The Penn men's basketball team certainly won't be afforded the opportunity to ease itself into the season.
The Quakers' first set of non-conference games will come as part of the three-day, three-game Black Coach's Association Invitational held at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., this weekend.
The rest of the non-conference slate, in addition to the usual Big 5 matchups, will certainly present a challenge for the Quakers. Before the meat of its Ivy schedule, Penn will have played on the road at Seton Hall and North Carolina and at home against Fordham and Illinois-Chicago, among others.
After ending last season with the postseason loss to Texas, the Quakers will have another brush with a Lone Star State team - Texas-El Paso (UTEP), in their first game of the tournament - followed by contests against Syracuse and St. Francis (N.Y.).
Those games come early, though, for a Penn team that has just begun practicing under new coach Glen Miller's system.
"What we bring to table on Nov. 10, 11 and 12 will be not our entire package of what we do," Miller admitted.
UTEP will be working out the kinks in its system as well, with 11 newcomers to the 14-member team - including four players hailing from Philadelphia. And it doesn't make it any easier that coach Tony Barbee is also in his inaugural season.
But with a lot of athleticism and an emphasis on defense by Barbee, the Quakers will stand to be tested.
"They've got good athletes, and we're probably going to get pressure for 40 minutes," Miller said of the game.
The biggest matchup of the weekend will come against preseason No. 20 Syracuse, last year's Big East Tournament champion. The Orange returns four starters and touts freshman guard Paul Harris, who is expected to make an immediate impact. The Niagara Falls, N.Y., native was picked by Big East media as the conference's preseason rookie of the year.
Gerry McNamara's huge offensive presence will be missed, and coach Jim Boeheim will look to junior Josh Wright and sophomores Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf, as well as Harris off the bench, to collectively fill his shoes.
But where Syracuse is most menacing - and might have gotten stronger with McNamara's departure - is on the defensive end. Boeheim's teams have always employed an aggressive 2-3 zone.
"With a team like Syracuse, they're long and rangy, so it will be a challenge, but I think we'll be prepared," Miller said.
The next two big non-conference and non-Big 5 games will come against Fordham, from the Atlantic 10, and Monmouth, which earned an NCAA bid last year.
The Quakers won't have an exotic winter-break trip this year, instead staying close to home to face Illinois-Chicago at the Palestra and Seton Hall at the Meadowlands in the four days before Christmas.
Two years ago, the Red and Blue fell to UIC by 10 points. Although selected 15th in the Big East preseason poll, Seton Hall returns three starters with NCAA Tournament experience.
The excitement surrounding last year's game against then-No. 1 Duke will be hard to match, but this year's contest against No. 2 North Carolina will be the next closest thing.
The Tar Heels are stacked with talent and depth at every position, but the UNC player to watch will be sophomore Tyler Hansbrough, an All-American contender and the ACC preseason player of the year.
Hansbrough averaged 18.9 and 7.8 rebounds per game during UNC's 23-8 campaign last season, which ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in an upset to George Mason.
"He's more explosive, he's stronger, he's faster, he has more stamina, he looks better - all those things that I think [are] going to translate into being a better basketball player," coach Roy Williams said of Hansbrough in a preseason press conference.
Elon, last year's Southern Conference North division champion, will be the last in the challenging non-conference and non-Big 5 schedule.
"You can't point to any games, really, where you can say absolutely, hands down, we should win this game," Miller said. "But you can say that, if we play well, we have a chance to take those games."
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
