Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s win over Princeton

PHILADELPHIA — The streak is dead.

After 14 consecutive losses to its most hated rivals, Penn finally — finally — took out hated Princeton at the Palestra on Saturday by the thinnest of margins, 61-60. The Quakers (11-10, 4-4 Ivy) now sit atop a four-team morass in third place in the Ivy League and hold their destiny in their own hands.

It should have surprised no one that Penn needed to extend to its absolute limit to finally take out the Tigers (8-15, 4-4). The Quakers led by as many as 12 points in the second half on the back of some intense defense, but an extended offensive outage let Princeton climb back into the game.

The afternoon came down to a one-on-one defensive stand by Quakers sophomore point guard AJ Levine against the Tigers’ best player, Dalen Davis. Levine poked the ball away from Davis at the top of the key as the game clock wound below 10 seconds, then forced Davis into a difficult contested midrange jumper which caught front iron and bounced harmlessly away.

Levine was mobbed by his teammates as he flexed to the crowd, a moment of catharsis after eight years of frustration of heartbreak.

What did Quakers fans learn from an exhilarating day?

This team can win with defense first.

Saturday’s box score was filled with numerous encouraging statistics. The Quakers blocked six Tigers shots and limited their rivals to a relatively inefficient 1.03 point-per-possession offensive performance, according to KenPom.

The eye test backs up the statistics. Princeton — especially in the first half — struggled to get clean looks at the basket. You can chalk that up to both individuals like Levine and group performances, such as a super-small lineup coach Fran McCaffery deployed which brought Lucas Lueth back into the fold after he disappeared from the rotation last weekend.

McCaffery also deserves credit for deploying his full-court press throughout the game. The press disrupted Princeton during Penn’s late rally in the Ivy opener which came up just short. It felt as if the Tigers frequently got into their sets on Saturday after more than 10 seconds or so had burned off the shot clock.

TJ Power stepped up as Penn’s closer.

The Quakers scored just one basket after the game’s final media timeout, but it was a big one.

Power, who earned KenPom game MVP honors, drained an open corner three with 1:19 to go after Levine made a smart extra pass. The junior forward finished with 18 points on 11 shots and added seven boards and three assists.

In fact, Power was the only one of Penn’s regular outside shooters who had any sort of success on Saturday. Ethan Roberts, Michael Zanoni, Cam Thrower and Levine combined to shoot 0-for-8 from distance.

There are still moments where you’d like to see Power be more assertive. For example, he passed out of a chance midway through the second half to back down the much smaller Davis when the latter had four fouls. But on the whole, the Duke and Virginia transfer has been a fantastic addition.

We still haven’t seen this team play to its full potential.

While Levine, Power and forward Augustus Gerhart are ascending, Roberts and Zanoni have been struggling the past few games. Roberts was held off the scoresheet entirely as he contended with foul trouble, while Zanoni finished 1-for-7 from the field.

Both of those young men still found ways to make positive contributions, but we still haven’t had a game this season where all five of Penn’s starters are firing on all cylinders.

You can see that this team has a very talented core. If everyone plays to their fullest potential, could the Quakers perhaps challenge Yale if they can close the deal and reach Ivy Madness?

It’s fun to at least fantasize about the possibility.