Penn-Princeton: Pregame news and notes

The 223rd installment of the Penn-Princeton rivalry kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. at Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, N.J. Since you have all day to wait, hopefully some of these snippets can hold you over.

Worried about junior Rob Belcore? He went down hard Saturday night against Harvard, just as he was beginning to show glimpses of his former self and a new-found confidence. Though he was seen on crutches Sunday and did not practice, sources tell us that he will play tonight.

Today's back page of the DP is dedicated entirely to the Penn and Princeton rivalry. And timed perfectly, Bleacher Report released a list of the Top 20 Rivalries in College Basketball. While Duke-UNC is in the title, Penn-Princeton comes up next in the slideshow, so it's safe to assume that this one ranks second. But if it were up to former PA Governor Ed Rendell (and given his recent job availability, maybe it will be), he'd put Penn-Princeton first.

There is not a more highly contested rivalry in the country. There is not a rivalry that has been this long, this intense and counted for so much. The games were intense, close and always important. The only rivalry close to [Penn-Princeton] is Army-Navy in football. No matter what the standings are, it is always so spectacular, heated and intense.

For more on the history of the rivalry, see my story, and to read up on the paths Penn and Princeton coaches Jerome Allen and Sydney Johnson, check out Brian's.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure: Corky Calhoun's buzzer-beater in 1971. Quality's not great, but it really depicts the atmosphere of those rivalry games. And 40 years later, Corky is just as modest about that shot as he was the night he took it.