PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team has been off for a week and the players were able to get home for a few days to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. It's back to business this weekend, though, as the Quakers facing a daunting challenge with a trip to the University of Toledo. The Rockets have won nine in a row and are 11-1 overall, bettering the Red and Blue's 10-2 mark and six-game win streak.
 
GAME 13 – PENN (10-2) at TOLEDO (11-1)
Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018 * 2 p.m.
Savage Arena (Toledo, Ohio)
Penn Game Notes | Toledo Game Notes
 
NEW IN 2018-19: The Ivy League on ESPN
Saturday's game, as well as all home games and Ivy League road games, will air on ESPN+ as part of The Ivy League's new partnership with ESPN. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+ and start your free trial! Click here for frequently asked questions about the Ivy League on ESPN.  
 
The Series with Toledo
• This is just the second meeting between the Quakers and the Rockets in men's basketball, with the first taking place exactly a year ago at The Palestra in Philadelphia.
 
• The Rockets won last year's game, 85-72, outscoring Penn 52-35 in the second half after trailing 37-33 at the break; the Quakers have gone 15-1 at The Palestra since that loss, the only loss in that time coming to Temple on January 20, 60-51.
 
• All-time, Penn is 4-2 against current Mid-American programs, never having played any of them more than once. The Quakers have wins over Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo and Northern Illinois—also last year, at the Gulf Coast Showcase—and losses to Ohio and Toledo.
 
WEEKLY HONORS FOR WANG
On Monday, freshman Michael Wang was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. The honor came on the heels of his 19-point, 9-rebound, 3-assist game in Penn's win at New Mexico last Saturday.
 
FUN STUFF TO KNOW
• Penn (25-6) and Toledo (26-7) are a combined 51-13 since last year's meeting, a .797 win percentage.
 
• At 10-2, Penn is off to its best 12-game start since the 1993-94 team also started 10-2; that team defeated La Salle in Game 13, 66-62, finished the regular season 24-2, and defeated Nebraska in the NCAA first round before losing to Florida in the second round.
 
• For the first time in program history, Penn has 10 wins prior to the New Year.
 
• Penn's current six-game win streak is its longest since winning seven in a row late in the 2011-12 season.
 
• Penn is 4-0 in true road games this season and has won five such games in a row dating back to last season.
 
• Penn's win over then-No. 17 Villanova on December 11 was its first over the Cats since Dec. 10, 2002 and the first over an AP-ranked team since a 73-70 win over No. 7 Temple on Nov. 23, 1998.
 
• Penn's 83-65 win at La Salle on December 8 was its biggest Big 5 win since a 71-47 win over the Explorers back on January 14, 2004.
 
Penn by the Numbers
101 • Games coached by head coach Steve Donahue at Penn.
 
38.3 • Penn's win percentage in its first 47 games under Donahue (18-29).
 
74.1 • Penn's win percentage in its last 54 games under Donahue (40-14).
 
0 • Two-point baskets scored so far this season by senior Jackson Donahue (no relation to Coach Donahue); all 12 of his field goals this season have come from beyond the arc.
 
0 • Losses suffered by Penn this season in the contiguous United States; the Quakers' losses to Kansas State and Oregon State came at the Paradise Jam which was played on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
3 • Points scored by junior Ryan Betley in Penn's season opener, when he drained a three-pointer on Penn's first possession of 2018-19; less than five minutes later he ruptured his patellar tendon, and so last year's leading scorer will miss the remainder of the season.
 
4 • Penn players with at least 28 assists this season: seniors Antonio Woods (36) and Max Rothschild (28), and juniors AJ Brodeur (team-high 48) and Devon Goodman (31); senior Jake Silpe has 22 assists.
 
5 • NCAA Division 1 players this year from China, including freshman Michael Wang. He shares the distinction with Michael Ou (Cal State Northridge), Johnny Wang (Cal State Fullerton), Kevin Zhang (Tulane) and James Zhao (California).
 
13 • Consecutive Penn losses to ACC programs, dating back to 2000-01, before the Quakers beat Miami on December 4, 89-75.
 
14.1 • Penn's average margin of victory in its nine Division 1 wins this season.
 
16 • Points needed by Brodeur to reach 1,000 for his career; he would become the 41st player in program history to achieve the milestone.
 
24 • Penn wins last season, most since the Quakers had 25 in 2001-02. All time, the Red and Blue have had nine seasons with 24 or more victories.
 
25 • Consecutive Philadelphia Big 5 games won by Villanova—a city record that covered six years and three days—before Penn beat the 17th-ranked Wildcats, 78-75, on December 11.
 
26 • Ivy League titles won by Penn. That is behind only Princeton (27). The rest of the league has 20 combined.
 
74 • Points scored by the freshman Wang over the last four games, an 18.5 per-game average.
 
67.5 • Penn's assist-to-basket ratio over the last four games (79 assists/117 FG).
 
92 • Points scored by Brodeur over the last six games, all double-digit games; he has 71 in the last three contests (18 vs. Miami, 17 at La Salle, 16 vs. Villanova, 20 at New Mexico).
 
113 • Three-point baskets by Penn this season, a 9.4 per-game average; the Quakers have hit double figures in that category five times in 12 games.
 
112 • Penn's point total against Stockton on Nov. 24, the fourth-highest total in program history and most since scoring 114 vs. Haverford on December 18, 1993.
 
291 • Three-point baskets by Penn last year, a program record. The Quakers have also set program marks each of the last two years in trey attempts (690 in 2016-17, 830 last season).
 
1.000 • Combined win percentage of Penn (6-0) and Old Dominion (8-0) since both teams were stranded together for nearly 24 hours at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands trying to fly back from the Paradise Jam.