M. Hoops | Rivalry renewed

These days, it only comes around once in a blue moon -- like fresh bagels at Hill House brunch or a Philadelphia championship.

The stars have aligned, however, to give meaning to a rivalry that hasn't seen real action since a heart-pounding Penn comeback over the Tigers in 2005, when Quakers faithful rushed the court after their team rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit at the Palestra.

So will tonight's match-up at Jadwin Gym in Princeton, N.J., be a spark of change for the two programs?

"It's a 'coming of age' tale," sophomore Tyler Bernardini said with gusto. "The '08-'09 Quakers: getting a little older."

Penn (7-13, 3-3 Ivy) certainly hopes that the twist to said story involves victory - and a much clearer path to the Ivy championship.

While Red and Blue basketball has teetered back to a .500 record with last weekend's sweep of Brown and Yale, the Tigers (9-10, 4-2) find themselves in a position that they haven't had in years: near the top, peering down. Princeton coach Sydney Johnson began his second year at the helm with a spark, steering his squad to a four-game Ivy winning streak, a mark that included a giant-killing win over previously unbeaten powerhouse Cornell.

It looked like Princeton would be the sleeper of the Ancient Eight title contenders until Friday night. The Bulldogs handed Princeton its first Ivy loss in a breakaway contest in New Haven, Conn., winning comfortably, 60-48. Brown, which came into the weekend without a league win, rubbed salt in the wound by dominating the Tigers, 61-43, in Providence, R.I. These losses came after a weekend where Johnson's team held Columbia to a mere 35 points and Cornell to 41.

With Cornell proven beatable and Penn on the upsurge, the game tonight will be much more than a few heated exchanges and some impassioned fouls - it will be a real battle for the forefront of the Ivy standings.

The Quakers, who have won six of the last seven games at Jadwin, are looking forward to a rekindling of flames.

"I'm looking forward to bringing back the rivalry," senior forward Brennan Votel said. "I feel like I missed out on it [my previous three years.]"

"[I've always] looked at it like it was the Super Bowl," Penn coach Glen Miller added. "It's always going to be a hotly contested game."

Like Penn, the Tigers have handed the offensive reigns over to their underclassmen. Leading the pack is rookie guard Douglas Davis, whose 12.3 points per game is the best on the squad. Fellow guard and sophomore Dan Mavraides has been emerging as a second perimeter threat for Princeton, recently putting in an impressive 22 points in 37 minutes against Harvard.

Penn and Princeton also have similar chinks in their armor; neither team has established any post presence, as the Tigers displayed against Yale when they were out-rebounded by 20. The 6-foot-9 Pawel Buczak, while no daisy underneath, hasn't proven to be a firm stop in the lane.

The most daunting challenge for Penn will be to score patient buckets and make the most of every possession.

"You're not going to be able to get out on the fast break as much as you want to [against Princeton]," Miller said. "You'll be playing a lot more defense than you'll want to . They usually control the pace of the game."

With a renewed sense of competitive obligation, a win would help Penn control more than the pace - its own destiny.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.