The Palestra hasn't been a friendly place for Crimson

There's a seven-foot hole in the Harvard frontcourt.

Its name is Brian Cusworth, who used up his NCAA eligibility two games ago, after coming into the season with only one semester of play left.

Cusworth was a two-time All-Ivy player who almost single-handedly took last season's game at the Palestra into overtime with 22 points and 16 rebounds.

But tomorrow night, he will not be on the Palestra floor as Penn and Harvard (10-10, 3-4) renew their mostly one-sided rivalry in Philadelphia at 7 p.m. with the Quakers trying to regain control of the top spot in the Ivy League.

And it's been a while since the Crimson have left college basketball's most historic gym with a victory.

The last time Harvard won at the Palestra, George H.W. Bush was president, Glen Miller was a young assistant at Connecticut, Frank Sullivan was the head coach at Bentley College and Fran Dunphy's Ivy League record was 7-8. Since Feb. 1, 1991, Penn has beaten the Crimson 15 straight times at home - or every time since Sullivan took over in Boston before the 1991-92 season.

Despite Cusworth's departure, Miller said that the Crimson are still a formidable team without their former star in the lineup.

"I'd be hesitant to say they'd be a better team without him, but they've proven they can be a good team without him," Miller said.

The Penn coach pointed to Cusworth's replacement in the starting lineup, 6-8 junior Brad Unger, who has scored in double figures in his two starts against Columbia and Cornell last weekend.

"They have more answers than just Cusworth," Miller said.

The Quakers also have to contend with the Harvard backcourt in senior Jim Goffredo and sophomore Drew Housman.

The duo combines for almost 28 points per game and averages about 36 minutes a game apiece.

While it would seem that Penn should try to get the ball inside against Harvard's depleted front line, Miller said that he would like his team to get the ball inside every game, whether he is playing "North Carolina, Harvard or Dartmouth."

"I think that's in our offense, something that we're supposed to do every night," he added.

In the Quakers' 77-68 loss to Yale last Saturday night, Penn forwards Stephen Danley and Mark Zoller combined for only 17 points, and many of their 17 field goal attempts (including all of Zoller's 10) weren't from the inside.

Harvard is also vulnerable to Penn's up-tempo offense, with the Crimson allowing just under 80 points per game so far this season.

And while two wins over Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend will do a great deal towards restoring Penn's confidence in the Ivy League race after the loss to the Elis, Miller is not sold on the Quakers' place as heavy favorites in the league.

"I think a lot of people around here kind of overestimate us as a team," he said. "We have to come out hungry and come out as fierce competitors every night."

Alluding to some past glory days, when the team went 14-0 in conference play three years in a row, Miller said, "Those Jerome Allen years are not here right now; we have to go out and earn it."

However, this Penn team has only lost four Ivy League games in the last three years, and had won its first three conference contests by 18, 26 and 16 points on the road.

It is the two-time defending league champion, and every team still guns for the Quakers, who were the unanimous pick to defend their title.

While the Crimson may have some extra motivation to beat Penn tomorrow, and the game may end up being a dogfight, it will still have to contend with a very long losing streak and a very talented Quakers squad.

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