Sophomore Tony Hicks went for 33 points on 12-for-20 shooting, allowing the Quakers to cruise to victory. Penn defeated Niagara, 85-66.

We analyze what’s up and what’s down for Penn basketball as prepares for Niagara.

Yes, Antoine Mason is the son of Anthony Mason. That’s THE Anthony Mason, the NBA All-Star who relished doing the dirty work and never ran away from a fight. But now, as the leading scorer in the NCAA, Antoine’s doing things his father never did.

Tuesday night, Niagara (1-4) will come to the Palestra to face the Red and Blue (1-3), boasting explosive guard Antoine Mason and his impressive 31.2 points per game clip.

My first taste of covering Penn basketball came in the 2011-12 home opener against Temple. The Palestra was packed and rocking, and Zack Rosen’s 27 points and seven (!) three-pointers almost led Penn to the monumental upset.

Unfortunately, just four games into the 2013-14 campaign, it’s becoming painfully clear that Penn has no player worthy of being called adaptable.

Similar to the team’s previous two losses to Temple and Penn State, Penn (1-3) created a first-half deficit that was too difficult to overcome, and the Quakers fell to No. 25 Iowa, 86-55.

While Friday’s matchup with Iowa (4-0) marks the Quakers’ (1-2) second consecutive contest with a Big Ten opponent, very few nonconference matchups are this unique.

With a soft stretch of schedule coming up soon, it is time for the frustration from Penn’s press conferences to turn into energy and results on the floor.

With the exception of Harvard, Ivy men’s hoops squads faced limited success, as many units faced vastly superior opponents.

We analyze what’s up and what’s down for Penn basketball as it heads into Iowa.

We caught up with Rich Hofmann, a 1980 Penn grad who joined the Daily News out of college and – as you’ll read – never left.

We look at the numbers that factored most in Penn’s 83-71 loss to Penn State Saturday.

Why did Penn look so flat-footed and ill-prepared at the defensive end in the first half? Did it come down to strategy or motivation, head or heart? If you ask Fran Dougherty, it’s the latter.

After playing a game with very little offense at Penn State a year ago, the Quakers watched the Nittany Lions put on an offensive clinic, putting up 47 points in the first half alone before beating Penn, 83-71.

After just a few minutes of play, it was clear that the Quakers were indeed “Not Penn State.” But on Saturday, that wasn’t something that made Penn fans proud.

If the Quakers want to beat Penn State at home on Saturday and get a winning streak going, they’ll have to be on guard … in more ways than one.