Penn (6-7) vs. Saint Joseph's (8-7)

Jan. 25, 2005 at8 p.m.

The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa.

Broadcast Live on CN8at www.pennathletics.com

Penn returns to The Palestra for the first of three-home contests. The Quakers fared well on their last road trip picking up two wins against Siena and Lafayette. Penn recorded 20-plus wins over the Saints and the Leopards en route to several career performances.

Leaping the Leopards

The Quakers dominated their opponent for the second-consecutive game on Jan. 18 against the Leopards. Sophomore Ibrahim Jaaber scored a career-high 24 points and senior Tim Begley dished out a career-high and school record 13 assists in Penn's 85-63 victory. Penn shot 50 percent from the field for the third time this season and second game in a row. Both Jaaber and senior Eric Osmundson, who tied his career high of 20, nailed eight field goals, four of which came from beyond the arc. The Quakers emptied the bench before the 40 minutes were up as 10 different players recorded at least two points in the victory. Eight players picked up steals, including Begley who had a career-high four. As a team the Quakers dished out 20 assists and a season-high 14 steals.

One of the Best

The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball program was named one of college basketball's greatest programs of all-time by Street and Smith. The Quakers, who ranked 16th, were the highest ranked Ivy League and Big 5 school.

Coaches Corner

Penn

Head Coach Fran Dunphy is in his 16th season at the helm of Penn basketball. Coach Dunphy is the winningest coach in Penn basketball history with 275 career victories. Dunphy has had 11 winning seasons at Penn including three-straight 17 plus-win seasons. Dunphy is the second winningest coach in the Ivy League with 166 Ancient Eight victories.

Saint Joseph's

Head Phil Martelli has brought Saint Joseph's to levels of national success over the last 10 years. He has guided the Hawks to 11 postseason wins (6 NCAA, 5 NIT) including a trip to the 2004 Elite Eight. He was named National Coach of the Year in 2004 and coached the 2004 Player of the Year in Jameer Nelson. He sports a 193-112 record with the Hawks.

Scouting the Hawks

Saint Joseph's is coming off a 73-54 win at Massachusetts on Jan. 22. Pat Carroll, who leads the team with 14.6 points per game, scored 19 points, including five three-pointers against the Minutemen. Two other Hawks average double figures in Chet Stachitas (12.8) and Dwayne Jones (10.9). SJU has won five of its last six contests and sport a 4-2 record in The Palestra this season.

The Series

Penn is 32-41 against the Hawks, while Head Coach Fran Dunphy is 4-11. The Quakers snapped a 14-game losing streak against SJU on Dec. 11, 1993. Penn won back-to-back games in 1999 and 2000 but has only won one game since then, a 62-60 victory in The Palestra on Jan. 26, 2003.

Against the Big 5

The Red and Blue are 1-2 in Big 5 contests this season. Penn opened the season with a 78-67 victory over La Salle but fell to Temple, 52-51, before losing to Villanova, 74-64, on New Year's Eve. The Red and Blue sport a 103-134 mark against Big 5 opponents. In official Big 5 games, the Red and Blue are 73-111. Penn has won five Philadelphia Big 5 titles and shared the honor eight times.

Versus the Atlantic 10

Penn is 96-110 in games against schools from the Atlantic 10 conference. With the Quakers win over the Explorers earlier in the season, Penn is 1-0 against A10 foes this season. This is last of three meetings against A10 schools this season. Penn met the same three schools last year - La Salle, Saint Joseph's and Temple recording a 1-2 record.

The Red and Blue on Jan. 25

The Red and Blue have played 21 times on the 25th day of the year. Penn sports 12-9 record, including a 1-3 record against Saint Joseph's on this day. The Quakers and Hawks faced off in 1978,1992 and 2003 on the 25th of January.

Up Next ...

The Red and Blue continue their homestand with two Ivy League match-ups: Yale on Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. and Brown on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. The Quakers return to the road with a trip to Harvard and Dartmouth the following weekend.

19 Straight Victories

With Penn's win over Lafayette on Jan. 18, Head Coach Fran Dunphy has won 19-straight games against the Patriot League teams with their last loss on Jan. 27, 1997 at Lafayette.

Hot Potato

Senior Tim Begley can not only score points, but he can help his friends score as well. The Freehold, N.J. native dished out a program record-tying 13 assists against Lafayette on Jan. 18. The record, held by Dave Wohl, C'71, went untouched for 35 years. Begley, who averaged 5.6 assists prior to the game, had nine helpers in the first half and now averages 6.1 helpers per game.

Give Him the Ball

In his first six games, senior Eric Osmundson averaged 3.7 points per game and was shooting 28.6 percent from the field. But in five of the last seven games, he has scored in double figures and shot the ball much better, especially from beyond the arc. Osmundson combined for 14-for-23 from the field and 8-of-14 on three pointers against Siena and Lafayette. The guard is averaging 8.6 points per game, which is third best on the team and ranks in the top-five in the League in three-point percentage (46.2)

Picking Pockets

On Jan. 18 against Lafayette, the Quakers stole the ball away 14 times. It was the second time this season Penn has picked their opponents pockets that many times. Against the Leopards, eight different Quakers got their hands on the ball. Tim Begley had the most stolen ball with a career-high four, while three other players had two apiece. All five starters have at least one assist as well. Penn also had 14 steals against Bucknell on Dec. 1.

Dominating the Glass

Penn has had 40 or more rebounds in five games this season including three-straight contest - Illinois-Chicago (42), Siena (44) and Lafayette (42). The Quakers grabbed a season-high 18 offensive boards against UIC. Tim Begley leads all Quakers, averaging 6.4 rebounds per game, while sophomores Mark Zoller and Steve Danley average 5.3 and 4.8 rpg, respectively. Begley and Zoller rank in the top-10 in the League in rebounding.

Moving Up the Charts

Begley continues to climb the career ladder in three-pointers made. The Freehold, N.J. native nailed two threes against Temple on Dec. 8 to surpass current Assistant Coach Matt Langel on the all-time list. With 11 more treys since then, Begley needs only 31 baskets from three-point land to nab the top spot, which is held by former Quaker Matt Maloney. Begley also stands third in the Penn accolades in three pointers made in a season with 83 in 2003-04.

244 Matt Maloney 1993-95

220 Jeff Schiffner 2001-04

213 Tim Begley 2002-present

201 Matt Langel 1997-00

199 Garrett Kreitz 1995-98

Unblemished

Sophomore Steve Danley went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe against Rider. He is just the third student-athlete this season to go unblemished from the free-throw line with more than four attempts. Senior Tim Begley went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line against Illinois- Chicago on Jan. 8. Senior Jan Fikiel went 4-for-4 against Bucknell on Dec. 1.

Off the Bench

Senior Jan Fikiel did not start on Jan. 12 against the Broncs - it was the first time this season he did not get the starting nod, but it didn't seem to faze him. Fikiel came off the bench to score 21 points, including 10 in the second half and three in the extra period. For the second-straight contest, the forward connected on two three pointers. The Ulm, Germany native went 9-for-13 from the field, 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and 1-for-1 from the line.

Back to Business

Senior Tim Begley had his streak of 13 games of at least one three-pointer snapped against Villanova on Dec. 31. But denying him from beyond the arc did not last long as the senior captain has downed trifectas in each of the last four games. Begley has 35 trifectas and is on pace to establish a new program record for three-pointers in a career.

Seeing Double, Again

Senior Tim Begley recorded his second-straight double-double against the Broncs on Jan. 12. It's the first time he has made back-to-back double-doubles and is just the fourth of his career. Sophomore Mark Zoller is the only other Quaker to have a double-double this season with a 10-point, 15-rebound effort against Quinnipiac and a 22-point, 12-rebound performance against Drexel.

Lending a Hand

Senior Tim Begley tied the program record for assists in a game with 13 helpers against Lafayette. Begley has 80 helpers so far this season and 369 in his career. He needs 18 more helpers to catch former teammate David Klatsky. Begley is currently averaging 6.4 apg, which leads the Ivy League.

A Little Help From the Bench

The Penn bench's 32 points on Jan. 15 outscored the starting five for the Saints. Siena's starters managed only 26 points in the game, while five of seven players off the Penn bench scored at least three points. Sophomore Ryan Pettinella and senior Jan Fikiel led the subs with nine points each. Junior Friedrich Ebede scored a career-high seven points in a career-high 21 minutes of action, while senior Nameir Majette scored a career-high four points and went 2-for-4 in his first ever trip to the charity stripe. Freshman David Whitehurst downed his second career three pointer for three points in a career-high 11 minutes of action.

How May I Assist You

The Red and Blue handed out 24 assists against Siena on Jan. 15. It was the second time this season the Quakers have dished out more than 20 helpers. Tim Begley led the way with nine assists, followed by sophomore Steve Danley (five) and senior Eric Osmundson (four), while six other players have one helper.

The Starting Five

All five starters had at least two assists and one steal in the Quakers loss to San Francisco on Jan. 4. Only one player had two turnovers, while the other four each had one. You have to go back to Penn's win at Princeton on Feb.10, 2004 to find a game where all five starters had at least one assist and one steal.

Aiming for 1,000

Senior Tim Begley has 927 career points and needs just 73 to become a member of the 1,000 point club at Penn. There are 31 members of the exclusive group with the most recent entry coming from 2004 graduate Jeff Schiffner.

Beyond the Arc

The Red and Blue shot 78.6 percent from the three-point line against Drexel, breaking the program record for three-point accuracy in a game. The previous record of 75 percent was set against USC on Jan. 11, 2003 when the Quakers went 15-of-20 from beyond the arc. Penn tied the record just 19 days later against Princeton, nailing 6-of-8 trifectas.

Honors All-Around

The Quakers have had three Ivy League and two Big 5 Players of the Week so far this year.

11/29 Ivy League Player of the Week

- Mark Zoller

Big Five Co-Player of the Week

- Mark Zoller

12/6 Ivy League Player of the Week

- Tim Begley

Big Five Player of the Week

- Tim Begley

1/24 Ivy League Player of the Week

- Ibrahim Jaaber

Penn Tabbed Second by Media

The Quakers finished second in the 2004-05 Ivy League Media Poll. Princeton garnered the top spot with 14 of the 16 first-place votes. Penn received one first-place nod, while Brown grabbed the final one. Yale was picked to finish third followed by Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard and Dartmouth.

Ivy League Media Poll

Team Votes

Princeton (14) 125

Penn (1) 111

Yale 85

Brown (1) 83

Columbia 62

Cornell 54

Harvard 37

Dartmouth 19

A Decade Worth of Victories

For the 10th time since his tenure began, Head Coach Fran Dunphy's team has recorded at least 17 victories in a season. The current Ivy League dean of coaches has 11 winning seasons under his belt and three straight heading into the 2004-05 campaign.

He's No. 2

Head Coach Fran Dunphy is second all-time in the Ivy League with 276 career victories, after surpassing Cappy Cappon who recorded 250 wins in 20 seasons at Princeton. Princeton's Pete Carril, who spent 29 seasons with the Tigers, is the all-time Ivy League wins leader with 514. Dunphy is also second in all-time Ivy League wins with 156. He has amassed an overall record of 156-42 against Ivy League opponents in his 14 seasons at Penn, giving him a .788 winning percentage.

Home Sweet Home

The Red and Blue are 726-314 all-time in The Palestra. Penn has not had a losing season at home since 1984-85 where the Quakers went 4-9. The Quakers have had 19 perfect Ivy League seasons at home and four seasons without a loss in The Palestra.

Welcome to The Palestra

The Palestra, which was built in 1927, was refurbished in 2000 and reopened amid some hoopla on Dec. 7 as "The Palestra 2000." Known as college basketball's most storied gymnasium, The Palestra was renovated into a type of museum of basketball history that includes players, coaches and fans from Penn, the Ivy League, local high schools, national powerhouse colleges, and of course, the Philadelphia Big 5. In an article titled, "A Museum in the Cathedral," Sports Illustrated's Alex Wolff said "... Old friends - and the new friends The Palestra is making, like the Maryland basketball team, which strolled the halls in December on orders from Coach Gary Williams - regard the temple at 33rd and Walnut as "holier than a mere landmark."

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