JUNGLE JAM #3

February 10th, 2004

The Quaker is a kind, peace-loving creature, who avoids battle at all cost. And while others would avoid such a, well, meek symbol, it has come to epitomize Penn's 2-2 Ivy league record— full of underachievement and mediocrity. Wait a second. Mediocrity and underachievement at Penn…. hmmm. Sound familiar? It's not just basketball. With that said…

We Welcome  Penn  to the Jadwin Jungle

PRINCETON vs. PENN SCOUTING REPORT:

When it comes to the Ivy League elite, the list ends with Princeton and Penn. Since the 1955-1956 season, Princeton has won 24 league titles and Penn has won 21, leaving only 10 championships divided among six other Ivy teams. This year, despite Penn's slow start, the game proves to be just as intense.

Penn opened the Ivy League season with back-to-back losses coming against Yale and Brown, two teams Princeton has already beaten this year. The Quakers followed up with two victories against abysmal teams in Harvard and Dartmouth, ranked 312 and 325 out of 326 Division I teams respectively. And while Penn is coming to Princeton having won four straight against the Tiger team, this year's Penn team has drastically underperformed. As mentioned, tough losses have come against lesser-thought of teams, such as Rider, Villanova, Temple, Brown, and Yale.

Princeton comes into the perennial classic having won a hard-fought battle against Harvard. While many of the players for the Tigers were disappointed with their performance, the game was a testament to Princeton 's toughness. To date, Princeton has held all four of their Ivy League opponents to 50 points or fewer, solidifying their spot as second in NCAA Division I in scoring defense (54.5 points allowed per game). This trend continued during the Harvard finish, during which Princeton held Harvard to one field goal in the final 18:52 of its double-overtime victory.

A Princeton win Tuesday would not only give the Tigers a three-game lead over Penn, but also a one-game cushion in the loss column over 5-1 Cornell, which hosts the Tigers at Newman Arena Friday night. A Penn win would create a tight race, with the Tigers and Cornell each with one loss and Brown and the Quakers with two heading into this weekend's games.

DIRT:

1. Freshman Steve Danley (#3) is a former teammate of Princeton freshman Luke Owings. Fortunately, we recruited the better of the two. Let's remind Steve-o of this. Whenever he enters the game, chant, “Luke is better…Luke is better.”
2. The starting center for Penn is Adam Chubb (#15)… His last name is CHUBB!? Ladies and gentlemen, that one writes itself. Do what you will with it.
3. Charlie Copp (#5) is listed at 5'11'', but is actually 4'10''. A little known fact is that he is in actuality the tallest midget to ever play DI basketball. When he steps on the court, make sure to use your best Mini-me, Webster, oompa-loompa, and Rudy chants .
4. Finally, tonight's resident ball-hog is…. Jeff Schiffner (#4). He has taken 50 more shots than anyone else on the team, while shooting an atrocious 38% from the field. Get in his head, and the entire Penn offense is disrupted.
5. Eric Osmundson (#14) transferred from Utah to Penn after Utah coach Rick Majerus all but told him that he was not wanted in the Utah program. Why did he choose Penn? The academics were easier. Whenever Eric enters the game, chant “Too dumb for Utah …”

REMEMBER: STAND DURING THE GAME, BE LOUD, HAVE FUN