COLUMN: Penn versus Princeton: Round 1 at the Palestra

Tigers at end of the line Tigers at end of the lineDaniel Tenenblatt, Commentary What the game comes down to is that Penn is simply the better basketball team. Throw in the raucous Palestra crowd and the building's tremendous history, and Princeton fans should be ready to return to reality and go back to where they belong -- second place. Like the two team's last meeting at the Palestra, a couple of relatively even teams will square off, but the presence of one towering presence in the middle will eventually prove to be the difference. Last March, Steve Goodrich, who recently joined the masses of unemployed Princeton grads, scored 33 points against Paul Romanczuk, Jed Ryan and George Mboya. All three of these defenders fouled out of the game. And not a single one of them was over 6'7". But now the tables have turned. Penn now sports its own presence in the middle, the 6'11" Geoff Owens. This may wreak havoc with Princeton coach Bill Carmody's substitution patterns. Carmody seems rather fond of putting Brian Earl, Gabe Lewullis and Chris Young on the floor at the start of the game and then leaving them there for 40 minutes. Two pairs of players split time at the other two spots, giving Carmody a not too well-rested seven-man rotation. But what to do against Owens? The 6'10" Young -- a freshman playing his first Penn-Princeton game -- is sure to pick up some quick fouls. And then what? Throw freshman Chris "I'm not half the player Tim was" Krug out there? Or how about 6'7" Mason Rocca? The talentless Nate Walton? The only similarity between Nate and his Hall of Fame dad is a penchant for getting hurt. Sounds like the same problem Penn had last year. We all know how that turned out. What about the guard positions? Last year Princeton had two veterans -- Earl and Mitch Henderson. This year it is Penn which has the veterans. Michael Jordan and Matt Langel, meet Earl and C.J. Chapman. C.J. who? Oh yeah. You remember C.J. He played a big six minutes in last year's game at the Palestra. Surely he and his 36 percent shooting will be ready for the big time. All five Penn starters have been through the battles with Princeton. Princeton counters with Earl, Lewullis and? three guys who are somewhat new to this game. What will that mean for Princeton fans? Not even firecrackers can save you now. Those chants of SOL-O-MI-TO you'll hear from the Palestra crowd late in the game are a response to the boredom that comes with destroying Ivy League opponents with regularity. Dan Solomito would play more than garbage time if Penn too had so little depth that it needed its freshmen to play 40 minutes. You will also probably notice fans storming the court after the win to celebrate -- an image that may spark memories of Penn fans rushing the field at Princeton's lovely new football stadium a few months back. My apologies if we step on your egos and crushed NCAA Tournament hopes on the way down to the court. Not to worry. You should have lots of fun in the NIT playing for the glory of being No. 65. Or you can just go back to playing with yourselves at the Nude Olympics. What? They might take away your naked circus? I guess Bill Carmody isn't as cute in the nude as Pete Carril was for all those years. Well I'm sure you'll find something to do. In the worst case, you can always sit back and watch some Penn basketball -- in the NCAA Tournament.