M. Hoops heads into Lions' den

The Penn men's basketball team looks for its third win with a visit to Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center. The similarities between the Penn men's basketball team and tomorrow's opponent, Penn State, go beyond a shared home state and a now-ubiquitous T-shirt slogan. First, both the Nittany Lions (5-2) and the Quakers (2-1) have played and defeated two common opponents at home to date -- Temple and Lehigh. Second, the Nittany Lions have senior guard Dan Earl, older brother of familiar Penn nemesis and Princeton guard Brian Earl. Despite those facts and Penn State's recent home wins over Temple and Villanova, the Quakers are anxious to have a solid game at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. "We know if we win this game, then we're in good shape going into the holidays," Penn center Geoff Owens said. "We always get confused with Penn State, so I guess that's an element of rivalry as well." For the Quakers, this game will serve as an early-season litmus test. Penn's strong showings against Kansas and Temple can be validated with a win at Penn State. The Nittany Lions have already played seven games, sweeping the five contests played at home. The key to this weekend's matchup will be the play of Penn State center Calvin Booth. Booth stands at 6'11" but outweighs Quakers pivot man Geoff Owens -- who is also 6'11" -- by 11 pounds. A prolific shot blocker, Booth already holds the Penn State career record with 358 rejections. Booth is only eight shy of breaking the Big Ten career mark set by former NBA center and Iowa standout Acie Earl. "We haven't seen the prolific shot-blocking that Booth brings, despite facing good centers in Eric Chenowith [of Kansas] and Lamont Barnes [of Temple]," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. Going the other way, Booth is already averaging 15.9 points per game, most of it from taking control in the paint against opposing centers. No rocket science is needed to figure out where and how to shut Booth down. "I'm going to have to force Booth to make jumpshots and not let him get to the basket," Owens said. "If I can get 10 or 12 points, and limit Booth to 10 or 12 points, then it will help our team win." Stopping Booth may not be enough. The key word is "may," especially after Penn State shot an abysmal 21 percent from three-point range in its surprise 63-54 loss at Bradley on Wednesday night. The Lions' success against Temple from beyond the arc, however, propelled them to a one-point victory. If Penn State does connect on outside shooting against Penn, the key marksmen will likely be Earl and sophomore forward Titus Ivory. Earl, playing as a sixth-year senior after having missed seasons with lower-back and knee injuries, has hit 42 percent of his three-point shots. Ivory has taken fewer attempts from beyond the arc, but has still connected on 47 percent of his treys. Long-distance shooting is often a necessity for Penn when it plays opponents from big-time conferences, and thus it will be a critical factor for Penn tomorrow. Penn State has allowed its opponents to hit just 22 percent from three-point range, including keeping Villanova to an 0-for-11 performance. While the Lions are coming off the Bradley defeat, the Quakers have not played a game since their 73-56 victory against Lehigh on December 1. Penn also had a long layoff between its upset of Temple on November 23 and the game against the Engineers. The good news for the Quakers is that they have had ample time to prepare for their opponents. The question remains, however, whether or not the team will show any signs of early struggle against a squad which has gone 5-0 at home. "We haven't played in a while, so this is a real big game for us," Penn junior guard Matt Langel said. "Right now, Penn State is looked at as a pretty successful team. So, it's a chance to play in front of them as well as a hostile crowd, and show what we're capable of." The Quakers will have the deep threats that have proved successful in games against ranked opponents. Quakers tri-captain Michael Jordan leads the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game. Penn senior forward Frank Brown has selectively taken shots and has hit 57 percent from the field, while Langel has contributed 5.3 assists and 11.3 points per contest. With all the free time between games, the Quakers have continued to place a primary focus on strong defensive play -- the one area that has drawn their attention since the preseason. "Our goal for the beginning of the year was to get our defense better game in and game out and keep improving on defense," Langel said. "If you make yourself a better defensive team game in and game out, then down the line, sometime hopefully in March, that will pay off."