Mano-a-Mano: An Empire State of Mind for Penn

In this week’s Mano-a-Mano, Associate Sports Editor John Phillips and Senior Sports Editor Mike Tony debate whether we can expect Penn to sweep this upcoming Ivy weekend against Columbia and Cornell.

John Phillips: I think the odds are in Penn’s favor, with Cornell being the bigger question mark of the two games.

This is a young squad, and the mistakes down the stretch that they made against Cornell the first time around — like not even being able to inbound the ball with the game on the line — won’t happen again Friday night. Penn knows that it can hang tough with the Big Red, and that confidence goes a long way in determining which version of the Quakers appear on a nightly basis.

Cornell is playing well right now, but there is the revenge factor that can’t be overlooked. Penn let one slip out of their grasps at the Palestra a few weeks ago, and now the Quakers have a chance to make up for it.

Mike Tony: The odds can’t be in favor of a team with this lack of experience in Ivy roadtripping. The Quakers never got things going against Harvard and needed 20 minutes to wake up at Dartmouth, scoring just 18 points in the first half at Leede Arena. The Big Red gave Harvard everything it could handle a couple of weeks back with an efficient frontcourt. Will Cam Gunter and Henry Brooks be as efficient against Errick Peck and Shonn Miller?

If Penn couldn’t handle Cornell at home with the momentum of upsetting Columbia at the Palestra on its side, why should we believe it can pull off a sweep of both teams now?

JP: Experience, Mike. Last weekend, the Quakers learned how not to do an Ivy roadtrip. They came out flat against Harvard for sure. But the Crimson are also, arguably, the best team in the Ivy League.

So while the loss to Harvard did throw the Quakers into a stupor against Dartmouth last weekend, it will help in a big way against Cornell on Friday.

Penn now knows the energy that has to be brought to start off an Ivy roadtrip the right way. And so the Red and Blue will break out all the punches, understanding that winning on the road in the Ivy is difficult.

With that knowledge, plus the ever-present thirst to overcome past failures, Penn can handle Cornell.

MT: Well, let’s assume the Quakers are now suddenly Ivy roadtrip veterans then. That still doesn’t change the fact that Columbia and Cornell rank first and second respectively among the Ivies in turnover margin. Penn ranks dead last.

Besides, the Big Red know how to win close, having already done so on the road at Columbia, Penn and Brown.

So can we really trust Penn to execute in and out of the clutch yet at both Cornell and Columbia? I say no.

JP: Just as important as the Quakers knowing how to handle roadtrips better is the fact that this will be Penn’s second time playing these squads. They’ll know better how to handle Peck, who went 8-for-8 from the field at the Palestra earlier this month. And once Penn handles Cornell, momentum alone will allow them to massacre a stumbling Columbia squad.

MT: Massacre, you say? I wouldn’t consider Columbia a given either. While the Lions’ losses to Dartmouth and Yale were embarrassing for them, at least they got significant bench production in both games. Columbia will have a fuller rotation, more crowd support and quite frankly, more desperation than Penn on its side after last weekend’s post-Harvard hangover.

Verdict: This one goes to Mike. The only thing consistent about the Quakers is their inconsistency.