NOTEBOOK: Quakers thinking Tourney

The Penn men's basketball team is focused on the tournament as the Ivy League handed out its awards. It's March and college basketball fans around the country know exactly what that means. And if the Madness is contagious, this campus has definitely caught the bug. The Jadwin net has been cut down, the Ivy championship is back in Philadelphia and the Quakers are headed to the Big Dance. · But unlike Penn's last trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Quakers do not have the Ivy League Player of the Year on their side. That is because the honor has gone to Princeton guard Brian Earl. Throughout the season, Earl and Penn's Michael Jordan have been considered the favorites for the award. But even though Jordan kept Earl out of the game for much of Tuesday night, the award will now be placed on Earl's shelf. It is unclear, however, if the voting was done before or after Tuesday's game. Ballots were released to the eight Ivy League coaches on Monday and were not due until noon yesterday. Coaches, therefore, could have turned in the ballots at any time during that interval. For the Quakers, however, individual awards mean nothing compared to the award they won by beating Princeton. "I'm sure Brian Earl would trade his Player of the Year for an Ivy League championship," Penn guard Matt Langel said. "I don't get to see what Brian does every game. I only get to see Mike and I know that Mike's a great player. "In our minds, he's probably the best player in our league." · Trivia: What is the largest margin of defeat for Princeton in its history at Jadwin Gym? (Answer below). · Although he did not win the league's highest honor, Jordan was named to the All-Ivy first team for the second year in a row. The junior was joined on the first team by teammate Paul Romanczuk. Langel and center Geoff Owens received honorable mention. "Mike and Paul being first team is great for us," Langel said. "For Geoff and I to be mentioned is nice as well." Forward Jed Ryan, who led the Quakers with 15 points against Princeton and is one of the best outside shooters in the Ivy League, was the only Penn starter not to be honored by the league's postseason awards. "I think Jed plays a huge part in what we do and he probably should be in there somewhere but that's something we can't control," Langel said. · Now that the Quakers have earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, they must wait to see where they will be playing next. Most Penn players expect a seed between 10 and 13. The Red and Blue will gather in the James Dunning Coaches Center to watch the selection show on Sunday. Although the Quakers could end up at any of the eight first round sites, the two Eastern sites -- Charlotte , N.C., and Boston -- seem to be the most likely destinations. Sophomore forward Josh Sanger is hoping for his hometown Charlotte, while Ryan, who has family in New England, would like to go to Boston. "We've played near Boston a lot over my four years, so we'll be comfortable there," Ryan said. Most Quakers, however, have no preference. "There's a lot of advantages to any of the places," Owens said "There's a lot to consider so I'm just going to remain undecided on this one." · Trivia Answer: That's right, Penn fans. Tuesday's 25-point win by the Quakers was the most lopsided Princeton home loss since Jadwin opened in 1969. · Penn's return to the NCAAs has propelled the Quakers into the national media spotlight. Tuesday night's drubbing of Princeton was the lead story on the World Wide Web sites for both ESPN and CNNSI. It also landed them a prime spot on ESPN's SportsCenter, which showed an interview with Owens and his bruised and battered face. Unable to open his jaw, which has been wired shut, Owens spoke as clearly as possible. ESPN anchor Stuart Scott, however, took the chance to impersonate Owens while introducing the next set of highlights. "It's too easy," Owens said. "It's easy humor to make fun of the guy who can't talk but it's better having them make fun of me than not being on there."

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