Quakers will finally open regular season

Penn will face Towson State, a team that has already played four games this season. For most of the nation's schools, the college basketball season is already in full swing. Preseason tournaments have been taken place in locales as far-flung as Alaska and Hawaii. Top-ranked teams have already fallen. Some teams have already found themselves four or five games into their schedule. However, the Penn men's basketball team season has yet to officially begin. That will change tonight at 8:00 p.m., when the Quakers take on the Towson State Tigers tonight at the Palestra. Last year, Penn came from behind to defeat Towson State, 66-61. While Penn has been scrimmaging against the likes of former Quaker Tim Krug and the rest of the Converse All-Stars, the Tigers have been compiling a 2-2 record in the young season. After losing by two points to Old Dominion in its opener, Towson State won two games before losing to Maryland last Saturday. "This will be their fifth game, which concerns me," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They have already been tested by some very good teams." While some Penn players believe that they may have an advantage by being well-rested, Dunphy does not buy that argument. "You have some problems if 18- to 22-year-olds are tired after four games," Dunphy said. In four games, Towson State has relied on a potent offense that has been averaging 77.3 points per contest. Leading the way has been forward Ralph Biggs, who has lived up to his name with season averages of 19.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Center Ryan Lexer is another force down low -- averaging 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds each contest. The Tigers are a deep team, and despite lacking a consistent long-range threat, they have averaged 5.5 three-pointers per game. But Dunphy is most concerned about the Tigers propensity to get to the foul line 30 times per game. They have been making the most of their charity-stripe visits, connecting on 72 percent of their free throws. "Lexer and Biggs have gotten to the foul line a lot," Dunphy said. "They have just been dumping the ball down low and getting chances to shoot free throws." The Quakers will have to limit the easy shots down low for the Tigers, a task normally made difficult because of Penn's lack of overall team size. Yet the Tigers are one of the few teams the Quakers will face this year that it might have a height advantage against. Towson State's tallest player is the 6-foot-8 Lexer. Penn will be helped even more by the return of injured sophomores Frank Brown and Paul Romanczuk, but Dunphy is unsure how much court time they will see. While the Tigers offense has been impressive, there are holes in the defense, which opponents have exploited for an average of 76.3 points per game. Despite Penn's rare height advantage, the Quakers will most likely rely on their guards to provide the offensive firepower. The game will also mark the regular season debut of Penn's much-hyped freshman class. Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens will be called on to contribute right away if the exhibition games are any indication of how Dunphy will use his rotation this year. Langel might not lead Penn in scoring like he did in the two exhibition games, but he will see significant minutes at both shooting guard and small forward, especially while Brown tries to recover. "I'd be shocked if they aren't nervous," Dunphy said. "It's the first game of the season for everyone, and the first college game ever for a lot of the players, so I don't expect them to come out here without any nervousness." The Quakers will rely on their more experienced players to help the freshmen get prepared for their first true test at Penn. "We have to show them that all games are important," Quakers captain Jamie Lyren said. "It's what we have worked for all these weeks, so we can't be off our games." Penn will anxiously take the court tonight two weeks after the college basketball season started, six weeks after practice began and eight-and-a-half months since the last Quakers game. Fans, players and co aches will all agree that it's about time.