M. Hoops seniors' last shot at Tigers

The Penn men's basketball team ends its 1977-98 season at the sold-out Palestra against Princeton. Campus Police will be busy fighting another crime tonight outside the Palestra. Ticket scalping. Tonight's Ivy League finale between the Penn men's basketball team (17-11, 10-3 Ivy League) and the No. 8 Princeton Tigers (25-1, 13-0) has been sold out for days, even though the game no longer has any impact on league standings. With the Quakers 73-70 loss at Cornell Friday, the Tigers grabbed their third consecutive Ivy League title through the back door. Regardless of the outcome of tonight's game, the Quakers have clinched second place in the league. The Tigers come into the game with the longest winning streak in the nation, at 18 games. They have not lost since December 12, 1997, when they fell 50-42 to then-No. 1 North Carolina. They also enter with a respectable Ivy League win streak. The Tigers have not lost a contest within the conference in two seasons. At 13-0, the pressure may be on the Tigers to finish out their league season with a perfect 14-0 record. "Pressure is what you make of it," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "If they can finish undefeated in the league, I'm sure it will make them feel very good about their season. But they should feel very good about it nonetheless." Tomorrow night will also be a special night for the four seniors on the team. Penn co-captains Garett Kreitz and Jeff Goldstein, as well as fellow seniors Mike Melcher and Mike Dzik, will play in their final collegiate games. "I don't know if the game is so special because it's Senior Night, but also because it's such a great rivalry," Kreitz said. "I am going to go out and have fun, play the game like I used to when I was a little kid." Despite the seeming unimportance of the game in the standings, neither team is going to roll over and let the other have its way. "I look at this game as an opportunity to play the team that has played the best in our league throughout the year," Dunphy said. "We happen to have them in the last game and we'd like to play well." Meanwhile, on the other side of the scorer's table, Princeton coach Bill Carmody and his Tigers know the significance of going undefeated in the Ivy League. "I don't think that our team ever takes anybody lightly," Carmody said. "A win would be great because it's the last game and, hey, we want to be 14-0." The players' desire to capture the perfect mark emulates the coach's feelings. "A loss at this point in the season would be disappointing whether it meant something or if it didn't," Tigers guard Brian Earl said. "We play hard and we practice hard, and with the amount of work that we put in, we should finish the season undefeated." One of the Tigers' more impressive league wins of the season was a 71-52 victory over the Quakers just two weeks ago at Jadwin Gym. In the game, sophomore guard Matt Langel and senior guard Kreitz shot a combined 1-6 from three-point land. It is no secret that the Tigers play tenacious defense. They lead the nation in total defense, holding opponents to under 50 points per game. In the meeting two weeks ago, the Quakers shot 42 percent from the field. "We can't make mistakes throwing the basketball away like we did a couple of times and also not do a good job in coverage at the other end of the floor," Dunphy said. With all of the attention that their defense gets, the Tigers' multi-dimensional offense is often overlooked. Senior center Steve Goodrich is one of the best passing big men in the country. In the first game against Penn on February 17, Goodrich led all of the Tigers with six assists. He averages 3.5 assists per game, second on the team. "We are all really comfortable playing with each other, because we've been together so long," Princeton forward James Mastaglio said. "We make such good passes because we know where everyone is and what they're all thinking." It is this passing ability that makes their outside game so successful. The Tigers hit more than nine treys a game. All five starters are a threat to take the long-distance shot. Earl and the 6'10" Goodrich lead the group, shooting 43 percent for the year. "They're a great team and they've shown this year that they deserve the respect that they are given," Kreitz said. "As far as their offense is concerned, we have played against them enough that I think we should be able to defend it as well as anybody."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.