Sophomore Steven Graziano had a shaky start to the season, going 8-6 in his first 14 matches. It’s not difficult to guess why — he missed a month of mat time from November to December, a period he could have used to get in top shape for the first tournament.
But now, apparently, he’s back at full strength. The heavyweigh grappler is having one mammoth second half of a season and was awarded with a much-deserved EIWA Wrestler of the Week. He’s 11-1 in the EIWA conference and has won each of his last seven matches, including two victories over the weekend against Columbia and Bucknell.
In the Columbia match, Graziano demonstrated his increased prowess at a crucial moment. Penn was down, 18-16, and Graziano had to match up against heavily favored Kevin Lester. Throughout the first two periods, neither scored. Then, Graziano dug deep, taking down Lester with 48 seconds to go. With 5 seconds left, he clinched a 5-2 victory, securing a 19-18 win for the Quakers.
But his wins have been no fluke. Graziano has recently avenged his losses against past rivals: Harvard’s David Ng, Hofstra’s Paul Snyder and Rider’s Evan Craig.
Penn women’s basketball seems to have found some depth at the post in the form of freshman Katy Allen, who was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week.
This past week, Allen had her best games — averaging 13 points. In Saturday’s 73-63 victory over Dartmouth, she scored a career-high 17 points, which included a key three pointer in overtime to tip the momentum in the Red and Blue’s favor.
The forward also proved to be more than just a pure shooter, grabbing four rebounds and two steals.
Fellow freshman forward Kara Bonenberger, who scored 17 points and pulled down nine boards against the Big Green, has been named Rookie of the Week four times this season. It appears that Red and Blue women’s hoops team has quite a lot to look forward to in the next three years.
Jerome Allen and Zack Rosen speak to the media following Penn's 58-55 win over Dartmouth. Despite the win, Allen was extremely displeased with the Quakers' performance, as was Rosen.
After falling to Harvard last night, Penn was able to take the win against Dartmouth, 58-55, at the Palestra. The Quakers led by five at halftime, but they were unable to keep up the momentum in the second half, during which they were outscored, 33-31, including a 9-0 run by Dartmouth. In the end, though, the Red and Blue were still able to come away with the win.
THE GOOD: Penn is back in control of its own fate. It took a last-minute, long-range three by Rosen to call the game, but the Quakers still were able to up the number in the win column. After the unexpected Princeton victory over no-longer-undefeated Harvard, Penn is back in the fight for the Ivy title.
THE BAD: Penn has a lot of work to do. Coming into the game, the Red and Blue looked to have an easy win against a less-than average Dartmouth team. Early in the second half, they were up by 15, but the Quakers barely made it out of the game with a ‘W’ after being outmatched later in the half. Penn cannot play as it did tonight if the team wants to continue to win its remaining games, especially against Yale and Harvard.
THE UGLY: Fouling. Foul shots really made this matchup the close game that it was. Dartmouth scored 19 of its points on 23 free throws. Marin Kukoc fouled out in the last minute of the game and both Henry Brooks and Miles Cartwright racked up the fouls on Penn, with four and three respectively. The Big Green’s Jvonte Brooks, who was the game’s top scorer, made 12 of his 18 total points at the line.
Following a disappointing 56-50 loss to No. 25 Harvard, the Quakers (12-11, 4-2 Ivy) look to bounce back against last-place Dartmouth (4-19, 0-7). The Big Green have not won a game since Jan. 14 and are losers of 12 of their last 13. Last season, Penn swept Dartmouth, a feat the Red and Blue have accomplished in 14 of the last 15 seasons.
In the most anticipated game of the year, Penn fell to No. 25 Harvard, 56-50, at the Palestra. The Quakers drop to 4-2 in the Ivy League, and the Crimson remain undefeated at 7-0. Penn has now lost six straight — and four straight at home — to Harvard.
THE GOOD: Quakers down low. Entering the game, the Crimson looked to have a mismatch in their favor in the front court with Keith Wright and Kyle Casey. Though the Quakers were outrebounded by a slim margin, 39-35, they matched Harvard with 16 points in the paint. Moreover, the Red and Blue held Wright in check. After he dropped a career-high 25 points at the Palestra a year ago, Penn held the 6-foot-8 forward to a season-low four points on just 1-for-5 shooting from the field.
ALSO GOOD: 7,462. This was one of those old corner-packing games current Penn students always hear alums talking about but never actually experienced themselves. Yes, the Princeton game 11 days ago was packed, and so was last year's Harvard game, but neither filled the arena up like tonight. The Palestra was absolutely rocking.
THE BAD: Now, Penn needs help. Coming into the game, the Quakers still controlled their own destiny within the Ivy League. Now, for the Red and Blue to claim their first title since the 2006-07 season, not only will they have to beat Harvard in Boston on Feb. 25, but they have to hope another team can pull of the upset as well.
THE UGLY: Shooting. Not to discredit the defense in this one, because both sides defended well, but the shooting was just awful for both Harvard and Penn. The Quakers went 18-for-56 (32 percent) from the field on the night, and the Crimson weren't much better shooting 17-for-49 (35 percent). And from distance, the numbers get even uglier: 5-for-22 (23 percent) for Penn, 4-for-19 (21 percent) for Harvard. Penn guard Tyler Bernardini may have been the coldest of all, going the whole game without a field goal on five shots.
You'd be amazed at how fast several thousand people can disappear. Ten minutes after a hard-fought loss a few of the Quaker players will trickle out of the locker room to glad hand the remaining smattering of family, friends, and media members. Some will ask questions, some will give answers, but almost all will give a supportive pat on the back and a version of "You played a great game." Players train year round to run up and down the court, banging bodies for forty minutes, but the toughest part of some nights is having to muster a weak smile and say, "Thanks."
Next comes that slow, westward trudge up campus. The incline always seems a little steeper walking home after a loss. Buzzing with excitement only a few hours ago, campus is now a ghost town. All you have surrounding you are replays, these infernal, unceasing replays of turnovers, missed shots, and defensive breakdowns. You'd like to speed up and walk away from them but your tired legs won't allow it.
The Quakers will acknowledge that they didn't play their best tonight. Despite that they still fought to the end and gave themselves an opportunity to win the game. As frustrating as this loss is, the schedule is indifferent. Dartmouth will arrive Saturday night desperately looking for their first Ivy win. That's the beauty of League play; Saturday always follows Friday. Penn will have a chance to move forward and show that they're still a contender in the title race.
The Quakers are 4-1 in the Ivy League and they need a win tonight against Harvard, who sits in first in the Ancient Eight with a 6-0 league record. Around 2,000 student tickets have been sold for the showdown, so the Palestra will be rocking. If you aren't going to be one of the thousands of Penn fans packing the Palestra, follow along here. I'm with my fellow Sports Editor Mike Wisniewski and one of our basketball beats Ethan Alter.
As Penn heads into its crucial contest with Harvard at the Palestra tonight, Megan Soisson, Jen Scuteri and I talk about last weekend's loss to Yale and win over Brown and what the Quakers must do to beat the Crimson.
A friendly announcement from Penn Athletics was emailed out this afternoon regarding the few remaining free student tickets for tonight's game. Basically, if you want a free ticket, there are a limited number left at the Franklin Field box office until 5 p.m.
Since not many people know where that box office is... Here's a map:
DP SPORTS: 1. What can Penn expect from Harvard on Friday?
Martin Kessler: For a team that has won games at such a consistent rate, it’s remarkable how inconsistent the Crimson’s offense has been. One night Harvard will post 74 points on 50.9 percent shooting against a team that holds opponents to 39.1 percent from the field. And then the very next game, the Crimson will miss 63.6 percent of its shots and score 54 points against a team that allows 70.5 points per game. But one constant for the Crimson has been its defense. Only three of Harvard’s 22 opponents have shot over 50 percent against the Crimson and 10 have been held to under 50 points.
So while I can’t tell you which Harvard offense will show up at the Palestra on Friday, I can confidently say that Penn will go up against a stingy defense. It goes without saying that a key to the Crimson’s defensive strategy will be trying to slow down Zack Rosen (with a big emphasis on the “trying to”). Expect Amaker to send a rotation of Brandyn Curry, Oliver McNally, and rookie Wes Saunders—who has emerged as the Crimson’s second best on-ball defender behind Curry—at the point guard. Offensively, expect the Crimson to dump it down low to Keith Wright and let the big fella do his thing.
2. Who has been able to stop Kyle Casey and Keith Wright and what did they do?
One word: zone. It actually baffles me that more teams don’t just pack a zone against the Crimson. That’s what Fordham did, and it had tremendous success, limiting Wright and Casey to eight and nine points, respectively. Obviously the downside of a zone is that you give Harvard’s shooters—Laurent Rivard, Oliver McNally, Christian Webster, and Corbin Miller—some open looks. But the Crimson is known for its streaky shooting. So if Harvard is having an off shooting night against a team that stays in a 2-3 zone, the Crimson could lose to a lot of teams, especially one as talented as Penn.
3. How is the campus reacting to your season? A good basketball team at Harvard is a new phenomenon, so are students getting into it?
We’re not at the Krzyzewskiville (Amakerville?) level yet, but people are starting to get into it. Games have been selling out, and the student section has been more than respectable. (This is partially because the undergraduate library, which is usually open 24 hours a day, closes on Friday and Saturday nights, and partially because people actually care about basketball).
4. Tom Brady or Gisele?
Too many painful memories to talk about this right now…
5. Do you see Harvard running the Ivy table this season?
In order to make a bold prediction like that I would need some historical evidence that the Crimson is capable of winning at the Palestra and at Jadwin on back-to-back nights. Since that hasn’t happened since the 1984-85 season, I’m going to go with no. But if Harvard returns to Cambridge on Saturday night with two wins in its pocket, a 14-0 record would not surprise me.
6. When we met some Crimson sports writers in Cambridge for the football game this year, they took us to IHOP. Is that really the best brunch spot that side of Harvard Yard?
I would take Zoe’s any day of the week (their crunchy French toast and home fries are bomb), but IHOP is a Crimson tradition. Nothing beats a Big Steak Omelette at 2 a.m.
7. Jeremy Lin. Seriously? Did anybody see this coming?
I’ve been jocking Jeremy Lin for a good four years now, but if you had told me he would be the first player to score 28 points and hand out eight assists in his first NBA start since Isiah Thomas, I would have said you had been licking toads like Homer in “Missionary: Impossible.” That being said, Lin has always demonstrated an ability to bring his best when the odds are stacked against him. As a junior at Harvard he went up against Boston College’s Tyrese Rice and scored 27 points. One year later he dropped 30 on Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker at UConn. Then at the NBA Summer League, he did this to John Wall.
8. Final score prediction?
My buddy from high school who is now at Penn got us tickets to a concert in Philly Friday night, so I’m hoping this one doesn’t go into quadruple-overtime. But I know that’s wishful thinking, as Harvard doesn’t leave the Palestra without causing Tommy Amaker at least one heart attack (although I’ve heard you guys installed replay down there, so at least the Crimson won’t have to win three times in 50 minutes again this year). I’ll go with a 62-58 Harvard win.
On the losing end was the Wizards interim coach Randy Wittman. Name ring a bell? He's the father of former Cornell sharpshooter Ryan Wittman — who faced Lin for four years in the Ancient Eight. After the game, Ryan reportedly texted his father with a little quip:
Nearing midnight on Tuesday in Currier House, a group of students huddled around a table in the dining hall scrambling to finish a problem set, while others sat down the hall watching the end of SportsCenter. Alone in the Cardio Room, running a full sprint on the treadmill, was junior Brandyn Curry.
“I’ve got to chase Zack Rosen up and down the court for 40 minutes on Friday,” explained Curry, as he wiped the sweat off his forehead moments after finishing his workout—his second of the day.
Curry is not the only one looking ahead to his meeting with the Penn standout this Friday when the No. 21/25 Crimson (20-2, 6-0 Ivy) visits the Quakers (12-10, 4-1).
Ivy League basketball fans have already been drooling over the point guard matchup, which pits Rosen, the Ivy League’s second leading scorer, against Curry, arguably the conference’s top perimeter defender. Whichever player wins that matchup has a good shot at leading his team to victory.
Stop drooling, fans! The game is just a day away.
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ESPN's Dana O'Neil loves to bring up Philadelphia in her college basketball columns. A Penn State grad who lives in the area and used to cover Villanova for the Philadelphia Daily News, O'Neil knows Philly basketball.
Here's what she says about Friday's game against Harvard at the Palestra:
I'm sure Crimson fans are cringing right now, remembering how Harvard let its own fate slip through its grasp at the end of last season.
And yes, history could cruelly repeat itself.
But really, it all comes down to the Palestra, and here's why. The only two teams that pose a real threat to Harvard and the automatic bid are Penn and Yale, each with just one loss in the Ivy League.
If the Crimson can get past the Quakers on Friday night -- no easy task as Jerome Allen has restored order at Penn -- there are just three more road games between it and that elusive NCAA berth. Harvard is at Princeton on Saturday night and will travel to Columbia and Cornell. The Crimson would be favored to win all three.
Equally important, Yale and Penn will meet in the final game of the regular season.
At the Palestra.
Do you think the Palestra is the last real obstacle for Harvard in its search for the Ivy League title? If not, who else could pose a threat to the Crimson?
Harvard is getting a lot of attention for its athletic program these days.
The basketball team is ranked No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (its eighth consecutive week being ranked in this poll) and No. 25 in the AP Top 25.
Sports Illustrated posted a photo gallery of "Sports Figures Who Attended Harvard," which, in addition to Lin, includes Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, Academy Award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones (did you know he played football at Harvard?), and a variety of other athletes and Harvard grads involved in the sports world.
Huffington Post College spread the love around the Ancient Eight, posting its own photo gallery of "Jeremy Lin and 6 Other Ivy League Athletes Who Made It In the Pros." Their photos include Lou Gehrig, who attended Columbia before signing with the Yankees; Princeton's Bill Bradley; Yale running back Calvin Hill (fun fact: he was fraternity brothers with George W. Bush); Fitzpatrick; hockey goalie Ken Dryden, who left his homeland of Canada to attend Cornell; and Columbia grad George Starke, who played for the Washington Redskins.
When you attend one of the schools, "a dislike for the other is handed out with your dorm key," Dana O'Neil writes.
ESPN lists eight categories, choosing "a game -- not the game, mind you, but a game, as in an example -- that encapsulates that quality."
O'Neil categorized Penn-Princeton as the 'History' rivalry, noting that in the 56 years since the Ivy League formed in 1956, Penn or Princeton has won or shared the league title 47 times.
Penn isn't the only Big 5 team mentioned. In the video at the top of the page, Andy Katz recognizes the rivalry between Villanova and St. Joe's as one that doesn't get enough attention outside Philadelphia. Katz said that the two teams play "intense, intense" games. Maybe he missed the Hawks' 74-58 domination of the Wildcats on Dec. 17.
I couldn't get a hold of the former star guard, so I turned to the DP archives to find out what I could. Then I stumbled on this gem from the DP's November 1992 basketball preview issue:
There's Jerome Allen, whose favorite song was Long After the Love [Has Lost it's Shine], loved the Eagles and fried chicken, and predicted in 10 years he would be "teaching in Philly schools." It took more like 15 years, but he is in many ways a teacher at a school in Philly.
Beside him is Matt "Money" Maloney, the U2-phile, and Eric "Bean" Moore, and Shawn "Stretch" Trice, who predicted he'd be far from Philadelphia in 10 years. Sorry Shawn, but that assistant coaching gig at Temple is getting in the way of your dreams!
See the full roster spread after the jump if you care to know what other bad R&B songs the Quakers used to listen to on their walkmen.
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