PHILADELPHIA — Penn’s first Big 5 game was thrilling. Its second was a killing.
The Quakers physically dominated Drexel from the opening tip on Friday night and never trailed en route to an 84-68 win over the Dragons at nearby Daskalakis Athletic Center. The victory ensures that Penn (3-2, 2-0 Big 5) will face either Villanova or Temple for the Big 5 title on Dec. 6.
Penn’s stat sheet was littered with green flags. Unfazed by efforts from Drexel (2-4, 0-2) efforts to slow the game down, the Quakers shot 59.4% inside the arc, held the Dragons to 1.01 points per possession, had 15 assists on 27 made baskets and finished with a plus-7 rebounding margin (40-33).
Three-pointers by senior guard Cam Thrower on consecutive possessions — the last of which came while Thrower was shooting on one good leg after rolling his ankle — extended the Quakers’ lead to 17 points midway through the second half and effectively ended the game.
Penn has now strung together back-to-back impressive (and winning) performances as both KenPom and Vegas underdogs. It’s fair to wonder how far ahead of schedule Penn is in its first year under new coach Fran McCaffery after …
The Quakers showed they can play with an edge — and it started from the point guard position.
Penn — to borrow a phrase from ex-coach Jerome Allen — imposed its will on Drexel. The Quakers challenged the overwhelming majority of Dragons shots, built a healthy rebounding margin in the opening minutes, and strung together a number of hustle plays.
Sophomore point guard AJ Levine deserves plaudits in particular on that last point. He found the right balance of defending with intensity while not fouling on Friday, using pure effort to disrupt what would have been otherwise simple plays. Levine nearly forced one turnover by deflecting one inbounds pass from under the Quakers’ basket, then got a steal later on by intercepting a Drexel inbounds following a Penn make.
Levine is a player you’d love to have on your team but hate to play against. His offensive game is still a work in progress, but the guard finished with seven assists, zero turnovers, and drilled a backbreaking three from the left corner late in the second half just before the shot clock expired. Levine gave the Drexel crowd a little extra after that shot, too.
Cam Thrower now looks like he’s firmly ensconced as the primary backup point guard. He generated a number of deflections on his own and scored eight points in just nine minutes. Thrower looked like he was in severe pain after rolling his left ankle but the senior returned to the bench with just a little extra tape after getting treatment off to the side.
Augie Gerhart is making progress.
Gerhart, after a few up-and-down performances to start the season, is firmly trending in the “up” direction after last night. The junior big man put up a solid seven points and seven rebounds and finished with a KenPom offensive rating of 149 points per 100 possessions.
Those counting stats are fairly pedestrian, but what’s important is how Gerhart got there. Gerhart is listed as 6-foot-9, 235 pounds on KenPom, and he truly played like it. Instead of trying to finesse around in the post, Gerhart used his frame to initiate contact with Drexel’s defenders and create space for himself.
It paid off in the form of one slick and-one layup and a two-handed power jam off a nice interior pass from junior forward TJ Power.
Why are Gerhart and Levine getting more play in this story so far as opposed to Power (18 points) and senior wing Ethan Roberts (30 points on 11-for-18 shooting)? Because if Penn wants to make the leap from being an intriguing team to a great team, it will need every player in its starting lineup to be an offensive threat.
Penn is directionally good.
Before the season started, I appeared on the Big 5 Podcast to preview Penn and the Ivy League season. I told co-hosts Jake Copestick and Kyle Morello that the Quakers would have a successful 2025-26 if they entered the KenPom top 200 by the end of the season.
With a good stretch at home next weekend, Penn will be inside the top 200 before the calendar turns to December. The Drexel win helped the Quakers surge 50 spots in the KenPom rankings last night to 215. Rival analytics website BartTorvik.com has the Quakers ranked 162nd when its preseason assumptions are factored out.
This team looks far more cohesive under a new coach than anyone would have expected to see this early in the season, given the Ivy League’s restrictions on practice time. Penn looks like it should be firmly in the mix for an Ivy Madness slot, especially given Brown and Princeton’s early-season struggles.
Penn will likely get a shot against Villanova on a neutral floor at Xfinity Mobile Arena in a few weeks. The Red and Blue likely be double-digit Vegas underdogs, but a win by them would garner national attention.
As the No. 1 “preseason assumptions are BS in college basketball” person, I am ready to declare us top 200 and this season a success.
Unrelated, Fran hulking out about a near turnover up 17 with 50 seconds left was my moment of the game, followed closely by AJ hitting a 3 to put Penn up 14 and promptly s***talking Drexel fans.