What we learned today

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Today's La Salle-Saint Joseph's matchup at the Palestra was more than just an ugly tale of two halves. It was a preview of what Penn can expect in its next two contests at home.

Here's the 30-second summary:
As per what has become the usual this season, the Hawks left their game on the bus (their first points came from a Pat Calathes free-throw five minutes in) and didn't really show up until the second half. Dwayne Lee and Abdulai Jalloh were all over the place, and there were far too many offensive rebounds on both ends.
La Salle, meanwhile, came out hot much like last weekend against Temple. Jermaine Thomas was deadly from outside and for the first time I've seen this season, they utilized Steve Smith in transition.
At the half, St. Joe's had 16 points -- 10 from the foul line, 6 from the field.
A little locker room motivation (which I'm told came from former SJU guard -- and prolific scorer -- Pat Carroll) did the trick for St. Joe's. A 29-9 run gave the Hawks a 49-39 edge at the 8-minute mark. Ballgame, 66-54.

Here are the takeways:
- St. Joe's plays about 15-20 minutes a game. Penn will be fine if it can play its best defense during that stretch.
- I can't honestly say I've seen La Salle run an offense. They don't use Smith effectively, and too much is predicated on the three ball. As bad a defensive team as the Hawks are, John Gianinni's team couldn't keep scoring after the initial burst.
- La Salle is anything but consistent. Penn, for the most part, doesn't go cold (with the obvious exception of the second half against Fordham). The Explorers are two different teams in two different minutes.
- Both teams struggle handling the ball (there were 17 combined steals) so Ibrahim Jaaber and his teammates should be busy.

The optimist says: Penn is a much better defensive team, and should be able to contain both La Salle's Smith and SJU's Chet Stachitas. Shut them down, and a win is in hand.
The pessimist says: Remember all those missed foul shots from the Villanova game? Penn still can't put it together at the line (63.6 percent). Saturday, La Salle hit 13 of 16 (81.3); St. Joe's hit 33 of 39 (84.6).
Parting shot: I hated to see Gianinni pull a Jay Wright this afternoon, letting his players foul and calling two timeouts in the final minute with his team down 13. You've got to know when hold 'em, know when to fold 'em and -- most importantly -- know when to walk away.

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Penn vs. La Salle - Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m. at the Palestra
Penn vs. St. Joseph's - Jan. 28, 7 p.m. at the Palestra