The picks are in: Men’s basketball vs. Harvard

The Quakers will attempt to end a three-game conference losing streak

Penn men's basketball will arrive at the Palestra on Saturday with what may prove to be the turning point of their season ahead of them. The Quakers currently stand at 2-4, and have not won a game in conference play since Jan. 7. Even though they currently stand seventh in the Ivy League table, there is a four-way logjam ahead of them at 3-3. A win would put Penn in striking distance of the all-important top four, while a loss would drop the Quakers to 2-5 in-conference and make the second half of the Ivy season that much more difficult.

Harvard 68, Penn 72 — Caleb Crain, Sports Editor On paper, these two teams match up well. Penn has a better offense, scoring over five more points per game than Harvard, while the Crimson have a better defense, allowing under 65 points per game this year. Harvard's attack is led largely by Chris Ledlum, who currently ranks second in the Ivy League with 19.1 points per game, and first in rebounding at nearly nine per game.

Stopping him will require Penn's bigs, notably senior center Max Lorca-Lloyd and sophomore forward/ center Nick Spinoso, to step up. But to keep up with Ledlum, Penn has the only person scoring more than him in junior guard Jordan Dingle, who is averaging 23.6 points per game this year.

Both teams have shown flashes of brilliance against much better this season, with Penn keeping it close against Missouri and Harvard nearly pulling off a massive upset against then-fourth-ranked Kansas. In the end, I think it will be three-point shooting that highest total this season. Hartford’s struggles from deep hindered its ability to respond to Penn’s offensive precision.

“Having Jordan and [junior guard Clark

Slajchert] gives us so much off the dribble,” Donahue said. “I think we have to take more threes that are catch-and-shoot and be efficient with it. We have guys who can make them and it’s a big part of our offense. When we shoot well, it helps us with spacing and opens up games.”

Spinoso and senior guard Lucas Monroe were essential forces on the glass for Penn as well,

BY SUKHMANI KAUR

makes the difference on Saturday, as Penn shoots 35% from deep, while the Crimson can barely make three in 10. Look for junior guard Clark Slajchert and junior guard/forward Max Martz making key shots in the second half.

Harvard 57, Penn 62 — Brandon Pride, Former Sports Editor

It's tough to say with certainty what will happen in this matchup, but one thing I can guarantee is that it will be close. The last 12 meetings between these two teams have been competitive affairs — a stretch dating back to early 2017, well before any player on either roster was even close to graduating high school. Penn is a team that lives and dies by the three, and finishing with a combined 14 rebounds. Hartford fought hard and competed with the Quakers for possession off of second-chance opportunities, yet the team's efforts fell far too short as the Red and Blue notched their seventh double-digit win of the season.

“It was great to get a win tonight, especially a win like this when we felt like we were really flowing,” Spinoso said. “We really needed it hitting a high percentage of their deep shots will be a necessary component of any win, but especially this one. Both squads are underperforming and badly need a victory. Ultimately, I give a desperate Penn team the win here, especially if the Palestra can be as full as it was Jan. 16 against Princeton. However, with the relatively sloppy way both teams have handled the ball this year, don’t expect a shootout.

Harvard 81, Penn 85 — Griffin Bond, Sports Associate

In last year's match up at the Palestra, Dingle led the Quakers to victory over the Crimson with a thencareer-high 33 points. On Saturday, expect more of the same from Dingle, who has already eclipsed 30 points three times this season and set a new career high with 37 points against La Salle. The capability of Dingle and Slajchert to score, combined with a Harvard team that just won a 95-89 shootout against Cornell, is the perfect recipe for a high-scoring tilt. I wouldn’t be surprised if the game heads to overtime as it has in two of Penn’s last three games at home versus the Crimson. In the end, though, the scoring power of Penn’s stars overpower Harvard to win a close one.

Harvard 70, Penn 68 — Walker Carnathan,

Deputy Sports Editor

In a game that marks the halfway point in Penn’s Ivy League season, the Quakers face off with Harvard, a matchup that favors Penn talent-wise. But after being picked to win the conference prior to the season, the Quakers have not quite lived up to their esteemed billing. They have struggled to finish games down the stretch, and rank sixth in the conference in points allowed.

Penn is still entirely capable of playing like the team they were meant to be, but it is clear something needs to change. Figuring out exactly what is easier said than done, and unfortunately for Penn, the Crimson are not a team they can afford to experiment against. Harvard's Ledlum is the only player in the Ivy League within Dingle’s stratosphere scoring-wise, and has scored 20 or more in three of his past five games, with Harvard winning all three of those contests. In the end, I see a big game from Ledlum and another heartbreaking loss for Penn, but one that will serve as the wake-up call they need to save their season.

desperately. We had a couple of tough losses recently, but now we get to play six out of seven remaining games at the Palestra. I like our odds. We know we're not out of it”.

All of the Quakers’ remaining games this season will see them up against Ivy League opponents, beginning with a much-anticipated match against Harvard at the Palestra at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

scorers, with Charles shooting nearly 40% from three.

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

Solution to Previous Puzzle: go face-to-face with anyone. The question is how to play that cleanly more consistently. One completely unsolicited suggestion for coach Steve Donahue and his staff is to run more of the offense through senior guard Lucas Monroe and senior forward Michael Moshkovitz when they are on the court. The two are currently tied for third on the team with 41 assists, and boast assist-to-turnover ratios of well over two. Moshkovitz’s stat line is especially impressive, as he has managed this in only 13.7 minutes per game, and has yet to start a game this season.

Skill Level: Create and solve your Sudoku puzzles for FREE.

I understand that this will probably mean taking some possessions away from junior guard Jordan Dingle, and Dingle doesn’t deserve to have anything taken away from him; he’s the third-leading scorer in all of Division I and one of the most dynamic offensive players to don the Red and Blue in a long time. However, he also ranks third in the Ivy League in minutes played at 34 per game.

Dingle should not have to carry as big of an offensive workload as he does. Penn has reliable options in Monroe and senior guard Jonah Charles who can give Dingle and junior guard Clark Slajchert more time to rest and remain fresh for clutch time scenarios. Beyond their playmaking abilities, the two are also efficient

This brings us to the other reason for hope with Penn’s offense: three-point shooting. Donahue’s team has decided to determine its entire offensive performance on whether its players can make shots from deep. Over 40% of the team’s field goal attempts have been from long range. In several recent games, this has led to the Quakers dying by the three. But it also leaves room for Penn to thrive by the three.

The game against Columbia earlier this month is a great example of this. That night, Penn made 65% of its three-point attempts, en route to one of its biggest offensive performances of the season in an 84-55 win. Of course, not every game can be against Columbia. But Penn also shot the ball well against Missouri, its toughest non-conference game this year, draining 16 of 32 threes. This strategy kept Penn within striking distance of a team that spent significant time within the AP Top 25 for most of the game.

The point here is that three-point shooting is variable. Sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re cold, and when Penn is hot, it can compete with anyone. Now the only hope is that the Quakers can get hot more times than not between now and March.

Just like three-point shooting, chance plays a big role in determining the fate of a college basketball season. If it can get to Ivy Madness, Penn only needs to win two single-elimination games to get a conference title and March Madness berth, which would make the 2022-23 campaign an unmitigated success. So, here’s to hoping… our staff monitor the factual accuracy of claims made by political figures in TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, social media and news releases. They also monitor viral claims and rumors that spread through email and social media. They help conduct research on such claims and contribute to articles for publication on our website under the supervision of FactCheck.org staff. The fellows must have an ability to write clearly and concisely, an understanding of journalistic practices and ethics, and an interest in politics and public policy. The fellows also must be able to think independently and set aside any partisan biases.

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Cam Gunter, a former Penn men’s basketball player, died on Friday, the team announced on Twitter. No cause of death has been disclosed.

Gunter, a 6-foot-9 forward originally from Morton, Pa., appeared in 91 games for the Quakers during his four years at Penn from 2010 to 2014. In 2011, he had a career-high 12 points in 15 minutes of action in a loss against Harvard.

“Cam was an amazing person and mentor to our current players,” coach Steve Donahue said on Twitter. “My thoughts and prayers are with his girl friend Megan his family during this incredible difficult time.”

Although Donahue never coached Gunter at Penn, it is clear that Gunter’s presence was felt around the team for years after his graduation. According to his LinkedIn, Gunter worked as an account director at Anomaly in New York as of September 2022. He had previously worked as a coach at a Philadelphia 76ers camp, among other roles in New York.

While at Penn, Gunter’s coaches knew him as a “great team player” and “hard-working leader” of the team. Coming into college relatively undersized despite his tall height, he was known to have worked hard to gain weight so that he could compete at the collegiate level.