PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania has announced its men's basketball home schedule for the 2019-20 season. In the fifth season under John R. Rockwell Head Coach of Men's Basketball Steve Donahue, the Quakers will play 11 contests at The Palestra. That includes three against Philadelphia Big 5 opponents as the Red and Blue look to retain the city title they won last year, and of course the seven-game Ivy League campaign.
 
Season tickets for the 2019-20 men's basketball home season are now on sale. Existing season ticket holders should click here for renewal information, while fans interested in becoming season ticket holders can click here. Please note, new season tickets will be assigned after the renewal deadline (Friday, Sept. 13).
 
The Non-Conference Home Schedule…
 
LA SALLE (Wednesday, Nov. 13)
Penn leads the series, 41-31, and has won three of the last four matchups with the Explorers including an 83-65 victory last year at Tom Gola Arena … La Salle won the last meeting at The Palestra, 75-71 in double overtime two years ago … 2018-19: 10-21 overall, 8-10 Atlantic 10, 218 NET.
 
WIDENER (Saturday, Dec. 21)
Penn has played the Pride just three times previously and not since 1935 … The Quakers are 3-0 in the series … this will be Penn's fourth game against a non-Division 1 opponent in the Steve Donahue era, and the third straight year the Red and Blue have face a non-D1 foe … Fun fact: Widener (then Pennsylvania Military College) and Penn played the first game at The Palestra on December 30, 1926 … 2018-19: 15-12 overall, 10-6 MAC Commonwealth.
 
SAINT JOSEPH'S (Saturday, Jan. 18)
Arguably Penn's most even Big 5 rivalry in recent years, the Quakers are 5-4 against the Hawks over the last nine seasons … Penn owns a modest two-game win streak, with a 78-70 win last year and a 67-56 victory two years ago … Penn has played Saint Joseph's 87 times, more than any other non-Ivy League program (SJU leads the series, 50-37) … Every game in this series has been played in The Palestra dating back to the 1996-97 season … SJU's first-year coach is Billy Lange … 2018-19: 14-19 overall, 6-12 Atlantic 10, 171 NET.
 
TEMPLE (Saturday, Jan. 25) – ALUMNI WEEKEND
The Owls have dominated this Big 5 series recently, winning 11 in a row and 14 of 15 before Penn knocked them off last year at Liacouras Center, 77-70 … Overall, the Owls lead the series 48-20 … The last time Penn beat Temple at The Palestra was the 2006-07 season, a 76-74 decision … Temple's first-year coach is Aaron McKie … 2018-19: 23-10 overall, 13-5 American, 57 NET.
 
Princeton…
 
Saturday, Jan. 4
*This will be the 242nd and meeting between the Ivy League's flagship programs; Penn has not played any other opponent more than Princeton. The Tigers swept last year's season series with a 68-65 overtime decision at Jadwin Gym and then a 62-53 win one week later at The Palestra. Penn swept the season series two years ago.
 
The Ivy League Home Weekends…
 
January 31/February 1 – Harvard/Dartmouth
*Penn has swept this home weekend 45 times overall, most recently two years ago, but the Quakers have split or been swept at home by the Crimson and Big Green nine of the last 11 years … Both games in this home weekend went overtime last year, Penn beating Dartmouth on Friday (82-79) but losing to Harvard on Saturday (75-68).
 
February 14/15 – Brown/Yale
*Penn has swept this home weekend 39 times overall including each of the last two years; prior to that, the Quakers' most recent sweep had been the 2011-12 season … Penn ended the regular season with this homestand a year ago, rolling to a 77-66 win over Yale on Friday and then beating Brown 58-51 in a de facto Ivy Tournament play-in game on Saturday … The Quakers were swept at The Palestra by the Bears and Bulldogs three times in four years from 2013-14 to 2016-17.
 
March 6/7 – Cornell/Columbia
*Penn has swept this home weekend 44 times overall, including two of the last three years and six of the last eight seasons … The Quakers split this homestand a year ago, losing to Columbia in overtime on Friday (79-77) but then beating Cornell on Saturday (68-50).