A season to remember

Penn Basketball · Ivy League champs 1998-99 It began on a November evening in the Palestra with a close loss to a perennial hoops power, and it ended four months later on the opposite side of the country with a defeat at the hands of the same team that crushed the Quakers' Tournament hopes five years ago. But within the span of that short winter season, the Penn men's basketball team provided its fans with a year they will not soon forget -- a season of highs and lows, of expectation and disappointment, of midseason heartbreak and eventual euphoria. It was not the best season in Penn history or even in this decade, but 1998-99 was a memorable one. It was the year the Ivy title made its way back to Philadelphia, and the Quakers made their way back to the Big Dance. The Quakers accomplished what many had already anticipated, and in the process of reaching the expectation, they gave more than what they were asked. A near-sweep of the Big Five, an 11-game winning streak, two 1,000-point scorers, chants of SOL-O-MI-TO, a wired jaw, a barrage of three-pointers and a trip to Seattle. In short, the '98-'99 Quakers made even the least significant games fun to watch. But most importantly, they cut down the net in the house of their biggest rival and brought the Ivy League championship back to the University of Pennsylvania. When the season began, everyone knew this veteran Penn team was talented. While the three-time defending league champions from Princeton had lost three starters to graduation, the second-place Quakers returned the core of their team. For the first time in four years, Penn seemed to have the upper hand in the rivalry between the two teams that have accounted for the last 11 league titles. Penn welcomed back four starters, along with center Geoff Owens, who missed all of last season with a medical condition. Big things were expected from this team, and as the season began, big things were delivered. Senior forwards Paul Romanczuk and Jed Ryan and junior guard Michael Jordan were named tri-captains of the squad that opened its schedule with No. 8 Kansas at the Palestra. The near-capacity crowd of rowdy fans had witnessed a league championship in football three days earlier and was pumped to see Penn do likewise on the court. Penn held Kansas to 25.9 percent shooting and only 19 points in the first half -- the lowest scoring half ever for Jayhawks coach Roy Williams -- but in the end the Quakers could not hold the lead. Penn had a chance to win until the final minute, before ultimately falling 61-56. The schedule would not get much easier, as No. 6 Temple was next in line. This time, the Quakers would not let the game slip away, as they sent the Owls home with their first loss to Penn since 1982. Although Penn led for most of the first half, the Quakers went into halftime down by five. But they came storming back in the second stanza before taking the Owls to overtime and pulling out a 73-70 victory. Jordan scored 22 points, including two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to ice the victory. As the final buzzer sounded, fans stormed the court and it appeared to be the start of a very special season. After blowing out Lehigh in their next game, however, the Quakers came crashing back to Earth. A 16-point loss at Penn State was followed by a lackluster performance in the ECAC Holiday Festival. Penn emerged from Madison Square Garden with a close win and a close loss against two teams it should have beaten easily. But when the holidays ended, Penn got down to business. A win at Lafayette on January 5 sparked a month-long winning streak that saw the Quakers start playing like the league champs everyone expected to see. They swept three Ivy road weekends and pulled off four more non-league victories, including wins over city rivals La Salle, St. Joe's and Drexel. Against the Dragons on January 21, Romanczuk became the 26th Quaker to score 1,000 points in his career. On February 6, Penn blew out Harvard at the Palestra to improve to 11-0 in 1999. The Quakers were riding high coming into their February 9 match-up with Princeton. And they were certainly feeling great after the first half of that Princeton game, as they embarrassed the Tigers with a 29-0 run en route to a 33-9 lead at the break. With Princeton stuck at three points for 12 minutes, Palestra fans taunted the Tigers with cries of "you have three points!" It was one of the most dominating halves of basketball in Penn history, but so was the second half -- only this time Penn was not the dominant one. The Tigers pulled off the fourth largest comeback in NCAA history to win 50-49 when Matt Langel's 12-foot jumper bounced off the rim in the closing seconds. Penn was stunned, devastated, drained, embarrassed and befuddled. Fans sat in their seats in disbelief, and Penn players emerged from the locker room with tears in their eyes. It turned out to be the best possible wake-up call. The Quakers were now even more focused on their mission. They ran the table for the remainder of the Ivy season, while Princeton fell to both Harvard and Yale. On February 13 at Yale, Ryan nailed a career-high seven three-pointers, while Jordan joined Romanczuk in the 1,000 point club. The Quakers' only worry came when Owens broke his jaw diving for a loose ball during a close first half at Dartmouth. But he simply slapped a band-aid on the wound and got right back in the game, helping Penn dominate in a 33-point romp. He would only miss one game -- a loss to Villanova that came two hours after surgery on his jaw. Displaying a heart with a size that matches his 6'11" frame, the center played the rest of the season with his mouth wired shut. With Owens playing through the pain, the Quakers went to Princeton on March 2 with a chance to win both the outright Ivy title and redemption from the Palestra collapse. They took full advantage of that chance. After leading by just three at the half, the Quakers ran away with the game. All five starters scored in double figures as Penn handed Princeton its worst ever loss at Jadwin Gym in a 73-48 debacle. More importantly, the Quakers earned the coveted Tournament berth and avoided a one-game playoff with the Tigers. The Penn fans took over the Jadwin court, and the Quakers cut down the net to celebrate the first postseason berth for every player on the team. It was a moment that no one who witnessed will ever forget -- especially the 12 men in the red and blue uniforms. The season ended at the NCAA Tournament in Seattle with a loss to Florida. Ryan hit six three-pointers in the first half as the Quakers built an early lead, but the game became another second-half collapse for Penn. It was not the way the Quakers wanted to end the season, but it does not detract from what they accomplished in 1998-99. The four seniors finally got their rings, the Quakers know how it feels to be champions and a new banner will be raised in the Palestra. Because this year, the Ivy title came home.