Game 24 - Columbia: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Penn returned home after a grueling stretch of five straight road games with a quality win over Columbia. This one had a lot more "good" than the Quakers effort in New York, where they ran out of gas in the second half and fell, 75-62. To the GBU:

The Good: Rebounding proved to be the difference in this game, as Penn dominated the glass 41-33, including a whopping 15 offensive rebounds. It was a complete 180 from the game in NY, where Columbia won the rebounding battle, 34-18. But the best thing about this win was that the Quakers led wire-to-wire. Zack Rosen drilled a long three to open the scoring, and Penn never relinquished its lead. After getting outscored by the Lions in the second half 40-27 two weeks ago, the Quakers used a 7-0 run after the break to build a comfortable lead for the rest of the game. Finally, fans had a chance to leave this game with full fingernails and healthy hearts.

The Bad: The woeful first-half offense. The rims got a lot of action Friday night at the Palestra, to say the least. Fifty-two total shots went up in the half; just 16 found the bottom of the net. All told, Penn shot 27.6 percent in the first 20 minutes, while Columbia shot 34.8. That said, this point could also be considered a "Good" because the Quakers' defense was stifling all night, so once the shots started falling in the second half, they pulled ahead. Just how Jerome Allen drew it up - though that first half still featured some ugly offense.

The Ugly: Speaking of the "Ugly," I'm gonna go with the Princeton and Harvard results for all of you scoreboard-watchers out there. For much of the night, it appeared Penn would at the very least gain a game on Harvard - as the Crimson trailed by 11 at the half - and possibly Princeton, who nearly blew a lead to Cornell. Neither underdog helped out the Quakers, as each of the top three Ivy League teams ended up winning. An ugly night for "those still grasping at the last shreds of banner-hanging prospects," but one "Good" could have come out of the Princeton game: the Big Red may enter the Palestra with weak legs. Something to look out for tonight, as Penn plays Cornell, Princeton hosts Columbia and Harvard travels to Yale.