One team looked like the experienced one Saturday night, and it wasn't the experienced one.
While Villanova freshman Scottie Reynolds and sophomore reserve Shane Clark shone under pressure, the Quakers hardly played the role of the Big 5's most seasoned squad.
And it started from the opening seconds.
After the Quakers won the tip, Villanova's Curtis Sumpter intercepted Tommy McMahon's weak pass and turned it into a slam dunk and a 2-0 lead.
Then Villanova turned the press on, and Brian Grandieri airmailed a long pass out of bounds for a second turnover.
Did the Quakers come out jittery in their first Big 5 game of the year?
"I'd like to say no, but it sure looked like it," said Mark Zoller, who turned the ball over six times over the course of his 33-point night. "We were throwing the ball all over the court and it did look like we were a little bit nervous."
"Once we settled down a little bit, I think we got into a groove."
By halftime, the Quakers had turned the ball over 17 times, and each of the nine players who got in the game had at least one.
The result was that despite shooting 67 percent, Penn went into the locker room with a seven-point deficit that could have been much larger.
"We got off to a poor start handling the ball offensively," Quakers coach Glen Miller said. "We were probably fortunate to be down only seven at halftime."
The most experienced Penn players were the biggest culprits on the turnover side. Ibrahim Jaaber, in his 12th Big 5 game, had eight, while Zoller's six came in his 13th Big 5 game.
Jaaber has the most turnovers in the Ivy League with 4.4 per game, while Zoller is fifth at 3.7.
While some of the turnover problems might have to be attributed to nerves, it surely wasn't the only story.
The Wildcats played a high-pressure 1-2-2 zone that got the Quakers out of their rhythm on offense and created some of the bad passes and steals out of the traps.
"That was a concern coming into the game," Miller said. "They've done a good job of not giving up easy opportunities and at the same time creating turnovers. We did a better job in the second half, but it really hurt us in the first half."
Villanova finished with 12 turnovers overall. Sumpter led the Wildcats with four.
In the second half, the Quakers limited the turnovers to eight, but couldn't keep up with Villanova's torrid shooting, especially from the line.
And while the game got close in the last 10 minutes, the Quakers were left regretting a rough start.
"They're a high-major team and a good one at that," Miller said. "Your game has to be tight for 40 minutes to beat a team like that."
