In the encyclopedia of college basketball rivalries, Penn vs. Princeton is right up there with Duke-NorthCarolina and Kansas-Missouri.
Since the 1988-89 season, either Penn or Princeton has represented the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament. Only six times since 1956 -- the year the Ivy League began play -- has Penn or Princeton not claimed at least a share of the title.
In fact, neither Penn nor Princeton has ever gone to the NCAA Tournament without beating its rival earlier in the season.
Clearly, the stakes are highas the Tigers (10-8, 1-3 Ivy) visit the Quakers (11-7, 4-0) at the Palestra tonight.
And, everyone involved in therivalry seems to be looking forward to it.
"It's always something very special and we have such great respect for their institution and their basketball program," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said.
The players echoed their coach's sentiment.
"There's always a little bit extra going into the Penn-Princeton game, just because of the atmosphere, the crowd and the history between the two schools," sophomore forward Mark Zoller said. "You get up a little more."
While senior guard EricOsmundson acknowledged the hype surrounding the rivalry, he also stressed that every game on the Ivy League schedule wassignificant.
"Any rivalry will have extraimportance to it," Osmundson said. "But I think our team's focused and I think we're looking at it as just another game on our schedule."
Sitting atop the standings, the Quakers know they can deal a crippling blow to Princeton's title aspirations with a win. However, with their backs against the wall, the Tigers could be even more dangerous.
"They're going to come out pumped up," Osmundson said. "We just have to remainfocused."
Dunphy, who is 17-14 all-time against the Orange and Black, sees them as a major obstacle every year.
"They're always dangerous to us," he said.
Perhaps the two most feared players on Princeton's roster are seniors Judson Wallace and Will Venable. Both were first-team All-Ivy selections last season.
Wallace and Venable are the Tigers' top two scorers, averaging 13.6 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.
Though Wallace, a preseason favorite for Ivy League Player of the Year, has been battling back troubles recently, he scored a game-high 23 points against Harvard on Saturday and guaranteed victory over the Quakers in The Times of Trenton (N.J.).
However, due to the nature of the vaunted Princeton offense, Dunphy does not believe his defense can focus on any single player.
"Any one of their guys can step up and really hurt you badly," he said.
In fact, a different player has led the Tigers in scoring in each of their four Ivy League contests.
According to the Quakers, patience will be a virtue in order to defend Princeton.
"You just don't want to be that guy that gets back-doored," Zoller said, referring to the frequent cuts Princeton makes on the weak side. "They try to lull you to sleep a little bit with their offense."
Osmundson, for one, believes that defending the Tigers is contingent on hard work throughout the 35-second shot clock, especially since Princeton routinely runs the clock to less than five seconds before taking a shot.
"They're looking for opportunities where you might be lackadaisical and not paying attention," he said. "That's when they'll hit you with a back-door cut or with a fade screen and they'll hit a three."
If the Quakers are indeed able to beat their traditional rivals from New Jersey, they will go up a game and a half on second-place Cornell and will be one huge step closer to an Ivy League title.
Note: There is still a limited number of tickets available for tonight's game. Tickets can be purchased at the Penn Athletic Ticket Office located in front of Franklin Field, or by phone starting at 10 a.m. at215-898-6151.
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