Expectations grew for Penn basketball following a strong start to their season, but Quakers continue to slide despite a now-healthy lineup.
The Quakers’ hot start to the season surprised many after Ryan Betley’s season ended five minutes into Penn’s first game of the year. Without last year’s leading scorer, Penn started 10-2 and handed Villanova their first Big 5 loss since 2012. They also started to generate some hope for at-large consideration in the NCAA tournament. Going into the season projected to finish second to Harvard in the Ivy standings by the league’s coaches, Penn firmly became the frontrunners, expected to earn a second consecutive league title.
Injuries finally did catch up with Penn when senior leader Max Rothschild went down in mid-December, and sixth man/surprise key offensive contributor Michael Wang rolled his ankle a few games later. So, Penn, depleted by injuries, got crushed by another hot mid-major, Toledo, and handed Monmouth their first win of the season a few days later on their home floor at the Palestra.
It had been a rough few days for the Quakers, but with both Wang and Rothschild back in the lineup for Saturday’s showdown with rival Princeton, Penn had recovered the lineup that led them to their explosive start. The expectation was again that Penn was fielding the strongest team in the Ivy, and few, if any, teams were going to be a major obstacle to their conference season.
Winning at Princeton would never be an easy task for even the best of Penn teams, and even with everyone (besides Betley) back in the lineup, Penn lost a nailbiter in overtime, 68-65. Wang had one of his worst outings of the season, perhaps still nursing that ankle injury sustained against Toledo, and only contributed four points in a limited 16 minutes, but grabbed six boards for Penn. A loss against Princeton will always sting the Quakers, but it would have been an easier result to swallow if Penn wasn’t coming off two consecutive losses.
A few weeks ago, Penn was walking off the court at the Pit in New Mexico with a 10-point win. They were earning respect nationally, looked like the best team in the Big 5, and even had a shot at the AP Poll. A regular-season Ivy League title looked all but assured for Penn.
Now sitting at 10-5 and 0-1 in the conference, Penn welcomes Princeton to the Palestra this week and has an immediate opportunity to put their disappointment at Jadwin behind them. Saturday is all but a must win for Steve Donahue’s squad; their schedule won’t get any easier after their rematch with hot Princeton. They have to head up to North Philly to play Temple the following Saturday, and host St. Joe’s in another Big 5 matchup a week after that. Another few losses in January and Penn’s promising 2018-19 season will be in serious trouble.
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