CLEVELAND -- It was almost like game day.
The Penn basketball team took the floor of the Wolstein Center with fans, family and members of the media looking on.
CBS broadcasters Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, who will call today's nationally televised game, took notes on the sidelines as the Quakers ran up and down the floor.
Vendors in the arena were selling NCAA Tournament T-shirts and hats, while others hawked pizza, soda and hot dogs.
But yesterday's events on the campus of Cleveland State University -- which will welcome over 13,000 college basketball fans today at noon -- were simply a dry run for all involved in today's opening round festivities.
The Quakers took the floor at 1 p.m., wearing new practice jerseys and sneakers. Senior guard Eric Osmundson -- who has not seen action in a game since Feb. 25 -- participated in the entire 50-minute shoot around.
Osmundson, who is suffering from a prolonged unknown illness, said that he's "feeling better every day."
"I'm still feeling tired," he said. "I kind of run out of breath real fast, but I've been pacing and coach has been pacing how much I've been practicing.
"The tough part is that I was out for so long that I'm eager to work out more, work on my game and get back in shape."
Coach Fran Dunphy said he was "hoping Oz can give us 20 minutes tomorrow." Dunphy noted that he hoped Osmundson would be at 75 to 80 percent by game time tomorrow.
Osmundson, on the other hand, maintains that he will be totally ready to go come tip off.
"I'll be 100 percent for the game," he said. "I'm just going to give my best and see how long I can go out there."
Freshman David Whitehurst will start in place of Osmundson for the Quakers.
Tim Begley knows what it's like to not be at full strength in the NCAA Tournament.
In his last appearance, a 2003 matchup against Oklahoma State, the then-sophomore was unable to finish the game. All he could do was watch, as his team fell, 77-63, in Boston's Fleet Center.
The Quakers trailed by just three points before Begley went down. After he left the floor, Penn mustered just one field goal for the rest of the game.
That injury "was the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with my whole career," Begley said.
"Not only did I get hurt, but I had a huge turnover on the play that pretty much might have cost us the game," he added. "I've thought about that way too many times and watched it on tape way too many times."
And what better way for Begley to erase that memory than with a victory over Boston College today.
An upset by the Quakers, who received a 13 seed, is not out of the question. In five of the last seven years, a No. 13 has beaten a No. 4 in the opening round.
For the Quakers to be that lucky team, they will have to stick to what's worked for them all year long -- scoring from players other than Begley and tough defense.
"When you have balanced scoring like they have, that's a big concern," Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "They move the ball well and share the scoring, and they execute well on the offensive end.
"I think defensively they're solid," he added. "They're just a good basketball team that knows how to play together."
A key to the Quakers' victory will be their ability to compete with BC's bigger players. The Eagles' starting lineup outweighs Penn's by over 100 pounds. BC will also likely have a height advantage over the Quakers at every spot in the starting lineup.
Still, Skinner feels like the Quakers will be able to bang down low with his squad.
"They play really aggressive and are an aggressive rebounding team," he said. "I think that they're a scrappy team in a sense and that they come up with loose balls and are able to get scoring opportunities out of those."
If the Quakers are able to pull an upset, they will face the winner of today's game between Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Alabama.
The team's assistant coaches will watch all of the game, which starts at noon at the Wolstein Center. Dunphy will try to watch as much of the game as possible, though his main concern will be sticking with his players in the locker room.
"When [our] game is over, hopefully we'll be in position where we'll watch a lot of film of either team," Dunphy said.
