The St. Joseph’s Hawks are in denial. They could just not believe that they lost to the Quakers Saturday night, and they shared this disbelief with those Hawks fans that could not make it to this Big Five matchup.
Though they ultimately lost, 84-80, to the Red and Blue, sjuhawks.com begged to differ, switching the order of the score and giving the big 'W' to themselves.
While many St. Joe’s fans posted excuses for the loss on their message boards, the official athletics site took it upon themselves to completely refuse this loss (well at least for a little bit). Nice try St. Joe's, but we caught you on this one.
About one year ago, Penn handily defeated Dartmouth at the Palestra on a Friday night to improve to 3-0 in the Ivy League — the Quakers were starting to make a little noise at just the right time; a talented Harvard team was on its way down I-95 to play Penn in a must-win game for Penn the next night.
As he was heading out of the gym, Rosen mentioned to me how important Saturday's Harvard game would be. Of course, it would be crucial for his title hopes. But the point guard — always an ambassador for the Penn basketball program to the campus at large — was thinking a little bigger. With students packing into the gym like they had rarely done in his career, he knew he had a shot to hook them. He knew they would come back if they saw a win.
What they saw Saturday night was everything but a win. It was easily the best basketball game I've seen at the Palestra: a double overtime thriller for the ages — and, yes, a packed crowd — but in the end, a win for the Crimson. Perhaps some casual fans appreciated the game they had just seen, but it wasn't the win Rosen knew he would need to begin cementing Penn basketball back in campus culture.
This Saturday night, for the first time since that Harvard game, there was that same hype on campus as Penn hosted St. Joe's. Students who had never been to a Penn basketball game were planning their Saturday night around it — and some weren't even able to get tickets as the game sold out.
The Quakers could care less what the official attendance was. They'd still play the game in front of no one. But down the line, this game may serve as a milepost for the basketball program as it rebuilds its reputation not only on campus, but in Philadelphia as well. This was, after all, an upset of a very good St. Joseph's team.
Credit is due to the Penn Athletics marketing staff that convinced the student body that this was a game worth seeing. It's impossible to know whether free white t-shirts or Zack Rosen and Tyler Bernardini handing out swag along Locust Walk actually put students in the seats, but they don't hurt — and for too long the administration did very little, expecting students to come as they used to.
And, of course, credit is due to the team, which took advantage of packed house, and likely finally hooked a few more students who wouldn't otherwise be back at the Palestra any time soon. And maybe those who were shut out of the Palestra when the tickets sold out won't wait so long to secure their seats for Princeton.
Getting excited for tonight’s Big Five battle with St. Joes? We certainly are.
Though we still can't confirm that tonight's game will be a sell-out, this morning fans got their first serving of a packed Palestra where even at 11 a.m., the venue crammed in 8,722 fans for an ACC/A-10 showdown between Maryland and Temple. Fran Dunphy earned his 165th win as the Owls (13-5) topped a formidable Terps squad 73-60.
Takeaway? The Palestra is hands down one of the best places for college hoops when it’s sold-out. Maryland fans and Temple fans brought the thunder, which we captured via twitter after the break:
On Friday, the NCAA released the first of three coaches rankings for the 2011-12 season. The final of these rankings will be used to determine the 33 wrestlers for each weight class that will travel to the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Scott Trade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
The Quakers have six wrestlers, including two freshman, on the initial list. If they continue to wrestle strong, all six could make the trip out west.
Below are the wrestlers by weight class with their current rank:
Prior to Penn’s Saturday night showdown with St. Joe’s — where we hear tickets are almost sold out — the Palestra will play host to a Big Five Basketball matinee. Fran Dunphy will return for a homecoming of sorts, as his Owls take on Maryland Saturday morning.
Those tracking Dunphy will remember Temple’s 78-73 victory over then-No. 3 Duke to kick off the New Year. The upset marked the Owls' fourth-straight year with a win over a top-ten opponent and was Temple’s first over Duke since January 25, 1996 — when Dunphy was still wearing the Red and the Blue.
Since then Temple has dropped two of its last four, while Maryland — under the leadership of first-year coach Mark Turgeon — will enter having won 10 of its last 12 games though the Terps lost to Florida State Tuesday. Each team has identical 12-5 records.
Fortunately for Temple fans, Dunphy has a little bit of Palestra magic on his side. He has a career record of 164-53 (a .756 winning percentage).
Keep an eye on the backcourt battle between Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin, who is coming off a 27-point performance Tuesday and Temple guard Ramon Moore, who has hit double digits ten games in a row.
I’ll be courtside all morning to cover the action, which kicks off at 11 am.
Saturday night's final Big 5 matchup for Penn is getting closer and closer to a sell-out. Penn Athletics sent another email to students Friday afternoon advertising that just 53 student tickets remained, and I've heard that a similar amount of general admission tickets remain as well.
UPDATE: Penn Athletics tweeted this afternoon that its general admission tickets are SOLD OUT, adding that if more tickets become available before gametime tomorrow, they will announce it on twitter.
Those figures represent Penn's half of the roughly 8,700 seats. St. Joseph's website still allows the purchase of up to 25 tickets, but only corner seats remain online. Last year's edition of this matchup drew over 8,000 on the official attendance.
Just before Penn's practice Friday afternoon, coach Jerome Allen said he hopes his players are getting hyped for a Big 5 matchup regardless of ticket sales.
"The crowd and it being full to capacity is great — it will add to the atmosphere of it being a Big 5 game for us at home, but that can’t be our sole motivation," he said.
Nonetheless, he said he's excited to see a strong contingent come to support the Quakers. Penn Athletics is planning a "whiteout" for the Palestra. The first 400 students in the door Saturday night will get a free whiteout t-shirt.
"It’s cool," said Allen, who couldn't remember if anything similar happened while he played at Penn in the mid-90s. "It’s great for our guys, it’s great for campus. I appreciate people taking an interest in what’s going on in the gym. It’s great for West Philly, it’s great for the Big 5. I’m quite sure that if I wasn’t sitting in the seat that I’ll be sitting in, I would probably be sitting in that section with one of those shirts on. It’s a good time"
For those who are planning on attending the Quakers' final Big 5 matchup of the season against St. Joe's, it may be a good idea to purchase tickets today, as Saturday's 7 p.m. game against the Hawks is nearly soldout. Online purchasing is now available only to students, who may reserve tickets for pickup at will call. With only a limited number of seats remaining, all others must call the ticket office. The following was sent via email by Penn Athletics:
After taking an official visit to Penn last weekend, class of 2012 tight end Ryan Kellycommitted to the Quakers.
Kelly, who stands at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, chose the Red and Blue over Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell, as well as Lehigh, Davidson and Bucknell. Though the senior could stand to add a few more pounds — Penn's TEs tend to weigh around 240 pounds, and All-Ivy Luke Nawrocki comes in at 250 pounds. But his height certainly fits well with tight ends coach Mark Fabish's group.
The Harriton High School (located in Bryn Mawr) star will graduate with his team's record for career reception, touchdown receptions (19) and yards.
Kelly's family has come a long way since his grandfather's days of being a trash man. "My grandfather was a trash man, and my family has gone from being a trash man to an Ivy Leaguer," Kelly told the Bryn Mawr-Gladwyne Patch. "When my father told me that, I never thought of things that way. It’s where the roots of hard work came from, first my grandfather and now my father, and now me"
Penn Athletics is working hard to get students to come out to Penn's final Big 5 game of the year Saturday against St. Joseph's at the Palestra, planning a 'White Out' event for Penn fans.
The first 400 students to arrive to the game will get a free white Penn t-shirt. Seniors Zack Rosen and Tyler Bernardini will be roaming around campus starting at 12:15 Thursday afternoon to pump students up, holding contests and giving out prizes.
The Quakers are 0-3 in the Big 5 this season. They got their first Big 5 win in nearly four years last season against the Hawks, 73-61.
Penn is also bringing back the Drums of Thunder group for some halftime entertainment. The fourth and fifth grade musicians from Hillside Elementary School in Montclair, N.J., performed at the Palestra last season. Here is a video of the group, who has been featured at NFL and NBA halftimes.
Both the Red and Blue Crew and Penn Athletics are working hard to get the students involved in Penn basketball. Do you think their efforts will pay off?
Quakers recruit and Southern California native Julian Harrell spoke with ESPNLA.com about the reasons he chose Penn — one of which was his relationship with Miles Cartwright, whom Harrell said he calls his "older brother." Harrell currently plays for Cartwright's alma mater, Loyola High School, in Los Angeles.
The 6-foot-5 guard committed to Penn in October, and drew interest form top programs like Stanford, California, Duquesne and Boston College, among others, but ultimately decided upon Penn. "I have a really good relationship with the coaching staff, the history at the Palestra — it just felt like a really good fit for me," Harrell said.
On Saturday, Penn Lacrosse player may have found a job. Senior defender Will Koshansky was one of 12 Ivy players taken in the Collegiate Major League Lacrosse draft.
Koshansky, who was taken in the fifth round and 37th overall by the Boston Cannons, started in all 15 games he played last year and was named second team All-Ivy. He ranked third nationally in turnovers caused.
For the first time ever, two Penn soccer players were chosen in the MLS Supplemental Draft. Senior defender Thomas Brandt was selected by the Philadelphia Union with the 13th overall pick and senior attacking midfielder Christian Barreiro was chosen by the New York Red Bulls with the 50th pick.
Brandt, who was a two-year captain and two-time All-Ivy selection, anchored the Quakers back line. Nominated for the preseason watch list for the Hermann award for the top individual in college soccer, Brandt has scored 10 goals the past two years including a hat trick in his collegiate finale against Harvard.
In an odd twist, Brandt will join Princeton's Antoine Hoppenot at PPL Park. The pair battled for three years with Brandt often marking the 2010 Ivy player of the Year.
Another Penn soccer player taken in the draft today was senior Christian Barreiro. The midfielder, who like Brandt was a two-time first team All-Ivy player, was invited to MLS Combine earlier this month and was the Red Bulls second pick in the Supplemental Draft. If he makes a senior appearance, he would become the second Penn player to suit up for New York after former Penn keeper Christian Barreiro.
In preparation for Saturday's final Big 5 matchup with St. Joe's, The Red and Blue Crew and Penn Athletics have teamed up to bring you a fun competition.
The St. Joe's Hawk can be found in different places around campus each day through Friday. If you see it, snap a pic and send it to quaker@pobox.upenn.edu, and you may win free tickets or other great prizes. Read last year's DP story on the Hawks mascot here, and check out the poster below (which has been updated from this morning's post).
Penn's big-man recruit Darien Nelson-Henry sat down with The Seattle Times on Monday after his Lake Washington Kangaroos (yup!) surged to a 10-point victory over No. 4 Lincoln, in the King Holiday Hoopfest.
The 6-foot-10 Nelson-Henry scored a game-high 35 points off 16-for-20 shooting and had 15 assists. "He was a load," Lincoln coach Aubrey Shelton said of Nelson-Henry's presence on the court. "We couldn't stop him."
The men’s and women’s swim teams are not starting the semester the way they would have liked.
The Red and Blue found themselves facing a tough road test, going up against Dartmouth and Yale in a tri-meet in Hanover, N.H., on Saturday.
On the men’s side, a strong performance by senior Brendan McHugh along with key contributions from younger swimmers was enough to push the Quakers (6-3, 3-3 Ivy) past the Big Green 157.5-142.5, but they were unable to defeat the Bulldogs, falling 188-112.
McHugh showed his dominance once again, placing first in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke while also breaking the pool record in the two events; his time of 2:01.17 in the 200 erased a mark that had stood since 1981.
The Quakers also dominated in the 200 freestyle, with freshmen Sam Ruddy, Konnor Scott and Alex Porter placing second, third and fourth, respectively, each finishing within a quarter second of each other.
Penn finished the day with a second place finish by their 400 freestyle relay, losing to the Elis by less than a half second.
The women’s meet had some last-minute drama, but the Red and Blue were unable to come up with wins, falling to Dartmouth 150-149 and Yale 161-138.
The matchup against Dartmouth came down to the final event, the 400 freestyle relay. Penn’s A team of Tina Hurley, Bernadette D’Alonzo, Samantha Husband and Shelby Fortin finished second behind Yale with a time of 3:28.67, breaking the existing pool record, but finishing just over a second after the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-5 Ivy). The Dartmouth A team claimed third, while the B team was able to outrace Penn’s second squad to capture fourth place and ultimately the meet.
The critical final event had been set up by key performances in numerous events prior, including notable second and third place finishes by seniors Laura Klick and Samantha Husband in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Sophomore Shelby Fortin also led the Quakers with two first place finishes in the 200 and 500 free, and a second place finish in the 100 free.
With this meet, the men's and women’s teams finished up their Ivy League seasons. Penn will have three non-conference meets before the Ivy League Championships in early March.
That's the headline you'll see if the current edition of Joe Lunardi's Bracketology holds up.
That's right — sporting a league-best 2-0 record, Lunardi has Penn as a play-in team in the West region facing UNC Asheville the opening round. And if the Quakers get by Asheville, they've basically got an easy road to the Final Four; they just need to beat Duke!
Or maybe Lunardi noticed this crucial statistical nugget: The last time Penn began the season with wins at Cornell and Columbia (2006-07), the Quakers won the Ancient Eight.
Jokes aside, it is interesting to see Lunardi field two Ivy teams. That speaks to 1) how good Harvard has been so far (ranked No. 24 in the most recent ESPN/USA Today poll, and a 9-seed according to Lunardi's bracket); and 2) the rising level of the Ivy League as a whole.
For those who questioned Penn coach Jerome Allen's dramatic mid-court coaching moment with Zack Rosen late in Penn's win over Columbia this weekend, two words: that's nothing.
Former Penn point guard and assistant coach Fran McCaffery, now head man at Iowa, made a stir recently with this little tantrum after he was given a technical foul while his team was down 28 points to No. 7 Michigan State. Stick with the video all the way to see a chair flying:
For his part, McCaffery said after the incident that he doesn't regret his behavior. "If anybody thinks I'm going to sit there with my hands crossed when we're down by 40 (points), they've got the wrong guy," He told the Des Moines Register.
The technical was the coach's fifth this season. He is in his second year with Iowa after five successful seasons at Siena.
The Recruit Scoop's Alex Kline posted a story today of The Haverford School freshman Sammy Foreman. The point guard, who lists Penn among Virginia, Lafayette, Villanova, Drexel, Temple, La Salle and Georgetown, has a long way to go before making a college decision, but his story is definitely worth a read. By age eight, he had lost his father and older brother, but says it "makes me work harder."
Here is a great video from the Washington Post about Sidwell Friends' Jamal Lewis. The shooting guard, who is a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, speaks about where he's from and some of his life experiences.
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