PHILADELPHIA – Following a pair of victories to open the 2023-24 season, the University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team hits Big 5 play on Friday night, making the short trip to City Avenue to face Saint Joseph's at Hagan Arena.
 
In addition to airing on ESPN+, Friday's game can be accessed by fans in the Philadelphia region on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
 
GAME 3 – PENN (2-0, 0-0 Ivy League) at SAINT JOSEPH'S (1-0)
Friday, Nov. 10, 2023 | 6:30 p.m.
Hagan Arena | Philadelphia
Watch Live on ESPN+ ($) | Listen Live on QAN | Live Stats
Penn Game Notes (PDF) | Saint Joseph's Game Notes (PDF)
 
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. Joe Tordy will be on the play-by-play call Friday night, with Vince Curran providing analysis. To access the Quaker Audio Network, simply type www.pennathletics.com/audio into your computer or device.
 
The Series with Saint Joseph's
*The Quakers and Hawks are meeting for the 92nd time overall; Penn has played Saint Joseph's more than any other non-Ivy League opponent. That said, this is just the Red and Blue's fourth trip to Hagan Arena.
 
*Saint Joseph's leads the overall series, 54-37, but the teams have played pretty evenly the last decade-plus with the SJU advantage just 7-5 over the last 12 meetings (eight of those decided by eight or fewer points).
 
*The Hawks have won the last three meetings, winning 85-80 in OT last year at The Palestra and taking a 78-71 decision the last time these teams played at Hagan Arena, two years ago.
 
*Penn's last win in the series—its second in a row at the time—took place on January 26, 2019, a 78-70 decision at The Palestra.
 
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 Saint Joseph's join Villanova 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.
 
Saint Joseph's in the Preseason
The Hawks—81-60 winners over Lafayette in their season opener on Monday—were picked fifth in the Atlantic 10's preseason poll, earning 257 voting points from that league's panel of coaches and media. In addition, Erik Reynolds was named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference First Team while Cameron Brown was selected to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Third Team.
 
Penn MBB by the Numbers
0:00 – Amount of time Penn has trailed through its first two games; in fact the Quakers have only been tied a total of 1:02 this season, holding the lead for the other 78:58.
 
2 - Games played by Penn at what is now the Wells Fargo Center. The Quakers split a pair of games with 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 in one week this season, playing there on December 2 and 9.
 
3 - Non-conference opponents who are ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason National Poll: Houston (#8), Kentucky (#16), and Villanova (#22). A third non-conference opponent, Auburn, is sixth among the teams also receiving votes in the poll.
 
3 – Penn's 2-0 starts during the Steve Donahue coaching era; the Quakers also started his first season 2-0, and in 2018-19 they started the season with four wins.
 
4 - Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors won in 2021-22 by 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),  Spinoso (18), Smith (8), senior Andrew Laczkowski (2), junior Eddie Holland III (1), and sophomore Cam Thrower (1).
 
6 - Newcomers added to the roster for 2023-24: 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).
 
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.
 
+30 – Penn's rebound advantage against Bucknell on Wednesday night (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).
 
39 – Points scored by freshman Tyler Perkins through two games, tops among all Penn players; he had a double-double in his first game against a Division 1 opponent on Wednesday, leading all players with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
 
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 ppg).
 
51.5 – Penn's overall field-goal percentage through its first two games (68-132).
 
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).
 
114 – First-half points scored by Penn in its first two games this season (61 vs. John Jay, 53 vs. Bucknell).
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.