After a tough loss, it can't be easy to wait 11 days to play again. It is even harder to get rid of that sour taste against a top-5 team. But that is the tall order the Penn Quakers face after a 94-85 loss to Seton Hall last week.
Their method? A trip down to Tobacco Road to square off against No. 2 North Carolina.
Their motivation? To prove that they belong with the type of players that Ivy League champions often find themselves matched up against in March.
"I think it's super exciting to play a team like North Carolina, and the opportunity we get with a few days to prepare is something that's good," senior co-captain Stephen Danley said. "It's a chance to go out and match up with the guys you see on TV."
The bright lights won't faze senior guard Ibrahim Jaaber, but he too is looking forward to playing a household name like UNC on national television.
"I've been on ESPN a couple a times before," he joked. "I'm excited about that, but we try to take it as a regular game."
North Carolina is a powerhouse year in and year out, and this squad is no different. The Tar Heels (12-1) have already beat No. 6 Ohio State and Kentucky (a top-10 RPI team) in Chapel Hill, as well as topping No. 19 Tennessee. Their only loss came at the hands of Gonzaga, 82-74, in the pre-season National Invitational Tournament's semifinal round. North Carolina is second in the nation in points per game (89.6), third in assists per game (19.0), sixth in field goal percentage (51.5) and fifth in rebounds per game (46.7).
They are led by sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough, who has a deep and youthful supporting cast.
Hansbrough and freshman standout Brandan Wright have made life in the paint miserable for their opponents. They are first and second on the team in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. Hansbrough excels on the offensive side with 18.1 points and 3.3 offensive rebounds per game, while Wright gets it done on both ends, leading the team by hitting 82-of-122 (67 percent) from the floor and rejecting 22 shots. Needless to say, Penn starting forwards Danley and Mark Zoller will have their hands full.
"I think the biggest thing is just to have your footwork down in the post," Danley said. "If you dictate where they can get the basketball it gives you a huge advantage."
If the Quakers double down and focus their energy in the post however, the Tar Heels could burn them from the outside. Starting guards Reyshawn Terry and diaper dandy Wayne Ellington, a Philadelphia native, shoot a combined 45 percent from three-point range, while point guard Ty Lawson knows how to get them the ball. The freshman averages 5.7 assists per game while only having started eight games, filling in now for injured sophomore Bobby Frasor.
"It's difficult, because obviously we have to help down on the paint, and at the same time we have to get the shooters," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "They have an inside-outside balance, they are not one-dimensional by any stretch of imagination."
North Carolina is also deep. Coach Roy Williams gives ten players double-digit minutes per game, and no one plays more than 30.
With depth like that, he has no trouble running his foes ragged and turning the game into a track meet.
"They run the best fast break in the nation," Miller said. "They go up and down the floor, and come at you with multiple guys; they go 10, 11, 12 deep. there's no one particular player we can focus on."
As for playing deep in front of ferocious ACC fans, Danley said: "I think it's actually just as much fun to shut up a crowd as it is to get one going."
True, but it will take a lot to keep the Dean Dome fans quiet in this one.
