficit to a Big 5 foe or an Ivy weekend that finds Penn playing down to its level of competition and then just not showing up at all. Yes, ugly is the word.
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