M. Hoops looks to rebound at Brown and Yale

The Quakers want to avoid over looking two very weak opponents. While Tuesday's disaster will never be forgotten, the Penn men's basketball team will try not to think about Princeton this weekend. Instead, the Quakers embark on the second half of their league schedule with visits to the two worst teams in the Ivy League, Brown and Yale. With the Quakers (14-4, 6-1 Ivy League) one game behind the Tigers in the standings, they will probably need to win every game against the six other Ivy teams if they have hopes of winning the league title. That quest begins in Providence, R.I., against the Bears (4-16, 2-6) at 7:30 p.m. tonight. "We can't really take anything back from [Tuesday] night," Penn guard Michael Jordan said. "They came out and outplayed us. They beat us. The better team won. "We just have to move on and focus on Brown and Yale this weekend, and then we'll take it game-by-game after that." While the Quakers did study the game film from the Princeton loss yesterday at practice, coach Fran Dunphy worked with the players on things they can expect from the Bears and the Elis. If results from earlier this season are any indication, Penn should have little difficulty with Brown tonight. The last time these two teams faced off, January 9 at the Palestra, Penn rolled to an easy 86-55 victory. The game was such a blowout that Brendan Cody was the only Quaker not to score. Despite the Quakers' superiority to Brown in both talent and experience, Penn will not be taking this game lightly. As Princeton proved Tuesday, almost anything can happen in Ivy League basketball. And an upset victory by the Bears would be enough to start writing the obituary for Penn's 1999 NCAA Tournament hopes. "We're going to remain focused," Penn center Geoff Owens said. "We know we must win." A win against Brown would only accomplish half of the Quakers' goal this weekend because Saturday night they travel to New Haven, Conn., to face Yale (3-17, 1-7). On paper, a Penn-Yale game looks to be the equivalent of a Broncos-Eagles football game. But the game will not be played on paper and a contest against Yale has been about as pleasant as a root canal for Penn in their past three meetings. Last season, the Quakers dropped a 71-70 overtime game in New Haven before having to rally from a 20-point deficit to win when the Elis came to the Palestra. The teams' most recent meeting was also not a game Penn would like to remember. Although the Red and Blue came away with a 68-62 victory, the Quakers' performance was a showcase of sloppy play and careless mistakes. Owens had one of his worst games of the season, finishing with two points and four fouls after 20 minutes on the court. He also made Yale sophomore center Neil Yanke, who scored 19 points, look like an NBA prospect. A repeat performance should not be expected, however. Owens has increased his offensive output in recent games and defensively he shut down Princeton center Chris Young for most of the night Tuesday. This has all come with Owens drawing more fouls and committing less of his own. "The key is staying out of foul trouble. I got into a little foul trouble, and I couldn't play my same aggressive defense against Yanke," Owens said. The inside game of Owens and tri-captain Paul Romanczuk should pose problems for both the Bears and the Elis this weekend. The last time these two teams met, Yanke and Yale forward David Tompkins both got into foul trouble. Brown center Kamal Rountree had the same problem during the Bears visit to Philadelphia. Rountree averages 17.7 points per game. The Bears do not, however, have much of an offensive game beyond their center. Tompkins leads the Elis with a 16.2 scoring average and he and Yanke are the only Yale players who pull down a significant number of rebounds. Although Yale beat Penn 35-28 on the boards in their first meeting, the Quakers' rebounding was limited by Owens' foul trouble. Yale and Brown represent not only the bottom of the Ivy League, but also some of the poorest basketball in Division I. In the most recent RPI, Yale was ranked last out of 310 Division I teams, while Brown came in at No. 308. Based on those numbers, it seems like No. 66 Penn should roll over both teams. But after Tuesday's Nightmare on 33rd Street, it is difficult to know how the Quakers will respond against these typically weak opponents. However, all events point to Penn steamrolling through the weaker competition. "It will be a telling weekend for us and I hope they'll do a good job," Dunphy said. "I'm expecting them to get back on the right track."

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