Game 4-Lafayette: The good, the bad and the ugly

In the rush to get home for Thanksgiving, I wasn't able to put together my good/bad/ugly report from Tuesday's Lafayette game, so I thought I'd give it today along with some preview for tonight's showdown against No. 5 Pittsburgh.

The Good: Rebounding! The Quakers knew this was a dire problem in need of correction after the Drexel game, and they came out ready to clean the glass. Tyler Bernardini made use of his size, picking up four rebounds, Jack Eggleston also had four, and oddly enough, Miles Cartwright and Zack Rosen led the team with five and eight boards, respectively. However, Pitt has been outrebounding its opponents by 16.3 per game, while Penn has been outrebounded by five per game. That does not bode well for the Quakers on the glass tonight.

The Bad: 40 minute basketball. Chan Park said it well, so I'll let you read his column that ran the day of the game, but if the Quakers have any shot of hanging with a top-tier team like Pitt, they'll have to play consistently for 40 minutes. Against Drexel, Penn had a better first half, and against Lafayette the second half was much better. But the Quakers really need to focus that drive for a full game.

The Ugly: Here's a strange stat: Penn leads the all-time series with Pitt 7-5. Huh? Well, the teams haven't played since Jan. 30, 1976 when the Panthers won by 7. At least Quakers' fans can rest easy knowing that if the Panthers do take this game as is expected, Penn will still hold the series, at least for another year.

Be sure to read our liveblog of the game right here on The Buzz. You can also watch the game live on ESPN3.