Brown has Ivy lead entering weekend

Penn is not the only team in the Ivy League dealing with losing some of the top players in its program's history a year after dominating the Ivies.

Brown went 12-2 in the Ivy League a year ago, twice suffering narrow defeats to Penn. The Bears' star seniors, Earl Hunt and Alai Nuualiitia -- first-team All-Ivy performers a year ago -- were forced to settle for an NIT berth while the Quakers went undefeated in the league and went to the NCAA Tournament.

"I felt that last year Penn was the superior team," Brown coach Glen Miller said. "We didn't execute when we needed to."

Earlier this season, it looked as though Brown (6-9, 2-0 Ivy) lost its chance for a title along with its graduating seniors. After losing, 86-47, to Wake Forest on Jan. 6, the Bears were sitting at 3-9.

A win over Central Connecticut put them on slightly better footing to begin the Ivy season, but first up would be back-to-back games against a Yale team that many predicted would win the league.

"Our guys had a lot of confidence going into the Yale game," Miller said. "It couldn't have been derived from our out-of-conference performance so it had to have been from last year."

That confidence served them well.

Brown beat the Elis on their home floor, 85-75, in overtime on Jan. 16 and again, 77-65, on Jan. 23.

Junior point guard Jason Forte -- the third first-team All-Ivy on Brown's powerhouse team of a year ago -- led the squad with a total of 48 points in the two wins. Forte and senior guard Patrick Powers lead the team with 13.1 points per game, but all five of Brown's starters average 9.5 points per game or more.

Hunt led Brown -- and the Ivy League -- with 19.1 points per game last season en route to becoming the program's all-time leading scorer.

"We're a more balanced scoring team," Miller said. "We have almost five guys in double figures. I'm more comfortable coaching a team like that.

"Although I'd still like to have Earl Hunt."

Brown is a team with a myriad of offensive options in its four- guard starting lineup that Penn (7-6, 0-0) will face tomorrow in its second Ivy game of the year. The Quakers will play Yale tonight.

"Forte has stepped up and become a force in this league," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. Senior guard "Mike Martin gives them a lot of leadership and [sophomore guard] Luke Ruscoe is as improved a player as there is in the league."

Those three guards, along with Powers, form the perimeter game that makes Brown difficult to defend. Jamie Kilburn -- who averages 12.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game -- is the only starter listed as a forward.

The Bears could be paying for this perimeter-oriented game on the glass, where they have been outrebounded by an average of five boards per game.

"Defensive rebounding is going to win these games," Penn senior guard Jeff Schiffner said.

The Quakers will enter what has been one of the most competitive weekends of Ivy play the last few seasons having played only once -- a 73-69 loss to Temple -- in the last 16 days.

"We're healthy and rested," Schiffner said. "That's all you can ask for."

Penn also enters Ivy League play with a bull's-eye on its red and blue jerseys. The Quakers have not lost a league game in their last 23 outings, and have won the league title two straight years.

"The guys have been telling me that Ivy League games are much more intense," freshman forward Mark Zoller said. "Everyone plays harder against Penn, it makes their season to win."

The same is largely true of Penn's travelling partner Princeton, as the two teams have taken the last 15 NCAA Tournament bids from the Ivy League.

"The league has changed a bit in terms of parity, but Penn and Princeton are still the cream of the crop and will be until someone beats them," Miller said.

Brown hopes to do more than just come close this year.

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