Let there be no doubt about which of Penn's next two opponents is stronger.
Before a crowd of 1,572 in the cozy Daskalakis Athletic Center, Drexel whaled on Florida Gulf Coast, 73-37, in both teams' season opener.
"We defended, and we made some open shots," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "That was the thing. As long as we can do that, we'll be fine."
Buoyed by an early 17-0 run and 14 points from guard Bashir Mason, the Dragons (1-0) leapt out to a comfortable 22-point lead in the first half. Mason and his backcourt partner, Dominick Mejia, had their way offensively, combining for 27 of the team's 42 points before the break.
The 36-point deficit at the end of the game belied Drexel's dominance - if the Dragons had not taken their collective foot off the pedal for the majority of the second half, the margin could have been even wider.
Meanwhile, the Eagles (0-1), which will play Penn Saturday, couldn't get into an offensive rhythm. Turnovers - of which the Eagles had 26, compared to six assists - made it impossible for them to build any kind of momentum.
FGCU soundly defeated Drexel on the glass, 47-38, but that was partially a reflection of the Dragons' reserves jacking up threes in garbage time (the team's 32 attempts tied the school record).
But the rebounds didn't translate into points for Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles' high scorer at halftime was Adam Liddell, with four. For the game, it was Casey Wohlleb, with seven.
Their ineffectiveness can be chalked up to Drexel's big men, 6-foot-10 Chaz Crawford and 6-9 Frank Elegar, who allowed barely any easy baskets in the paint.
Crawford finished the first half with five blocks, and could easily have had more than his seven for the game if Flint didn't pull his starters early in the second half.
"That's what he does," said Flint, whose team will take on Penn at the Palestra on Tuesday. "The kid's probably the best defensive player I've ever coached. [Crawford] guards the whole court - he guards his man, he guards the basket, he guards your man."
Meanwhile, for Florida Gulf Coast coach Dave Balza, whose team is migrating to Division I next year from Division II, the trip up to Philadelphia is more about the opportunity to play quality competition than the result on the night.
"It was an experience," he said. "It was something we needed to do to get better."
Florida Gulf Coast was able to schedule its trip because of the efforts of former Penn and current Temple coach Fran Dunphy. After the Atlantic 10 would not allow the Owls to play the Eagles, Balza arranged his team's second Philadelphia game with Flint, his longtime friend.
"We wanted to come out, play to our highest level, and find out what we need to work on," senior guard Beau Bauer said. "It's a lesson for us."
But while it may have been a lesson for FGCU, one question that remains unanswered is whether Drexel can maintain its strong performance when confronted by its other non-conference opponents - including Penn.
