New look for an old rivalry

On Friday, the men's basketball team overcame Harvard, proving it can compete with an average Ivy League team. Tonight, however, the Tigers will have a chance to prove they can play with the best when they travel to the Palestra to take on Penn.

"Penn is an experienced team that starts three seniors and a junior," head coach Joe Scott '87 said. "They are playing well and playing in an environment they are very comfortable in. The game for us will be all about toughness. We can't worry about what their record is or what our record is."

The Quakers (14-8 overall, 5-1 Ivy League) currently sit atop the Ivy League, while Princeton (10-10, 1-5) — despite a strong non-conference season — finds itself at the bottom of the rankings. Regardless of the standings, the game may shape up to be more competitive than expected, as the Princeton-Penn basketball rivalry remains strong.

The Quakers are led by six-foot, seven-inch Mark Zoller, who is currently averaging 18.3 points per game. The versatile forward doesn't only rack up the points; he also leads Penn with 7.7 rebounds per game. Zoller has been largely responsible for the Quakers' success, and the Tigers will need to contain him if they hope to have a chance at winning.

Aiding Zoller for Penn are guards Ibrahim Jaaber and Brian Grandieri, both of whom are potent offensive threats as well. The two average 15.5 and 12.9 points per game, respectively. Zoller, Jaaber and Grandieri can be dangerous both from the perimeter and on the drive.

The Tiger backcourt, which includes freshman guards Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn, will need to play tight defense to prevent Penn's trio from getting hot.

In terms of a strategy, the Tigers won't be straying from their usual tactics. In past games, the problem has not been the plan — it's been the execution.

"We're not really changing anything between this game and the last ones," senior forward Luke Owings said. "It's just another game."

Princeton will need to improve under the glass, though, to control Zoller, whose rebounding could expose a Tiger weakness.

"We're going to have to rebound the ball well to beat them — that's going to be big," Owings said. "Getting the boards will be really important."

Princeton has being out-rebounded by over six boards per game on the season, and this differential has played a major role in many of the Tiger losses. By failing to successfully pull down the boards, Princeton has provided its opponents with many second-chance opportunities and has limited its own potential for scoring in the transition.

"We need to rebound better," Scott said. "We have to continue to do the good things we've done defensively — like limiting their three-point shooting — while doing a better job of making open shots and finishing plays on the offensive end."

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Though Penn is the dominant scoring team, averaging 75.5 points per game, Princeton has only been allowing an average of 52.8 points per game, so the Tiger defense could spell trouble for the high-octane Quakers.

The Tigers will be looking to junior forward Kyle Koncz to step up, as he has been a consistent presence for Princeton all year. Koncz is contributing nine points per game on average but sat out this past Saturday's game against Dartmouth with a foot injury that has hampered him during the entire Ivy League season. If Koncz can lead the offense as he has in the past, then the Tigers could pose a real challenge.

"We just have to go out and play like we know we can," Koncz said. "We have to just take care of what we know how to do to win the game. That means play our defense, be able to stop our men and run our offense precisely."

Owings will be called upon to provide a challenge to Zoller and limit his efficiency inside. Aside from averaging 7.9 points per game, the 6'6" Owings often guards the opponents' strongest post player. Coupled with a fast backcourt that includes Schroeder, who has 37 steals on the year, Princeton has the potential to thwart the Quaker attack.

Still, the Tigers have played rather inconsistently since the beginning of league play, competing closely with their opponents in some games and falling apart in others.

"I think it's been a different thing each game," Owings said. "Against Dartmouth, we let them get too many offensive rebounds, and with other teams there have been other issues, so different problems have come up each time."

Perhaps Princeton will work out these issues before coming to the game tomorrow and play a solid 40 minutes of basketball.

"With one day to prepare for the game, it really comes down to heart as opposed to X's and O's," Scott said.