Back to the hardwood

After a nine-month hibernation, the Palestra is ready to officially reopen its doors for basketball tonight.

The visitor's side of the scoreboard already reads "Quinnipiac" and the Preseason NIT stickers that will be affixed to the hardwood are laying out in the Klatsky Media Room.

Due to NCAA regulations, the three-point line and key have been expanded, an experiment that the organization is trying during all preseason tournaments this season.

Another Penn men's basketball season is set to tip off .

As the Quakers set out to win their first Preseason NIT game in program history, they will be met by a feisty Bobcats squad.

"They're going to play very quickly, they're going to shoot a lot of threes," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They've got a point guard who's not only a great playmaker but a great scorer as well, which adds to the difficulty of guarding him."

That point guard is senior Rob Monroe, who averaged 15.5 points and 5.5 assists per game last season.

Complementing Monroe on Quinnipiac -- which was picked to finish eighth in the Northeast Conference this season -- is 6-foot-9 senior center C.J. Vick, who averaged 9.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest last year.

Rounding out the Bobcats' starting lineup will be junior college transfer forwards Kevin Jolley and Jason Holeyfield, as well as 6-foot-3 guard Craig Benson.

"They play really quickly and they're going to have to get back on defense," Dunphy said.

The Quakers will start guards Tim Begley and Ibby Jaaber, and forwards Steve Danley and Jan Fikiel.

One question mark for Penn entering tonight's game is the starting point guard position.

If he is healthy, senior guard Eric Osmundson will take the ball up the court for the Quakers.

However, the Carlsbad, Calif., native has been suffering from tendinitis in his knee, an injury that kept Osmundson out of the Big 5 Coaches vs. Cancer Open Practice at the Palestra on Friday.

Dunphy says that Osmundson -- who practiced yesterday -- should be ready to go against Quinnipiac.

"Game to game, it's going to depend on whether the tendinitis acts up or not," he said.

If Osmundson cannot play, freshman Michael Kach will take over at the point.

Fikiel receives the starting nod -- a position he held for Penn's opener last year against Wisconsin -- after losing the position to then-freshman Mark Zoller a year ago.

"I am really excited to get the opportunity to start tomorrow," Fikiel said.

Zoller will enter the season as the team's sixth man.

This will be the first ever matchup of the two programs.

Penn has never lost a game to a team from Quinnipiac's conference, as the Quakers are 8-0 all-time against NEC opponents.

The Bobcats will also take on Ivy League opponents Dartmouth and Cornell in the next few weeks.

The winner of tonight's game will take on the winner of tonight's matchup between Providence and Niagara. This second round game will be played on Thursday.

This means that if Penn wins its first round game tonight, it will be forced to play three games in a five-day span -- the first and second rounds of the NIT, and then a matchup with No. 20 Wisconsin.

Dunphy admits that while the team is most focused on defeating Quinnipiac, it is aware of the short preparation time between Preseason NIT games.

"We have a sense or a feel about whatever Providence and Niagara are all about," he said.

Penn lost to Providence two years ago in a 74-71 thriller at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The Quakers have never played Niagara before.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.