Shall we dance?

None of the self-proclaimed men's college basketball experts expected Penn and Cornell to be fighting for the Ivy League crown.

But thanks to strong senior leadership on both teams, the Quakers (15-8, 8-1 Ivy) have a two-and-a-half-game lead in the Ivy League standings with the Big Red (11-12, 6-4 Ivy) clawing at its heels.

Neither Penn nor Cornell, who square off tonight, is surprised by the other team's success -- one reason is that Cornell coach Steve Donahue served as an assistant to Penn coach Fran Dunphy for 10 years.

When Donahue left Philadelphia for Ithaca, N.Y., in 2000, the Big Red had not had a winning season since 1992-93. But it appears that the losing trend will end this year, the first season in which the team has been made up entirely of Donahue's recruits.

"From my time at Penn, I knew to look for guys who loved the game, loved to play and didn't really think too much about any more than that," Donahue said of his recruiting strategy since arriving at Cornell.

Dunphy attributes his former assistant's success to the Big Red's "good mix of veteran and young players."

The Cornell veteran leadership has come from seniors Cody Toppert and Eric Taylor, both of whom will end their Big Red careers with milestones, even if they cannot beat Penn in the championship race.

Toppert, a swingman with a deadly jump shot, scored his 1,000th point in Cornell's fifth game this season. The Albuquerque, N.M., native is averaging 11.4 points per game this year.

"I had no idea that I was that close," Toppert said. "Obviously it's an honor, but I was so focused on how the team was doing that it was irrelevant."

Taylor, a versatile forward who can bruise in the low post, needs just 34 points this season to finish his career in Ithaca with 1,000 points. He is averaging 11.4 points per game this season.

With four games left in the season, he should reach this impressive mark with ease.

"He is a terribly difficult matchup down low because of his great moves," Toppert said. His point total "is just a testament to how good he is."

But if the six points that Taylor squeaked out against Penn earlier this month is any indication, the Red and Blue could seriously threaten Taylor's legacy.

Both Taylor and Toppert cited Cornell's 20 turnovers as the key factor in the loss.

"Penn's a team that can really capitalize when you give them opportunities to run in transition," Toppert said. "If you turn the ball over a lot, that's when they get out and make shots."

Toppert, who has only started 11 of 23 games, was a bright spot for Cornell, scoring 10 points.

Toppert is "a starter who happened to come off the bench," Dunphy said. "He doesn't need much space to get his shot off, so he's a dangerous guy to defend."

Despite the disappointing loss to Penn, Donahue names Toppert and Taylor as two reasons behind Cornell's metamorphosis into a competitive program.

"They changed the culture of what Cornell basketball is," he said. "We were trying to turn something around and they did everything they could and worked hard to get it done."

Penn has a 1,000-point scorer of its own -- senior captain Tim Begley reached the milestone Feb. 5 against Dartmouth.

Dunphy said that the example set by a player capable of scoring 1,000 career points is invaluable to younger players.

"You learn from their character and their work ethic," he said. "They've probably stepped up on many occasions."

Dunphy cited last month's Cornell game as one such occasion -- Begley had a monster second half, scoring 16 points in the frame to help Penn win the game after trailing at halftime.

"Tim rescued us with his great shots and great plays," Dunphy said. Cornell "played well the first 25-30 minutes and has us on our heels."

Penn's ability to come from behind is one aspect of its game that Cornell hopes to replicate.

"With coach coming from Penn, he knew ways to help us become better players," Toppert said. "It's a great opportunity for a program like ours that's trying to turn a corner and become an upper-echelon Ivy team."

Despite the success of the seniors, Cornell's primary focus is to gain ground in the league race -- player goals come second.

Reaching the point mark "would be nice, but my goal is to win," Taylor said. "Cody and I have been sitting home watching the NCAA tournament for three years, so we want to have those big-game performances."

"We don't focus on individual goals," Donahue said. "When [Toppert and Taylor] look back at where the program has been, they will know that they did everything they could to get us back in contention."

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