Ari Seifter | Big 5 win on the horizon?

It seems like whenever the Penn men’s basketball program is mentioned on the national level, there’s invariably a reference to the Big 5’s illustrious history in the same breath.

And yet, as my penultimate semester at Penn draws to a close, I have never felt as if I were a part of that history. It’s hard to get a sense of the tradition when the Quakers have not won a Big 5 game since I arrived on campus.

For my fellow seniors, this year represents our last chance to taste Big 5 glory. But will this be the season that Penn breaks a 13-game Big 5 losing streak?

Stranger things have happened, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

There’s no question that Penn has made significant improvements since last year, but the elusive Big 5 win almost definitely won’t come tonight against No. 12 Villanova.

Last year, the Wildcats trounced Penn 103-65 and it was no fluke. Villanova has outscored Penn by an average of over 28 points in the last three meetings.

Meanwhile, former Penn coach Fran Dunphy’s Temple squad was ranked No. 22 in the preseason NCAA coaches poll. Even with the graduation of the explosive Ryan Brooks, the Owls simply have more firepower than the Quakers.

In the more statistically advanced Sagarin ratings index, Temple and Villanova are ranked 34th and 40th, respectively. Penn ranks way down at No. 210.

That leaves Atlantic 10 foes Saint Joseph’s and La Salle as the most realistic targets this year.

La Salle is 5-3 on the year and will have the home-court advantage at Tom Gola Arena, so it may be difficult for Penn to avenge last year’s 76-57 loss. But historically, the Explorers are the only Big 5 team with a losing record against the Quakers, who still own a decisive 38-25 advantage in the all-time series.

Penn’s final Big 5 game at home against St. Joe’s will probably be the most winnable. The Hawks placed 171st in the Sagarin rankings and have a 3-5 record on the young season, including consecutive losses to Drexel, Villanova and Princeton.

Last year’s meeting against St. Joe’s was one of Penn’s sloppiest efforts of the season, as the Quakers racked up 27 turnovers en route to an 85-64 thrashing.

But while Penn retained all of its key contributors from last year and added freshman-phenomenon Miles Cartwright and a healthy Tyler Bernardini, the Hawks lost leading scorer Darrin Govens, who netted 17 points in that game. Carl Jones, who torched the Quakers for 16 points in just 14 minutes last season, is now their leading scorer with 17.5 points per game.

So Penn certainly has a shot to end the Big 5 streak this year, but it’s hard to bet on first-year coach Jerome Allen over the likes of Dunphy, Villanova’s Jay Wright and the Hawks’ Phil Martelli.

I’m desperately hoping to experience at least one Big 5 victory as a student, but I’m not exactly holding my breath.

ARI SEIFTER is a senior computer and cognitive science major from Ellicott City, Md., and is former Associate Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be contacted at dpsports@theDP.com.

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