There were plenty of problems that cost the Quakers yet another close game last night. Dating back to last season, it was their ninth straight defeat in a game decided by six or fewer points. Three of those have come during the Red and Blue's current five-game losing streak.
Penn folded down the stretch again, going without a field goal in the last 4:30 of regulation and without any points at all in the last 2:42 of overtime.
The Quakers turned the ball over 20 times -- at home -- to a team that had forced only 14.1 turnovers per game coming into last night.
The Red and Blue committed 22 personal fouls and had 14 fewer free throw attempts than Rider.
There were more than a few defensive lapses that Penn coach Fran Dunphy called "foolish."
But the most glaring of all problems was the reactions of the Quakers players and coach.
Both during and after the game, Penn's demeanor was not that of a team wanting to snap out of a long funk, but instead that of one used to losing and just hoping that it does better next time.
Sure, they have tried different approaches to break out of their slump, such as the many different lineups Dunphy used tonight, placing Mark Zoller in the starting lineup instead of Jan Fikiel and playing a moreup-tempo man-to-man defense rather than a zone.
At times last night, all of these things worked.
But there were far too many confused looks on Penn players' faces, too many shrugs of disappointment, and too much complacency to make any of those changes affect the outcome of the game.
And instead of being angry that another close one had slipped away, senior guard Tim Begley had this to say about the first time he has experienced a five-game losing streak in his college career:
"I guess we're in a little bit of trouble right now -- got to get our feet back on the ground."
Actually, the team is in a more than a little bit of trouble. Seasons can spiral out of control in a hurry and without something or someone to right the ship, even second place in the Ivy League might be a dream.
But another Begley comment was even more troubling.
"I think we're playing really good basketball, but we're turning the ball over a lot and we're fouling a lot; just seems to be a common theme I guess."
Losing five in a row is not good basketball when you expect to make the NCAA Tournament.
Maybe Begley did not want to criticize anyone, but Dunphy said very similar things.
The closest Dunphy came to being genuinely upset with his team's play was saying that he was disappointed with the efforts of backup guards David Whitehurst and Friedrich Ebede.
Meanwhile, Rider was also recently on a four-game losing streak, which began with a pair of two-point losses.
However, they managed to recover and right their ship -- the Broncs have now won four straight -- maybe as a response to fiery coach Don Harnum.
"Even when we lost four in a row, I think it was the approach that we took," Harnum said.
"We didn't overreact."
But at least they did react.
Last year, Penn lost an eerily similar game to Rider. The Quakers lost three of their next four, all by four points or fewer, and by then it was too late to save the season.
Now it is Penn's turn to react, with some serious emotion, if they want to avoid repeating history.
Josh Hirsch is a sophomore in the College from Roslyn, N.Y., and is Senior Sports Editor-Elect of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is jjhirsch@sas.upenn.edu.
