Men's Basketball Hosts Villanova Saturday

PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team has spent the past month trying out different lineups and different rotations as they work toward Ivy League play in a month. Tonight, a national television audience will get a chance to see where the Quakers are as they host Villanova in their first Philadelphia Big 5 game of 2012-13.

GAME 9 - PENN (2-6) vs. VILLANOVA (4-4)
Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012 * 8 p.m.
The Palestra (Philadelphia)
TV: NBC Sports Network (Randy Moss, Dalen Cuff)
Radio: WNTP 990 AM (Matt Leon, Vince Curran)

Click here for Live Stats!

Penn Game Notes (PDF) / Villanova Game Notes (PDF)

The Penn-Villanova Series
*The Quakers and the Wildcats are meeting for the 60th time, with Villanova holding a 41-18 lead in the series.

*Villanova has won nine in a row over Penn, including last year's 73-65 decision at the Pavilion out on the Main Line. The last time the Quakers beat the Wildcats here at The Palestra? Dec. 5, 2001, a 75-74 overtime decision.

*Penn is 80-117 all-time against programs that currently compete in the Big East Conference; today's game marks the Quakers' only one against a Big East member this season. (0-1 vs. Cincinnati, 1-1 vs. DePaul, 4-3 vs. Georgetown, 0-1 vs. Louisville, 2-20 vs. Notre Dame, 7-7 vs. Pittsburgh, 3-6 vs. Providence, 19-4 vs. Rutgers, 5-4 vs. St. John's, 1-2 vs. Seton Hall, 20-27 vs. Syracuse, 18-41 vs. Villanova)

A Short December
After an intense start to the season that included a stretch of six games in an 11-day span, things slow down considerably for the Quakers in the month of December. After playing last Saturday at Penn State -- the first day of December -- Penn had a week off to prepare for Villanova. It'll be another 13 days before the Red and Blue meet Delaware for the second time on the year, then the month wraps up at Wagner on Dec. 29.

Countdown to 1,700
Penn has won 1,699 games as a program; with one more, the Quakers will become the 10th NCAA Division I program to reach 1,700 wins (although the current No. 1 team in the country, Indiana, is 8-0 and racing to beat Penn to that milestone). Here are the winningest NCAA Division I programs heading into the weekend:
   1. Kentucky ... 2,094
   2. Kansas ... 2,076
   3. North Carolina ... 2,071
   4. Duke ... 1,979
   5. Syracuse ... 1,849
   6. Temple ... 1,795
   7. St. John's ... 1,743
   8. UCLA ... 1,733
   9. Notre Dame ... 1,730
   10. Penn ... 1,699
   11. Indiana ... 1,698

Home is Where the Wins Are
Penn entered the 2012-13 season with 803 wins at The Palestra, which opened in 1927. In yet another informal survey of the other NCAA Division I programs, only Washington (921 wins at Hec Edmundson Pavilion) and Butler (812 wins at Hinkle Fieldhouse) boast more wins in their current home than the Quakers. The Edmundson Pavilion was opened in 1927, while the Bulldogs opened Hinkle in 1928.

Quaker Notemeal From Penn State
*Penn's bench players outscored the starters (24-23) for the second time in three games; in fact, over the last three games, the Quakers have gotten more points from their bench players (92) than from their starters (86).

*Junior guard Dau Jok had five points against the Nittany Lions, giving him 19 over the last three games -- he had a career-high six against Lehigh on Nov. 20, and followed that by setting another career best with eight against Binghamton. Prior to this three-game set, he had scored 11 for his career.

*Freshman guard Tony Hicks had 10 points -- eight of them in the second half -- for his second double-figure scoring game wearing the Red and Blue.

*Hicks was the team's leading scorer in the game, the first time this season a player other than juniors Fran Dougherty or Miles Cartwright led the team in that category.

*Dougherty had seven rebounds to lead Penn; he has led the Quakers in that category in every game this season.

*Freshman guard Jamal Lewis matched a season/career high with eight points.

*Sophomore guard Camryn Crocker set a season high and tied a career best with three rebounds as he played a career-high 27 minutes.

*Cartwright is a combined 30-of-33 from the foul line in the last six games.