It has been 15 years since a school not named Princeton or Penn represented the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament for men's basketball. In the last 34 years, either the Tigers or the Quakers have emerged victorious all but two times.
Tonight, both teams bring perfect 4-0 conference records into the Palestra in Philadelphia in the first meeting of two on the season between the Ancient Eight's two powerhouses. Both teams also come in riding hot streaks, as Penn enters the contest on a five-game winning streak, while Princeton has won its last six.
"We've had a couple of games now where we've played pretty well," head coach John Thompson '88 said. "The guys have done a good job working together, making the extra pass, and through that they are finding easier shots."
In particular, the team has gotten solid contributions from junior guard Ed Persia and senior guard and captain Kyle Wente.
Last Friday at Columbia, Persia scored 11 points and notched three steals, while Wente scored five points, dished out six assists, nabbed four rebounds and had three steals. Despite handling the ball for much of the game, Persia and Wente combined for just one turnover in Princeton's 17-point win.
On Saturday, both players continued to roll. Against Cornell in Ithaca, Persia dumped in 16 points, and Wente again took care of all the little things, grabbing six boards and three more steals to go along with his five points.
"Eddie is doing a very good job of running the team," Thompson said. "He's putting people in positions where they should be, and we're getting what we want the way we want it because of that. He showed on Saturday that he can score, but we're more excited about how he's running the team.
"Kyle is just Kyle," Thompson continued. "He's fun to watch. You look at his line, and he puts up Princeton numbers — five or six points, five or six assists, five or six rebounds, five or six steals. Basically, he wants to win and he's doing what it takes to win."
On the other side of the ball tonight will be the most feared starting five in the Ivy League. Penn returns its top three players from last year, all of whom gave Princeton trouble when the teams met last year. Senior guard Andrew Toole and senior forwards Koko Archibong and Ugonna Onyekwe lead the Quakers once again, while junior guard Jeff Schiffner and sophomore guard Tim Begley round out the starting core. Penn will also get quality minutes from senior reserve guard David Klatsky, who played a strong, mistake-free game against the Tigers in last year's regular season finale at the Palestra.
If Princeton is to go down to Philly and upset the Quakers, the Tigers will have to perform well in several key aspects. First, the team has to slow Penn's explosive offense that has scored 90 points in a game twice already this season. Last year, the Tigers held the Quakers to under 70 in both contests, but failed to win either.
"[Penn's] strength is that they put five guys on the floor not only that can score," Thompson said, "but five guys that can really shoot the ball. You can't say that one guy is just a driver, because they all can shoot. They put pressure on you in that way. So we have to try to limit their shots."
Princeton's second task will then be to limit Penn's second chance opportunities. Last season, the Quakers out-rebounded the Tigers 36-24 at the Palestra and 39-27 in Jadwin, including 11 rebounds on the offensive end. Princeton must crash the boards from all positions tonight and try to hold Penn to one shot per possession. If the Quakers' shooters get too many open looks, it could be a long night for the Tiger defense.
The final key for Princeton will be how well the team shoots the ball. In the squad's 10 wins, the players looked like Dr. Jekyll, shooting 52 percent from the floor, including 42 percent from beyond the arc. In the seven losses, however, the team has played more like Mr. Hyde, shooting a mere 40 percent from the floor and 31 percent from three-point range.
Whatever happens tonight, Penn and Princeton will meet again on March 11 at Jadwin Gym in both teams' regular season finale. Though anything can happen in league play, if this year follows history, then tonight's matchup along with the March 11 game will go a long way toward deciding which team will make it to March Madness, and which team will be relegated to filling out the brackets in the office pool.
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