Villanova 99, Penn 89, FINAL

Despite a new career-high 33 points from Zoller, Penn falls to 4-3, 0-1 Big 5 with a 99-89 loss to Villanova (6-1, 1-0). Villanova made 27 of 29 free throws, not missing until there were 26.9 seconds left in the game.

It was the highest-scoring Penn-Nova game ever.

For complete coverage, check out Monday's Daily Pennsylvanian.

Grandieri and Clark both foul out, and the student sections exchange chants: "This is our house," by Villanova, "Safety school," by Penn, and "Scoreboard" and "It's all over" by Nova.

After two more Wildcats free throws, Jaaber commits an offensive foul and Shane Clark hits a bucket, and this one is just about over. Penn needs to pretty much shut out Villanova and get very lucky to have a chance at this one, which is now the highest-scoring Penn-Nova game in history.

Jaaber made only one of two at the line, followed by Danley committing his fifth foul on the ensuing rebound. It does not look good for the Quakers.

The referees have started to call a lot of fouls, most of them good calls. Villanova has taken advantage though, hitting all 19 of its free throws.

Penn's absurdly high shooting percentage and three-point percentage have dropped off, and Nardi hit a huge three to give the Wildcats an 8-point lead.

It's crunch time now for both teams. Penn has not won a close game where it had to play very well down the stretch in a long time. The Quakers are going to have to do just that to win this game, on both ends of the floor. It also wouldn't hurt to start making more foul shots, as Jaaber and McMahon have both misfired recently from the line.

Villanova has hit all 13 of its free throws tonight, as the Wildcats extend to a six-point lead. Meanwhile, Miller is playing offense-defense with Zoller to try to avoid having him foul out.

Zoller just picked up an offensive foul to nullify a bucket, and he sits down after picking up foul number four.

Aside from their good shooting and Penn's turnovers, (which have slowed a bit) the Wildcats have been helped by their offensive rebounds, where they hold a 15-5 margin over Penn. In fact, Villanova has almost as many offensive boards as Penn has defensive boards (17). On the last two possessions, Villanova scored off of offensive rebounds to retake a four-point lead.

Jaaber missed both free throws, and 'Nova responded with a Reynolds three to retake the lead. After Grandieri and Nardi traded misses, Penn will come out of the media timeout with McMahon going to the line for two shots.

Great Big 5 gameslike this in the Palestra give you goosebumps. The arena is rocking, and Jay Wright calls a timeout to try to stop a 11-2 Penn run, with Jaaber going to the line for two after the timeout.

Jay Wright is irate as Villanova picks up loose ball fouls on three straight possessions. The Quakers take advantage, as Grandieri hits two more to give Penn it's first lead since the first half.

Penn cannot quite make the run that would get them the lead or even make it a one-possession game, but as long as the Quakers stay solid offensively and get a few more stops, they are certinly still in it.

And as I type that, Zoller has a three-point play off a great pass from McMahon. Then Cunningham picks up his fourth foul on the ensuing rebound, Zoller goes to the line, and calmly ties the game. The same calm cannot describe the Palestra.

I keep talking about Villanova's hot shooting, but Penn is 10-of-11 from three-point range, and that is keeping the Quakers in this one, despite the now 20 turnovers.

More Penn turnovers, more Villanova baskets. But Penn is still hanging around, hitting shots, and waiting to make a big run. The Quakers need to stay in striking distance to make the run count though.

Zoller just picked up his third foul; we'll see how short of a leash Miller has for him the rest of the way.

I don't know the appropriate verb for what Mark Zoller is doing tonight, but whatever it is, it's very impressive. Zoller has 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 5-of-5 from behind the arc, and 1-for-1 from the line. Other Penn scorers include Jaaber (9), Danley (6), Grandieri (2) and Egee (1).

For the Wildcats, Sumpter had 17, Dwayne Anderson had 9, and Nardi had seven, among the leaders.

Villanova shot 16-of-31 from the field, but an even more impressive 9-of-19 from behind the arc, including a few from NBA range. Penn has shot even better, 14-of-21 from the field and 6-for-7 from deep, but have been hurt by an absurd 17 turnovers. If the Quakers take better care of the ball, they have a shot.

Meanwhile, odd reaction from the Palestra crowd when PA announcer Rich Kahn announced UCLA's upset of USC. I didn't know there were so many Michigan fans among the Penn faithful.

Penn hasn't allowed 100 points in a game in six years, but it looks like the Quakers may tonight, as the Wildcats head into halftime with 47 points. But Mark Zoller is keeping Penn in it, hitting 8 of 10 shots, including five of five threes. Back soon with some more halftime thoughts.

Penn keeps turning the ball over, and Villanova looks like one of the best offensive teams ever, making shot after shot and threatening to blow the game open.

Villanova is shooting 7-for-13 from behind the arc, a ratio that Penn cannot afford to give up. The Quakers also look very timid on offense, with 10 turnovers so far in 15 minutes.

The offense has picked up again, as has the atmosphere in the Palestra. But the Wildcats have hit three recent threes to stretch their lead to nine.

Good news for Penn as 'Nova guard Mike Nardi, the Wildcats' best shooter, picks up his second foul of the half. Expect him to sit the remainder of the opening stanza.

Penn's offense has completely disappeared in the last few possessions, as the Wildcats use back-to-back threes from Curtis Sunmpter to extend their lead.

Out goes Kach and in comes Kevin Egee, as Kach picks up his second foul in about three minutes.

And the action has slowed down considerably since the last media timeout. Now this looks like a Big 5 game.

Michael Kach, who just saw his first action last week against Monmouth, is, for tonight anyway, the Quakers' sixth man. He looks more aggressive than he did on Tuesday, but looked that way committing an offensive foul on his first touch of the night.

The teams are going up and down the court so far, with Villanova on a 9-2 run right now. The Wildcats are having some success on the offensive glass, and are playing some strong defense. But Penn has had some great passes so far to make up for some of that.

A Mark Zoller three and an Ibrahim Jaaber deuce have given Penn the lead and forced Jay Wright to call a quick timeout.

The Palestra is almost entirely full, and is very loud. Right now, the cheering is mostly from Villanova fans, who have seen their team force two turnovers on Penn's first two posessions. But Steve Danley hit two free throws to tie the game.

Welcome to the Palestra, where Penn and Villanova are getting ready for the first Big 5 game of the season.

Here are the probable starters, and keep checking back for updates throughout the night.

Villanova (5-1)
G -- (1) Scottie Reynolds, Fr.
G -- (12) Mike Nardi, Sr.
F -- (33) Dante Cunningham, So.
F -- (34) Curtis Sumpter, Sr.
C -- (50) Will Sheridan

Penn (4-2)
G -- (2) Ibrahim Jaaber, Sr.
G -- (21) Brian Grandieri, Jr.
F -- (20) Tommy McMahon, So.
F -- (24) Mark Zoller, Sr.
C -- (3) Steve Danley, Sr.