Coming into the weekend, Penn men's basketball’s chances to make the Ivy League Tournament and compete for a March Madness bid seemed almost nonexistent. The Quakers were not shooting well, and seemed unable to hold teams off down the stretch in games. But by early Sunday afternoon, it appears as though the Red and Blue have life once again.

The floodgates have finally opened. Winless in its first six conference games, Penn men's basketball came out firing on all cylinders this weekend at the Palestra to take down Columbia and Cornell in a sweep of New York’s two Ivy League teams.

This season has not been kind to Penn men’s basketball. Coming into Friday’s game against Columbia, the Quakers were winless in six Ivy League contests and in desperate need of a better performance to have any shot of making the Ivy League Tournament. The Red and Blue were able to gut out the victory on the back of 48 rebounds and 12 three-pointers. Let’s go to the player ratings.

Matt Howard has solved Penn men's basketball’s finishing problem. After watching an 11-point lead slip away in the second half, the senior forward was determined to not let another strong start go to waste. Howard hit a clutch three-pointer with eight minutes to play, cutting a brief Columbia lead down to one. But, it was his defensive closing that sealed the game for the Red and Blue as they went on to win 70-62.

"Alright, we’ve had our fun over the last couple of days, but may the real Ivy League championship contenders step forward..." Entering from stage right is coach Andy Ma and Penn fencing, poised this weekend to take another shot at collecting the coveted Ivy League Fencing Championship titles.

Coach Steve Donahue of Penn men’s basketball is not keen on the phrase “must-win.” In fact, in a past interview, he has described the phrase as “for the media” (guilty as charged) and “not what we focus on.” However, with the Red and Blue (7-12, 0-6 Ivy) hosting two immensely important games against Columbia and Cornell this weekend, he had seemingly no choice but to use the vaunted expression. “In terms of making the tournament, I think both of the games this weekend are must-win,” Donahue admitted.

With dual season nearing its close, Penn wrestling is looking to kick into high gear. For one more weekend, the Quakers (4-6, 2-5 EIWA) will have a loaded slate with little rest in between.

Only days after suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 setback at the hands of undefeated Big Ten power Minnesota, Penn men's tennis will get a pair of chances at redemption this weekend, hosting fellow Big Ten member Wisconsin on Saturday before welcoming Rice to Philadelphia the following afternoon.

For a Penn squash program anticipating a major postseason, it's the last chance to tune up. This weekend, both the men's and women's teams will take on the final two matches of their regular seasons, facing Columbia and Cornell to wrap up Ivy League play.

Penn men’s basketball fell to its archnemesis Princeton, 64-49, in a high-stakes rivalry match that kept the Quakers rooted to the bottom of the Ivy League and solidified the Tigers’ grip at the top. Despite the packed crowd at the Palestra there to celebrate the Cathedral of Basketball’s 90th birthday, there was no celebration for Penn (7-12, 0-6 Ivy) and its players’ hopes of topping their fiercest rivals (13-6, 6-0) in the first match between the two during the school year since 2012.

Terrell Owens is hands down one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history. Yet, for the second straight year he has failed to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The fact that less than the 80 percent of the 48-person selection committee voted to induct him yet again is a joke.

In the most highly-anticipated game of the year, Penn men’s basketball fell to archrival Princeton, 64-49, to keep the Quakers languishing at the bottom of the Ivy League. In his postgame press conference Tuesday night, coach Steve Donahue lamented that his players really didn’t play that badly — they just aren’t good enough at their current level. With that in mind, here are our player ratings from Penn’s loss to Princeton at the Palestra:

I went to both Penn-Princeton men's basketball games this year, and they tell the story of our team's season. They tell the story of a team that had the ability to hang with the best of the league, but just couldn't put it all together. They tell the story of a squad that had ample opportunities to earn their way back into competition, but faltered when it mattered most.

Long a stalwart of Penn wrestling, fifth-year senior and 165-pounder Brooks Martino made his return to the Red and Blue on January 8th after a semester off from the team.

In what’s likely the most anticipated sporting event on campus this year — this decade? — Penn men's basketball will welcome hated Princeton to the Palestra on Tuesday night, engaging in the 236th edition of the Ivy League’s undisputed best basketball rivalry in what’s become a must-win for the Red and Blue to stay in conference tournament contention.

On Tuesday, when Princeton storms into town to take on the Red and Blue, students from across the university will flock to the Palestra to view in-person the storied basketball rivalry matchup that the Ivy League has boasted every year since 1903. Several groups on campus are taking advantage of this valuable opportunity to give their members a break from the stresses of academics.

The last time we hosted you guys during a normal damn time of the school year to host one’s biggest rival (seriously, Ivy schedule-makers? FIVE years?), Penn won. That was also the last time we did these columns. So this game is pretty much in the bag.