If you're out early enough this morning, you may just spot Tyler Bernardini walking down 33rd street, scarfing down a pregame meal.
"Maybe a McGriddle," the sophomore guard said.
It will be breakfast on the run as he makes his way to the Daskalakis Center for Penn's 10 a.m. matchup against Drexel today.
The odd start time was set after the "Battle for 33rd Street" landed a slot during ESPN's inaugural College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, which will broadcast nearly 24 consecutive hours of basketball action.
Drexel coach Bruiser Flint, vocal about area teams not playing at the 2,500-seat DAC, will finally get his wish as Penn (0-1) comes in for its first ever contest.
"Just like we can walk to the Palestra, they can walk here. I don't get that," said Flint, getting fired up after a 6:30 a.m. practice last week. "If they come in here and win the game, they win. I've never had any problem with that."
"We walk over there to play pickup all the time, so it won't be any different," Bernardini said, brimming with confidence after dropping 26 points in Penn's 86-71 loss to No. 1 North Carolina on Saturday. "We'll smoke 'em, just like normal."
For a win, the Dragons - picked to finish last in the Colonial Athletic Association conference - will need a different gameplan than in last November's 67-59 overtime win at the Palestra. Big man Frank Elegar is now playing professionally in Germany, taking with him his average of 14 points and eight rebounds a game.
"We won't be able to just come down and throw it in the post," Flint said.
That should help Penn, which got burned in the paint against the Tar Heels, whose frontcourt combined for 57 points.
Instead, Drexel's strength this year is the backcourt. The offensive load falls to seniors Tramayne Hawthorne and Scott Rodgers, the team's No. 2 and No. 3 scorers last season.
Hawthorne, however, is known better for his defensive prowess, and he should put the ball-handling skills of sophomore Harrison Gaines and freshman Zack Rosen to the test.
Penn coach Glen Miller- who held practice at the DAC on Sunday after the team flew home from North Carolina and again at the Palestra early yesterday morning - was as elusive as always about the starting five and his schemes.
"We're just trying to cut down on our mental mistakes," he said. "A lot of our mistakes, the fans sitting in the stands wouldn't even see those mistakes, but we know what they were."
The Drexel marketing staff beefed up its promotion of the contest, and although the game sold out yesterday afternoon, 100 tickets are being held for Penn students on a first-come, first-serve basis.
So grab a McGriddle, head down to the DAC and start bargaining.
