Tonight’s Penn-Princeton rematch isn’t going to have any effect on the standings. The Quakers wrapped up the Ivy title last Friday, while the Tigers are securely lodged in second place, regardless of tonight’s result. But there is definite meaning to the game for both teams — and beyond the usual talk of the rivalry.
For Penn, this is a final opportunity to significantly raise its RPI rating. The Quakers enter the game 93rd in the nation in RPI, and a win tonight is projected to raise their ranking to 84th. A win in the regular season finale also would give Penn an 8-3 record away from home against Division I opponents and 11 wins in its last 12 games. However, a loss at Princeton would hand Penn its second “bad” loss of the season to an opponent with an RPI ranking of worse than 200th, so that’s something the Quakers would certainly like to avoid. On top of all of that, there’s the simple matter of wanting to close out strong and go into the NCAA Tournament with some momentum.
Princeton has plenty to play for as well. A loss tonight would be its 16th on the season, which would tie a school record in the Ivy League Era. It also would drop the Tigers to 4-4 in their final eight games, after winning four straight to begin February to open 5-1 in the league. And then there’s Quaker albatross around their necks. A loss to Penn would be Princeton’s ninth in the last 10 meetings between the schools and the 12th in the last 15 meetings — and the Tigers haven’t defended their home court well at all against their rivals, winning just once at Jadwin since 1997-98. But it’s not all about avoidance for Princeton. On the positive side, a win would send a message to the Quakers that despite returning four starters and bringing in a heralded recruiting class, next season won’t be a cakewalk.
As for the game itself, it’s hard to know what to expect. Penn hasn’t exactly been playing its best basketball of the season lately, and Princeton has been wildly up and down in the past two weekends. In the first meeting in Philadelphia, each team played just seven players, and that number might be even smaller tonight. The Tigers will be without Edwin Buffmire, who was diagnosed with mononucleosis last week, while Penn senior Friedrich Ebede’s status is uncertain due to a groin injury. Ebede isn’t the only Quaker dinged up, as Eric Osmundson is battling a sore shoulder and Steve Danley will be sporting a protective mask over a broken nose. Penn is favored by six, but if Fran Dunphy rests one or more of his injured guys and elects to give younger guys like Kevin Egee and Brennan Votel some playing time in this one, it could be much more even than that.
A quick programming note: We’re pushing back Inside the Ivy and the final Power Rankings to Wednesday this week in order to include Tuesday’s Ivy League finale.
