+/- ratings from the Howard game

NBA.com has added a new statistic for players this season: the +/- rating. It's analogous to the rating that hockey uses. Essentially, it tells you the overall point differential from when a player enters the game to when he leaves it. For example, if Brian Grandieri comes in with a five-point Penn lead and is subbed out with a two-point Howard lead, he gets a -7. When he comes back in and gets subbed back out, that differential gets added to the previous one.

Here's a look at everyone's +/- statistic from the Howard game vs. minutes played. Keep in mind, it's just a statistic -- it doesn't necessarily mean anything. Also, it was too daunting a task for me to calculate the +/- ratings of certain combinations of players (i.e. when Cohen/Kach/Grandieri are on the floor together). I'm going to try to do this for every game and keep a season tally, starting from the Howard game.

It is possible these numbers are off, as I could've made a mistake skimming the play-by-play.

That said, let's take a look (minutes played in parentheses):

Grandieri: -6 (31)

Reilly: -2 (22)

Bernardini: -9 (26)

Kach: -12 (17)

Votel: +2 (11)

Eggleston: -14 (24)

Gaines: -7 (22)

Cohen: -8 (20)

Schreiber: -5 (13)

Lewis: -5 (5)

Cofield: -5 (5)

Egee: -9 (4)

More on M. Hoops' long night

What a rough game to watch, as Penn loses its third game in as many tries. After the overtime loss to Drexel, you had to be pretty confident in the Quakers' chances of not seeing to drastic dropoff from last season as well as being the favorite in the Ivy League. But two games later, this squad is reeling.

What was most troubling was the defensive effort from Penn.

For a team that allows 29 points per game and 48 percent shooting from the three point line, I can't imagine how a 1-3-1 defense was the best option defensively.

The Red and Blue played that set - with the point guard up top, big man in the middle with someone on either side of him and an athletic guard or swingman patrolling the back line - almost the whole game. And as a result, the defense allowed Howard to shoot 22 threes, making 12 of them. Many of these came from the corner, the area of the court that is traditionally most succeptible to threes in the 1-3-1 scheme.

Still, some execution would have prevented the onslaught that ensued. The Bison put up 80 points on Penn after averaging 56 in their first two losses to Duquesne (129-59) and Virginia (92-53).

Howard shot 57 percent not only by hitting wide open threes, but also beating Penn defenders off of the dribble. Quakers forwards seemed a step to slow against the small Bison side, and they conversely couldn't use their size to their advantage. Penn inside was not particularly strong or intimidating, and recorded no blocks (after altering nine shots in the first two games).

And yet what was even more disturbing was the lack of communication.

Howard players were left wide open, and not just for three, but often under the basket. Whenever players screened, or crossed each other, Penn defenders struggled to cope, for example two defenders heading to the same offensive player on an off-the-ball screen.

This miscommuncation manifested itself on the offensive side as well. The Quakers had 14 turnovers from eight different guys - Grandieri was the only player who played over five minutes that didn't give one away (Howard had four such players). Many of these were not so much bad passes, but bad decisions - throwing a pass into heavy traffic or to a place that a cutter wasn't heading.

Key stats:

FINAL: Penn 65 Howard 80

In-game updates can be found after the jump.

FINAL: Penn 65 Howard 80

A pair of meaningless baskets to close out the game. Penn didn't look nearly as bad as last game -- their woes were more due to shooting today. But still, a disappointing effort at home against a relatively weak opponent.

0:41.2 2nd Half, Penn 63 Howard 78

Grandieri goes to the line and makes one but it looks hopeless at this point. The story of the game is going to be three-point shooting. Howard made lots and didn't miss many. Penn went cold after a 3-4 start. Grandieri gets a backdoor cut from Eggleston and scores after his free throw miss. Cohen misses an open three. Penn is fouling now.

1:22 2nd Half, Penn 60 Howard 75

Good foul by Eggleston, contesting Mukole's dunk attempt. Mukole makes both, though. In the Quakers' halfcourt, Eggleston takes it in from the line, makes the bucket and the and-1. Penn tries to pressure, but Myatt gets the uncontested mid-range jumper to go. Penn loses the ball and Myatt gets an easy layup with no Quakers within 20 feet. 2:28 2nd Half, Penn 57 Howard 69

Myatt pumps in mid-air and hits in the lane. Gaines checks back in. Cohen travels and gives it back to Howard. Some good ball pressure from the Quakers forces a Howard timeout.

3:37 2nd Half, Penn 57 Howard 64

Kirkpatrick fouls out for the Bison. Bernardini makes two from the line. The Bison are slowing it down now in the halfcourt, and get it inside to Hampton, who gets fouled. Now Howard is the one with free throw shooting woes; he makes one of two. Grandieri posts up Hampton and gets fouled. He makes both. Mukole scores on a post-up, and Bernardini misses an open three on the other end.

5:38 2nd Half, Penn 53 Howard 61

Myatt makes two from the line. Curtis White gets fouled and makes one of two. Grandieri goes to the line and makes two. Myatt gets open for a three and hits yet another. Howard is over 50-percent from downtown tonight.

7:35 2nd Half, Penn 51 Howard 55

Some good defense from Eggleston, keeping the entry pass out. But Mukole gets some space from Votel and hits a three. Grandieri takes a nice pass from Kach on the other end and scores on a layup. Bernardini comes in for Grandieri. Mukole goes to the line after getting fouled on a shot, and misses both. A tipped pass from Cohen starts some craziness, but Eggleston eventually ends up with it and gets fouled under the hoop. He misses both from the line. Riley gets open for three and drains it. Bernardini passes up the shot and dishes to Schreiber for the not-so-emphatic dunk.

11:31 2nd Half, Penn 46 Howard 49

Right off an inbounds from Gaines, Votel makes the jumper in the post and gets fouled. He misses the free throw. Cohen comes in for Gaines. Myatt hits a corner three. Votel gets open off a screen and hits one of his own from the top. Kach comes in for Bernardini. Grandieri gets fouled going up against two Bison, but goes one-and-one from the stripe. Kach makes two from the line a possession later. After a miss from Riley, Kach takes it coast-to-coast, and gets the tough layup and the call against two Bison.

15:28 2nd Half, Penn 36 Howard 46

Grandieri takes it up strong in the post to open the second-half scoring. Myatt hits a two from the baseline. Bernardini switches hands on the fast break for two. Yet another bsaseline drive gives Howard an easy two, but Grandieri comes back hard and scores on a midrange J, getting an and-1 call in the process. He makes it; Penn is now 1-6 from the line. A questionable blocking foul on Schreiber gives Jeron Smith two shots. Eggleston comes in with Schreiber's third foul. Smith front-ends both. Reilly makes a great spin move to score an easy two. The game is going up-tempo again. Eggleston misses a trey, and Kyle Riley hits one of his own in transition. That's his fourth trey of the game.

HALFTIME: Penn 27 Howard 33

A frantic Gil Jackson yells "shot-clock!" at his team. They don't hear him, and get called for the violation. Grandieri forces up a fadeaway from the baseline and misses.

After such a promising few opening minutes, the Quakers seemed to start rushing their offensive sets, taking bad shots and missing. Howard's shooting started to break Penn's zone and their full-court pressure led to some trouble for the Quakers. Also, poor free-throw shooting on Penn's part slowed down the offense. They need to get back to basics in the second half.

The leading scorers are Eugene Myatt, with 15 (6-8 FG, 3-3 3-PT), Kyle Riley, 11, Randy Hampton, 7, and Andreas Schreiber with 6.

0:57.2 1st Half, Penn 27 Howard 33

Riley hits another long trey. Reilly (the Penn one) steps back and answers behind the line. Gaines goes to the line in the bonus but misses the first. Hampton scores for the Bison on a fadeaway from the baseline.

3:38 1st Half, Penn 24 Howard 28

Grandieri is back in, and Cohen turns it over trying to hit him on a give-and-go. Hampton scores on a nice two but misses the and-1. Cohen hits a three from the other end of the floor, and then Eggleston scores off a goaltending call. Hampton takes it strong against Eggleston after the inbounds and goes to the line. He makes one of two. Bernardini's entry pass to Reilly gets picked off. Luckily for Penn, Hampton comes out of the game. Mukole goes to the line for Howard for the one-and-one, missing the first. Kyle Riley hits a three for the Bison

7:41 1st Half, Penn 19 Howard 22

Cohen and Egee come in, replacing Grandieri and Gaines. Cohen hits Kach in transition for an easy lay up. Schreiber comes back in. After Hampton scores, Schreiber turns it over on an inbounds violation (stepping on the line). Penn's 2-3 zone yields a corner trey to Myatt. Eggleston handles an iffy pass from Egee under the basket but scores on a reverse layup. On the other end, Hampton gets some hangtime and the soft kiss off the glass.

11:08 1st Half, Penn 15 Howard 12

Votel and Eggleston come in for Reilly and Schreiber. Votel gets fouled going up but misses both from the charity stripe. Then he turns it over on a bad entry pass to Eggleston. Bernardini forces up a tough shot and misses. Gaines hits a pull-up jumper from the top of the key. 14:15 1st Half, Penn 13 Howard 6

Bernardini hits an open three in transition after a tough defensive board. Myatt answers right back with one of his own, putting the Bison on the board. Gaines drives the lane and dishes out to Schreiber for another three. Myatt answers right back again. Schreiber tips one in on the offensive glass. It's an uptempo game so far.

16:47 1st Half, Penn 6 Howard 0

A nice offensive set sees Grandieri hit Bernardini low in the post. The freshman goes up strong to open the scoring. On the Quakers' next possession, Schreiber mops up a Reilly miss. Some good D on the other end forces a Howard miss. Penn goes down the floor and Grandieri shows off a baby hook. A Bison TO and the Red and Blue are off and running, and Schreiber gets fouled going up. He misses both, but this is the best the Quakers have looked all season.

Good afternoon from the Palestra, as Penn gets sets to take on the Howard Bison of the MEAC. Howard coach and former Penn assistant Gil Jackson seemed to get a nice handshake and warm welcome from Glen Miller. The two know each other from Ivy play since Miller was head coach at Brown.

Some surprises in the lineup for Penn. None of the starters other than Grandieri have ever started before.

Starting lineups:

Howard:

F Randy Hampton

F Eugene Myatt

C Nate Cooper

G Curtis White

G Jeron Smith

Penn:

F Andreas Schreiber

F Justin Reilly

F Tyler Bernardini

G Brian Grandieri

G Harrison Gaines

FINAL: PENN 45, Cornell 9

Live updates of the game after the jump.

Live updates to follow.

Penn 45, Cornell 9 FINAL A fitting end to this bizarre game . Two runs by Liuzzo bring the Big Red closer, but his third down pass is intercepted by J.D. Black. The Quakers can now just kneel to run out the clock, as the Hey Song is still going.

Penn 45, Cornell 9 1:40 FourthThe Quakers avoid another safety (barely), and continue to run out the clock. Cornell takes its first time out, before a 4th-and-9 from Penn's 6 yard line. Penn bizarely fakes the punt, with Melillo trying to run it again. But this time he's stopped, and right before he's about to be brought down, he laterals the ball forward. Cornell gets to start its drive from the Penn 6.

Penn 45, Cornell 9 3:13 Fourth Cornell fair-catches the safety punt at Penn's 48. Cornell called for a false start on second down, setting up 2nd-an-11 from the 49. As the refs back up the Big Red, the band begins the Hey Song. The Big Red pick up 4 on second down, but the third down pass is incomplete, forcing another punt, which is downed at the Penn 3.

Penn 45, Cornell 9 5:00 Fourth Safety! The Quakers lose 2 on first down and call timeout. On 2nd-and-12 from the 2, the pitch goes to Chris Ashley, who could not get out of the endzone.

Penn 45, Cornell 7 5:40 Fourth In two plays, Liuzza runs his way to the Penn 7, as the shutout is in jeopardy. And after Liuzza picks up one on first and goal, he hits Barbour who takes it into the endzone. Shutout over. Fisher fumbles the ensuing kickoff, picks it up, and runs to the 4.

Penn 45, Cornell 0 7:42 Fourth Punt is almost blocked, but Melillo gets it off, and it takes a Penn roll to midfield. There is another set of offsetting unnecessary roughness penalties. Cornell goes three-and-out, gaining just 2 yards in the process. Penn takes over from the 20 after the punt bounces into the endzone. On first down, McNally is hit hard as he throws, and his floater is easily picked off at the Penn 30.

Penn 45, Cornell 0 9:15 Fourth Walker to Lepisto for 7 on first down, and on second, McNally is in at Q. Blackmon runs twice, but can't get past the Quakers 9. Penn to punt.

Penn 45, Cornell 0 11:33 Fourth Quick drive for the Big Red. They get as far as the Penn 44, but, facing 4th and 10, decide to punt. It's a good one, and Penn will start from its 7 yard line.

Penn 45, Cornell 0 12:55 Fourth

The last time Cornell was shut out was the season finale against Penn on November 23, 2002.

Stats through 3 quarters:

Penn 399 total yds of offense to Cornell's 164.

Walker 6-10, 111, 1TD; 15 rushes for 91 yards, 2 TD

DiMaggio 20 rushes for 80 yds, 1 TD

Blakmon 9 rushes for 59 yds

Melillo, 1 rush for 35 yds

Lepisto 3 rec. for 70 yds, 1 TD

Koontz 2 rec. for 24 yds

Blackmon 1 rec. for 17 yds

Lawrence 1 rec. for 2 yds

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Meanwhile, the Quakers march down field. DiMaggio has a 20 yard run, and Walker runs for his 3rd TD. And the extra point is up, and good, off the foot of Derek Zoch! Zoch gets a loud cheer, and receives hugs from teammates and Bagnoli.

Penn 38, Cornell 0 End Third Walker hit late on first down by Cornell safety Tim Bax, leading to some pushing and shoving, and 15 more yards for Penn. Penn called for a false start, then Walker fakes a pitch and keeps it himself for 5. Second and 10 from the 46, end three. Time to throw toast.

Penn 38, Cornell 0 0:16 Third Ford completes a pass to Canty for 13, and the Big Red enter a hurry-up offense. Cornell marches down the field, with successive completions to Baker, Barbour, and Canty, followed by a diving reception by Tommy Bleymaier at the Quakers' 26. Ford is hit hard, but he still gets of a hard pass to Blackman, setting up Cornell with their best chance yet, a first down on Penn's 6. Liuzza comes back in on third down and hits Canty in the back of the endzone, but the officials say he was out of bounds. Canty argues to no avail. Liuzza comes out with 5-wide on 4th down, and is sacked by Jay Colabella. Penn takes over on downs.

Penn 38, Cornell 0 3:47 Third Penn picks up 9 yards on 3 rushes, and debates whether to go for it on 4th and 1. They decide to punt, but take a delay a game before they can get the snap off. This time there is no fake, and punt from midfield goes to Cornell's 19.

Penn 38, Cornell 0 5:53 Third Ford's pass on first down to Zac Canty is dropped. Ford's pass on second down to Matt Kenney is dropped. The third time's the charm: Ford's pass to Walters is complete for the first down. Barbour takes the draw for no gain, but Ford hits Walters again, setting up 3rd-and-5. The pass is incomplete, but Cornell decides to go for it on 4th-and-3 from the Quakers 46. Ford's pass to Walters is in Maugle's hands, but he starts running it back before he catches it. The pass in incomplete, and the Quakers take over from their own 46.

Penn 38, Cornell 0 7:49 Third On 2nd-and-15, Blakmon runs up the left side all the way to Cornell's 5, a gain of 24. Walker throws to Koontz in the endzone on first down, but it sails through his hands. Matt Belasco tries the left side on the end-around and picks up 3, and, on third down, DiMaggio pounds his way into the endzone for his first TD of the day.

Penn 31, Cornell 0 9:35 Third On 4th and 3, the Quakers go for it, and Walker runs for the first down.

Penn 31, Cornell 0 10:45 Third Quakers have what appears their shortest drive of the day. Walker and DiMaggio combine for 6 yards on 3 rushes. But up by 31, Bagnoli fakes everybody out. The Quakers line up in punt formation, and Melillo takes the snap...and runs with it! Melillio runs on the fake punt all the way to the Big Red 39. And, continuing the aggressive play-calling, Walker tries to hit Lepisto in the endzone on the ensuing play, but it's broken up.

Penn 31, Cornell 0 13:35 Third Ford throws it to nobody in particular on first down, and on second down, he throws it directly in the hands of somebody: Penn DB Greg Ambrogi. First down Quakers from their own 20

Penn 31, Cornell 0 13:54 Third Cornell responds, as Bryan Walters returns the kick to the Quakers 43.

Penn 31, Cornell 0 14:05 Third Junior Nathan Ford takes over the playcalling duties, the third Big Red QB so far. He fares no better than his two predescessors, and Cornell has a brief 48-second 3-and-out to start the half. And the punt is blocked! Lineblocker Glenn Cressman blocks the punt, and returned for a touchdown by Chis Ashley.

Penn 24, Cornell 0 Half Here are the half-time stats:

Penn utterly dominated, racking up 287 yards to Cornell's 77. Penn was 3 of 5 on 3rd down and 3-for-3 in the redzone, compared to 1-of-6 and 0-for-1, respectively. The Quakers also held the ball for twice as long as the Big Red, 19:48 to 10:12.

Walker 6-8, 111 Yds, 1 TD 0 int; 11 rushes for 59 yards (5.4 avg), 2 TD

DiMaggio 14 rushes for 66 yds (avg. 4.6)

Blackmon 3 rushs for 21 yds (avg. 7); 1 rec. for 17 yds

Lepisto 3 rec. for 70 yds, 1 TD

Penn 24, Cornell 0 Half Congratulations to Alex Ruch, who wins free Abners cheesesteakes for a year after making both field goals during the halftime contest.

Penn 24, Cornell 0 Half Cornell decides not to kneel with 38 seconds left, but only gets as far as midfield with 7 seconds left in the half. On 3rd-and-1, Liuzza heaves one deep, which is picked off by Maugle. The Quakers played an excellent half, and enter the lockerroom with a well-deserved 24-point lead.

Penn 24, Cornell 0 0:42 Second Walker back under center. On his first play, he rolls right, pump fakes a couple of times, and hits Lepsito, who had a couple of steps on the last of the Cornell secondary at around the 25. Lepisto runs for the rest, turning it into a a 55-yard touchdown pass. 1 play, 55 yards, 11 seconds.

Penn 17, Cornell 0 0:53 Second After the punt, Cornell starts from its own 24 and does not end up much further. Liuzza keeps it himself on 3rd-and-15, picking up 11 but well short of the first down. Lawrence set to field the punt, but he's hit before he touches the ball, leading to a 15-yard fair-catch-interference call. Quakers to start from their 45.

Penn 17, Cornell 0 1:45 Second McNally hands it to Blackmon, who has received a lot of carries this quarter. He picks up 8, 1 shy of the first. Cornell calls another timeout. This will be the first possession that Penn did not score. Penn 17, Cornell 0 1:53 Second McNally throws to Coleman on second down and picks up the first on third. Then Blackmon fumbles on first down, but recovers - the 3rd recovered fumble of the game. The Quakers get a first down on another Blackmon run, but on first down, they're called for a hold, giving them first and long from their 27. McNally fumbles the snap, but once he picked it up he found nobody near him, enabling to run for 11. McNally pitches to Blackmon for no gain, and Cornell takes its first timeout.

Penn 17, Cornell 0 4:18 Second McNally in to start the drive, keeps it for a gain of 1. Penn calls its first timeout.

Penn 17, Cornell 0 4:53 Second. Just when Cornell appeared poised to score, they send themselves backwards with 2 penalties, one for a false start and one for holding. 2nd-and-23 from the Quakers 32. Liuzza fakes a draw to Barbour and throws into the endzone, but it's well out of the reach of Horatio Blackman. Liuzza again into the endzone, this time a much better pass to Bryan Walters, but Tyson Maugle gets a hand on. Cornell lines up in field-goal formation, but instead of kicking the 49-yarder they attempt a pooch punt. Quakers to get the ball at their 14.

Penn 17, Cornell 0 5:32 Second. Cornell starts from its own 32. Liuzza keeps for no gain on first down, then picks up 8 on second, but it's brought back on a hold, setting up 2nd-and-20. Liuzza hits Randy Barbour for 8 yards, and Penn is called for a late hit, giving Cornell 15-yards from the end of the run and an automatic first down from its own 44. Liuzza runs for 3 and passes for 6, setting up 3rd-and-1. Liuzza is hit as he throws, but still gets the throw off to Barbour, who's brought down at the Penn 43 for the first down. Barbour runs for 8 and Liuzza picks up the first down, after which offsetting penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct are called. Liuzza has a big pickup, giving the Big Red another first down, from the Quakers' 19. Cornell threatening to get on the board.

Penn 17, Cornell 0 9:51 Second

First quarter stats:

Walker 4-for-6 for 46 yards; 8 rushes for 46 yards (avg. 5.8) and 1 TD..

DiMaggio: 10 rushed for 57 yards (avg. 5.7)

And the biggest stat: Cornell has just 4 yards of total offense.

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Walker hits Koontz for exactly 10, moving the chains yet again. First down at the Big Red 37. Two runs for a combined 1-yard, and on third down Walker runs right and fumbles the ball. But he fumbled it forward, and Lepisto recovers. The fumble gave him enough for the first down.

Later in the drive, on 3rd-and-3 from the 7, Walker throws to Coleman in the endzone. The ball is tipped, but the Big Red pick up two penalties: roughing the passer, which was declined, and pass interference. The Quakers get an automatic first down at the 2. DiMaggio loses 1 on first down, but Walker leaps into the endzone for his second rushing TD of the day. 14 plays, 80 yards, 6:38.

Penn 10, Cornell 0 End First Quakers start from their own 20 following the punt into the endzone. After a first-down play action attempt to Coleman fails, Walker completes a screen pass to Bradford Blackmun for a pickup of 17. DiMaggio picks up 2 on first down, and then runs straight up the middle for 14 more. First down Penn at Cornell's 47, and that takes us to the end of the first quarter.

Penn 10, Cornell 0 1:29 First Stephen Liuzza in at QB for Cornell, and on the first play they run a double-reverse: Liuzza to WR Brian Fitzpatrick to WR, who picks up 9. Liuzza then runs for the first down. Liuzza completes his first pass, to Tommy Bleymayer, who is immediately nailed by Pat Kimmener. A Quakers encroachment sets up 2nd-and-1, but Randy Barbour is stopped by Naheem Harris for a loss of 2, and the 3rd-down pass is just out of the reach of Bryan Walters, forcing the Big Red to punt.

Penn 10, Cornell 0 4:05 First Dave Kuncio's kickoff goes out of bounds, giving Cornell the ball at their 35.

Penn 10, Cornell 0 4:05 First. Quakers start from their 46. On second and 9, Walker keeps it hinmself and runs up the right side for 11. Cornell lineman Lucas McCarthy jumps offsides on the ensuing first down; the Quakers pick up 8 on the free play but accept the penalty instead. Walker runs up the middle, and loses the ball as he's falling forward. Cornell recovers, but the officials say Walker was down before the fumble. A failed play-action pass and a DiMaggio 5-yard run set up 3rd-and-5, on which Walker hits Lepisto on an inside slant for the first down at Cornell's 20. DiMaggio runs up the middle for 1, and gains 7 on a second-down draw, but the Quakers are called for a false-start, setting up 3rd-and-8 from the 18. Walker picks up 3, setting up a perfect 32-yard field goal off the leg of Andrew Samson. 11 plays, 39 yards, 5:51.

Penn 7, Cornell 0 9:56 First An attempted 60-yard Cornell flea-flicker was nearly picked off by Chris Wynn, but he couldn't hang on. Britton Ertman comes up with a big sack for an 8-yard loss, setting up 3rd and 18. Pass to the right sideline is incomplete, forcing the Big Red to punt. Marcus Lawrence comes up with an 8-yard return, and the Quakers will start from their 46.

Penn 7, Cornell 0 11:09 First Quakers win the toss and start from their own 27. Fullback Nick Cisler is healthy enough to play, but Michael DiMaggio is starting for the injured Joe Sandberg. On second and 6, Walker rolls right and hits Braden Lepisto for the first down. Dimaggio runs for 3 on the ensuing first down, and then has a big 14-yard gain for another first down. Walker hits tightend Josh Koontz to the Cornell 31. Walker runs up the middle for 6, and Dimaggio picks first up the down. Walker keeps it himself the next 3 plays, the last of which is a 8-yard touchdown run. 10 plays, 72 yards.

Taking time to chill with Gil

You only get a certain amount of room in the newspaper, so here is the parts of my interview that didn't make it into my article about Gil Jackson only playing Penn after Dunphy and company left.

JW: What will it be like to reurn to the Palestra? GJ:“It’ll probably be a little strange sitting on the other bench. The good thing is that I’m used to the visiting locker room, I used to dress there before home games. It’ll be different, I’m kind of excited though.

JW: What do you miss most about Penn? GJ: “The Big 5, the tradition. Penn has a lot of tradition and pride, so I’m trying to instill some of that in Howard. Howard has a lot of academic pride, but when it comes to athletics it’s not quite like Penn, Penn has both. They’ve found a way flourish in athletics and academics, and that’s what I’m trying to do with the basketball program here.”

JW: What’s the best part about being a head coach? GJ: “You want to be in charge of the program, you can put your stamp on it in the players that you recruit. You have the final say, so the product is kind of ‘you.'”

JW: Is it hard to go from a team that makes the Tournament more than every other year to one that is in its rebuilding stages? GJ: “Yeah, that’s challenging. We have to rebuild and change the culture a little bit, that’s the tough part. We’ve done some nice things at Howard. The student body is more involved, we had our first “Blue – White” game, so we’re trying to start to build some tradition, but it is difficult.”

JW: What do you think of the Quakers’ new coaching staff? GJ: “Penn has a new program and they’re doing well. I had a lot of respect for Glen when he was coaching at Brown – they were always well-prepared, they have a very intricate offense. We just want to compete and play hard.”

JW: Coming off of a tough loss [129-59 to Duquesne], how do you prepare your young team coming into the Palestra? GJ: “We’re going to try to minimize our mistakes and get some confidence from somewhere, we don’t want to play too quickly. [We need to] make our free throws, and get some confidence on the floor. We’re pretty fragile, and played against a strong, veteran [Duquesne] team. We have to try and grow and mature, and keep them upbeat.”

Some interesting numbers on Howard...

There isn't a whole lot of promise for the Quakers coming off that 89-68 loss to Loyola Maryland. But a few stats about Penn's upcoming opponent, Howard, may bode well for the Red and Blue.

• 58.8 percent of opponents' scoring against the Bison last season came off of 2-point FGs (7th highest in the nation), while only 17.4 percent came from free throws (bottom sixth in the NCAA). While the Quakers' 3-point and free throw shooting has been iffy to terrible this year, they can score inside the arc. Howard will have difficulty taking that away from them, so the Quakers can play to their strengths.
• 35.2 percent of the Bison scoring came from downtown last season, putting them 32nd in the NCAA. But Penn only allowed the outside shot to account for 27.2 percent of opponents' offense.
• Rebounding is not one of the Quakers' strengths. But Howard ranked 313th in keeping opponents off the offensive glass last season, as opponents gobbled up nearly 40% of their carom chances. Lots of second chances are good for any team, and Penn should get their fair share on Saturday.

Good news for M. Hoops

As Andrew Todres writes today, the Penn men's basketball team has no reason to panic after the blowout loss at Loyola, in which they were down by 30 points with 10 minutes to go.

And finally the team has some good news: no more Geralds.

Guys named "Gerald" have torched the Quakers so far this season. Freshman guard Gerald Colds came off of the bench for Drexel to hit 6 of 9 threes. He scoried 12 of his team's 30 points in the second half and overtime to lead the charge over Penn, all despite playing in his first career game.

In the loss to Loyola, 6-foot-4 guard Gerald Brown dropped 27 points on 8-for-18 shooting and 10 for 11 from the free throw line to lead the Grayhounds. He also added eight rebounds six steals and three assists.

In Penn's final 29 games (23 possible teams) there are no more players named Gerald. However, La Salle has a 6-foot-8 freshman forward by the name of Jerrell Williams, the twin brother of Terrell Williams. The Quakers can only hope they have more than one defender ready for that game - they aren't too good at defending guys with the name "Darnell Harris" either.

Three points hard to come by

I wasn't at the 89-68 thrashing the Quakers took in Baltimore to Loyola on Sunday afternoon, so all I can go by is the live blog and the boxscore, but here are some interesting things to note from Game 2:

FINAL: Penn 68 Loyola 89

In-game updates from Penn's loss to Loyola are after the jump.

BALTIMORE -- Some Sunday afternoon basketball going on, as the Quakers get set to face the Greyhounds here at intimate Reitz Arena. Some bad news for Penn even before the tip: Darren Smith is out with a knee injury that he picked up against Drexel on Friday night.

FINAL: Penn 68 Loyola 89

Joe Gill throws it down, draws the foul and makes the and-1. Loyola has its scrubs out there, and Miller has Grandieri, Kach, Cohen and Eggleston off the floor. The score may look respectable, but only because Loyola had it's 12th men out there for the last five minutes. This is an incredibly embarrassing loss for Penn. It's hard to describe in words.

3:58 2nd Half, Penn 52 Loyola 81

Grandieri checks back in after a near-five minute absence. Reilly hits a pair of free throws. Really not much going on here. I've got to dig deep into the archives to find the last time Penn lost by this much to a team it should have beaten.

7:42 2nd Half, Penn 47 Loyola 77

Schreiber elevates to throw down a strong dunk, but then commits a weak foul. Bernardini tries to run through traffic and gets called for a charge. More of the same otherwise.

10:40 2nd Half, Penn 43 Loyola 73

Egee goes to the line, and makes one of two. Turley checks back in. Loyola extends its lead to 30 after some free throws and an uncontested fast break.

11:46 2nd Half, Penn 42 Loyola 65

Marquis Sullivan, Loyola's leading scorer on the season, comes to life. He hits a three and then a two while falling back. A nice give and go from Grandieri to Reilly for an easy two. Penn is in the bonus early. Reilly steps to the line, and -- surprise! -- makes both. Schreiber shows off a little hook shot. But Loyola just keeps extending its lead, hitting from the inside, the outside, and the line. Egee squeezes in a nice bounce pass to Grandieri on the break for two. On another possession, Grandieri goes to the line for two and only makes one.

15:36 2nd Half, Penn 33 Loyola 51

Lewis drives and gets to line, but only makes one. That's becoming a familiar theme for the Quakers, making one and missing one. Isreal gets a backdoor cut and throws down a mean dunk off the an alley-oop. Kevin Egee -- who has seen very few minutes so far this year -- steps in as Miller tries to get something going.

18:15 2nd Half, Penn 32 Loyola 45

Harvey finds Tuck off an easy backdoor cut for an alley-oop layup. Cam Lewis posts up Isreal and makes an aggressive turn and scores despite some contact. Eggleston nails a three and the Hounds call a timeout.

HALFTIME: Penn 26 Loyola 43

Kach airballs a wide open triple. Gerald Brown posts up and gets an and-1, then hits a ridiculous 26-footer as time expires. Turnovers are absolutely killing the Quakers, as they've handed it over 14 times leading to 17 Loyola points. And while they've managed to contain Tuck's three-point shooting, Brown has completely taken over the game. He has 19 points to lead all scorers. Kach and Eggleston lead the Red and Blue with five each.

1:02 1st Half, Penn 26 Loyola 36

Conor Turley scores off a nice spin move and up-and-under. Gerald Brown gets a fast break and easy layup. Grandieri and Gaines come in, presumably to get the Quakers under control. Gaines gets a nice look from three and misses, but Penn gets the board and Eggleston drives for two. Loyola ramps up the press and grabs another steal under the Quakers' basket for an easy two. Turley goes to the line and hits both.

3:19 1st Half, Penn 20 Loyola 28

Eggleston goes to the line in the bonus but misses the first. The Hounds move it well in the halfcourt, and Tuck hits his third three of the game. Eggleston answers back with one of his own. Loyola goes to the line, making one.

5:11 1st Half, Penn 17 Loyola 25

It's been a long time since the Hounds scored. They're starting to maybe look tired from the pressing. But Brown goes to the line for them and makes both. Eggleston comes in for Votel. Bernardini goes baseline from the corner and gets some hangtime for the tough layup in traffic. Remy Cofield checks in for the first time for Penn, after Grandieri picks up an offensive foul. And as soon as he leaves the game, Loyola hits a three and the Quakers turn it over to the full-court press.

7:54 1st Half, Penn 13 Loyola 18

Penn's lineup looks awkward, with Schreiber on the perimeter and Kach inside. Somehow Kach posts up a forward and scores. Eggleston gets popped in the face, prompting a change from Miller. Votel, Grandieri, and Cohen are now in, and they're faring better against Loyola's trapping. Bernardini scores his first points in the Red and Blue, hitting a midrange J from the baseline.

11:55 1st Half, Penn 9 Loyola 18

Gaines is in for Cohen. Schreiber hits a deep three from the corner to put Penn on the board. Kach makes a beautiful reverse layup from under the basket. He is fouled going to the hoop again, making one of two. Reilly hits a trey. Brown goes to the line for the Hounds and makes both. Bernardini makes his first appearance for Penn. The trap is giving the Quakers problems, as they've already turned it over seven times, giving 10 points to Loyola.

15:51 1st Half, Penn 0 Loyola 7

Good ball movement by Loyola and bad rebounding by Penn give the Hounds four second chances. Tuck buries another corner three and Loyola gets a steal off the inbounds pass. Penn is very sloppy and is being flat-out outhustled.

17:53 1st Half, Penn 0 Loyola 4

Eggleston loses the handle in the paint and Gerald Brown takes in back the other way to open up the scoring for Loyola. The Greyhounds are trying to force some more TOs, running a full-court press and half-court trap. Penn is in the 2-3, and surrender a corner three to Tuck.

Starting lineups:

Penn

G Aron Cohen

G Michael Kach

G Brian Grandieri

F Jack Eggleston

F Cameron Lewis

Loyola

G Gerald Brown

G Brett Harvey

G Brian Rudolph

F Omari Isreal

F Michael Tuck

Four really long blocks

Buried by all of the craziness that happened on the Palestra floor Friday night, you probably missed something that happened off of it.

While his team always gets supporters to walk down 33rd street, and there were more this year in particular because the Dragons were so good last season, Drexel coach Bruiser Flint has had very little success at the Palestra. Up until last night's overtime win the two-time CAA Coach of the Year is 106-74 all-time at Drexel, but 1-5 against Penn.

And out of the 20 times Drexel has played Penn, how many times have the Dragons hosted the Quakers? Yep the same amount of times I've dunked on Frank Elegar.

It's no Norries Wilson rant, but here's Flint inviting Penn to the Daskalakis Center.

bruiser-sounding-off.mp3

Final: Harvard 23, Penn 7

In-game updates from the Harvard game can be found after the jump.

BOSTON -- Hello from a chilly Harvard Stadium. The crowd is still filing in, but it looks like there will be a solid turnout to see if the Crimson can keep their Ivy unbeaten streak alive against Penn.

End Fourth Quarter

That's all from us here at The Buzz. Check back later this weekend and in Monday's print edition for thoughts on this weekend's game. 1:47 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 23

The fat lady is singin'. McNally is picked off by Murphy, who just added insult to injury with that interception.

Penn has just one timeout left, and it will let the clock run out with Collier Winters now at quarterback for Harvard.

1:54 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 23

As Tom Jackson would say, McNally got jacked up! Connor Murphy lays him out as he releases a pass. Penn gives it to Blackmon on the next play, and then McNally overthrows Lawrence on third down.

And, as I write this, a fourth and six becomes a first down without a play having been run. The officials aren't telling us something, but the Quakers have it at the Harvard 47.

2:50 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 23

After three Harvard runs and a punt, McNally hits Lawrence after a false start call. It's first down on the 35. 4:50 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 23

Or not.

Pizzotti comes out throwing, and Harvard picks up a first down. I have to question Coach Tim Murphy's tactics here, throwing on first down. You gotta run the ball at this point.

5:04 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 23

Melillo comes out for what will likely be the final time today after McNally is called for intentional grounding. He couldn't get anything going in that three-and-out drive.

Could be a run-out-the-clock situation now.

5:30 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 23

Bagnoli has officially yanked Walker. Looks like it's McNally from here on out.

On first down from their own 40, Lawrence makes an acrobatic catch, but he was called for illegal touching--he had stepped out of bounds before coming back in.

5:58 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 23

Or maybe they'll get some insurance points.

Ho runs it in from 20 yards out, shaking off a couple of Penn defensive backs in the process. Long shanks the extra point, though, and it's a 16-point margin.

6:44 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

What a brainlock. Lawrence calls a fair catch on a short, high kick, but he runs near the bouncing ball. It grazes his leg, and Harvard recovers it on the 20. Within striking distance, the Crimson will play keep-away.

7:09 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

Pizzotti is dropped behind the line on third and eight after a keeper and an incomplete pass. A holding call is declined, and Hull will come into pooch it.

7:35 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

And with one swipe of a bear paw, it's almost over. Defensive tackle Matt Curtis swats away a short pass from Walker and Harvard will take over at the Penn 39. 7:39 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

Great tackle by Barker prevents Lepisto from turning the corner and getting the first down on second and ten. Now Penn faces a third and two, but opt to go deep.

The offense is staying on the field. Here's the ball game.

8:31 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

We got it! Tom Stone recovers a fumbled snap at the Harvard 31. One play earlier, Mazza hauled in a long pass and Harvard looked to be in position to put up some more points. It's on Walker's shoulders now.

8:45 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

Maugle is once again caught turned the wrong direction. Luft drags a foot inbounds for a 22-yard gain at the 38-yard line.

9:34 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

After Miran catches a pass for next-to-nothing, Walker air-mails one over the head of Derham. Yet another fourth down and punt.

The Crimson will take over at the 12.

10:05 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

Penn takes over in Harvard territory, and will give it to Kelms on first down. He loses a yard.

10:35 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

Pizzotti misses Mike Cook on second and long, and Ho can't get anywhere on third down. Punt time. 12:16 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

Melillo's kick down inside the 20. On the tackle are long snapper Ted Rosenbaum and McNally. Not exactly guys built to bring people down, but they get it done.

Meanwhile, a flock of seagulls are circling above the field. Maybe Pizzotti has some breadcrumbs in his pocket.

12:40 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

False start against Penn on fourth down. Melillo will come on out for the ninth time today.

12:40 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17 On third and 10, Walker hits a diving Lepisto inches shy of the first down marker. Looks like they'll go for the fourth and short. 14:50 Fourth Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

A Harvard bounce takes the punt to the Penn 40 for a net of 42 yards. And Walker is still in at QB for the Quakers.

End Third Quarter A lucky spot for Penn. Ho runs for 10-and-a-half on third and 11, so Harvard has to kick it away. The Crimson will be turned around and kick into the wind from their own 18 as the third quarter comes to an end.

1:23 Third Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

On second down, Miller catches a pass in the flat, but there's a flag down behind the line of scrimmage. Looks like a hold, but it's called a personal foul, and the play is called back. Second and 14 from the five now.

2:15 Third Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

The snap goes to Melillo, not McNally, and he kicks it to the Harvard 10.

Ho is stuffed on a run on first down..

2:30 Third Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

On third and three, Penn is called for holding. On third and 13, Walker stumbles and jukes his way to midfield for a gain of 11. McNally is in on special teams again on the punt.

3:31 Third Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

Are you kidding me?! For the second week in a row, Penn lines up like they're kicking deep, but runs an onside kick. Ambrogi recovers a perfect kick uncontested. Great job by kickoff man Dave Kuncio.

3:31 Third Quarter, Penn 7, Harvard 17

The Quakers are on the board! DiMaggio takes a pitch on the right side into the end zone on second down from the two. Samson bangs home the PAT.

Let's see if Penn can do anything with this momentum.

4:10 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

And another one!

Derrick Barker is called for pass interference in the end zone. He was faceguarding Coleman all the way, and Penn is down to the two. The Quakers call timeout to talk it over.

4:16 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

Penn gets a break. A pass interference is called on a pass to Lepisto that looked to be uncatchable. Down to the 16.

5:12 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

Walker keeps it on an option play on a second and short, and picks up the first. Tack on 15 yards to that because of a facemask penalty, and the Quakers are all the way down to the Harvard 31.

6:35 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

Lepisto brings in an eight-yard catch for a first down, but can't bring one in on first down along the sideline.

However, DiMaggio moves the chains with a nice run up to the Penn 44.

7:52 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

Punter Thomas Hull gets off an incredible punt but a Harvard special teamer smacked it into the end zone from inside the five.

8:08 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

A great play by Greg Ambrogi to get to Pizzotti and wrap him up in the backfield, forcing a fourth and long.

9:24 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

Another three-and-out for Penn. A short completion to Fisher is all Penn can muster, and out comes a familiar face--Anthony Melillo.

He punts it to the Crimson 41.

10:51 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 17

It's good. A 30-yard field goal from Patrick Long after the Crimson can't find the end zone.

12:00 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 14

Another pass to Luft, another first down. Pizzotti is really finding this kid today. Now Harvard is down to the 14, and isn't showing signs of slowing down.

12:46 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 14

The Penn offense couldn't ask for a worse start to the half. Bradford Blackmon coughs it up on his first carry, and Harvard's Doug Hewlett recovers on the Penn 28. Time to hit the panic button. 12:59 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 14

Touchdown. Pizzotti eludes Joe Anastasio and a blitzing Britton Ertman, and lofts one to Luft in the end zone for a 30-yard score. Maugle has him covered, but he turns around a split-second too late. The PAT is good, and Penn is in a much more precarious position.

13:30 Third Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 7 Penn's Dave Kuncio pops up the kick off, and Harvard has good field position to start the second half. On first down, Pizzotti eludes defensive end Sam McGarity and dumps it off to Ho in the flat.

After no gain on the next play, Pizzotti rolls out to the right and finds a wide open Luft, bringing the Crimson down to the Penn 33.

Halftime Stats:

Walker: 5-14 for 54 yards. DiMaggio: 11 rushes for 38 yards.

Pizzotti: 7-18 for 91 yards and a touchdown. Ho: 3 rushes for 37 yards.

Total offense: Penn 117 yards, Harvard 139

Time of possession: Penn 19:29, Harvard 10:31

Punts: Penn 6, Harvard 6 (12 total)

End of Second Quarter A couple of passes to Tyler Fisher fall to the ground on first and second downs, and then a false start on third down. They give the ball to DiMaggio on third down, but Harvard calls a timeout to make Penn punt.

With just enough time to run one play from the Penn 43, Harvard goes to the air. It's almost hauled in by Iannuzzi on the two-yard line, but it falls incomplete and the clock runs out. Salient halftime questions: Is Sandberg seriously hurt? Can Walker get this offense up and running? And will Harvard start to really play like it's got an Ivy championship to lose?

0:38 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 7

A good break for the Quakers. A squib kick is fumbled by Jason Miran and recovered by the Crimson, but Dean Scaduto is called offsides on the kick for Harvard. Time to rekick. Phew. 0:43 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 7

And they're on the board, folks. With his 20-yard touchdown reception, Corey Mazza ties the record for career touchdown receptions (with 28). The PAT is good, and Penn may go into halftime down a score.

That scoring drive spanned 88 yards in just seven plays. 0:54 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Pizzotti rumbles down to the 15 on second and one. But with the clock running, the Crimson get a false start, pushing them back to the 20 for a 1st and 15.

1:14 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Oh no. A 23-yard pass over the middle to Mike Cook, and then a little swing pass to Ho gets the Crimson down inside the 20. It's second and one, let's see what the Penn D is made of.

1:40 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Harvard, meet Tyson Maugle.

The cornerback comes off the edge on second down and rattles Pizzotti, who barely got the pass off.

2:05 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Penn, meet Cheng Ho.

The tailback cuts it outside and runs for 40 yards to midfield. Big play for Harvard, and a huge lapse for what has been a staunch Quakers defense.

2:13 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

On third and 10, Walker throws a nice pass over the middle to Dan Coleman, but he can't quite haul it in. Would have been a great play by both receiver and quarterback, but now Melillo will have to boot it once more.

He kicks it down to the Harvard 10.

2:50 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Walker hits tight end Josh Koontz in between the hash marks for a first down at the Penn 44. DiMaggio gets around three yards on the next play, and then is subsequently stuffed by a ferocious Crimson rush.

4:29 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

On second down, Pizzotti fumbles the snap, but Harvard retains possession. On third and 10, he misses wideout Matt Luft on a wobbly helicopter pass. Bring out the punt team.

6:04 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Pizzotti hits tight end Jason Miller for the second first-down of the drive. Charles Baakel is seeing the majority of time at running back on this drive, and he's doing a pretty good job so far.

7:45 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

The punt goes for a net of 46 yards with no return. One interesting thing we noticed on the punt: McNally is in on special teams coverage. He was in there a couple of times last week, too. Makes you wonder if some kind of trick play is brewing in Coach Al Bagnoli's head.

8:00 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

The PA announcer does a great job of pronouncing "Amoo-Achampong," as backup running back Kelms Amoo-Achampong is in the game.

He runs for a short gain on first down, and coughs it up on second, but the refs rule he was down by contact.

The Quakers can't take advantage of the gift, and Walker is stuffed on third, and Melillo trots out yet again.

10:26 Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

A generous spot gives Penn a first down after Walker and Lawrence hook up again. First and 10 from the Quakers 41.

11:43 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Walker's back in the game. He scrambles and finds Marcus Lawrence for a 13-yard gain on first down.

11:51 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0 Melillo's kick was nearly blocked, but it ends up taking a Penn bounce and the Crimson will take over around midfield.

A short pass Marco Iannuzzi, an incompletion and a sack by Naheem Harris and Joe Goniprow leads to third and long, and yet another three-and-out. Penn takes over on its own 18.

13:03 Second Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

On 3rd and 15, Harvard LB Glenn Dorriss gets to McNally nearly untouched, but the Penn QB throws it away. Only problem is, no one's in the area, and McNally was still in the pocket. Intentional grounding, and Penn will punt from its own seven.

14:20 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Big scare for Penn. An end around to Lawrence is fumbled, and a Harvard defender nearly came up with it. It's 2nd and 15.

14:51 Second Quarter, Penn 0 Harvard 0

Greg Ambrogi is all over Lagace on third down, and the Crimson will have to punt it away. Looks like the Quakers will be starting out at their own 14 with McNally still under center.

End First Quarter, Penn, 0, Harvard 0

The Crimson pick up a first down after a 12-yard pass to Mazza, but are quickly dropped back five yards on a failed run by Cheng Ho.

0:53 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

McNally rolled out on third down, but had no one open and threw it away. Anthony Melillo's punt goes for a net of 33 yards and Harvard takes over from its own 40.

2:30 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Good news for Penn--Sandberg is back in the game.

After running for a loss on first down and catching a pass for a gain of seven, the Quakers, now being quarterbacked by backup Brendan McNally, face third and five.

2:38 First Quarter Penn 0, Harvard 0

A couple of quick three-and-outs for both teams. A long heave to Mazza on the last play is broken up by Chriss Wynn.

Lawrence fields the punt on the bounce and Penn will start its drive from its own 23.

4:08 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

After a false start on second down, the Crimson were faced with a third and seven. A deep pass from Pizzotti to Matt Lagace is caught, but ruled out of bounds.

The punt on fourth down from Thomas Hull is muffed by Penn returner Marcus Lawrence, who recovers the fumble.

6:01 First Quarter, Penn o, Harvard 0

Jeez. After Derham couldn't haul in a catch in the end zone and a couple of failed runs, Penn goes for a field goal. But Andrew Samson clanks it off the right upright from 31 yards out. The kick may have been tipped.

7:42 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

With a Walker sneak, the Quakers get a first down and get to the 18. It's Penn's first red zone appearance since its game against Brown two weeks ago.

8:17 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

The Quakers keep marching. Walker hit wideout Kyle Derham on the sideline for a first down on third and five. Penn gives it to DiMaggio on the following play and nearly picks up another first down. It's second and one on the 21.

9:33 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

Walker hits Lepisto for a 14 yard gain on third down. On first down in Harvard territory, he misses Nick Cisler on a short pass. 10:07 First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

After being brought out of the game after the first play, Sandberg is still on the sideline for Penn. DiMaggio remains in the game, but QB Bryan Walker is doing most of the running right now, as he keeps two in a row and faces a third and seven on the Penn 40.

10:37, First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0

After a failed rushes by wide receiver Matt Lagace and running back Cheng Ho, QB Chris Pizzotti is hurried on third down by Penn linebacker Jay Colabella. Pizzotti threw it away, and now the Crimson will punt.

The Quakers, however, have to burn a timeout because they only had ten men on the field.

11:26 First Quarter Penn 0, Harvard 0

Three straight runs by DiMaggio go nowhere, and a fourth-down screen pass to Nick Cisler falls to the ground. Harvard takes over on their own 29.

13:35, First Quarter, Penn 0, Harvard 0 Running back Michael DiMaggio runs for 14 yards on 3rd and long to pick up the first down for Penn on a well-executed draw play. Defensive back Tyler Fisher, who was in the game as a receiver, threw a nice block on the play.

Thoughts from the Penn-Drexel game

Penn had its chances down the stretch to win the game, but in the end, Drexel just made more big shots. A lot of that was due to the fact that the Quakers were not getting the ball to the right guys in the right spots. When they most needed shooters on the floor, there were none to be found.

Tyler Bernardini, tentatively labeled "maybe the best shooter" on the team, played four minutes total. Aron Cohen, who had the hot hand in the game, didn't even attempt a shot in overtime. But six of the final nine treys the Quakers attempted were from big men Jack Eggleston and Brennan Votel (and of those six, they made only one). Not having Darren Smith out late definitely hurt the Quakers' versatility, but it was still hard to swallow watching five guys stand on the perimeter and the center taking the shot.

I thought Harrison Gaines was the Quakers' third-best player out there. He was very patient in the half-court, showed some deft passing and a nice handle, and was solid in man defense. Three dimes and a steal in 13 minutes is more than enough for a first outing. While I thought he made a premature exit, it was probably the right move if Miller took him out in favor of experience.

Speaking of experience, Brian Grandieri stepped up when he had to. At first, things looked shaky and Miller even sat him for a long stretch in the first half. But around midway into the second, he seemed to shift a few gears up, and grabbed some big offensive boards, got in the lane, and got to the line. Before the game, Miller said that he wasn't sure if Grandieri "would have to score 18 to 20 a game or if he was even capable of that." Well, he scored 23 (8-14 FG, 7-12 FT) and was the main reason Penn got back into the game.

On the bright side, the Quakers' defense looked very sharp in the second half. The team did a good job of sealing off the leaks from the first half. While in zone, they rotated better to cover the corners and rebounded well, and in man they were generally tight and disciplined. Nonetheless, it's hard to win a game shooting 31/22/50 (FG/3PT/FT). The right guys need to be able to get the right looks, and someone is going to have to emerge as a viable isolation threat.

FINAL OT: Drexel 67, Penn 59

FINAL OT: Drexel 67, Penn 59

In-game updates can be found after the jump.

Box score

Drexel hits its free throws and that is it, Penn's chance for its first bona fide upset in a while slips away. A great performance nonetheless, especially on the defensive end in the second half. Craftiness on the part of guys like Grandieri on the inside got the Quakers back in it, but it wasn't enough. Drexel finally started scoring, and Penn's big men missing threes created too many wasted possessions.

0:29.4 OT: Penn 57 Drexel 65

Still in the one-and-one, but Rodgers makes the first.

Kach gets doubled, hits Votel, but he misses a three, and this one is just about over.

0:52.5 OT: Penn 57 Drexel 62

Drexel fans send out a "we can't hear you" chant as Penn goes silent.

Kach misses a three, I'm not sure why he settled so quickly for a shot like that.

Drexel fans start a "this is our house" chant, but are once again owned by the Red and Blue crew on a rollout: "this is your house, then where do you sleep?"

1:16 OT: Penn 57 Drexel 62

Eggleston connects on a feed and layup and it's down to two.

Neisler misses a jumper in-and-out, and at the other end Grandieri draws yet another foul. Grandieri hits two, almost all going short.

Are you kidding, you'd think they'd have learned by now. The Quakers leave Colds open for another three in the corner and he hits it.

Neisler hits inside and just like that the lead for the Dragons is back up to five.

3:13 OT: Penn 53, Drexel 57

Colds is money again, hitting a deep but wide open three. Grandieri hits one at the line after getting fouled.

After a strip on Elegar, Kach gets rejected. A Neisler shot is missed, but Elegar slams it home.

Cohen takes a hard charge, and he's shaken up, but Hawthorne is even more hurt. He comes out, but will immediately check back in.

0:00 Penn 52, Drexel 52

OH MY GOD. Cohen pump fakes, misses a three, but Kach rebounds and gets fouled. His free throw goes in.

The second goes in-and-out (seemingly no missing on purpose down by 2), and Grandieri gets the rebound. He misses a reverse layup, but Eggleston gets the rebound and makes the putback with 1.6 seconds to go. WOW.

We're gong to overtime!

0:19 2nd Half: Penn 49, Drexel 52

Penn in a 2-3, but Colds hits an unbelievable three to go up by four, I should have waited to give my onions call till that one, wow. I'm also mad I already used my "Colds has icewater" reference. That could be the dagger.

Grandieri hit one free throw, but 1-2 isn't enough.

1:01 2nd Half: Penn 48, Drexel 49

Drexel misses a big 1-and-1, and Grandieri gets fouled, fourth foul on Elegar. A shooter's roll gets Penn within one, but he misses the second.

1:32 2nd Half: Penn 47, Drexel 49

Neisler gets a pass inside and hits a biiiiiig jumper. But Cohen is onions with a three from the top of the key with 1:32 to go.

2nd Half: Penn 44, Drexel 47

Penn back in a 2-3 now, as Drexel misses a three. Eggleston nails a three, and the Quakers are down by three points. What a persistent comeback. This has been a wonderful game to watch.

2nd Half: Penn 41, Drexel 47

Penn is so close, but it seems so far, the Quakers are playing opportunistic defense, but just can't cut the deficit to less than six.

2nd Half: Penn 41, Drexel 47

Cohen misses a three as the shot clock winds down, the first time we've seen that in single-digits in a while. Eggleston misses as well.

A travel, and Drexel is failing to convert almost every possession.

In case you're just tuning in, I'm not forgetting to update the scores, these teams are just not scoring.

2nd Half: Penn 41, Drexel 47

Elegar out of the game, Drexel is weaker on the inside. Egee gets off a nasty block, and Penn's got it.

Wow, Grandieri has been a monster this half, floating in an and-1, and it's a two-possession game. The Penn crowd has really woken up now.

Colds has icewater, though, he nails a big three, and Drexel gets another turnover. It's Drexel's first field goal in a while.

But Gaines finds Grandieri again and it's back to six.

A genius move by the Red and Blue crew. After exchanging a few demeaning chants at each other, Drexel fans say "Daddy's trust fund!" But one timeout later the Red and Blue Crew rolls out: "Do you even know what a trust fund is?"

2nd Half: Penn 36, Drexel 44

Grandieri gets a nice feed from Gaines for a layup. Votel misses two free throws, but gets it back. A Gaines airball is the team's fourth of the game.

Drexel has great ball movement, but Egee (I believe) makes an even better block.

2nd Half: Penn 34, Drexel 44

A layup by Votel, a Votel three and then a layup in traffic by Grandieri all miss. Penn is getting so many chances to come back, and not capitalizing at all now.

Rodgers misses from point blank, and Eggleston misses a three. Elegar gets called for an over-the-back on a rebound, that looked harmless, and Bru is pissed. It's Elegar's thrid.

2nd Half: Penn 34, Drexel 44

Penn is still in the man defense, and it's working better than the zone was. Drexel hasn't hit a three in a while. They foul Elegar, though, and he makes one at the line.

Eggleston misses off a Grandieri miss, then gets another loose ball, but rushes the shot and Drexel gets it back. A Votel turnover, and the Dragons have another chance. Penn is back in the 2-3 zone now.

Cohen makes a fantastic pass over the defender to Eggleston, but he gets his shot blocked out of bounds

2nd Half: Penn 34, Drexel 43

Brian Grandieri is taking over. With an inbounds pass with 2 on the shot clock he nails a long two, and completes a tough and-1 over Neisler, who picks up his fourth foul.

Eggleston takes a charge on Elegar, and the tide is slowly turning.

2nd Half: Penn 29, Drexel 41

Kach powers his way into the lane, but his floater gets thrown out of bounds by Elegar.

Drexel fans counter Penn's earlier one of quality with a great rollout: "Did Ben Franklin pop his collar too?"

2nd Half: Penn 29, Drexel 41

Whenever the Quakers get a basket they haven't been able to keep that momentum going. Finally, though, Cohen hits a three, Lewis gets a steal, and Grandieri puts in a nice baseline bank.

2nd Half: Penn 24, Drexel 39

More bad news for Penn: Darren Smith has a knee injury and is out of the game for now, as Cohen starts the second half at PG in his place. He was able to walk with a limp, but not looking like he can play for now.

An Elegar two and a terrible 22-footer from Grandieri and Drexel goes up 15 again.

Lewis gets a nasty block off on Jamie Harris shooting over Cohen. After Cohen turns it over, Lewis almost does. The passing hasn't been very good. And the free throws are worse - Grandieri misses another two.

HALFTIME: Penn 24, Drexel 37

Cohen misses a three at the buzzer, barely getting it off because no one else seemed able or wanting to take it.

I knew that the Quakers would empty the bench, but this is a little much. Thirteen players have gotten into the game.

The Penn band is weak in its showing today, I assume devoting a large portion to the Harvard football game in Boston. Seems to me like an odd decision, Drexel has a much bigger band here.

Penn 24, Drexel 37

Gaines has been in a while, and playing solid basketball, good ball pressure on defense. Penn is in a 2-3 zone, as Drexel misses a three off of it.

Cohen misses another trey, and we've gone scoreless for a bit. Penn is switching between the 2-3 and a man, seemingly going man in transition, or after a miss.

Now that John Chaney is gone, Bruiser Flint is the greatest coach to sit behind at a game. At one point he turns to his assistant asks "what the name of that ref", his assistant tells him, and he proceeds to call out that official.

Penn 24, Drexel 37

Schreiber airballs a three, but Grandieri cleans up with a put-back.

Penn 22, Drexel 37

The disparity in free throw shooting is noticeable, as the Dragons' Elegar misses what I believe was his team's first. Meanwhile, Penn isn't making many.

Elegar takes a pass in for a dunk, but Schreiber fouls the big man and he misses, but will go to the line.

Grandieri is back in the game, as is Eggleston.

Schreiber makes a nice move and throws it down. But a Grandieri miss in transition and an Elegar and-1 and it's 15 again.

Penn 20, Drexel 32

The Quakers are back in a man, but still getting torched. Egee is playing alright defense, but just isn't fast or strong enough as Scott Rodgers backs him down and scores.

Egee hits a three, but Penn is still down 12.

Best sign I've seen from the Red and Blue Crew in a while: "You can't spell Flint without an N.I.T."

Penn 17, Drexel 30

Glen Miller, as we expected has emptied the bench thus far. If I remember correctly Andreas Schreiber, Votel, Bernardini, Cofield, Cohen have subbed in, and now finally Egee, Justin Reilly and Harrison Gaines check in in a full five-man line-change.

I don't remember Schreiber being a long-distance shooter, but he takes and misses a three, making up for it with a nice jumper though.

Meanwhile Colds drains two treys, and this Penn zone is getting destroyed as the defenders can't get out fast enough.

Penn 13, Drexel 22

Votel forces a jump ball, but then misses a three. He and the forwards have started to ferociously rebound as they get their nerves out.

Penn just went to a 1-3-1 zone defense (Cohen at the top, Cofield at the base) but Drexel it seems has shot them out of it.

Penn 12, Drexel 18

Hawthorne is killing the Quakers now, as he nails another three despite Kach leaping at him.

Remy Cofield Replaces Kach, the second freshman into the game. Brennan Votel is in now, I thought he'd be starting.

Smith misses a transition three, and Lewis connects on the offensive board and put-back. But Hawthorne drains yet another trey from the corner.

Right now Penn has no starters in the game, as Tyler Bernardini and then Cofield both put up airballs. Cohen hits a three to keep Penn within six.

Penn 6, Drexel 10

Grandieri drives through the lane and trucks Randy Oveneke, for an offensive foul, but he gets rejected by Frank Elegar anyway. Grandieri picks up his second personal already, that hurts.

Smith doing the passing this time, hits a cutting Lewis for an open two-handed dunk.

Aron Cohen, in the game for Grandieri, nails a three that bounces on the rim three times, but Tremayne Hawthorne gets him back by nailing one at the top of the key in Cohen's eye.

Penn 1, Drexel 5

The Dragons start it off with a quick two baskets to take a 5-0 lead. Smith misses a shot for Penn, but gets his own rebound and is fouled.

It's finally here - the Quakers tip off the 2007-08 season in a matter of minutes.

Wow, big surprise, as Penn starts the game with a freshman, but not the one we thought: G Darren Smith G Brian Grandieri G Mike Kach F Jack Eggleston F Cameron Lewis

Slowing down Elegar won't be a one-man job

After last season, Drexel lost a lot of key players - leading assist-man  Bashir Mason, leading three-point shooter Dominick Mejia and leading shot-blocker and rebounder Chaz Crawford - but the Dragons still have their leading scorer, Frank Elegar.

The 6-foot-9 forward was a monster inside last year, shooting 53 percent from the floor (only attempting twos) scoring 16 points per game and adding 6.7 rebounds.

But Elegar started slow in 2006, and while no one had a great game that night at the Palestra, he particularly struggled in the loss to Penn.

Elegar went 3 for 8 for eight points, six rebounds and a whopping eight turnovers. Mark Zoller and Stephen Danley did a nice job down low against the Drexel's giants, but a big question coming into tonight's game is will this Penn team be able to stop Elegar?

"It's always a team effort when it comes to stopping a plaer of his ability," Glen Miller said. "You're not going to stop him with one guy, and I think that's true with any team that has one player with his skill level and his ability and his talent. It will be a team effort for sure."

What to look for tonight against  Drexel:

I remember at last year's game many people I knew expected the Dragons to come into the Paestra and beat the Ivy champs, but they were wrong, as Penn won by 19. This Drexel team isn't the same as last year, but it is pretty good, and has to be the favorite coming in. With Elegar, junior guards Tramayne Hawthorne (7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.75 assists per game, as well as 41 percent from three off the bench) and Scott Rodgers (eight points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.78 assists per game) are back. The Quakers of course can pull it off, but Drexel has the mix of size, speed and experience that makes it a formidable opponent.

Here are few things to expect:

If I had to guess, other than Grandieri, Penn's leading scorer tonight will be Darren Smith. He's likely not going to be putting up 20, but he's got a nice three-ball and he seems to have improved his drive. Kevin Egee would be my second guess for the top scorer.

The battle for the starting frontcourt spots will be interesting, between mainly Brennan Votel, Cam Lewis, Justin Reilly and Andreas Schreiber. By what we saw last year, Votel may have the edge, but all these guys have talent, and will get to prove themselves early-on this season.

It will be interesting to see if Tyler Bernardini can knock down some shots in the pressure of his first game, but clearly the freshman to watch is Harrison Gaines. He may not start, but he should get loads of time running the offense. Miller called him the only true point guard on the team, and we'll get a first look at him tonight.

Points anyone?

If you've followed Penn basketball for more than 10 minutes, you probably know that the team will take a major blow without recently-graduated and current European basketballers Mark Zoller and Ibrahim Jaaber this season. It sounds bad, but the stats make it look even worse.

Zoller and Jaaber averaged 34.1 points per game, or 46 percent of the team's total. And if you take out Stephen Danley's (graduated) 8.7 and Tommy McMahon's (medical redshirt) 5.0, (and yes, Adam Franklin's 0.7) the current team (10 returning players) only accounted for 34 percent of last year's points. Other than Brian Grandieri, the highest average last year was Kevin Egee's 3.9 points per game.

Coach Glen Miller is clearly not oblivious to this issue.

"We're trying to find out [who's going to score], we don't have those answers right now," Miller said last Friday. "Just like the Ivy League has a lot of parity, on our team from top to bottom there's a lot of parity."

So where will the points come from in 2007-08?

The obvious answer is that Grandieri (11.7 points per game) will pick up the slack. Grandieri is the team's best player, but he's a guy that slips into the short corner and nails 10-footers or finds a loose offensive rebound and puts it in, not a guy who breaks a defender's ankles and throws it down over a guy like Drexel's Frank Elegar. He was a cog in last year's offense, and without the parts around him can he do the same thing?

All is not lost, though. There is a lot of potential in this team.

Darren Smith, while he was tentaitive last year and his shot isn't exactly beautiful, can knock down that corner three as well as anyone in this league. He hit an astounding 22 of 46 from deep (48 percent), he's just got to be less gun-shy (a.k.a. shoot other than just on the game's first three possessions) in his second season.

Egee also hit at a great percentage from three, going 20 for 39, but his strength is his all-around offensive game. He had a couple of strong drives in the Red and Blue scrimmage that ended in a runner (one went in, one didn't). And he has the strongest triceps on the team.

Guys like Aron Cohen and freshman Tyler Bernardini are real unknowns, but each has a nice shot and could put it to use.

The inside game will be a big question mark, as guys like Justin Reilly, Brennan Votel and Cam Lewis have to prove they can score on the block. Lewis' post game looked improved in the Red and Blue scrimmage, so we'll have to see what he can do in a game, and how the other two will fare. Lets just say they weren't the deadliest of shooters last season - Votel and Reilly went a combined 8 for 31 from three in 2006-07 (26 percent), while averaging a respectable 39 percent from inside the arc.

Can you hear me now?

Penn released its radio schedule for the men's basketball team today, and it's certainly good to see that all 31 games are going to be covered in the local market, either on XPN, Sports Radio 950, or TV. Too bad XPN couldn't keep up their usual obligations, but that's what you get when your audience gives money based on how many polka hours can fit into a day with only 24.

Video of the Princeton game

You can see highlights of Saturday's game here.

Penn 7, Princeton 0 FINAL

In-game updates of Penn's 7-0 win over Princeton can be found after the jump.

FINAL: Penn: 7, Princeton: 0 With a little over a minute to go, Princeton puts together a nice drive. After a run to get the first down, Foran’s pass is incomplete. On second and ten, Foran has short pass to Culbreath to bring up third and thirteen. Foran runs to try and get the first down but comes up four yards short. The Tigers went for it but Foran’s pass is batted away by Tyson Maugle to let Penn take over on downs with just under a minute to go.

Bryan Walker downs the ball and Penn winds down the clock to win the game.

Look for coverage later on dailypennsylvanian.com and in Monday's DP.

5:00 Fourth Quarter, Penn: 7, Princeton: 0

Defense continues to rule supreme in this one and the punting crews must be getting tired. Penn’s not able to generate anything on its first first drive of the last quarter.

Princeton’s possession is equally quick and the punting crew is back on the field after a near interception by Chris Wynn, who's had more than a few of them already this year.

With Penn Starting off at its own 17, Walker pitches to Sandberg who is taken down quickly for a loss of 1 yard. On second and 11 at Penn's own 16, Walker passes to Cisler for a nice run to Penn’s 30 for the first down. Michael DiMaggio gets his first carry of the day for 7 yards on the next play. On second-and-three at the Penn 37, Walker pitches out to DiMaggio again. He is stopped after a two yard loss. Sandberg runs for the first down on third and five, but Penn then runs out of gas and is unable to complete the drive for the score.

End of Third Quarter: Penn: 7, Princeton: 0

After an unsuccessful Penn drive, Princeton puts together a nice trek downfield with four first downs in a row to get to the Penn 25. But on third and nine, Foran trips and falls in the pocket to bring up fourth down.

Princeton decides to go for it. Foran has a long time to throw it but struggles to find a good target. Finally, he throws it into heavy coverage and the pass is incomplete to end what looked to be a promising drive. The ball is turned over on downs to the Quakers.

Penn can’t do much in next drive, and Princeton’s offense is on the field threatening again. On third down, Foran just misses getting sacked by Martinho, his pass bounces off Staser’s chest to force Princeton to punt.

11:36 Third Quarter Penn: 7, Princeton: 0

Jake Lewko returns the Penn 40. Walker hits Sandberg for a gain of 1 yard and then connects with Lepisto for the first down. Following a 10 yard run by Sandberg, Walker takes it himself to the 26 for a first down. After passing out of bounds, Walker pitches out to Joe Sandberg who runs it in 26 yards for the first touchdown of the game. Extra point by Andrew Samson is good to cap off the two minute drive.

In an act of trickery, Penn fakes an onside kick; Britton Ertman recovers it for Penn possession on the ensuing drive.

--HALFTIME--

Defense on both sides has been stifling on both sides with both offenses unable to generate a score before halftime. Princeton is 1 for eight on third down conversions and 0-1 in the red zone, while Penn is four for 11 on third down.

1:00 2nd Quarter Penn: 0, Princeton: 0

Penn and Princeton continue to struggle to put together drives on offense as time winds down towards the half. Walker connected with Sandberg for 8 yard gain, but a false start on the next play pushes Penn back 5 yards on third down. Walker is taken down on the next play, fumbles, and recovers the ball. Mellilo is called in to punt.

Mellilo’s punt is downed at the Princeton 11. Foran pitches to Lagomarsino, but he is pushed out of bounds for a loss of 4 yards. After running it himself for a loss of 5 yards, Foran over throws his next pass and Princeton is forced to punt

After a penalty that brought Penn back to its own 7, the Quakers put together a short drive and get a lucky break for an automatic first down. Walker’s next pass is complete to Dan Coleman for 9 yards. Walker connects with Lepisto to notch the first down on Penn’s 41, but his next pass is incomplete. Sandberg is able to chew up some yardage to get another first down to give the Quakers a chance to score before the half, but Penn comes up empty on the next two plays as the Tigers keep the Quakers offense in check. Walker sacked on third down to eliminate a chance to score before halftime.

7:33 2nd Quarter, Penn: 0, Princeton: 0

Walker is back in at quarterback. Connects twice with Sandberg for the first down but throws away the next pass as he taken down by Princeton. The play is ruled a sack although it certainly looks like Walker got rid of the ball before he was taken down.

Walker connects with Sandberg for a short run, but not able to convert on third down, Penn punts.

Princeton returns Mellilo’s shallow punt to the Penn 40.

Foran back in for Princeton hands off to Toresco for 2 yard gain, an incomplete pass and an unfruitful run by Foran brings up fourth down. Princeton’s punt rolls into the end zone for a touchback.

11:20 2nd Quarter, Penn: 0, Princeton: 0

Mroz is now in at quarterback for Princeton.

On his first play in he connects with Toresco who runs is all the way downfield to the Penn 4-yard line to come up just short of the touchdown. He is finally taken down by Chris Wynn. Princeton not able to get any closer on the next play. Penn calls a timeout. Jordan Culbreath is stopped by the Penn line to bring up third and four at the Penn 4.

Wow!! Mroz’s pass is intercepted in the end zone by Britton Ertman, who runs it to the Penn 38. What a play.

End of 1st Quarter:

Penn sophomore back-up Brendan McNally is now in at quarterback for Walker but both Penn and Princeton come up em

3:30 1st Quarter: Penn: 0, Princeton: 0

After a nearly intercepted pass and a sack, Walker hands off to Joe Sandberg for the 29 yard gain and then again for a 12-yard run.

Wow! Walker nearly completes with Braden Lepisto for a 35-yard touchdown pass, but comes up just short. Walker runs for 8 yards on third down but comes up short of the first down. Penn punts.

Foran is still under center for the Tigers. He hands off to Rob Toresco for a five yard gain, but his next pass in incomplete. Foran is sacked by Penn big man Naheem Harris on third down. Princeton punts from its own 15.

8:00 1st Quarter: Penn: 0, Princeton: 0

After some speculation that he might not start, Princeton do-it-all quarterback Bill Foran is in the line-up to start things off under center for the Tigers. Princeton and Penn both come up empty to start. For Penn, Josh Koontz caught a 10-yard pass for the 1st down, but Joe Sandberg is stuffed on the next play. Kyle Derham has a nice catch but Bryan Walker’s next pass is tipped and Penn is forced to punt. Princeton’s not able to generate much offense on their next drive either. Foran connects with Brendan Circle for the first down on the first play of the drive, but Foran’s next pass is incomplete. After handing off to Rob Toresco for a 6-yard run and a completion to Jake Staser, Foran is stuffed on the option play. Foran’s next pass is nearly intercepted by Jake Lewko to bring up 3rd and 14. Foran tries to go to Toresco but he doesn’t get far and Princeton punts.

One down, four to go

The basketball season is one week away and we have one starter! I don’t know how much more news I’ll be able to break, though. Head coach Glen Miller is going to wait until the last possible second to divulge his final starting lineup.

“It’ll probably be about 20 minutes before the Drexel game when I have to,” Miller joked.

“The only player at this point who definitely should be starting is Brian [Grandieri]. … At this point last year it was a much easier situation with [Ibrahim Jaaber, Mark Zoller and Stephen Danley], it was clear that they should be starting.”

With Grandieri a starter, there are 15 healthy bodies competing for four spots on the Palestra floor a week from tonight, and as of now that could be filled by anyone.

“We’re trying to find out, we don’t have those answers right now,” Miller said. “Just like the Ivy League has a lot of parity with its teams, I think from top to bottom our team has a lot of parity. The starting five, the nine- or 10-man rotation, we’re sorting those things out right now and we’re sorting them out in practice, through our scrimmages and watching a lot of film.

“In making evaluations it’s difficult to rule anybody out, but at the same time it’s difficult to make decisive decisions at this point of who should start and who should be part of that rotation.”

And even when he does compile the final starting five, that will be written in pencil.

Last year Kevin Egee got five minutes in the season opener, yet started the Ivy opener against Cornell two months later.

“The starting lineup you see Friday night against Drexel might not be the same one you see Sunday at Loyola,’ Miller said. “I think it’s going to be one of those years where our strength is going to be in numbers, and I don’t want to bury anyone on the team. You want to keep an environment where everybody is working hard because they know there’s an opportunity.”

Buzz redesign

If you haven't noticed, and if you're reading this post you have, the blog has changed its look a bit. Most of the items in the right rail are still there, just in a slightly different order. We've added archives by month, as well as tags that will show what's popping up most frequently on The Buzz.

Send any comments along to scurria@sas.upenn.edu.

In today's football news, the Boston Globe does a fine profile of Harvard linebacker Peter Ajayi, which is almost enough for me to excuse them for snubbing Saturday's Penn-Princeton game from their Friday preview rundown. The Brown Daily Herald briefly previews Yale's tester against the Bears.

Today's DP carries previews of the Princeton game and the weekend in the Ivy League along with our regular opp spot.