PHILADELPHIA – Following a loss at Saint Joseph's Friday night to start play in the newfangled Philadelphia city series, the University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team closes out Big 5 pod play Monday night as No. 21 Villanova comes to The Palestra.
 
GAME 4 – PENN (2-1, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. #21/21 VILLANOVA (2-0)
Monday, Nov. 13, 2023 | 7 p.m.
The Palestra | Philadelphia
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($) | Listen Live on QAN | Live Stats
Penn Game Notes (PDF) | Villanova Game Notes (PDF)
 
Ivy League on ESPN+
A reminder that the Ivy League is paired with ESPN+ and you can find all Penn home games, as well as road Ivy contests and select non-conference road games, on ESPN+ again this season with the same high broadcast quality you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly and yearly packages. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+!
 
Quaker Audio Network (QAN)
Penn fans can listen to most of the 2023-24 Penn's men's basketball season through the Quaker Audio Network, a free Internet-based audio streaming service. Matt Leon will be on the play-by-play call Monday night, with Brad Fadem providing analysis. To access the Quaker Audio Network, simply type www.pennathletics.com/audio into your computer or device.
 
The Series with Villanova
*The Quakers and Wildcats are meeting for the 70th time, with Villanova holding a 50-19 lead in the series including wins in each of the last three meetings. Going back even further, the 'Cats have won 18 of the last 19 matchups since Penn won back-to-back meetings in 2001 and 2002.
 
*In last year's meeting on the Main Line, Villanova used a barrage of three-point shots in the first half to take a 10-point lead at the break and never let up, ultimately earning a 70-59 victory at the Finneran Pavilion.
 
*Penn's last win in the series came right here at The Palestra on December 11, 2018, the Quakers gaining a 78-75 victory over a Villanova team that was the defending NCAA champion. The win ended the Wildcats' 25-game win streak in Philadelphia Big 5 games that extended back to December 5, 2012.
 
A New Era in the Big 5
The city series embarks on a new era this year. Among the changes...
 
*Drexel joins the Big 5, so all six Division 1 programs in the city now belong to the "Big 5."
 
*The teams have been divided into two three-team pods. Penn and Villanova join Saint Joseph's in one pod this year with La Salle and Temple joining the Dragons in the other.
 
*Following pod play, all six teams will converge on the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, Dec. 2 to play in the Big 5 Classic, a tripleheader that will ostensibly be played to determine a city champion. (Changes will be made if Saint Joseph's and La Salle are paired, since they already play twice in Atlantic 10 play.)
  2 p.m. - fifth place game
  4:45 - third place game
  7:30 - championship game
 
Penn Picked Fifth in Ivy Preseason Media Poll
Penn was picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League's Preseason Media Poll, which came from the votes of two members of each school's media contingent. The poll was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
2023-24 Ivy preseason media poll (first-place votes in parentheses)
  1. Yale, 124 (14)
  2. Princeton, 110 (2)
  3. Cornell, 80
  4. Brown, 77
  5. Penn, 68
  6. Harvard, 66
  7. Dartmouth, 28
  8. Columbia, 23
 
That's Not All
A quick scan of some other preseason predictions for the Quakers...
 
*Blue Ribbon picked Penn second, selected senior Clark Slajchert for its preseason all-conference team, and selected freshman Tyler Perkins as its preseason Newcomer of the Year.
 
*Lindy's picked Penn fourth and selected Slajchert as second-team All-Ivy.
 
*KenPom rates Penn fifth among Ivy League teams and 215th overall in NCAA Division 1.
 
Villanova in the Preseason
The Wildcats—easy winners over American (90-63) and Le Moyne (83-57) in the first week of the season—were ranked 22nd in the Associated Press preseason national poll and 20th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. In the Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll, Villanova was picked fourth behind favorite Marquette, Creighton, and defending NCAA champion UConn. (The league's head coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.)
 
Penn MBB by the Numbers
0:12 - Through three Penn games this season, the team that lost the respective games has led a whopping total of 12 seconds of the 120 minutes played. (That was the Quakers, 15-13 early in the first half of Friday's game at Saint Joseph's.) Taking it a step further, the team that WON the games led all but 3:07 of the 120 minutes.
 
1 - Collegiate double-doubles by freshman Tyler Perkins, who led all players with 24 points and 14 rebounds last Wednesday against Bucknell in his first game against a Division 1 opponent; the last Penn player with a double-double in his first such game? AJ Brodeur (23 pts/11 rbs at Robert Morris).
 
2 - Games played by Penn at what is now the Wells Fargo Center entering this season. The Quakers split a pair of games with Monday's opponent, Villanova, back when it was called the First Union Center, losing 80-51 on February 6, 2001 and winning 72-58 on December 10, 2003. Penn will double that number on consecutive Saturdays this season, playing there on December 2 (Big 5 Classic) and 9 (Kentucky).
 
3 - Non-conference opponents who are ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason National Poll: Houston (#8), Kentucky (#16) and Villanova (#22). A fourth non-conference opponent, Auburn, is sixth among the teams also receiving votes in the poll.
 
3 - 2-0 starts by Penn during the Steve Donahue coaching era; the Quakers also started 2-0 his first season back in Philly (2015-16), and in 2018-19 they started the season with four wins.
 
4 - Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors won in 2021-22 by senior Clark Slajchert (3) and junior George Smith (1); Slajchert also was Ivy League Player of the Week once last season. Sophomores were eligible for the rookie award in 2021-22 because there was no 2020-21 season (COVID-19).
 
6 - Returning players who have had at least one double-figure scoring game during the course of their Penn career: Slajchert (31), junior Nick Spinoso (18), Smith (8), senior Andrew Laczkowski (2), junior Ed Holland III (1), and sophomore Cam Thrower (1).
 
6 - Newcomers on the roster: freshmen Sam Brown, Augustus Gerhart, Tyler Perkins, and Niklas Polonowski; sophomore transfer Johnnie Walter (from CSU-Northridge); and sophomore walk-on Jake Hsu (who played football for the Quakers last year).
 
9 - Free throws made by Perkins to start his collegiate career, before he missed the first of two he took Friday at Saint Joseph's.
 
16 - Double-figure scoring games by Slajchert last season, including a pair of 30-point outings—33 vs. Colgate, 31 in the Ivy opener at Brown—and four others with at least 20 points; he has hit double figures in all three games so far this season, as well.
 
27 - Points scored by Slajchert in Friday night's loss at Saint Joseph's—on 11-of-17 shooting, including five treys which tied a career high set twice before.
 
+30 - Penn's rebound advantage against Bucknell last Wednesday (52-22); it was the Quakers' largest margin against a Division 1 opponent since they were +37 in a win over Columbia on February 2, 1974 (65-28).
 
40.7 - Percentage of points returning to the lineup in 2023-24 (915 of 2,249) including three of the team's five leading scorers from last year: Slajchert (13.6 ppg in 2022-23), Spinoso (8.8 ppg) and Smith (5.6).
 
47 - Points scored by Perkins through three games, second among Penn players (behind Slajchert who has 52); the freshman also leads the Quakers in rebounds (25), assists (11), and steals (7).
 
93 - Assists dished out last season by Spinoso, the team high; that included an 11-assist game against Saint Joseph's and ten others with at least four dimes. Spinoso also was second on the team in rebounds (168) and third in both steals (22) and blocked shots (13).
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.