Glen Miller may be a newcomer to the Big 5, but the "other" bastion of Philadelphia college hoops is giving him plenty to worry about.
With a 97-74 whooping of Division II Florida Gulf Coast still fresh in their minds, Miller's Quakers (2-2) tip off tonight against Drexel (2-0), a team now on the rise after showing only intermittent brilliance last year.
The Dragons also got an easy win over FGCU a week ago, but on Saturday night they showed the potential to do more, beating Vermont soundly, 59-46, on the Catamounts' home court.
That game showcased exactly what Drexel hangs its collective hat on: defense, defense and defense. The Catamounts managed just 25 percent shooting on the night, and turned the ball over 20 times. Shotblocking forward Chaz Crawford tallied eight rejections and five steals in 25 minutes, while 6-foot scorer Bashir Mason also had five takeaways.
"They're forcing 23 turnovers a game, and [of] those turnovers they're turning a lot of them into points," Miller said. "They're a very experienced team, a seasoned team."
Last year, an exhausted Dragons squad rolled into the Palestra after the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament in Madison Square Garden. Drexel lost that game to Penn, 68-60. But just the night before, the Dragons had taken eventual national runner-up UCLA to the wire, losing a tight 58-57 decision in New York.
And though the rest of their season did not live up to that performance, virtually all of the team now returns to make a run in a conference suddenly rife with NCAA Tournament contenders.
Aside from Crawford, the Dragons boast enough beef up front to keep Penn from getting comfortable. Starters Randy Overneke and Frank Elegar can each score on the interior, and senior swingman Matt Stevenson can come off the bench as an inside-outside threat.
In the backcourt, the sophomore guards Tramayne Hawthorne and Scott Rodgers have also contributed scoring early on, with each dropping eight against the Catamounts.
But the Dragons' hopes for the year still rest squarely on the shoulders of Dominick Mejia, a fifth-year veteran of the college game who started his career at North Carolina State. The 6-5 guard lives on the longball, hitting over 40 percent from three-point range. He is also a sharpshooter at the free-throw line.
But for all the tools at his disposal, Drexel coach Bruiser Flint has his concerns too.
"Those guys are kids who can shoot," Flint said of Penn guards such as Tommy McMahon and Brian Grandieri, who can hit shots over Drexel's talented frontcourt. He went on to single out senior forward Mark Zoller and senior guard Ibrahim Jaaber as matchup problems for his Dragons.
That may be true. But Penn should hope that the odd school out in Philadelphia hoops stays that way tonight. If it doesn't, watch out.
