Much has happened around here since January 2007.
An exciting political primary battle, a sex change for Logan Hall and a championship for a city that could scarcely recognize the word.
And yet, for all the unexpected news that made its way across the wire over the past 24 months, the following never did: Penn beats a Big 5 opponent.
The Quakers (4-8, 0-2 Big 5) look to snap a seven-game losing streak against their inner-city rivals tonight at La Salle's Tom Gola Arena.
"The past couple years, we've kind of been at the bottom of the Big 5, and we don't like that," sophomore Jack Eggleston said. "The Penn program needs to have more success in the Big 5."
Before last season's 62-58 loss to La Salle at the Palestra, the Explorers (10-7, 0-2) had been doing their part to keep alive Penn's rich tradition in Philly's unofficial basketball conference, dropping six straight to the Quakers from 2002-2007.
But behind 17 points from guard Rodney Green, La Salle relegated the Red and Blue to the "conference" cellar for the first time since 2001.
This time around, the Quakers plan to give Green - a 6-foot-5, 190-pound matchup nightmare in the backcourt - a heaping helping of defensive attention.
"If he has a really good game, it's likely La Salle will, as well," sophomore Tyler Bernardini said. "He's really good."
According to Eggleston, the Explorers run a simple isolation play for Green - the team's leading scorer at 15.4 points per game - up to 10 times in any given contest. Using what Eggleston calls a "stagger down, screen away," La Salle attempts to maximize Green's touches in the paint.
At least one member of the Quakers' bench was impressed with the sophomore forward's X's and O's knowledge.
"That's good that Jack remembers that," Penn coach Glen Miller said before Monday's practice. "We haven't gone over any of that stuff yet."
Indeed, tonight's game does come on the heels of the Red and Blue's best defensive game of the season - at least on paper.
In handing NJIT its 51st-consecutive loss Saturday, the Quakers allowed just 40 points on 31 percent shooting from the Highlanders.
"We still have a long way to go," Miller said. "[But] after Christmas break, I really started to see us make progress. What I see on film and what I see at practice every day tells me that we are improving."
Of course, all the defensive intensity the Quakers can summon may mean little if Bernardini's shot doesn't fall at the other end.
Though still Penn's most proficient scorer at 13.8 points per game, the 6-foot-6 sophomore has averaged just seven points over his last two games, clanking 13 of his 19 field goal attempts.
"I haven't been hitting shots," he said. "I know it. I'm sure everybody else knows it."
For his part, Bernardini is hopeful that the familiar faces on the opposing bench will bear witness to the return of his 'J' and, at long last, a Penn Big 5 'W.'
"We know each other. We play with each other over the summer," he said. "You expect it to be physical - and a lot of fun."
