It's Tony Hicks' world and the rest of us are just paying rent. Despite falling behind by 12 to begin the game and never leading until under a minute remained, Penn basketball rode the junior guard's 20 second half points and game-winning jumper with four seconds remaining to its sixth consecutive win over Cornell, 71-69. The Red and Blue looked overwhelmed from the onset.

The play started with a turnover. Before the Palestra crowd knew it, freshman forward Mike Auger was streaking down the court, eventually finishing the breakaway with an emphatic one-handed jam.

That was ugly... I mean really ugly. There were no redeeming qualities for Penn basketball’s blowout loss at home against Harvard.

The Crimson handled Penn men’s basketball on Saturday night from start to finish, cruising to an 63-38 win over the Quakers. Led by guards Siyani Chambers and Wesley Saunders, Harvard put together a complete game at both ends of the floor.

It means that with the game on the line and Alex Mitola in possession of the ball, it wasn’t Dartmouth celebrating a win: It was Penn and that’s something to hang your hat on, at least for one day.

With nonconference play in the rearview mirror, it's Ivy action from here on out for Penn women’s basketball, and the defending champs certainly defended well enough this weekend.

If the Quakers are lucky, their youthful squad can force their way into the Ivy race by capitalizing on home court advantage this weekend and sweeping the Big Green and Crimson for the first time in three years.

Before Saturday night, I did not know what a Big 5 win looked, sounded, tasted, smelled or felt like. Nor did the majority of people with whom I associate.

The Red and Blue battled their Big 5 rival St. Joseph’s like their lives depended on it, earning a hard-fought 56-52 victory.

For a moment, it looked as if Penn basketball had turned a corner when it gave then-No. 5 Villanova a serious scare at home on Saturday. Apparently not. Playing to a mostly-empty Palestra crowd, the Quakers came out sleepwalking against Monmouth and paid dearly.

With Penn basketball approaching the midway point in its season, fans and opposing coaches alike seem to think they know what Penn is made of. But the advanced stats tell the whole story.

There will always be those who are staunch defenders of anti-tournament model for the Ancient Eight, but that’s exactly what it is: ancient.

With Ivy League play looming, the Quakers (4-9, 0-1 Ivy) look to continue their success against MAAC teams - they are 2-1 this season with wins over Marist and Niagara - with Wednesday's game against Monmouth (9-9).

For Thomas Munson's photo recap of Penn men's basketball's game against Villanova: http://www.thedp.com/gallery/villanova-escapes-penn-mens-hoops

Going into Saturday’s matchup, things weren’t exactly looking up for Penn basketball. Despite completing the squad's first three game winning steak in over two seasons earlier this year, the outlook for the Red and Blue looked decidedly bleak after blowing a 15-point lead to Princeton last Saturday. And, as most expected, the Quakers fell to No.

Villanova possessed too much fire power for the Quakers to handle, handing Penn its 11th consecutive Big 5 defeat, 62-47

It isn’t every night that Penn basketball gets to play in front of a sold-out crowd, but Saturday’s game against No. 5 Villanova isn’t an ordinary night.