CBI 1st Round: Penn hosts Quinnipiac

Rosen and the Quakers get their first shot at the postseason under Coach Allen as they host Quinnipiac on Wednesday night. (Photo Credit: pennathletics.com)

Penn has accepted a bid to the College Basketball Invitational Tournament and will host the Quinnipiac Bobcats in the first round on Wednesday night

at 7:30PM. Zack Rosen and Tyler Bernardini will get a well-deserved chance to play once more in front of the hometown crowd at the Palestra, and the underclassmen will get some helpful tournament experience. Quinnipiac

will be a tough opponent for the Quakers, as the NEC”s fifth-placed team led the nation in offensive rebounding percentage. The Bobcats are relentless on the glass, averaging 43 rebounds per game while playing at an average tempo. For dk – Denne side giver dig Iphone lobbyen, hvor du har oversigten over de spil du kan spille fra din Iphone. an undersized squad like Penn, it”s going to be a true challenge to compete on the boards. Quinnipiac is led by senior guard James Johnson and sophomore forward Ike Azotam, who is averaging nearly a double-double with 15.9 ppg and 9.5 rpg.

Penn will be the favorite in this contest though, as Quinnipiac has struggled to turn its rebounding prowess into victories this season. The Bobcats are 1-6 against the RPI Top 100 on the season,

and their best win was over Yale 68-62 in the first week of the season. Meanwhile, Penn is 4-9 against the Top 100 with impressive victories over St. Joe”s and Harvard. Both teams also managed to beat Robert Morris (Quinnipiac did it twice) in close affairs.

If the Quakers are able to hold serve at home, they would face the winner of Delaware-Butler, a game pitting the fifth-placed team in the CAA against the third place team in the Horizon League (and last year”s national runner-up). It”s unclear at this time where that second-round game would be played.

Pomeroy currently projects a four-point victory for Penn in a game that is played in the 60s.