Penn took a huge step towards securing a berth in Ivy Madness on Saturday with a nearly wire-to-wire 80-72 win over Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.
Though the Quakers (14-11, 6-4 Ivy) led the game for 38:59, there were some nervous moments in the second half, as careless turnovers and a scoring drought that spanned 5:51 of game time let the Crimson (12-12, 3-7) close their deficit to as little as three points with 3:37 to go.
Penn only made one field goal in the game’s final 10 minutes — a corner three from sophomore guard George Smith — and relied on 20-23 free throw shooting in the final 3:18 to keep Harvard at bay. Smith hit five three throws in that span, as did senior swingman Lucas Monroe.
The Red and Blue pretty much stuck the dagger in Harvard’s playoff hopes with the victory; Harvard now sits alone in seventh place in the Ivy standings, three full games out of playoff position.
Meanwhile, Penn sits just a game out of first place in the league and controls its own destiny for at least a share of the Ivy crown.
That tantalizing possibility is one of many things Penn fans can chew over from an uplifting win, such as the fact that …
1. Nick Spinoso looks like he’s on the verge of a breakout.
Spinoso, a sophomore forward, scored 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting from two-point range and showed some impressive footwork along the way. He has now scored in double figures in seven of Penn’s 10 Ivy contests this season.
Spinoso finished with six rebounds and four assists, but — thanks to six turnovers — wound up with a KenPom offensive rating of 97 points per 100 possessions, below the breakeven mark of 100 points per 100 possessions. He was also off the floor down the stretch in favor of Max Lorca-Lloyd as Penn looked to secure the victory at the free throw line.
As discussed before on this site, Spinoso’s high turnover rate and weaker efficiency numbers are a direct function of his aggression and desire to make high-degree-of-difficulty passes. His lack of playing time in the final moments was due to his previously-mentioned struggles at the free-throw line; Spinoso is shooting 43.1% from the stripe against Division I opponents.
Penn’s offense looks at its best from the eye-test point of view when Spinoso is operating as a point forward, and his ability to create his own shot has recently become invaluable. But Penn’s ability to execute in late-game situations has been hampered by the fact that its best forward has been a liability at the line.
If Spinoso can become a bit more selective with his ultra-aggressive pass attempts and get his free throw percentage into the 60s, he will be an elite Ivy forward.
2. The offense still hasn’t put together a complete game.
Despite the aforementioned scoring drought and 18 turnovers, Penn still scored a solid 1.1 points per possession for the afternoon.
That’s a testament to the talent on this team.
Junior guard Jordan Dingle, who feels like a near-lock for Ivy Player of the Year, scored 25 points on 13 shots and finished with a KenPom offensive rating of 146 points per 100 possessions. He’s getting stronger and more efficient as the season goes on, impossible as that may sound.
Penn, as has become the story recently, also got great supporting performances from a large cast of characters. Smith and junior forward Max Martz both finished with 12 points, while Monroe added 9 points and 10 boards (4 on the offensive glass).
While the bulk of Penn’s supporting cast around Dingle looks like it’s peaking, junior Clark Slajchert had his worst day yet in what has been a brutal Ivy campaign for the talented guard. Slajchert missed all five shots he took from the field, committed four fouls, and finished with a KenPom offensive rating of 57 points per 100 possessions.
The Quakers need to find a way to get Slajchert pointed back in the right direction and eliminate lulls like the one which popped up in the second half.
3. It’s okay to start fantasizing (a little) about the possibilities for the Quakers.
Though nothing is guaranteed yet, Penn has a great setup to seize an Ivy Madness spot next weekend at home with a near-coin-flip game at home against Yale on Friday and a huge Saturday matchup at home against Brown, which is tied with Penn for third in the league standings.
A win over Brown would go a long way from a tiebreaker perspective, as it would give the Quakers a head-to-head sweep over the Bears.
KenPom has Penn favored by 5 points at home against Brown on Saturday and by 11 points at home against fellow playoff hopeful Dartmouth the following weekend. If the Quakers can just hold serve at home, they’ll get a chance to walk into Jadwin Gymnasium, exorcise their demons against Princeton, and return to New Jersey the following weekend for Ivy Madness with a share of the Ivy title in hand for the first time since 2018.
Wouldn’t that be nice?