With 25 Ivy League titles in 53 years, it's obvious that Penn men's basketball is a successful program. But why are the Quakers so strong year-in and year-out? In his book Jumping Through Hoops: Why Penn Wins, Dr. Harold Gullan answers this question. By following the Quakers during their 2005-06 season, Gullan writes not just about basketball, but about the entire atmosphere surrounding the Quakers' program.

Penn men's swimming coach Mike Schnur is sick and tired of standing alone. Of all the men currently part of the Quakers' swimming program, Schnur is the only one who has ever beaten Columbia in a meet. "It's about time we changed that," Schnur said. The Quakers will have a chance to do just that on Saturday, when they host the Lions at Sheerr Pool at noon.

When Penn plays Monmouth on Saturday, the home team comes in with only two wins, three freshman starters, a deep rotation and a sub-30 percent clip from three. And no, the game isn't at the Palestra. "We're starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior, so in some ways we're very similar, even in record," Monmouth coach Dave Calloway said.

There are few people more knowledgeable when it comes to keeping a pulse on the Philadelphia sports scene than Big 5 mainstay and Saint Joseph's head basketball coach Phil Martelli. Born in Media, Pa., Martelli grew up with the City Series in his backyard and has been with the Hawks for 22 years.

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. Moments after his team finished an admirable comeback down the stretch at Monmouth, Glen Miller reflected on an adjustment he made which looked dumb if all you saw was the box score. Freshman Conor Turley played 17 minutes on Saturday; he'd played 19 in total before that.

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J., Dec. 8 - The story for the Penn men's basketball team this season has been its youth. But for once, on Saturday night the Quakers actually looked like the more experienced team on the court. In a game that gave the feeling it would go down to the wire, Penn used a 10-0 run late in the second half to defeat Monmouth 69-61.

Forget the Penn and Princeton rivalry. When the women's swim team faces off against the Columbia Lions tonight, that's when the competition will get really heated. "It is a great rivalry," said head coach Mike Schnur. "Neither team really likes each other a lot.

The Quakers surpassed their previous game's point total by halftime last night against Lafayette, but they were hardly in the mood to celebrate. In their first contest since the 26-point showing at Villanova on Saturday, the Quakers fell to the Leopards 71-56 at the Palestra, dropping to 3-5 as the team begins its two-week hiatus for finals.

With eight minutes remaining and his team trailing by 31 points to the No.1-ranked team in the country, freshman Remy Cofield finally got the call from coach Glen Miller to enter the game. Cofield was the tenth man off the bench on Tuesday. He got a quick steal for his only crooked number on the score sheet, but was taken out two minutes later.

The only two wins for the men's basketball team so far this season have been against military academies - The Citadel and Navy. That's just so un-American. If it hasn't already, the NSA should hurry up and get a wiretap in Glen Miller's house. In all seriousness, though, Penn's two lone victories highlight a jarring truth: This non-conference schedule is beating up on the Quakers.

Penn's sophomores have had a tough time establishing themselves this season. Forwards Andreas Schreiber and Justin Reilly have looked very good at some times, while at others they seem to be lost. And let's not forget about Darren Smith, who broke his kneecap in the season opener versus Drexel.

Though officially part of the Centennial Conference, the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (4-3) have been the unofficial doormat of the Ivy League this year. After opening the season with four wins over non-Ivy opponents, the Diplomats enter tonight's match at Penn (1-3, 1-2 Ivy) having lost their last three matches to Dartmouth, Yale and Princeton by a combined score of 25-2.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams and Penn counterpart Glen Miller met at halfcourt just minutes before last night's game. The two shared an extended handshake on the sideline, exchanged jovial words and then bolted for their respective benches. That was as close as Penn would come to the Tar Heels all game.

Feisty terriers nibble away at Crimson BOSTON (AP) - Corey Lowe had 23 points to help Boston University snap a six-game losing streak with a 79-72 victory over Harvard last night. The Terriers have won 14 of the last 15 games in the series, with BU coach Dennis Wolff 13-1 against the Crimson.

The Quakers' standard response to the obligatory how-does-it-feel-to-play-a-top-ranked-team question had been taken as gospel: they would make a conscious effort not to think about how good the Tar Heels were. Seemed simple enough. But the verdict is in, by a 106-71 majority, on how well that worked out.

There's no place to go but up. After an embarrassing 66-26 loss to Villanova on Saturday, the women's basketball team is looking to rebound when it hosts the Lafayette Leopards (5-3) at the Palestra tonight. "We're anxious to show that we're not the team that we were against Villanova," junior Anca Popovici said.

Glen Miller's Quakers have always tried to play faster than their opponents, but against North Carolina, it was Penn who seemed to have its feet stuck in the tar. Every time Penn got a big basket, the Tar Heels were bolting down the court for a quick answer.