M. Hoops | Desperate for a second win

It's been a tough grind to start the season for the Penn men's basketball team.

First, there was the trip down to the Dean Smith Center to open up against the No.1 North Carolina Tar Heels. Then, the Quakers got taken down a few blocks away from the Palestra at Drexel in a game that finished right as many Penn students were just waking up. Despite notching a win against Monmouth, a loss at home to Penn State sent Penn into Thanksgiving with a bitter taste in its mouth.

And after being outplayed by Albany and overmatched by No. 17 Villanova in the two games after the holiday, the Quakers (1-5) could really use a break. That's exactly what they'll get after they host Navy (6-1) tonight - Penn's next game won't be until Dec. 29.

But in the meantime, a win would go a long way towards turning around the season.

"We desperately need a win," freshman point guard Zack Rosen said. "It's important either way. We need it because we need it, but it means a lot more because of the layoff."

Unfortunately for Penn, wins have been hard to come by against the Midshipmen this season. Although the Quakers hold a 57-22 advantage in the series -- including wins in the last seven contests - Navy's fans will likely be out in full force at the Palestra on the eve of the annual Army-Navy football game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Navy is off to its best start since 1998, thanks in large part to a recent surge of red-hot shooting from a fairly experienced group of players.

Senior guard Kaleo Kina, who leads Navy in scoring with 19.4 points per game, is coming off a 29-point performance against Texas-San Antonio. The Midshipmen shot 71.4 percent from the field in that contest - the highest single-game field goal percentage in the nation thus far.

Junior Chris Harris also poses a real threat on the perimeter; he poured in seven three-pointers on 14 attempts two weeks ago against Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Penn has had trouble defending the three this season to go along with a nagging weakness in establishing a presence on the defensive boards. Though the Quakers have devoted significant time in practice to rectifying the problems, they won't be solved overnight.

"There's not much more we can do [before the game]," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "You can't right the ship in one practice."

Caught up in trying to correct their own problems, the Quakers admittedly haven't had much time to focus on Navy. According to Rosen, they spent Wednesday's practice following the Villanova loss "focusing on ourselves."

Sophomore forward Jack Eggleston stressed that the key to holding off the Midshipmen will be identifying Kina and Harris from the outset in order to keep them in check.

"We have to know where they are at all times, especially if we play our match-up zone," he said.

Eggleston suggested that the Quakers - who used both man-to-man defense and a match-up zone against Villanova - will likely mix and match again against the Midshipmen.

"Whichever is more effective early, we'll stick with it," he said.

Ultimately, a win would go a long way towards instilling some confidence in an inexperienced Penn team.

"We need to go [in to the break] on a positive note," Eggleston said. "It'll make a big difference - make us that much more productive. We will have that much more focus."

- Sports Editor David Gurian-Peck contributed reporting to this article.

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