For 40 minutes of basketball on Monday, Penn looked like the team optimists thought it could be in a surprising road win over Harvard.
The Quakers entered the matchup with the Crimson as healthy underdogs — six points by KenPom and seven-and-a-half by Vegas oddsmakers.
No matter. The Red and Blue used efficient offense, crisp passing and excellent outside shooting to produce an 82-67 triumph.
A nine-point Penn (5-11, 1-2 Ivy) halftime lead had dwindled to as little as two around the under-eight media timeout. But a catch-and-shoot three from senior wing George Smith pushed Penn back to a five-point advantage. Then, after an exchange of free throws, Smith found junior wing Ethan Roberts for threes on back-to-back possessions.
The latter of those shots, a deep pull-up shot in transition, gave Penn a 64-53 edge with just under five minutes to play. Harvard (6-10, 1-2) never seriously threatened after.
Penn put up a season-best 1.28 points per possession. How did the Quakers pull it off?
It all started with how …
Sam Brown put together an excellent all-around performance.
It has been a tough season for Brown, who has struggled with his shot for most of the season.
The sophomore guard has now scored in double figures in all three of Penn’s Ivy League contests, and he looked the best he has all season. Brown put up 19 points on 11 shots and added four assists, including a helper on that critical three-pointer by Smith. His KenPom offensive rating of 163 points per 100 possessions was the best on the team.
What was most encouraging to see out of Brown was aggression with his three-point shot. He poured in three treys on seven attempts.
The most impressive of those came when he banked in a three from just inside the half-court line as the buzzer sounded on the first half of play.
Was there a little luck involved? Sure. But smart play design from coach Steve Donahue enabled Brown to catch the ball moving towards the basket for an uncontested shot he took with confidence.
Ethan Roberts looked like a future Ivy POY contender … if he stays.
Roberts led all scorers for the second consecutive game and finished with 21 points on 14 shots. He earned KenPom game MVP honors and has now scored in double figures in 10 consecutive contests.
It was obvious from day one that Roberts, a two-time transfer by way of Drake and Army, was going to be Penn’s best player this year.
He doesn’t have a single go-to move to generate buckets like prior Quakers greats Jordan Dingle and AJ Brodeur boasted, but Roberts has a high basketball IQ and is often in the right place at the right time for good finishes.
Roberts’ success has surely already attracted the attention of coaches from higher-level leagues, and the junior hired an NIL agent earlier this season. There will be plenty of pressure on him to enter the transfer portal.
What may ultimately keep Roberts in town — even if things go south and Penn moves on from Donahue after the season — is the fact next year is essentially risk-free for him.
Roberts redshirted last season at Drake, and Ivy eligibility rules preclude him from using that extra year at Penn. No matter what happens, he should be able to transfer to a higher-level program after 2025-26.
To borrow a term from poker parlance, Roberts is freerolling. Why not stick around, put up numbers as the Quakers’ go-to guy next season, and then hit the portal again with a Penn degree in hand?
The defense looked OK, for the most part.
There were some more green shoots on the defensive end for Penn, which held Harvard to 1.05 points per possession.
The Quakers forced 13 Harvard giveaways and wound up with a plus-five turnover margin. Though they let the Crimson shoot efficiently inside, they did a good job contesting as Harvard jacked up 25 mostly ill-advised threes (the Crimson only made six).
However, Penn remained overwhelmed on the glass. Harvard grabbed 13 offensive boards, which translated to a 39.4% offensive rebounding rate. In all, the Crimson finished with a plus-six rebounding margin.
It’s hard to see those rebounding struggles resolving themselves anytime soon.
*soaking wet as I get back on a sinking ship* I’M BACK ON BOARD. PROVIDENCE AND DAYTON, HERE WE COME.