While most students were sleeping and catching up on Grey's Anatomy, the Penn men's basketball team was going through some final tune-ups before the start of the Ivy League season.
Listed are five things the Quakers learned about themselves that will tell in upcoming games a lot about their chances of repeating as league champions and returning to the NCAA Tournament:
1. The team knows that it can count on its three captains day in and day out, but the rest of the regular rotation is full of enigmas.
In Ibrahim Jaaber, coach Glen Miller knows he has a guard who can create turnovers and score when others are struggling. Senior forward Mark Zoller is turnover-prone, but is also the leading scorer and an aggressive rebounder. Stephen Danley is a reliable post defender and typically puts up at least 10 points.
But no one else has done much to bring any consistent support.
Starter Tommy McMahon put up a head-scratching performance against No. 2 North Carolina. McMahon scored the game's first five points, draining a three and following with a hard cut to the hoop. But in 15 minutes on the floor he didn't attempt another shot, and got himself benched after failing to get a shot off with the clock running low.
Brian Grandieri had a fantastic game against Illinois-Chicago - 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and no turnovers after coming off the bench with an injured ankle - but struggled thereafter. In the other three games, he combined for 21 points (9-for-22) and eight turnovers.
Junior Mike Kach has played little due to a pre-season foot surgery, but played well against Elon and could be a major contributor this semester.
2. Though no one off the bench put up stunning performances against Seton Hall or the Tar Heels, Kevin Egee has clearly impressed coach Miller.
Egee has seen more and more minutes. An average of one turnover per 26 minutes and 11-for-24 shooting put him in the starting lineup for McMahon in the win over Elon on Saturday.
His 3-for-12 shooting effort against UNC looks horrible on paper, but shows why he should be playing. After the Tar Heels closed down their backdoor liability, Penn needed to take whatever shots it could get. In the Ivies, an open look from the three isn't the best shot, but it is against North Carolina. Egee's 2-for-6 effort shows he wasn't afraid to take that shot.
3. One thing has been constant over the season - swingmen kill the Quakers on the boards. In each of the past four games, the leading rebounder for the opposition was a guard or a wing.
Illinois-Chicago's Othyus Jeffers (6-foot-5 wing, 8.9 rpg) ripped off 14 rebounds (eight offensive) against Penn, Seton Hall reserve Larry Davis (6-4 guard, 3.6 rpg) had ten boards, North Carolina's Reyshawn Terry (6-8 small forward, 6.1 rpg) had nine and Elon's Brett James (6-5 guard, 4.3 rpg) had eight.
When the shot goes up, the guards have to hit someone. The Quakers are looking to run the fastbreak more under Miller, but they have to get the ball first.
4. In general, the defense does not look as good as it did last year, but has been improving. Against Fordham - its last game before the break - Penn allowed the Rams to hit 12-of-21 three-pointers in their win.
However, with the exception of the Elon game, they did a better job staying on the shooter. While it seemed Penn would be destroyed from deep by the Tar Heels (whose three major shooters - Terry, Wayne Ellington and Bobby Frasor - all hit over 45 percent from deep), the Quakers held them to a respectable 8-for-17.
5. Penn still can't shoot free throws, and the 60-for-100 record over break included a nearly fatal 13-for-25 against Elon. The Quakers - especially Mark Zoller - shot well from the line early on. Of late, though, the Quakers have cooled off. They are shooting 66 percent for the season.
If the Quakers can sure up their rebounding, defend outside shots and get solid contributions from their fourth, fifth and sixth men, they can start printing "three-peat" T-shirts. Not until then.
Josh Wheeling is a junior economics major from Philadelphia, and is Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is jw4@sas.upenn.edu.
