The streaking Penn men's basketball team hosts the 10-4 Dragons. West Philadelphia bragging rights are on the line tonight as Penn takes on neighboring Drexel for the third time in as many years. The similarities between these two teams go beyond a couple of shared city blocks. The Quakers (9-3) are riding a six-game winning streak, while the Dragons (10-4) have put together seven victories in a row. In last season's contest, Penn jumped out to a 17-2 lead and never looked back. By halftime, Drexel saw itself down by 24 points, a deficit that put the game out of reach well before the final horn sounded with a 79-65 Quakers win on the scoreboard. "Penn played that game last year with way more purpose, urgency and pride than we did," Drexel coach Bill Herrion said. "I think it was more because we had beaten them the year before. They played like it was a much bigger game." "Last year, they jumped all over us to start the game," Drexel center Joe Linderman said. "We were down [early] and it was just embarrassing." The Dragons intend to avoid repeating that sluggish start. Following the Quakers' loss to Hofstra, Drexel seeks to give the Quakers an 0-2 season record against the America East conference. "Last year, [Penn] came out with a purpose, and we pretty much got our butts kicked," Drexel guard Mike DeRocckis said. "Penn is on a roll, and they looked great against Temple in November. It's going to be a 40-minute war." Penn and Drexel return a core group of players from last year's game and both teams are challenging to win their respective conferences and qualify for the NCAA tournament. The commonality ends, however, when examining Drexel's scoring production. With their key players possessing another year of experience, the Dragons have figured out how to spread the shots around. "The one big difference between our basketball team this year is that we have the [scoring] balance we didn't have last year," Herrion said. "Penn is successful because they have that balance, because they are so unselfish with the ball -- something we did not do last year when we relied on Linderman and DeRocckis." Drexel's main point producer is the 6'9" Linderman. The junior averages 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Now a senior, DeRocckis contributes 13.4 points per game of his own while playing about 35 minutes per contest. Dragons forwards Mike Kouser and Patrick Sanders also average double figures, scoring 11.7 and 10.6 points per game respectively. But Linderman is still the go-to guy. "[Linderman] gets the ball inside a lot -- [Drexel] really looks for him," Penn forward Josh Sanger said. "He has a really good touch once he gets the ball. For example, off his spin move he'll usually make his shot. We just have to play good defense against him." The man assigned to defend Linderman will be Penn center Geoff Owens. Linderman leads his counterpart in scoring and rebounding, but Owens has a two-inch height advantage and 24 blocks to Linderman's four. "At this level of basketball, when you can put a 6'11" kid in the middle who can block shots, alter shots, it helps your defense tremendously," Herrion said. "That matchup will be a crucial one." Another interesting head-to-head duel is likely to take place at the point guard spot. Last season, Drexel guard Bryant Coursey did not play against the Quakers. This year, the junior has the task of guarding Penn guard and tri-captain Michael Jordan. "I know [Jordan] is going to come out fired up," Coursey said. "He has done well against the Big 5 schools, and he is a Philadelphia guy, so I'm sure he wants to do well. It will be key for me to be ready to play and limit things that he does on offense." Besides the city rivalry, this game represents a fork in both teams' schedules. For Drexel, the game is the beginning of a crucial stretch that features Hofstra and the rest of its conference opponents. For Penn, the contest will be followed by seven days without a game. They return to action with a game at Cornell on January 29 that starts the bulk of the Ivy League season. Both teams are looking for a win tonight to continue to build their momentum as they enter conference play. "We prepared for them really well last year," Penn forward and tri-captain Jed Ryan said. "This time, we have to play as strong as we did against St. Joe's as well as play strong defense because Bill Herrion does a great job with his team."
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