Liveblog: Penn @ Harvard

Follow along as Penn basketball tries to right the ship at Ivy League leading Harvard.

Behind Enemy Lines: Cornell wrestling coach Rob Koll

Rob Koll, a former NCAA champion wrestler for UNC, has taken Cornell wrestling to elite status in his 20 year tenure heading up the Big Red wrestling program. During his time in Ithaca, Cornell has won 14 Ivy League titles and crowned 11 national champions. Koll’s team’s have won 60 consecutive Ivy League duals. We sat down with Koll to discuss his budding stars, season highlights, and the Penn-Princeton rivalry.

Rob Koll: We have a very young team. Honestly, my expectations at the beginning of the season weren’t as high as they usually are. Four freshmen we have starting, and there is a lack of senior leadership. But they’re not difficult. They’ve matured much quicker than I expected actually – it’s amazing how quickly these guys have come along. All four of them are in the national top 20. It’s great for this year, but what I’m really excited about is going forward in the next couple years.

DP: Your team is undefeated thus far this season. In your mind, what has been the team’s most impressive victory?

RK: To be fair, we haven’t had the most demanding dueling schedule up to this point. Illinois was a nice win. Lehigh also. At Lehigh, we wrestled extremely well – it was a really nice win. Those were two really good wins. At the end of the year we obviously always have Penn because that’s just a great rivalry, and then we have the National Duals, which are the following weekend. So Penn, National Duals. We always put a little exclamation point on Penn, because in the last 20 years or so, the Ivy League title has always been Cornell or Penn. We’ve been successful the last couple years, but going down to the Palestra is always intense. DP: Are there any particular moments or matches that stand out to you from the Cornell vs. Penn rivalry in your tenure?

RK: I remember, I think it was 2008, was an amazing year. It was at the Palestra. We had two starters out, but we were still kind of cocky, and thought we’d be okay. Penn should have beaten us. There was no way we should have won the dual. It was the second to last match.  Rollie Peterkin was wrestling for Penn, and he was a captain, and he was ranked eighth. We had a young man, first year varsity, Mike Rodriguez. He was a good wrestler, but he was one of our weaker wrestlers. And we thought, “Oh good lord, it’s over.” Our heavyweight broke his elbow and had to forfeit. We had another wrestler who got taken down at the buzzer. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong went wrong.

Then, lo and behold, the Penn kid throws himself to his back trying to pin our guy. He got down by five, and it just got worse from that moment on. And we ended up majoring him. Then, of course, he came back and beat us at the EIWAs, but it didn’t matter. But 12-15 years back, Penn seemed to always find ways to beat us. Over the last 11 years, we’ve been able to turn the tables and find ways to win. A lot of times, the better teams just tend to find ways to win. We’ve been fortunate to have a little more talent in the last couple of years. Hopefully it’ll be the same this year.

RK: Nahshon is a great story. He started wrestling in about 10th grade, so we don’t know his top end. I expect him to be an Olympian, I really do believe he’s that good. At this level, you have to have a great deal of athleticism, desire, talent, and all those other things, but being a great athlete is number one on the list. And so for someone like that, who only started wrestling in 10th grade, where everyone else has wrestled since they were five years old, who knows how much better he can get. But yeah, Nahshon’s been doing great.

The other one is (second-ranked 184-pound freshman) Gabe Dean. He’s ranked 2nd or 3rd in the country right now. He’s just really turned it on. I know he has wrestled Lorenzo Thomas many times over the last year. Dean was greyshirting last year, he was taking classes part time. He was wrestling unattached in tournaments. I know that Thomas got the better of him last year more often than not, and I’m sure he doesn’t intend to let that to happen this time. But it should be a great match, it should definitely be a lot of fun.

DP: Saturday is a big day for your team, which is set to wrestle an Ivy League doubleheader. Can you talk about the magnitude of those two conference duals?

RK: Historically, we’ve wrestled Penn and Princeton on the same day because Princeton was so weak, and the reason they were so weak was they dropped the program. And now, the coach has done a phenomenal job of building it up, and so I don’t know if that’s such a great idea, because Penn’s always got a really strong team, and to have to wrestle another real strong team is kind of like playing Russian Roulette. The advantage of it is that the Ivy League doesn’t give us many dates, whereas in the Big Ten, you have 16 dates you are allowed to compete on, and we only get 12. So that’s the reason we do that – it’s a necessity, it’s not that I want to wrestle them on the same day, it’s that I have to, so that we can have more home duals and try to build a following up here at Cornell.

It’s a great deal of risk to wrestle a team like Penn – I know they’ve struggled a bit this year, but they still have the capability of being really good. And when you’re wrestling a tough team, the likelihood of injury is significantly higher. So now you’re traveling twice in one day, and you’re wrestling a tough team before you wrestle another tough team, so you have the risk of injury. So it’s a little scary, but it also prepares you for the tournaments. At the end of the day, we’re trying to prepare for the national championship, so we try to put these guys under adversity as much as possible. Ideally, adversity, but victorious. I don’t want to prepare these guys so well for the nationals that we lose the Ivies, because that is very important to our alumni and coaches, as well as to our wrestlers obviously.

Ivy Power Rankings: January 29

Mano-A-Mano: Who needs to step up for Penn women's basketball in Ivy play?

Penn women’s basketball is sitting pretty right now at 10-5, having set a school record for nonconference wins. But, Ivy weekends are a whole different animal. Which Quakers player needs to show up the most during conference play? Sports Editor Ian Wenik and Associate Sports Editor Colin Henderson debate:

Associate Sports Editor Colin Henderson: As the Quakers enter Ivy League play, they will need to rely heavily on their senior captain and four-year star: guard Alyssa Baron.

Baron has the most experience of anyone on the team, having started every single game in her sterling three-and-a-half year collegiate career. She knows what it’s like to battle through Ivy League play.

With a new array of young weapons, Baron has taken on a new role this season, focusing less on scoring and more on distributing. But when Ivy play roles around, those young guns will be looking for her to carry the scoring load as she has done so many times in the past.

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: You hit the nail on the head right there, Colin. Young weapons. And who has been better this year than freshman sensation Sydney Stipanovich? It’s hard to imagine where Penn would be right now without her presence in the paint.

Forwards with Stipanovich’s credentials are rarities in the Ivy League, to say the least. 50 blocks in 15 games? That’s quite the impressive total.

The only knock you can really have against her is the fact that her shooting percentage from the field, .424 , is slightly lower than you would want it to be for such an imposing big. But I think that number will only go up as she adjusts to receiving starters’ minutes. After all, she’s only a freshman.

CH: Very true, Ian. There’s no doubt that Stipanovich has been a force all year and figures to be a big factor moving forward. But how can we know how she is going to react to the grueling nature of a full college season?

Furthermore, let us not forget that the attention given to Baron by other teams has been a major reason for the space that forwards like Stipanovich and Kara Bonenberger are getting down low.

The Ivies will all have seen the film on Penn’s forwards. They will definitely focus their defense down low, giving Baron the opportunity to take her shots and expand on her 13.1 points per game, which already leads the team. My guess is that coach Mike McLaughlin wouldn’t want it any other way.

IW: I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that all of the coaches in the Ivy League are about to forget about Baron’s presence on the wing any time soon. It’s pretty tough to suddenly stop game-planning against a woman with a scoring touch as deft as Baron’s.

And ultimately, that’s why I think Stipanovich is the most important player on the Penn roster to watch this Ivy season. After all, this is Baron’s last season as a member of the Red and Blue.

Stipanovich is standing at the forefront of the bright future that Mike McLaughlin has crafted. She’s the player that people used to think would never come to Penn in a million years. That’s not the case anymore. Alyssa Baron is a symbol of how far this program has come. Stipanovich is a symbol of the new heights it’s about to reach.

Verdict: Have to go with Colin here. Penn can’t go wrong with continuing to rely on its senior captain.

Former Penn football coach Harry Gamble dies at 83

Harry Gamble, coach of Penn football from 1971-80, died Tuesday morning. He was 83.

Gamble is perhaps most well-known for his time as team president and chief operating officer of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1985 to 1995. Gamble's son Tom is currently the Eagles' vice president of player personnel.

Gamble went 34-55-2 in 10 seasons as Penn head coach, tying George Woodruff (1892-1901) as the second-longest tenured coach in Quakers history behind George Munger (1938-53). Gamble resigned after the 1980 season, taking a job as an unpaid assistant coach working for Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil. He was named general manager of the franchise in 1985 and team president and chief operating officer a year later.

In 1962, Gamble got his coaching start at Penn as a line coach under then-head coach John Stiegman and also served under Stiegman's successor Bob Odell, who Gamble replaced in turn in 1970. Since 1954, only current head coach Al Bagnoli has won more games for Penn than Gamble.

In this Dec. 6, 1970 edition of the Florence Times Tri-Cities Daily reporting his hiring as Penn head coach, it was reported that Gamble was known for "being always clad in shorts on the practice field no matter what the temperature."

As Eagles team president, Gamble presided over the Buddy Ryan era in franchise history, in which coach Ryan led the Eagles to three straight first-round playoff losses, and the Rich Kotite era, in which coach Kotite led the Eagles to a 36-28 record from 1991-94. The Eagles went 96-78-1 overall during Gamble's tenure with the team.

Gamble's football life began at Pitman High School in South Jersey, where he played high school football. After playing college football at Rider, he coached at two South Jersey high schools - Clayton and Audubon, leading the latter to an undefeated 1960 season and Group III Championship. From 1967-70, Gamble was the head coach at Lafayette.

Big 5 legend Tom Gola passes away at 81

One of the Big 5's greatest has passed on.

As reported by Philly.com, La Salle legend Tom Gola died Sunday at St. Joseph's Manner in Meadowbrook at age 81.

During his time with the Explorers from 1951-55, Gola led La Salle to an NCAA title in 1954 and a runner-up finish in 1955.

He also spent 11 years in the NBA, earning five consecutive All-Star nods from 1960-64 and winning a championship with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1956.

After his playing career ended, Gola stayed deeply in touch with the sport, coaching at his alma mater for two seasons from 1968-70.

His 68-69 Explorers squad was one of the dominant teams in the country, going 23-1 but being forced to miss out on postseason play as a result of NCAA sanctions for violations that occurred before his tenure.

So great was Gola's influence on La Salle basketball that the school eventually named its on-campus arena in his honor.

"Tom Gola is known by all as a truly great player and coach, but it was the man that was most cherished at La Salle," current Explorers coach John Giannini said to Philly.com.

Though Gola's health had been failing ever since he injured his head in a 2003 fall, his larger-than-life presence will remain a fixture in the Big 5 for years to come.

Penn men's lacrosse earns some respect in preseason rankings

Lacrosse season may seem like an eternity away for some observers, but the sport's pundits are already weighing in.

Inside Lacrosse released its preseason media poll today, and Penn lacrosse has earned a No. 15 nationwide ranking, third-best in the Ivy League after No. 10 Princeton and No. 12 Yale.

Duke earned the coveted preseason No. 1 ranking, garnering 15 of 19 first place votes.

The Quakers' season-opening opponent? Those same Blue Devils, in a match scheduled to be held at Duke's Koskinen Stadium in Durham. N.C. on Feb. 21.

Duke will likely be looking for revenge after it was stunned by the Red and Blue last year at Franklin Field, 14-9.

The Blue Devils were ranked 14th back then, but the defending National Champions seem like a far more imposing foe now.

Liveblog: Penn basketball vs. NJIT

Can Penn basketball close out nonconference play on a high note? Join Riley Steele and I as we find out.

This Week on 33rd Street: January 24th

Penn basketball is coming off a big loss to St. Joseph's but the Quakers will have a chance to get some momentum going into the rest of Ivy play by facing NJIT. Our editors discuss how the Red and Blue will fare at the Palestra on Saturday.

Digger Phelps and Reece Davis discuss current state of Ivy, NCAA hoops

With ESPN’s College GameDay visiting the Palestra over the weekend to chronicle the greatness of the Cathedral of College Basketball, there was plenty to talk about with ESPN’s resident college hoops experts.

Though the GameDay crew was in town to focus on the historic nature of the Palestra, as well as the spectacle that is Big 5 basketball, the show and network didn’t dedicate much time to discussing the current state of Penn basketball.

Still, former Penn assistant and Notre Dame head coach Richard “Digger” Phelps and ESPN analyst Reece Davis gave insight into their views on everything from Big 5 basketball to their impressions of the Palestra.

According to Phelps, the reason that Big 5 contests have shifted away from being played at the Palestra every season is “money”.  Despite changes in the Big 5 setup in recent years with more teams playing their city-rivals in on-campus arenas, Phelps added that “all Big 5 games, to [him], should always be played in the Palestra.”

“I think it’s important to take the show to places where the history of the game is captured, where there’s a lot of passion in the stands, and where there’s history,” Davis said. “We wanted to come here because we think its one of the great venues in the sport and just walking around here is cool.”

Though the GameDay crew visited the Palestra as part of its “My Home Court” series, a week-long set of profiles of the most important and historic venues in college basketball, Davis wouldn’t rule out the possibility of returning to the Penn’s campus in the future.

“[Visitng the Palestra for a Big 5 doubleheader] was my original idea about coming here,” Davis said. “ I think there are a lot of business aspects of it…[but] I would love to come back here.”

Like Phelps, Davis recognizes the importance of the Palestra hosting Big 5 games on a consistent basis, primarily due to the value of a once-prominent tradition.

“I would like to see everybody sacrifice a little bit to do it,” Davis said. “You don’t need to be anchored by tradition, but sometimes it provides a really good foundation for the future, and I hope all the schools see fit to do it occasionally.”

With the impending retirement of Steve Bilsky, Penn’s Director of Athletics, Phelps didn’t hesitate to deliver a lighthearted shot at his former play.

“Bilsky and [Dave] Wohl was a great backcourt, and then Steve gets into politics and becomes an AD at George W, and then becomes an AD here,” Phelps said. “And it’s like, ‘Are you kidding me? YOU are Director of Athletics? For what reason? I mean seriously, are you in charge of the equipment room or what? Giving out Penn t-shirts?’

“But no, I understand he’s retiring…well, God, he retired when he got the job!”

Ultimately, a discussion broke out between Davis and reporters regarding the current state of the Ivy League. While Columbia and Princeton have both played well in 2013-14, Davis told everyone the obvious: that Harvard is still the team to beat.

“I think what happens — and I know it’s a little bit of a conundrum for the Ivy League schools in how they want to find that balance [of academics and athletics] — but everybody wants to win,” Davis said. “But when a Harvard or a Princeton sort of sets the bar at a certain level, and starts recruiting a particular type of player, everybody’s going to want to live up to that type of standard.

“You’ve seen that historically in the Ivy League, everybody shoots for who’s on top. And I guess Harvard, from that standpoint right now, is the team on top, but I don’t think you’ll see teams just taking it quietly.”

Mano-A-Mano: Sizing up Harvard's true competition in Ivy play

Ivy weekends are on the horizon, and Harvard is the overwhelming favorite to win the Ancient Eight. But is there a challenger to the Crimson standing in the distance? Our sports editors debate:

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: First off, let’s be realistic: Penn has no chance. Instead, I think the team with the best chance to take down Tommy Amaker and Harvard is the same team that lost to Penn back on Jan. 11: Princeton. Though the loss to the Quakers may be crippling, I think that the Tigers have the best shot of any other team in the conference, just from looking at their entire body of work.

This is a team that has multiple road victories over high-major schools (Rutgers, Penn State) and one of the top scorers in the Ancient Eight with senior guard T.J. Bray (17.4 points per game). If anyone has the firepower to score with the Crimson, it’s Mitch Henderson’s team.

Sports Editor Riley Steele: Ian, I agree with you on one thing: Penn certainly has no chance to win the Ancient Eight this season. While I think a lot of the praise being given to Princeton and Harvard is deserved, the fact that everyone is trying to make the Ivy League a two-horse race is a mistake. The Tigers are a fine contender, but how can anyone overlook what Kyle Smith and Columbia are doing right now?

Sure, the Lions have dropped a few games to teams they probably should have beaten, including a one-point setback to Manhattan back in November, but four of Columbia’s six losses were by less than six points. And while wins over Rutgers and Penn State may be impressive for Princeton, I’ll take what Columbia did against Michigan State any day.

The Lions pushed the Spartans to the brink in East Lansing before letting a three-point lead slip away with seven minutes remaining. Regardless, this team is the real deal.

IW: I watched that Michigan State game, and as impressed as I was with how the Lions were able to hang with Keith Appling and company all game, I was just as disappointed with their lack of late-game poise in that contest. You’re talking about a team that got fooled by the student section into committing a shot-clock violation in a critical situation not once, but twice. They simply folded down the stretch in that game.

Who’s to say that Columbia won’t collapse like that at Harvard? Or Princeton? Smith has done a fantastic job revitalizing that program, but I don’t think the Lions are ready for the big time just yet.

RS: Sure, the Lions may have been rattled by a raucous Breslin Center crowd, but I’ve seen teams far stronger than Columbia falter in just the same way in that enviornment. In addition to what the Lions did in the nonconference season, I believe they can make a push against Harvard for three reasons.

First, not only did Columbia beat the Crimson last year, by 15 no less, they easily could have swept the Ivy champs. They seem poised to do the same this year, and Levien Gym will be rocking when Harvard visits on Valentine’s Day.

Also, the Lions possess three of the Ivy League’s top-ten scorers in two-time Ivy player of the week Alex Rosenberg and sophomore guards Grant Mullins and Maodo Lo. No other Ancient Eight squad has more than two scorers in the top ten.

Most importantly, Columbia has won five straight contests and are about to make it six straight against Cornell this weekend. This team knows it can win games, and with that kind of momentum, the Lions will hit the ground running against the rest of their conference opponents.

Verdict: We have to give this one to Riley. Princeton’s loss to Penn exposed what happens when someone shuts down the Tigers from three-point range, and Columbia has shown promise in late game situations since the Michigan State loss.

Three Up, Three Down: Penn men's and women's squash vs. Drexel

Penn squash will be entering Wednesday’s matchup with Drexel in the midst of a losing streak. Both the No. 10 men’s and No. 3 women’s squads are now sporting identical 4-2 records after losses to Harvard and Trinity. The Dragons’ No. 15 men’s team (6-7) and No. 14 women’s team (5-6) have historically been pushovers for Penn, but are things about to change? Here’s who’s trending up — and who’s trending down.

Three Up

Chloe Blacker: After missing time due to an injury, the senior co-captain is undefeated individually at 3-0 since her return to the court. She was one of only three players to win individual matches against Trinity. Her position at the bottom of the ladder provides a powerful finish to a strong women’s lineup. As she continues to make her comeback, Blacker is primed for yet another victory at the bottom of the ladder against Drexel.

Freshmen: The two freshmen on the Penn women’s squash roster, Anaka Alankamony and Michelle Wong, have provided phenomenal results thus far for the Quakers and plan to use their winning strategies in the match against Drexel. Alankamony is 2-1 at the top position on the ladder, including a win at Trinity. Wong is undefeated individually at 6-0.

Dragons: Both the Drexel men’s and women’s teams are riding three-game winning streaks over Bucknell, Tufts, and Middlebury. An energized and confident Dragons squad can be expected at Ringe Courts on Wednesday as the Quakers try to end Drexel’s recent success.

Three Down

Momentum: Penn men’s and women’s squash both started the season 4-0. Since then, both teams have lost back-to-back matches against Harvard and Trinity, arguably the two best programs in the nation. In both losses, the men’s squad failed to win a single individual match. The women’s team also lost both matches by identical 6-3 margins. Penn’s momentum has certainly slowed, making a win on Wednesday absolutely critical.

Top of the Ladder: The men’s team has failed to find success at the top of the ladder, with a 1-5 team record at the No. 1 spot and an 0-6 record at the No. 2 spot. Freshman Rahil Fazelbhoy came close to winning at the No. 2 spot against Trinity but fell in a close 3-2 match. Sophomores Tyler Odell and Liam Quinn have also struggled in the early going, with Odell posting a 1-3 record at the No. 1 spot and Quinn posting an 0-3 record at the No. 2 spot. Wins near the top of the ladder against Drexel could provide the team with the spark it needs to get back on top.

History: There is very little history behind Wednesday’s matchup. However, the limited history does favor the Quakers in Wednesday’s matches. On the women’s side, the Red and Blue hold a 1-0 all-time record over the Dragons, with the last meeting being a 9-0 Penn win in December 2012. The men’s team is also 2-0 in the matchup, winning 6-3 and 9-0 in their last two matches against the Dragons.

Liveblog: Penn basketball vs. St. Joseph's

After taking down Princeton on Saturday, Penn basketball (3-10, 0-3 Big 5) plays its final Big 5 game of the year, looking to pick up a win against a strong St. Joe's squad, which is also winless in Big 5 competition. Follow the action here!

Remembering Madison Holleran's career

Penn track freshman Madison Holleran died in Center City last night, under circumstances that remain unclear.  Our immediate coverage of her death can be found here.

In light of her passing, it is worthwhile to look back at the accomplishments that earned her a spot on the Penn team this season.

Holleran was a multi-sport star during her time at Northern Highlands Regional High School (Allendale, N.J.).

She was named to the Star Ledger’s All-State Girl’s Soccer team in both her junior and senior seasons, scoring 22 goals in her final campaign to help her finish 6^th all-time in scoring for the Highlanders.

On the track, Holleran was also named first team All-State by the Star Ledger in her senior season for her performance in the 800 meters. Her winning time of 2:08.87 at the NJSIAA’s annual Meet of Champions was the fastest time in the state for the 2013 season.

At Penn, Holleran made her Quakers debut in the fall with the women’s cross country team. Her final race was the NCAA Cross Country East Regional championship, in which she finished in 69th place in the 6 kilometer race with a time of 21:43.

Liveblog (Special Edition): La Salle (10-6, 1-1 Big 5) vs. Temple (5-10, 2-0)

Good afternoon folks, and welcome to a DP special edition liveblog, as we give you full coverage of today's Palestra Big 5 doubleheader! First up on the docket is today's nationally-televised afternoon contest between the suddenly-hot Explorers and the suddenly-sinking Owls. After ESPN College Gameday gets you pumped up, follow along with us!

Roundtable: What was Penn Athletics' biggest moment over winter break?

While Penn men’s basketball’s victory over Princeton on Saturday was a season-changing upset, there were some other big moments from Penn Athletics over the break. From game-winning jumpers to big upsets to even bigger blowouts, Penn’s winter sports found success in some impressive ways. Our sports editors debate what the best moment was for the Red and Blue during each team’s winter break slate.

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: This question has a pretty simple answer to me: women’s basketball. No other Penn team has picked up a signature win quite like the Quakers’ New Years Day triumph over Miami in Coral Gables. Not only was it the team’s first-ever victory over an ACC school, it was a validation of Mike McLaughlin’s coaching philosophy. He has built this program essentially from the ground up.

To pick up a win over a BCS school — especially in the women’s game, where  talent differences between majors and mid-majors are normally stark — in a fashion as dramatic as junior forward Katy Allen’s game-winning layup, is a tremendous momentum booster heading into Ivy weekends and should stand as a hallmark moment for years to come. The performance was particularly impressive given the Quakers’ ability to overcome adversity. The team had a double-digit lead going into halftime and fell behind late in the second half, but found a way to still get the signature victory.

Senior Sports Editor-elect Steven Tydings: While the Miami win was big for the women’s hoops squad, there is another victory for the Quakers that is under appreciated. On Dec. 21, a year since their 27-point defeat at the hands of Drexel, the Red and Blue defeated the very same Dragons squad. At the beginning of the game, it looked like it was more of the same as Penn fell down by 19 points in the opening half.

But thanks to a 14-point, 19-rebound effort from freshman sensation Sydney Stipanovich, the Quakers made it a game and slowly came back against the Dragons. On their home floor, Penn completed the comeback, tying the game up late thanks to Stipanovich and a 4-for-6 shooting performance from junior guard Kathleen Roche.

And as is often the case for Penn’s close victories over the last few seasons, the game came down to a final shot by senior captain Alyssa Baron, who drained the game-winning jumper to complete the biggest comeback in program history.

Sports Editor-elect Riley Steele: It’s impossible to disagree with how important the women’s basketball team’s victories were over winter break. But I think the best moment of the layoff had to be from one of the best Penn teams that not enough people talk about: women’s squash. Entering an Ivy weekend doubleheader, the Quakers hadn’t played in six weeks. All the Red and Blue did was come out and sweep Dartmouth to pick up their 12th consecutive victory over the Big Green.

Freshman Anaka Alankamony played in the No. 1 position for the first time in her young career, and the results were stellar. Despite a loss the following day to reigning Ivy champ Harvard, the match was tight throughout, and the Dartmouth win seems to have set up the No. 3 ranked Quakers for a successful run through the Ancient Eight this season.

Penn's Michael Jordan named to Big 5 Hall of Fame

Penn basketball may be 0-for-its past two seasons in Big 5 contests, but it’s not all bad for the Red and Blue.

The Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that former Penn guard Michael Jordan is part of the 2013-14 class of inductees.

The 2000 Ivy League Player of the Year, Jordan became the first Penn player in history to lead the team in assists all four years. He finished his illustrious career with 1,604 points, good enough for third all-time in Penn history.

Jordan remains second in program history with 469 assists, trailing only current head coach Jerome Allen in that category.

Though Jordan captured Ivy League Rookie of the Year following the 1996-97 season, it was the Philadelphia native’s final three years wearing the Red and Blue that made him one of the most decorated athletes in program history.

Jordan was named both first team All-Ivy and first team All-Big 5 in 1998, 1999 and 2000. In 2000, a season in which he led the Quakers to the second of back-to-back titles, Jordan won the Big 5 ‘s Cy Kaselman Award, an honor given to the Big 5 athlete with the highest free-throw percentage.

The former Penn guard finished 3-7 in Big 5 matchups in his career. Jordan is one of four individuals connected to the Big 5 to be inducted this year. The others are former St. Joseph’s shooting guard Pat Carroll, La Salle women’s basketball player Crista Ricketts and media member Dick “Hoops” Weiss.

Jordan will be the 24th former Penn men’s basketball player to be inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place in mid-April at the Palestra.

Palestra featured on ESPN's Home Court online series

Mike Auger makes it official, commits to Penn Basketball

One of Penn's biggest recruits has finally come aboard.

Mike Auger, a 6-foot-7 forward out of the New Hampton School (NH), formally declared his enrollment at Penn today, giving Penn another key piece in the 2018 recruiting class.

The Red and Blue had been hot on Auger for a while, bringing him to campus over the summer.

Signing was essentially a formality for Auger, who had already seen enough he liked in the Penn program to commit to coach Jerome Allen's vision back in September.

"I am looking forward to playing for Coach Allen and the coaching staff there and playing in the Palestra and being a part of the rich basketball tradition," Auger said in a statement. "I want to be able to make a difference right off the bat. I liked the feel of the university, the people, and Philly is a great city."

Auger chose the Red and Blue over Princeton, Dartmouth, and Holy Cross, emphasizing in earlier interviews how easy a choice it was for him to make after stepping foot on campus.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Penn basketball vs. Princeton

Well, that was unexpected.

The Quakers (3-10, 1-0 Ivy) managed to stun the Tigers (11-3, 0-1) —who had previously been dreaming of a potential NCAA Tournament at-large bid — in their Ivy opener, 77-74 .

But a dominant frontcourt performance by Darien Nelson-Henry and Fran Dougherty here, some big time free throws by Jamal Lewis to lift a backcourt depleted by foul trouble and injuries there, all mixed with some surprisingly effective shooting... and the Red and Blue had managed to crush Princeton's at-large dreams and erase the memories of ugly losses to La Salle, Rider, and Marist.

The Good: Darien Nelson-Henry's performance

Welcome back. Receiving his first action in over a month after suffering a concussion, the 6-foot-11 sophomore played like he hadn't missed a moment, scoring 17 points on 6-12 shooting, collecting eight rebounds and earning himself a new nickname from coach Jerome Allen: "The Big Hyphen." No Tiger could contain DNH on the block. Not Will Barrett. Not Hans Brase. As Princeton coach Mitch Henderson put succinctly: "He killed us."

The Bad: Unforced Penn errors. Again.

Some things never change. In what was Penn's best played game of the year, an old foe nearly did the Red and Blue in when it mattered most. The Red and Blue turned the ball over 18 times, including a string of three consecutive possessions that ended with turnovers that allowed the Tigers to tie the game at 71 late in the second half. Allen was adamant about Penn's need to improve after the game, saying : "Some things just blow my mind, the unforced errors."

The Ugly: Not gonna find that here.

Aside from the turnovers, it was hard to find a flaw in Penn's game Saturday night. The rebounding margin? In Penn's favor, by a 42-25 margin. Fouls? Tony Hicks fouled out, but all of Penn's bigs managed to stay in the game and tear apart the Tigers on the low block again and again. Offensive efficiency? The Red and Blue shot 49.1% from the floor. Simply put, this was the Quakers' most complete game of the year, a truly impressive performance against an elite Ivy team coming at a time when the team could just as easily have folded and packed it in for the rest of the season after a dreadful nonconference slate.