Game Preview: Penn at Princeton

Who: Princeton (7-6, 0-0) vs. Penn (2-12, 0-0)

When: 6 p.m. Saturday, Jadwin Gymnasium, NBC Sports Network, 103.3 WPBR FM

Last time out: Princeton beat Elon, 74-64. Penn lost to Lafayette 85-83.

Background: Penn and Princeton took turns spoiling each other’s seasons last year, with the Quakers putting the Tigers behind the Ivy eight-ball with an early 82-67 win at the Palestra, and Princeton getting its revenge by winning 62-52 in the season finale at Jadwin. That game cost Penn a share of the Ivy title and a chance to play Harvard in a one-game playoff for the league’s NCAA tournament bid.

This season, things are shaping up differently for the two storied programs. The Quakers were hit hard by graduation, losing the 2012 Ivy Player of the Year Zack Rosin as well as key pieces Rob Belcore and Tyler Bernadini. They’ll also have to play without one of their key returning juniors in forward Fran Dougherty, who had been averaging 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Dougherty has missed the last four games with mononucleosis.

With a roster comprised mainly of talented by raw youngsters, Penn had a tough time during nonconference play, going 2-12. Five players — Miles Cartwright, Steve Rennard, Tony Hicks, Henry Brooks, and Darien Nelson-Henry — were suspended from the team’s Dec. 21 loss to Delaware for, according the Daily Pennsylvanian, failing a random drug test.

Projected starting lineups: 

Princeton: F – Ian Hummer, 6-7, Sr., 16.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.5 apg. F – Will Barrett, 6-10, Jr., 9.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.6 apg. F – Hans Brase, 6-8, Fr., 4.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.8 apg. G – Denton Koon, 6-8, Soph., 8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.7 apg. G – T.J. Bray, 6-5, Jr., 7.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.5 apg.

Penn: F – Henry Brooks, 6-8, Soph., 5.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.5 apg. F – Greg Louis, 6-7, Soph., 4.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.4 apg. G – Miles Cartwright, 6-3, Jr., 14.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.5 apg. G – Steve Rennard, 6-2, Jr., 3.9 rpg, 1.8 rpg, 1.8 apg. G – Jamal Lewis, 6-0, Fr., 4.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg.