On Nov. 24, 2002, Penn beat Iowa State, 84-77 in the Midwest-dominated Las Vegas Invitational (the other two teams were Illinois and Eastern Illinois). That was the last time the Quakers played three games in three days - winning two - until this weekend, when the Quakers will take on Texas-El-Paso, Saint Francis (N.Y.) and Syracuse in the Black Coaches Association Invitational.
This year's Penn team has therefore had zero experience playing three straight days in college. Ditto for new coach Glen Miller.
Because of this unique circumstance, the Quakers have been given an important early-season test and can get a good indication of what kind of team they are.
There is not enough time for serious game-planning, and it's just man-on-man (or in Syracuse's case, 2-3 zone) basketball for three days.
"Especially being in the beginning of the season, it is pretty difficult to prepare," senior forward Mark Zoller said.
Miller may be new to Penn's bench, but he is a veteran of seven years of Ivy League back-to-back weekends at Brown, where he knows that on Saturday night, teams are often running on fumes.
"Sometimes, the second night, it's really a gut check. It's the team that wants it more, the team that goes out and plays the hardest, on many occasions [that wins]," Miller said.
Throw in No. 20 Syracuse as an opponent on either Day 2 or 3, and the challenge gets even harder.
Miller also acknowledged that playing a small rotation, like former coach Fran Dunphy was apt to do, will not get the job done this weekend.
"I don't think we're going to be able to play five or six or seven guys for three consecutive nights at that level," he said.
In this way, Miller and his staff can evaluate a number of Penn players and get a real sense of their bench, not just the potential starters.
But most important for Penn is the fact that the marathon weekend comes so early, where scouting opponents and figuring out one's own team is difficult enough.
But, as Zoller said, Penn does "have a lot of guys returning from last year," including its three captains, of which he is one.
The Quakers are getting some hype this season because of their returning players, and this weekend will go a long way to showing if they deserve it.
If Penn goes 3-0, or even a solid 2-1, Zoller said the team can "get some national recognition," which would set the tone and give the Quakers tremendous momentum as the season progresses.
But if Penn falters, it will be a huge shot to its confidence as the back-to-back defending Ivy League champions.
Miller understands the potential this weekend has to give him and others an indication of what kind of season it will be.
"It will serve as a good barometer, a measuring stick, and we'll know better after this weekend what type of team we are," he said.
With two wins this weekend (like the 2001-02 Quakers) or even three, Penn may be able to set its sights even higher than the Ancient Eight crown.
Josh Hirsch is a senior urban studies major from Roslyn, N.Y., and is former Senior Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is jjhirsch@sas.upenn.edu.
