Penn was always going to have trouble competing on the road against Associated Press No. 3 Houston, which ranks first in overall efficiency margin and first in defensive efficiency on KenPom.
But what happened to the Red and Blue on Saturday was worse than what any Penn fan could reasonably have predicted. Houston delivered an 81-42 beatdown, which was the visitors’ worst loss since they endured a 114-55 humiliation at the hands of Duke on New Year’s Eve in 2009.
Houston (13-0) started the game on an 18-0 run. Penn (8-6) did not score until more than nine minutes had passed in the first half, when freshman Sam Brown drained a long contested three-pointer off a feed from classmate Tyler Perkins.
The ugly final score wasn’t even the worst thing about Saturday. Senior Clark Slajchert rolled his ankle midway through the first half and did not return.
There’s not much to take away from a “burn the tape game,” but you can start with how …