There are times watching freshman Tony Hicks attack the hoop, or fellow classmate Darien Nelson-Henry big-man his way to a basket, that it’s hard not to envision this team competing for a bid to the NCAA tournament next season.

The Quakers (5-17, 2-3 Ivy) pulled away from Brown (8-11, 2-3) in the second half on their way to a 71-48 victory behind an incredible defensive team effort.

The loss to Yale has to fall squarely on the shoulders of Penn coach Jerome Allen, as the Quakers have narrowly fallen in consecutive games to mediocre Ivy League teams. It’s unclear precisely what Allen’s decisions are down the stretch, but the bottom line is that they are not getting results.

With foul trouble and a late Yale run, the Quakers could never fully answer back after keeping up for most of the game, falling to the Yale Friday night at the Palestra.

With 16-24 inches of snow estimated to hit the Northeast this weekend, the Quakers will be nice and comfy inside of New York’s historic Armory, as they compete in the Rider/Lafayette Invitational on Friday.

On Saturday, the Quakers will travel to neighboring West Chester for their second dual meet of the season after beating Yale back on Jan. 27.

This weekend, the No. 12 Quakers will wrap their 2012-13 campaign with matchups at No. 11 Columbia on Friday and against No. 5 Cornell at home on Sunday.

When Penn wrestling hosts Harvard at the Palestra Saturday, it won’t be an event for culinary enthusiasts. The reason why? Only one dish will be served that day – revenge.

On Sunday, Penn’s men’s swimming team will have its chance to beat perfection as they travel north to Cambridge, Mass., to take on the undefeated and No.16 ranked Harvard Crimson in an Ivy League matchup that has been pushed back by a day in response to the upcoming snowstorm that is expected to hit Boston.

Before Saturday’s senior day against Cornell, the No. 3 Quakers will travel to the Big Apple on Friday to face No. 12 Columbia for the second time ever.

Penn will head north this weekend to face Yale and Brown in its second road trip of the Ivy season. Because of the coming winter storm, the game time at Yale has been moved to 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon and Saturday’s game at Brown has been moved to Sunday at noon.

This year, it has taken just three Ivy games for the Red and Blue to pick up two losses, making this weekend’s games must-wins.

Fran Dougherty is likely out for the year with a dislocated shoulder. Steve Rennard is likely out for the year with a torn plantar fascia. And Penn basketball can use this as a learning opportunity.

With Fran Dougherty out for the year, Cam Gunter, oft unnoticed by both fans and media alike, may be just who the Quakers need to get back on their feet and back into the Ivy League race.

For Steve Bilsky, neither ESPNU nor NBC Sports Network — with whom the Ivy League landed a two-year television contract in May — holds the future destiny of Quakers athletics on the small screen. Rather, it’s streaming.

After taking a year of absence to play professionally for the North American Soccer League’s Puerto Rico Islanders, Barreiro returned to campus this January to receive the final 5.5 credits that he needs to earn his Wharton degree.

David Xu has taken up the sport of wheelchair fencing under Penn assistant coach Mickey Zeljkovic and is already considering competing in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.