Winter Break Preview | More blue than red to come

Unless the men’s basketball team can turn its season around fast, New Year’s Eve will be no time for celebration.

That night, the Quakers will take on No. 8 Duke in a nationally televised game at the infamous Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. And if Penn can not get a win that night or Dec. 28 against Davidson, the team will have recorded its longest losing streak ever to begin a season.

But coach Glen Miller is doing his best to stay positive. He hopes that junior Tyler Bernadine and seniors Andreas Schreiber and Justin Reilly will be able to return from injuries over break.

“We’re 0-and-whatever-it-is and you got to look for some positives,” Miller said after the team’s 80-75 loss to Monmouth Saturday night. “And the positives would be that when those guys come back healthy, we’ve got some other guys that have got some valuable experience.”

But even their returns may not be enough, especially against the 7-1 Blue Devils. The Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse, under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, is consistently ranked among the top teams in the nation.

Led by senior point guard Jon Scheyer and reigning ACC freshman of the year Kyle Singler, Duke has cruised through much of its nonconference schedule, winning the NIT Season Tip Off and beating opponents by 20.4 points per game — 11th best in the nation.

With Scheyer and junior Nolan Smith on the wings, and seniors Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek combining with Singler down low, the Quakers are sure to face matchup problems all over the court. Picking up Penn’s first win over the Blue Devils since 1971 would be among the greatest upsets in Penn basketball history.

“I’m worried about a lot going into those games,” Miller said. “We have to get some guys back healthy, and we have to keep on progressing with the guys we have. Nothing’s gonna come easy, no one feels sorry for ourselves, but … if we have all our pieces we’re a more confident team and the guys believe we can win.”

Durham won’t be the only stop on the Quakers’ North Carolina trip, however, as they’ll also be taking on Davidson on the 28th. Since the departure of All-American guard Stephen Curry to the NBA, the Wildcats aren’t the nationally ranked team they have been recently, but are still a contender to win the Southern Conference title.

With senior Will Archambault and freshman Jake Cohen leading the way, the Wildcats (2-7) live and die from three-point land. They average over 24 three-pointers a game, and in a league win over The Citadel last week hit 15 shots from long range, accounting for over sixty percent of their points in that contest.

If the Quakers can’t pick up a win in the Tar Heel State, they will have set a school record for longest losing streak to start a season. And if they don’t pull out a win in their return to Pennsylvania Jan. 3 against Lafayette, this year’s squad will have endured the longest single-season losing streak in Penn history.

The Red and Blue end their winter break road trip with a Jan. 6 trip to University of Maryland-Baltimore County to take on the winless Retrievers. With only Big 5 play remaining in the Quakers’ nonconference schedule, the game may be Penn’s last chance to pick up a nonconference victory this season. Five of the Retrievers’ nine losses this year have been by double digits, including a 79-67 loss against Rider on Friday.

The Quakers need to keep their heads up despite their winless record. After losing four of their last five games by single digits, the players know that the elusive first win may be just around the corner. Especially if the injured players can return over the hiatus.

“Obviously we’re a little down right now, but there’s still 21 games left in the season,” sophomore Mike Howlett said. “We just got to keep pushing; the wins will come.”

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