PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team had a chance to hang a banner last Saturday at Princeton's Jadwin Gym, but let a 17-point halftime lead slip away and fell to the Tigers in overtime. The Quakers return to the scene of the crime just one week later, this time playing for an NCAA Tournament bid. #IvyMadness has arrived! Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.
 
Penn is the third seed and will have a chance to avenge last Saturday's loss by facing second-seeded Princeton in Saturday's second semifinal. The first semi pits top-seeded Yale against fourth-seeded Cornell. Saturday's winners will then meet on Sunday at noon to determine the league's NCAA bid.
 
"Live at Ivy Madness", featuring each team's open shootaround on Friday, will be televised on ESPN+. You can catch the Quakers from 1:30-2:10 p.m. "Live at Ivy Madness" is open to the public with free admission, so feel free to stop by Jadwin Gym to catch the event in person!

Saturday's semifinals will air nationally on ESPNU, while Sunday's final will air nationally on ESPN2.
 
GAME 30 – #3 PENN (17-12, 9-5 Ivy League) at #2 PRINCETON (19-8, 10-4)
Ivy League Tournament Semifinal
Saturday, March 11, 2023 | 1:30 p.m.
Jadwin Gym | Princeton, N.J.
Watch Live on ESPNU | Listen Live on QAN | Live Stats
Penn Game Notes | Princeton Game Notes
 
GAME 31 (IF PENN WINS SATURDAY) – #3 PENN vs. #1 YALE (20-7, 10-4)/#4 CORNELL (17-10, 7-7)
Ivy League Tournament Final
Sunday, March 12, 2023 | Noon
Jadwin Gym | Princeton, N.J.
Watch Live on ESPN2 | Listen Live on QAN | Live Stats
Yale Game Notes | Cornell Game Notes
 
Quaker Audio Network (QAN)
Penn fans can listen to most of Penn's men's basketball games through the Quaker Audio Network, a free Internet-based audio streaming service. Matt Leon will be on the play-by-play call for Saturday's game (and Sunday's, if necessary) with Brad Fadem and Vince Curran providing analysis. To access the Quaker Audio Network, simply type www.pennathletics.com/audio into your computer or device.
 
The Series with Princeton
*The Quakers and the Tigers are meeting for the 248th time in their storied men's basketball rivalry, with Penn holding on to a 126-121 advantage in the series.
 
*This will be the second time Penn and Princeton have played in the Ivy League Tournament; these teams actually started the #IvyMadness era by playing the first semifinal in the inaugural tournament in 2017 at The Palestra. In that crazy game, top-seeded Princeton never led in regulation, but forced overtime and never trailed in OT in beating fourth-seeded Penn, 72-64.
 
*Princeton has held the upper hand in recent years, with eight wins in a row and a 24-6 mark over Penn dating back to the 2008-09 season. That includes a 72-60 victory on January 16 at The Palestra in Philadelphia, and last Saturday's 77-69 OT win here at Jadwin.
 
*In the January 16 contest, junior Jordan Dingle led Penn offensively with 21 points while sophomore Nick Spinoso added 12 points. Overall, though, the Quakers struggled at the field, shooting just 33.3 percent (21-of-63).
 
*Of particular note, Penn was held without a three-point basket for the first time since November 24, 2009 against Drexel, going 0-for-12 in the contest.
 
*In the rematch last Saturday, Dingle exploded for 21 first-half-points and finished the day with 28. Max Martz added 13 points for the Quakers, while Spinoso knocked down 11.
 
*In last Saturday's game—one in which the winner was guaranteed a share of the Ivy title—Penn led by as many as 19 in the first half and by 17 at the break, but Princeton roared all the way back to force overtime and then outscored the Quakers 11-3 in the extra session.
 
Penn MBB by the Numbers
4.9 - Points-per-game difference between Ivy League games (11.1) and non-conference games (6.2) by sophomore Nick Spinoso; he has 130 points across the Quakers' last 11 Ivy contests (11.8 ppg) with a 59.2 FG percentage in that span (55-93).
 
5 - Penn players who were named Ivy League Player of the Year as a junior: Paul Little (1981-82), Jerome Allen (1993-94), Ugonna Onyekwe (2001-02), Ibrahim Jaaber (2005-06), and Jordan Dingle (2022-23).
 
7 - Consecutive Ivy League wins by Penn before last Saturday's loss at Princeton; it was the Quakers' longest streak since the 2017-18 team opened its Ivy campaign 7-0 en route to the regular-season co-championship at 12-2. That team would later win Ivy Madness at The Palestra.
 
8 - Consecutive wins overall by Penn before last Saturday, its longest streak since the 2006-07 squad ended the regular season with 10 straight victories.
 
8.3 - Rebound average by Lucas Monroe over Penn's last nine games; that includes four games with a double-digit rebound total and two double-doubles (2/4 vs. Cornell, 2/25 vs. Dartmouth).
 
9 - Dingle's standing on Penn's all-time scoring list, with 1,517 points; Ibrahim Jaaber (2004-07) is eighth with 1,518 points, while Ron Haigler (1973-75) is seventh with 1,552.
 
10 - Penn players with at least one double-figure scoring game this season; the Quakers have had at least 10 players with a double-digit scoring game in five of Coach Donahue's seven seasons, after doing it just eight times from 1951-2015.
 
10 - Double-figure scoring games in Ivy play this season by sophomore Nick Spinoso, including five of Penn's last six games; the outlier was February 25 vs. Dartmouth when he scored eight points.
 
11.8 - Scoring average over the last six games for junior Clark Slajchert; he has hit double figures in four of the last six games after seven single-digit outings.
 
13.7 - Scoring average over the last nine games for junior Max Martz, including double-digit totals in each of Penn's last three games; he had 18 points and 10 rebounds on February 18 vs. Brown for his second collegiate double-double.
 
15 - Three-point baskets hit by sophomore George Smith over Penn's last ten games after he had just eight treys in the Quakers' first 19 contests.
 
18 - Years in which a Penn player has been named Ivy League Player of the Year, after Dingle was announced as this year's recipient on Tuesday; the junior also was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy pick for the second straight year, while Martz received honorable mention All-Ivy recognition.
 
22 - 20-point games by Dingle this season, after he had a game-high 28 last Saturday vs. Princeton; the junior already has 43 such games for his career, tied with Keven McDonald (1976-78) for second on Penn's all-time list behind Ernie Beck (54 from 1951-53).
 
23.6 - Dingle's scoring average entering the weekend, second nationally behind Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis (28.2); despite missing two games, Dingle has 637 points this season which is second on Penn's single-season list behind Beck (673 across 26 games in 1952-53).
 
36 - Consecutive double-figure scoring games by Dingle, the fifth-longest streak in program history; McDonald is fourth, at 38 straight games.
 
40.8 - Penn's overall FG defense in Ivy play entering the weekend, tops among Ancient Eight programs.
 
58.2 - Penn's shooting percentage across its last five halves when it went to the locker room last Saturday at Princeton (85-146); the Quakers then shot 27.0 percent (10-37) across the second half and OT in taking the loss.
 
+81 - Penn's rebound margin in the nine games between their meetings with Princeton; the Quakers—who outboarded their opponent in all nine games—were outrebounded by the Tigers 44-36 in the first matchup and tied them last Saturday (44-44).
 
94.3 - Dingle's FT percentage across Penn's last six games (33-35) after he went 6-6 last Saturday vs. Princeton.