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Men's Basketball vs. Drexel. Penn lost 59-61 Credit: Andrew McGrath , Andrew McGrath

We are less than three months away from the true beginning of the Steve Donahue era for Penn basketball.

The Quakers are set to begin their 2015-16 schedule with a home matchup against Robert Morris. The Northeast Conference’s Colonials are fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance and are coached by former Red and Blue guard Andy Toole.

Duke women’s basketball will also visit the Palestra on the same day, giving the Quakers an intriguing doubleheader.

As for the rest of the schedule, here are the highlights with some preliminary analysis.

Nov. 21 at Washington: The matchup with the Huskies will be the Red and Blue’s only game against a Power Five conference team. Penn has two players from the area in senior Darien Nelson-Henry and junior Matt Poplawski, giving each player a nice homecoming.

Nov. 25 vs. La Salle: Penn’s first Big 5 matchup of the season.

Dec. 2 at George Mason: The Atlantic 10’s Patriots took down the Quakers in a close matchup down in Virginia two years ago.

Dec. 9 vs. Temple: Donahue will get the chance to face his mentor — and former Red and Blue coach — Fran Dunphy at the Palestra. This is also the last home game before Penn students go on winter break.

Dec. 19 vs. Ursinus: Penn’s first matchup against a Division III school since 1993-94. While it may be unsurprising to some that the Quakers would take on Donahue’s alma mater, it definitely breaks from the mold of previous year’s schedules. This is one in which you can definitely expect a Penn victory.

Dec. 22 at Drexel: Easily the most fascinating and refreshing matchup to see on the schedule. The Dragons haven’t played against Penn since 2012 as former Athletic Director Steve Bilsky didn’t want the Quakers traveling to the Daskalakis Athletic Center. With a new AD and head coach, it’s nice to see the Quakers face their 33rd Street rivals.

Dec. 28 at Villanova: Penn’s only road game in Big 5 play. The Quakers played ‘Nova close last year, but with Big East Player of the Year Ryan Arcidiacono returning, this will be a tough one for Penn.

Jan. 20. vs. Saint Joseph’s: Big 5 doubleheader! Get excited for this fun tradition to get the Palestra rocking before the Red and Blue dive headfirst into their final 13 games of Ivy play.

Jan. 9 vs. Princeton and Mar. 8 at Princeton: The Princeton games during winter and spring break respectively for the third straight year? Let’s just say I’ve written about this and am not fond of it.

Penn has its normal slate of Ivy doubleheaders. The Quakers also have home games against Central Connecticut State, Navy and Binghamton as well as road games against Delaware State and Lafayette, two squads Penn lost to in close home contests last year.

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