For a squad that has been in the NCAA Tournament for three of the last four years, the Penn men's basketball team is far from a seasoned crew when it comes to this event.
The last time that the Quakers made it to college basketball's biggest stage, Tim Begley was the only current Penn player in the game, but he suffered an injury in the second half and Penn collapsed with him.
Fellow senior Jan Fikiel did not get into the game against the Cowboys that year, but he did play 16 minutes the year before against California.
Senior forward Nameir Majette was on the team his freshman year but did not get into the Cal game, and took the year off from the basketball team his sophomore year.
The other two seniors on the team, guard Eric Osmundson and forward Eric Heil, are transfers, and did not start playing until last year.
That puts the onus on Begley and Fikiel, and of course the coaching staff, to get the rest of the Quakers into the proper mindframe for the tourney.
"You really don't understand the magnitude of everything going on around you until you get there," Begley said.
That is why he has been talking specifically to Ibby Jaaber about the experience of playing in the "Big Dance."
But the feeling of winning the Ivy League and being in the Tournament still has not sunk in yet.
However, he also said that Begley has been talking to him about what it is like to be in the national spotlight.
Shortened celebration
Even though the Quakers won the Ivy championship at Columbia Saturday night, there was no extravagant celebration -- no dancing on the court, no cutting down the nets, no team photo, etc.
Instead, Columbia officials quickly raised the hoops after the final buzzer and prevented an on-court celebration.
Although Penn head coach Fran Dunphy "could care less," the players were somewhat disappointed.
"We were kind of looking forward to cutting the nets down, Fikiel said. "It's a little disappointing but I'm not that mad."
"I feel like we didn't even get off the court yet and the baskets were already at the ceiling," Begley said.
However, Begley added that "the bus ride back was a lot more fun than it usually is."
Jaaber said it was somewhat more symbolic.
"I think more the feeling after the game was a celebration in and of itself," Jaaber said.
As for Columbia, Lions' coach Joe Jones said that he was not the one who ordered the nets to be raised.
"The last thing I'm thinking about is raising the basket after that game," he said. "I got an eight game losing streak; that's all I'm thinking about.
Instead of whooping it up on the court, the Quakers celebration was relegated to the locker room, where a CBS camera caught the players dancing around. The jovial attitude came right after an emotional speech by Dunphy saying how proud he was of his team and the opportunity they now have, and especially the seniors.
Site Speculation
With Selection Sunday 12 days away, the Quakers can now openly discuss the options for their first-round game.
The possibilities are Worcester, Mass., Cleveland, Indianapolis, Charlotte, N.C., Nashville, Tenn., Tucson, Ariz., Oklahoma City and Boise, Idaho.
"I'd love to go somewhere warm," Fikiel said. "But I guess the closer the better so that as many fans as possible can come to the games."
Begley and Jaaber were more family-focused.
Jaaber said he would like to go to his old hometown of Charlotte, so that he could play in front of his relatives, while Begley was hoping for a close site such as Worcester so that his mother, who does not fly, can attend the game.
Weekly honors
Jaaber was named this week's Big 5 Player of the Week, and shared the Ivy League honors with Harvard's Brian Cusworth.
Jaaber averaged 20 points and six boards in the Quakers' Ivy-clinching Empire State sweep.
