Skip the pregame meal

For those of you Penn fans planning on eating a pre-game meal Friday or Saturday, I offer you a brief history lesson.

Three years ago, the Quakers welcomed Harvard and Dartmouth to the Palestra after suffering an 0-2 weekend at Yale and Brown with heartbreaking losses both nights.

Then-coach Fran Dunphy called his squad "a wounded team."

Friday night against Harvard, the Quakers looked more like an angry team, putting up 104 points on the Crimson and giving the fans in attendance free chessesteaks at Abners.

Now for this weekend after a loss to Yale, I'm not guaranteeing anything, but I'd say you might not want to eat a pregame meal that day unless you're a believer in the nightly "Dinner No. 2." Especially considering the differences between Glen Miller and Fran Dunphy's offense.

While the team may come out angrier against Dartmouth tomorrow night, I'd argue that the best chance for culinary satisfaction is the following evening.

According to Ken Pomeroy, college hoops' premier statistician, the Big Green rank 248th nationally in pace, measured by possessions per 40 minutes. Meanwhile Harvard ranks 35th, and on average, there are 13.2 more possessions in a Harvard game than a Dartmouth game.

Also, the Quakers should have advantages inside and outside with the departure of Brian Cusworth, who was responsible for a huge percentage of Harvard's rebounds in addition to all the points.

So just don't be surprised.