An eight-game losing streak and a 2-12 non-conference record earlier this year didn't predicate a successful season for Big Green basketball.
Toppling a huge Ivy contender on the road just two games into league play, however, is no fluke.
"They certainly have some good pieces to the puzzle," Penn coach Glen Miller mused about the Dartmouth squad in the wake of its victory over Harvard.
And tonight Miller and his Quakers will get a chance to solve that puzzle when Penn (4-10) travels to Hanover, N.H., to start its Ivy League season.
No Ivy team has seen the extremes that coach Terry Dunn's hodgepodge of players have seen thus far.
There were games like the debacle against Air Force, in which Dartmouth (3-13, 1-1 Ivy) posted a pitiful 24 first-half points. But there were also the 96 points that the Big Green poured in against Plymouth State, an immense team effort that boasted six players scoring in double digits.
There was the agony of losing to Harvard by a mere point in their first conference game. But there was the jubilation this past Saturday when the Big Green avenged the loss, beating the Crimson - who had upset then-No. 17 Boston College 17 days earlier - by a 75-66 margin in overtime.
"The celebration was over at midnight," Dunn assured. "We started to get ready for this upcoming weekend."
Dunn will have every chance to show off what he vowed is a "much better team" than last year's squad that finished sixth in the Ancient Eight.
His team's success against the Crimson stemmed mainly from its main weapon, senior Alex Barnett, who is second in the league in scoring (18.6 points per game) and a serious contender for Ivy Player of the Year.
The St. Louis native, however, is often the only one on Dartmouth's roster to score in the double-digits, giving clout to the notion that the Big Green are a one-man show.
"It may look like that, but [the numbers] can be deceiving at times," Penn senior Kevin Egee said in reference to Barnett's ability to single-handedly carry the Big Green.
"I think [Dartmouth] can beat any team, at any time."
Dunn has been delving deep into his bench the past few games, a strategy that proved successful against Harvard, when the Crimson starters found themselves overstretched going into overtime.
Particularly bothersome to Penn will be a stubborn Big Green defense, especially on the boards. Sophomore Clive Weeden brought down seven rebounds against Harvard, and 6-foot-6 senior Marlon Sanders commands a decent presence in the paint, putting up 14 points last Saturday.
Though the Quakers have been keeping the fast break in check recently, Miller's team will have to keep its pace controlled and minimize mistakes - the Big Green scored 19 points off turnovers, including 10 on the fast break, against Harvard.
Dartmouth likely has momentum heading into this weekend, as its stunner in Cambridge has undoubtedly kept spirits running high in practice this week.
"[Beating Harvard] is something that we haven't been able to do in nine years," Dunn said.
The revitalized Big Green may not be the same Ivy doormat as in years past, but they are probably not title contenders.
If Penn wants to be in the title conversation, a win against Dartmouth is an important stepping stone.
