PHILADELPHIA – The #RoadToIvyMadness hits full steam this weekend, as the University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team hosts Brown and Yale at The Palestra this Friday and Saturday. These are the first two of 11-straight conference games the Quakers will play to close the regular season.
 
Locally in Philadelphia, Saturday's game with the Bulldogs will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia+, and fans also can listen to Friday's game with the Bears on WNTP (990 AM) and Saturday's game on WXPN (88.5 FM). Worldwide, fans can watch both games this weekend on the Ivy League Network (ILN), now available on Apple TV, Roku and the ILN app for Android and Apple devices.
 
ALUMNI WEEKEND
Prior to Saturday's Penn-Yale game, the annual alumni game will take place on the Palestra floor from 3:45-4:45 p.m. The event is open to the public, fans are invited to come and watch the former Quakers re-live their past glories!
 
THE BROWN-YALE WEEKEND
Penn has hosted the Bears and the Bulldogs the same weekend 58 times previously. The Quakers have swept the weekend 38 times, most recently in 2011-12; split it 17 times; and been swept three times with those coming over the last four years (2015-16 being the exception).
 
GAME 20 – PENN (13-6, 3-0 Ivy League) vs. BROWN (9-8, 2-2)
Friday, Feb. 2, 2018 * 7 p.m.
The Palestra (Philadelphia)
 
THE SERIES WITH BROWN
• The Quakers and the Bears have met 132 times previously, with Penn holding a 105-27 lead in the series.
 
• That said, Brown has dominated the series of late, taking six of the last eight meetings. The Bears also have won three of the last four games played here at The Palestra, the lone loss coming two years ago (a 79-74 Penn win).
 
• The teams have split the season series each of the last two years. Last season, Brown came to The Palestra and walked out with an 82-70 win, but Penn returned the favor with a 96-72 victory in Providence a month later.
 
GAME 21 – PENN vs. YALE (9-11, 2-2)
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 * 7 p.m.
The Palestra (Philadelphia)
 
THE SERIES WITH YALE
• The Quakers and Bulldogs are meeting for the 227th time this weekend, with Penn holding a 147-79 lead in the series.
 
• Penn has also been on the wrong side of this series in recent years. In fact, when the Quakers went to New Haven last year and beat the Bulldogs, 71-55, it snapped a nine-game losing streak.
 
• In addition, Yale has won five in a row here at The Palestra, including a 68-60 decision in the first meeting between the two clubs last year.
 
PENN BY THE NUMBERS
2 • Categories in which sophomore AJ Brodeur leads the Ivy League in conference play: rebounds per game (8.3) and steals per game (2.3).
 
3 • Consecutive games in which Penn has taken more three-point shots than two-point shots entering the weekend.
 
5 • The number of categories that Penn entered the week leading the Ivy League: overall scoring margin (+7.4), FG defense (.412), 3FG defense (.303), rebound margin (+2.4), and assist/turnover ratio (1.25).
 
6 • Consecutive double-figure scoring games by sophomore Ryan Betley (16.0 points per game in that span). He has double digits in 13 of Penn's last 14 games and a team-high 16 overall.
 
6 • Six different players have led Penn in scoring in a game this season: senior Caleb Wood; juniors Max Rothschild and Antonio Woods; sophomores Betley and Brodeur; and freshman Jarrod Simmons.
 
6.7 • Brodeur's overall rebounds-per-game average; he entered the week leading the Ivy League in that category, while Rothschild was second (6.6 rpg).
 
12 • The number of Penn players who have at least one double-figure scoring game this season.
 
+15 • Penn's rebound margin against Saint Joseph's (51-36), a season best.
 
59 • Days between road games during this current homestand. The Quakers' last road game was December 9 at Dayton, and the next one will be Tuesday at Princeton. In between, Penn is playing nine home contests including five to start Ivy League play.
 
90 • Penn has reached 90 points four times already this season; the last time the Quakers had four such games was 1994-95, when the Quakers had 10!