It was a long night for Penn coach Fran Dunphy last night, and his team's season opener against Quinnipiac was just the start of it.
Dunphy and his staff have under 48 hours to prepare for and travel to Providence, a team that was just a few votes shy of a spot in the top 25. The Friars also boast one of the best big men in the nation in first-team All-American Ryan Gomes.
The Quakers will travel to Rhode Island tonight and play Providence tomorrow night.
The team returns to Philadelphia on Friday, finally getting an opportunity not to relax but prepare for a game against No. 21 Wisconsin. Penn has to spend part of Friday traveling to the Badger State as well.
And if all that wasn't enough, Penn will take on Drexel next week on Tuesday -- a team that is as good as any in the city this year.
Sure it was nice to see Penn blow the pants off Quinnipiac last night, but how much can you learn about a team when it plays a school known only for its presidential polls?
Come Thanksgiving, however, Penn fans should have a much better idea of how good this year's Quakers will be.
There are still many questions that have been left unanswered after last night's game.
Can the team do much of anything with Jan Fikiel on the floor? Can Tim Begley be a legitimate scoring threat night in and night out? Are Steve Danley and Ryan Pettinella a dynamic duo down low, both on offense and defense?
By this time next week, we'll know a lot more.
Gomes and Drexel forward Sean Brooks will certainly test the Quakers inside.
Wisconsin will test Penn's forwards in another way. Against perhaps the best perimeter defense in the country and two freshmen down low, the Red and Blue will have their best shot at winning from their big men.
Begley will be tested early and often, as he is sure to be singled out by Providence. The Friars held Niagara's guards to just 35 percent shooting last night.
Even if Begley has a good game against Providence, it still doesn't mean that he is a consistent big scorer. Let's not forget that Jeff Schiffner had 20 points against Wisconsin last year, but was often shut down by opposing defenses.
If Begley, however, has big games against Providence, Wisconsin and Drexel, Penn is in great shape for the upcoming season.
The same goes for anyone on the team. If you can play well against three NCAA Tournament caliber teams, you can play well against anybody.
The Quakers are probably better suited than most teams at preparing for several important games in a short amount of time.
The Ivy League season forces teams to digest game footage, statistics and schemes in just a few days.
Penn's coaches should also be helped by the fact that they have seen all three of these teams in the past two seasons.
Wisconsin and Drexel played Penn just last season, while the Quakers faced off against the Friars two years ago.
And while they might not have admitted it, you have to believe that the Penn coaching staff figured the Quakers would beat Quinnipiac and most likely face off against Providence. It's assumed that Dunphy and his staff spent some time looking at the Friars before last night.
With three games in the next six days against top programs, the true Quakers will be revealed. Good coaching can only go so far with such little prep time.
I, for one, think that Penn has a good shot at winning at least one of these games.
Providence was pushed to the limit by a Niagara team that lost two four-year starters to graduation last season.
Wisconsin lacks a proven frontcourt and has to cope with the loss of its best returning player, guard Boo Wade.
Drexel returns many players from a team that, despite the close 79-73 score, was clearly not as good as Penn last season.
Sure it was fun for fans to watch the Quakers handily defeat Quinnipiac, but they shouldn't get on their high horse just yet.
If you're watching Penn play at Madison Square Garden next week, then you can brag about the team at the Thanksgiving table.
David Burrick is a junior urban studies and philosophy, politics and economics major from Short Hills, N.J. His e-mail address is dburrick@sas.upenn.edu
