Of the Ivy League’s four remaining non-league games, three are Big 5 games for Penn. Dartmouth’s loss to UNH earlier this week dropped the combined Ivy non-league mark to three games under .500, so there’s no margin for error in any of these games if the league is to have a winning season.
Penn (9-6, 2-0 Ivy) at La Salle (8-9) – 7:00 pm ET
Gametracker | Penn audio | La Salle audio
The Quakers’ only City Series game thus far was the 99-89 loss to Villanova back on December 2, so they’ll be looking to break into the Big 5 win column in a place that hasn’t been friendly to them over the years. With the exception of a 71-47 cakewalk at La Salle in 2003-04, Penn has struggled at Tom Gola Arena. The strong 2001-02 team needed overtime to squeak by, the 1999-00 squad dropped an 83-76 decision there, and the 1998-99 edition won a very tight one. Dr. John Giannini’s Explorers don’t have Steven Smith any more and are very young, but they are an athletic bunch, which is something that has given the Quakers problems this season. La Salle came out of the gates quickly, starting out 6-2. It has dropped seven of nine since to fall below .500, but showed improvement recently in close losses to Massachusetts and at Dayton. However, the Explorers don’t have a victory over a Top 200 team this year — let alone a Top 100 scalp.
Scoring hasn’t been an issue for La Salle, which enters the game with good offensive efficiency of 1.06. However, the defense has let down the Explorers of late, allowing 1.09 points per possession over the last nine contests. La Salle is defending the three-pointer (32.8 percent allowed) better than inside the arc (50.3 percent allowed), and tends to play conservatively on defense, only forcing turnovers on 21.0 percent of opponent possessions. Offensively, the Explorers are shooting reasonably well inside (51.0 percent) and outside (36.1 percent), but don’t attempt many threes (26.5 percent of field goals) and have a mild turnover problem (23.8 percent). The one thing that should concern the Penn coaching staff above everything else is La Salle’s 41.7-percent offensive rebounding on the season. The Quakers have had problems on the defensive glass this year, and can’t afford to allow too many second chances if they want to leave 20th and Olney with a win.
Pomeroy says: Penn 79, La Salle 71
