M. Hoops Harvard 83 - Penn 82 (20T) Game Notes

Wow.

How do you recap what happened last night at the Palestra? I'll leave that up to Noah Rosenstein, whose story will be in Monday's issue.

But as an add-on, here are some game notes:

Harvard's size: The 6'8, 240 lb. Keith Wright and the athletic, 6'7, 215 lb. Kyle Casey just ate up Penn's frontline. They shot a combined 16-for-25 from the floor (64%) and didn't just play bully-ball (they both have a decent stroke from just outside the paint). To me, the fact that Penn was so outmatched down low makes Penn's 18-point comeback and subsequent efforts in the overtime periods that much more impressive. When Harvard needed a bucket in crunch time, the Crimson knew they could get a good look by going down low to Wright or Casey. Penn did what it could defensively, opting to front Wright with Dougherty or Turley and then using help-side defense (like a sprinting Rob Belcore) to sweep in behind to try to break up the entry pass. But despite a few clutch steals by Penn down the stretch, Wright was just too big, too wide (he's a little doughy if you ask me) and he was able to consistently seal his man and get excellent position. Casey, meanwhile, seemed to face-up more and was too quick off the dribble for Turley. You have to wonder whether a healthy Howlett or Schreiber could have helped slow those guys down, but Wright's main strength was, well, his strength – a key to the game that might have gotten lost in all the dramatics.

See more after the jump.

Penn's resilience: Like I said, Penn's ability to claw back even despite the frontcourt disadvantage was awfully impressive. From the stands, I kept thinking how tough it would be to erase an 18-point deficit when Harvard could just go inside to stop the bleeding when it needed. But Penn somehow did it anyway. There weren't any overwhelming runs by the Quakers in the second-half — just solid, methodical basketball that saw guys like Eggleston, Bernardini, Cartwright, and Rosen hit tough shot after tough shot. Harvard could score more easily, but Penn refused to submit down the stretch. People talk about how physically exhausting an overtime game can be, and this was a double-OT thriller. But the mental exhaustion that Penn must have undergone, fighting back for essentially the entire game (the Red and Blue held a fleeting thee-point lead in double-OT at one point), was tremendous. I don't think you can really overstate the character of guys like Rosen and Eggleston. They kept this team's heads in the game when it would have been easy to quit, and they deserve something far better than an "L."

Timely stops: I hate to harp on this too much, but Penn's run could have been even better if they were able to get a few more timely stops defensively. But Harvard's presence down low just created so many problems defensively. Even when Wright passed it out from the block, Penn had to fly around on defense, allowing the patient Crimson to just work the ball around the perimeter and get open shots.

Impact of Bernardini fouling out: When Tyler Bernardini fouled out with 2:08 remaining in the first overtime (on a silly, unnecessary reach-in) Penn lost a key offensive threat. His loss wouldn't have been as bad if his replacement, Rob Belcore, could stretch the defense with his three-point shot. But he couldn't. Belcore hasn't had the touch all season and he just has no confidence in his shot (just 23.1% from three-point land). But his apparent lack of confidence seems most evident at the free-throw line, where he has looked shaky, rather than fluid (only 9-for-18 on the year). A huge key for a guy struggling with his confidence is making free-throws — seeing the ball go through the rim. But unfortunately for him, a lack of confidence translates to the charity stripe as well. Belcore's defense, as usual, was tremendous, and he warrants time on the floor just for that, but not having Bernardini in there down the stretch to spread the floor hurt the ability of Penn to attack offensively. On a last play, the trio of Eggleston, Bernardini, and Cartwright flying around the perimeter with the ball in Rosen's hands presents many more options than one without Tyler.

Eggleston playing out of his mind: When Eggleston hit two clutch threes at the end of the game, I almost wasn't surprised. Despite the fact that Harvard didn't appear to get the memo that Jack's a shooter, the co-captain has been ridiculously efficient lately. He scored 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including 3-for-4 from downtown. In the team's first four Ivy games (3-1), Eggleston has averaged 19.8 points and 9.5 rebounds on an unreal 65.4 % shooting from the floor and 64.3% from downtown. On the year, he now sits 4th IN THE NATION in three-point percentage. For a four-man like Eggleston, that's getting it done. He'll tell you that he's just taking wide-open shots, but open or not, those percentages are a major reason why Penn's been able to get off to this 3-1 league start.

Ultimately, this loss is definitely a punch to the gut of this team, and you have to give Harvard credit for sticking it out, but if anything, this game showed that Penn is one tough bunch.