M. Hoops Notebook | Cold shooting plaguing Quakers

In a conference where dominant big men are scarce and big-time athletes are scarcer, consistent jump-shooting becomes all but a necessity.

But it's no secret that Penn has been deficient from the perimeter over the past two seasons, and this year's Ivy League campaign has started no differently.

In their four Ancient Eight contests, the Quakers have shot 43.3 percent from the field and a horrendous 29.9 percent from beyond the arc. While one of coach Glen Miller's mantras has always been for any given player to be able to knock down a three-pointer if given the opportunity, the Red and Blue haven't exactly been abiding.

Sophomore guard Tyler Bernardini is the team's purest shooter, but after his torrid freshman campaign, opponents have begun to key in on him a bit more. Guards Kevin Egee, Zack Rosen and Rob Belcore all have reputations as solid three-point shooters, but recently - and really, all season long - Penn has lost its collective stroke.

"We're hoping they fall more often," Miller said. "This is just a low-percentage shooting team. I think some of that has to do with youthfulness."

"We just got to . hope that our players can start to knock down some shots on a consistent basis," he said.

On the down low. If Penn had one weakness exposed last weekend while it was being swept by Cornell and Columbia, it was its defense in the post.

The Lions' 6-foot-8 forward Jason Miller and the Big Red's seven-foot center Jeff Foote had their way in the paint this weekend, going off for 21 and 16 points, respectively.

Both big men were focal points of their offenses this weekend, preying on Penn's frontcourt.

"It's been a concern the entire year. It's just been frontcourt-by-committee, really," Miller said. "We have to play better individual defense in the low post. A lot of that starts with early defensive positioning and not letting them establish themselves in a good, sweet spot in the low post."

With forwards Brennan Votel and Jack Eggleston struggling to contain Foote Saturday, Miller turned to Cam Lewis - the team's most imposing physical force down low - to stop the bleeding.

But while Lewis has been solid as a role player, Miller isn't handing him the reins to be the long-term solution just yet.

"Cam is a kid who's been in the rotation," Miller said, "and will continue to be."

Chemistry lesson? The litany of injuries the Quakers have suffered this season, along with the departures of swingmen Tommy McMahon and Remy Cofield, has left Penn's roster in tatters compared to what it had been at the onset of the season.

But according to Miller, the team's dynamic in the locker room and on the court hasn't changed one bit. If anything, the absences of McMahon and Cofield have paved the way for others to step up.

"It's an opportunity for other guys. Guys make personal decisions [to leave] all the time in different programs," Miller said. "I don't think it has affected our guys at all in a negative way."

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