One thing is clear from the 2010-11 Penn men’s nonconference basketball schedule that was announced Monday: whether home or away, the Quakers are still determined to draw a crowd by taking on big-name opponents.
Penn will set the tone early with its first game of the season, a Nov. 13 match against Davidson. The Wildcats are a formidable mid-major program that reached the Elite Eight in 2008 and came within 12 points of then-No. 2 Duke the following season.
Perhaps more importantly to Quakers fans, Davidson was the first team that Jerome Allen faced after being named interim head coach, handing Penn a 79-50 defeat in North Carolina.
This season, however, the Red and Blue will have the home court advantage in what will be Penn’s first season opener at the Palestra since 2007.
It’s also arguably Penn’s strongest home opener in recent memory. Penn has typically faced smaller mid-major programs in its home opener, challenging Delaware, Monmouth and Drexel the past three seasons, respectively.
“We obviously want to protect the Palestra and put in good performances at home and try to get a crowd out there and have a home court advantage,” junior Zack Rosen said.
Yet the Quakers will have to test their will without a charged crowd behind them, as their most difficult non-conference games will take place on the road.
Two weeks after facing Davidson, Penn will head across Pennsylvania to play Pittsburgh, a team that finished the 2009-10 season with its ninth consecutive NCAA tournament berth and a No. 18 ranking.
Nov.13 vs. Davidson Nov. 17 at Manhattan Nov. 20 vs. Drexel Nov. 23 vs. Lafayette Nov. 27 at Pittsburgh Nov. 30 vs. UMBC Dec. 4 vs. Army (IZOD Center) Dec. 8 vs. Villanova Dec. 22 at. Delaware Dec. 29 at Marist Jan. 3 at Kentucky Jan. 12 at La Salle Jan. 19 at Temple Jan. 22 vs. St. Joe’s Jan. 28 vs. Yale Jan. 29 vs. Brown Feb. 4 vs. Dartmouth Feb. 5 vs. Harvard Feb. 8 at Princeton Feb. 11 at Cornell Feb. 12 at Columbia Feb. 18 at Brown Feb. 19 at Yale Feb. 25 vs. Columbia Feb. 26 vs. Cornell Mar. 4 at Harvard Mar. 5 at Dartmouth Mar. 8 vs. Princeton
And if that weren’t intimidating enough, Pittsburgh’s student section — known as the Oakland Zoo — is notorious for rattling the team’s opponents.
“We have a couple of non-conference games on the road where I think the environment is not really conducive to … opposing teams,” Allen told Penn Athletics.
Penn will face similar challenges when it opens the new year with a Jan. 3 match against Kentucky at the famed Rupp Arena.
With an official capacity of 23,500, Rupp is a far cry from the Palestra — especially considering that Rupp has led the NCAA in men’s basketball attendance for 14 of the last 15 seasons.
Last time the Quakers played in Lexington, Ky., the results weren’t exactly thrilling. Rupp Arena was the site of Penn’s last NCAA tournament appearance in 2007, a 16-point loss in the first-round loss to Texas A&M.;
Regardless of the venue’s history, Allen is not intimidated.
“I’m quite sure that the atmosphere will be electrifying, but we’re going to play a basketball game,” he told Penn Athletics. “We’re not tourists, it’s not a museum — we’re going to play and win a basketball game.”
But even if some of the Red and Blue’s most buzz-generating matches will be on the road, the competitive nature of Penn’s schedule means that students can still look forward to an exciting slate at home.
The Quakers will take on Villanova — who was ranked No. 9 at the end of the 2009-10 season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament — and St. Joseph’s in their final two nonconference games at the Palestra before the Ivy season kicks into full gear.
