Penn basketball memories: The '02 Yale playoff

Is there any more exciting way to end the Ivy season than a winner-take-all one-game playoff? Today we look back at the last time Penn had to play a 15th game to get to the dance.

Your favorite Penn basketball memory?

My favorite Penn basketball memory is the 1-game playoff against Yale in 2002 to win the Ivy League title and get into the NCAA Tournament. The game was at Lafayette, and the crowd was literally divided across the arena - one side was Penn, the other side was Yale.

Yale played dirty during the game - one of their guys was a noted thug who cheap shotted Penn players all year, and then did so again during the game. So he got booed pretty heavily all night long. It was a very close game right up until the last 5 minutes, when the Quakers pulled away and won by almost 20.

The lasting memory for me was storming the court and watching the Quakers cut down the nets. Dan Solomito was the last one up, and he cut off the final piece, put the net around his neck and sat on the top of the rim with his hands in the air as we chanted his name. An incredible night for Penn basketball, and I'm thrilled I got to go.

-Steve Brauntuch, College '04