Historically, Columbia has not posed much of a threat for Penn.
This is the school that had a symposium on the culture of losing two years ago. The Lions haven't had a winning Ivy season in 15 years. And they've lost 10 of their last 11 games against the Quakers.
But this year - in which Columbia was picked fourth in the preseason poll - might be different.
Columbia returns all five starters and 13 letter-winners from a squad that finished a respectable 7-7 in Ivy League play last season.
"Experience matters," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "Their entire senior class has been through the rigors and the wars of the Ivy League."
A tough start to the conference schedule leaves the Lions against the wall.
Although they beat Yale a week ago, a road loss to Brown and sweep by league-leading Cornell puts them at 1-3 going into tonight's contest.
In the past 20 years, just four teams have won the championship after losing three conference games.
But Miller warns that Columbia's record is deceiving.
"They've supposedly played the toughest team in our league twice already and another two teams that are supposed to be at the top of our conference competing for the championship, too," Miller said. "Anybody is capable of beating anybody in this league."
If the Quakers want to remain unbeaten in the league, they must find a way to stop Lions forward John Baumann.
One of the top players in the Ancient Eight, Baumann enters the game and third in the league with 15.2 points per game. In an effort that earned him Ivy League Player of the Week, he averaged 21 points and 10 boards against Brown and Yale last weekend.
Miller said that it will take an entire team effort to slow down the All-Ivy first-teamer.
Baumann will have help from his frontcourt partner, Ben Nwachukwu, a 6-foot-9 bruiser. How well they play in the paint will be a determining factor in the game.
While Penn continues to rely on freshmen to contribute, the Quakers might be without their leading scorer, freshmen Tyler Bernardini, who may be out with an unspecified injury.
This could mean more pressure on his classmate Jack Eggleston to continue his hot streak. The 6-8 forward was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the second time this season after notching 24 points and 12 boards on the weekend.
Already three Ivy losses in the hole, Columbia finds itself in a must-win situation if it hopes to contend for its first title in four decades.
