M. Hoops to face Kentucky

The Wildcats will host Penn in the first round of the Preseason NIT. The Penn men's basketball team has been knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by a Southeastern Conference team three different times. This November, the Quakers will try to avoid another tournament loss to an SEC foe. But not in the NCAA Tournament -- the Quakers will face perennial SEC powerhouse Kentucky in the Preseason National Invitational Tournament. The bracket for the Preseason NIT was announced on Tuesday, and Penn's first-round opponent will be the Tubby Smith-coached Wildcats. The game, held at 9 p.m. on November 17 at Rupp Arena, will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. "We know there are some very good basketball teams [in the Preseason NIT] and we were probably going to be put on the road." Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I'm grateful for our opportunity to play a quality basketball team like Kentucky." Kentucky, along with Maryland, Arizona and Utah, highlights the 16-team field. First and second round games are played on campus sites, while the semifinals and finals will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 24 and 26. The Penn-Kentucky game is the only first-round matchup that will be televised on ESPN, although the Kansas State-Arizona and Notre Dame-Ohio State games will be aired on ESPN2. Along with the semifinals and finals, the second-round game pitting the Penn-Kentucky winner against the Arkansas State-Utah winner will also be televised on ESPN. "The fact that it's ESPN, you have to play well," Penn guard Michael Jordan said. "It's going to be seen across the country and that's what you want to play against -- the national audience." But even though Kentucky lost Scott Padgett, Wayne Turner and Heshimu Evans to the draft and had Michael Bradley transfer, Penn will be the underdog team at Rupp Arena in November. The Wildcats are coming off a 28-9 record in 1998-99 and advanced to the Elite Eight in their record 40th NCAA Tournament appearance. Still, a game against the Quakers may not be an easy task for a Kentucky team sure to feature a lot of new faces. "We're looking forward to them coming to Lexington to play in Rupp Arena," Kentucky Senior Associate Athletic Director Larry Ivy said. "Last year in the NCAA Tournament, they gave Florida a pretty good game before getting beat." Kentucky has won all three meetings with the Quakers, most recently on November 24, 1990, when the Wildcats handed Penn an 85-62 loss in Lexington. If the Quakers get by Kentucky, they will likely have to fly more than 1600 miles to take on Utah, a team Penn last faced 29 years ago. "There's always the possibility of jetlag," Jordan said. "But hopefully that won't happen. If we win that first game, we're going to have to go on the road again. It's part of basketball. You've got to travel and you've got to play well." The Preseason NIT is just the tip of the iceberg in Penn's difficult early-season schedule, however. The Quakers will also face Temple, Villanova, Penn State and Kansas -- all before the spring semester begins. "I don't think our schedule's harder," Jordan said. "We've got a lot of bigger names early. Usually we've got them stretched out over a long period of time. This year, we're thrown right into the fire early." And that fire may get even hotter, as Dunphy is trying to rearrange schedules to add another SEC powerhouse, Auburn, to the schedule on December 11. In addition to the Preseason NIT, Penn will also take part in another regular-season tournament -- the Golden Bear Classic. Hosted by California-Berkeley, the four-team tournament also includes Portland State and Boston University. First round games are on December 28, while the championship and consolation games will be held on December 30.

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