Freshman point guard Harrison Gaines is unlikely to see action tonight against La Salle. He is still feeling the effects of re-tweaking his hamstring last week.

Junior Kevin Egee has been seeing more time in Gaines’ absence. Egee played 13 minutes against NJIT last Saturday (Gaines played 24), but he led the team with 30 against Miami when Gaines was on the bench.

Senior guard Michael Kach is good to go, according to Penn’s game notes, as is junior forward Brennan Votel, who dressed for NJIT but didn’t get in the game. Kach had been out with a back problem and Votel with a hamstring injury.

Elsewhere in the Big 5, both Villanova and St. Joe’s could be getting personnel boosts in the near future, the Inquirer reports.

Just a week after Penn’s three embarrassing first-half records against Florida Gulf Coast were either matched or beaten by Savannah State, Princeton’s disgraceful effort from two years ago was absolved as well.

The Tigers put up a woeful 21 points in a loss to Monmouth, an NCAA shot clock era record-low, only to have that broken last night by Rick Majerus’ Saint Louis. The Billikens scored all of 20 points in a 49-20 loss to George Washington in their Atlantic 10 opener. Saint Louis scored only seven points in the first half, went 1-for-19 from three for the game and got blocked 11 times, a season-high for GW.

In fact, GW is terrible this season, and Saint Louis (9-6) isn’t that bad. GW (5-6) is a team that lost to Alabama by 36, and even lost to Binghamton, (by 12) which has an RPI of 314.

Princeton can celebrate for now, but I’m not sure how safe that mark is, Princeton has put up 38 and 32 points so far this season. Here’s an excuse to re-use a great quote I got from Monmouth guard Chris Kenny, and now assistant coach under Dave Calloway:

“They’re an in-state rival and to hold them to 21 points, it was great. But I was a little frustrated, to tell you the truth. I like to go for the jugular when I play. We had them at 19; I really wanted to keep them under 20. They scored with two seconds left, so I was frustrated with the effort.”

In some other news, Penn athletics has a men’s basketball TV ad I saw during the Flyers game last night on Comcast SportsNet. It seemed a little low-budget, but was nice to see. It featured a voice saying: “Penn basketball is back, and Coach Glen Miller wants you at the Palestra showing your red and blue pride!” Then it highlights the Big 5 and Princeton game coming up, showing a ticket package.

I’m still wondering what “Penn basketball is back” means. It also shows two plays - one by Darren Smith. Clearly this was made a long, long time ago.

And in actual news, (as of yesterday) former guard David Whitehurst is not currently at practice. He indicated earlier this season that he was intending on playing this semester if his grades permitted him to. He has sat behind the bench for most games this season, but due to academics has not been able to practice or play. I will bring you further information early next week.

In last year’s home opener, the Quakers left their starters in until the final minute and scored 19 points in the last 5 minutes to put up 97 points (three away from giving the fans cheesesteaks) on Florida Gulf Coast in a 97-74 win.

This year a stronger, and newly Division I, FGCU team took that to heart.

“I remember distinctly when they were beating us and they got a steal and they were high-stepping and putting one arm out and trying to run a lob,” coach Dave Balza told The News-Press after the game this year.

As I’m sure you know by now, the Eagles held the Quakers to six points in the first half, winning 60-30. This year’s winning team didn’t rub it in (in fact Penn closed the game on a 12-0 run), but kind of wanted to.

“Guys were joking, ‘Let’s press them at the end,’” Balza said. “We remembered that last year and we sold that throughout the week and it paid dividends. I thought we were really dialed in.

“I would’ve liked to run the score up and pressed some, but I guess we gotta be classy.”

Ouch. If that’s not a shot at Glen Miller I don’t know what is.

Sorry, Andrew, one post illustrating what happened last night is not enough.

Penn’s six points, 5.9 percent shooting and one field goal in the first half were all the worst by any Division I basketball team in the shot clock era. Even the 30-point total was Penn’s worst in 40 years. Here are a few stats that I found must supplement the last post:

• Penn had 16 turnovers and 12 missed shots before scoring a single point
• 10 players attempted a three pointer for Penn, seven of which didn’t make one
• Nine players had multiple turnovers, five (Brian Grandieri, Jack Eggleston, Tyler Bernardini, Justin Reilly and Andreas Schreiber) had four or more
• The five starters (Grandieri, Eggleston, Bernardini, Reilly and Cohen) had eight more turnovers (21) then points (13)
• The starters had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.095
• Six players had more turnovers than points
• Schreiber (2-for-5) and Bernardini (2-for-9) were the only players to make more than one basket

I could go on, but I don’t want to see grown men crying before New Years. Here are some quotes from Penn head coach Glen Miller after the game:

“That’s probably the worst performance that any of my teams have ever had — and I’ve been a head coach for a long time. I’m very disappointed.”

“We were just very lethargic and unsure of ourselves. We certainly didn’t handle the five days we had off. We’re a much better team than that.”

“I want to give [the Eagles] credit. I think they’re a better basketball team than their record [4-9] and I think that will come through when they get in league play.”

Since it’s a new year coming up soon, Penn fans can look on the bright side:

• Penn’s 36 rebounds equaled FGCU’s total
• Joe Gill, playing in the first half for (I believe) the first time in his career had a wonderful game, hitting his only shot attempt, scoring four points, and dishing out one assist to no turnovers in seven minutes
• None of this matters until the Ivy League

Florida Gulf Coast is in its first season as a Division I team, hasn’t beaten anyone better than Bethune-Cookman and is 3-9.

But the Eagles are playing at home.

At Alico Arena FGCU is 1-2, where it beat Maryland Eastern Shore and lost to Drexel and No. 16 Butler.

The win was obviously a rare one, while the losses were to a pair of good teams, certainly better than Penn. In both games, the Eagles had an early second-half lead, tied it up later on, but lost in the end. Against Drexel, the Dragons went on an 18-0 run to seal it up, and Butler used 14-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line to slam the door shut in the 78-66 victory.

Some overdue notes from the Elon game:

Joe Gill and Dan Monckton sat out the games with injuries, though I believe neither one is serious.

Ibrahim Jaaber, Stephen Danley and Ugonna Onyekwe were all in attendance for the Quakers’ fourth victory of the season. Onyekwe was on crutches and had just tore his meniscus. He also looked really skinny. If any of you watched him play for Penn he was a beast, a punishing but talented forward who could finish around the basket. He could have lost the weight in order to take some pressure off of his knee, but he may just be adjusting himself to the European game.

Jaaber, on the other hand, is tearing it up in Greece’s top league. Playing for Egaleo, Jaaber dropped 40 points in a win over Olympiakos (and former Temple guard Lynn Greer), as Egaleo dealt its opponents their first loss of the season. He also hit the game-winning free throw two games later to bring his team’s record to 6-3.

In all, Jaaber is averaging 21.7 points per game (a team-high) on 55 percent shooting, 4.7 assists per game, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals and only 2.7 turnovers. (Full Egaleo stats can be seen here).

Some other former NCAA stars in the Greek league include Duke’s William Avery, Louisville’s Larry O’Bannon, UNC’s Reyshawn Terry, Pitt’s Levon Kendall, MSU’s Mateen Cleaves and former NBA journeyman Mamadou N’Diaye.

Since it’s been a while since the men’s basketball team played a game, nearly a week until it plays again and there’s no official practice to go to because of finals, I think it’s time to turn to the other Philadelphia teams. There have only been two Big 5 games so far this year (really only one, 28-4 start ring any bells?), but there have been a lot of good games.

The highlight of the season came a week ago, though, as Villanova hosted LSU at the Wachovia Center. LSU gradually pulled ahead in the second half, opening up a 21-point lead with under nine minutes to go. But, in front of a nationally-televised audience, the Wildcats opened up one of the most amazing comebacks I’ve ever seen, chipping away at the lead with near-perfect free-throw shooting and an opportunistic defense, and a Tigers squad that insisted on attempting NBA threes with a comfortable lead. Guard Malcolm Grant’s three free throws (fouled on a three) brought the gap to one with a minute to go. And when he missed the go-ahead layup, Dante Cunningham put it back nicely with seconds to go (a la Jack Eggleston against Drexel) for the 69-68 win.

No. 23 Villanova has lived up to its national ranking so far, beating George Mason and Bucknell, with its sole loss coming to North Carolina State, 69-68. After wiping the floor with Penn, the Wildcats fended off a tough Temple team, 101-93 for a quick 2-0 start to the Big 5.

Saint Joseph’s, the team which at the beginning of the year I thought (and perhaps still think) is the best in the City, has played well, but struggled to get results. The Hawks have stumbled to a 4-4 record, but haven’t yet lost to a bad, or even mediocre team, and all of those losses were extremely close.

They first lost at Syracuse on a last-second three, then to Gonzaga in overtime, then to Holy Cross by five (in a game that began with an 18-2 Crusaders lead) and most recently to Creighton in overtime. In all, those teams are 27-7, but in a tough A-10, the Hawks really needed to pull out at least one or two of those to boost their Tournament resume.

Temple has also had some closing problems, losing by two to both Akron and Providence, and blowing a lead to College of Charleston in a 79-76 defeat. The Owls have looked good lately, though, beating a good Ohio team, staying with Villanova in their Big 5 opener and beating Drexel today at the Palestra, 64-51.

Drexel started the season nicely, with wins over Penn, Navy and Loyola before taking a beating as of late. The Dragons got drilled, 85-38, in their Colonial opener at George Mason. Center Frank Elegar was shut out in his 17 minutes of play, only netting two rebounds as well, as the team shot 30 percent from the floor.

Then, after losing by 24 to Creighton at the DAC and by 13 to Toledo, Drexel fell today to Temple. The 5-5 Dragons had a lead at halftime and were only down four late, but an 11-2 run to end the game sealed their fourth-straight loss.

When will La Salle be worthy of not being the last team named in a Big 5 rundown? It probably won’t happen this year.

The Explorers are 3-3, but haven’t beaten a team with a winning record thanks to a cake schedule. Still, their three losses have come by a total of only 13 points.

In all, the game to watch in the Big 5 will, once again, be the Holy War.

St. Joe’s hosts Villanova at the Palestra on February 4, and if the Hawks can turn it around mentally, I’d put my money on Phil Martelli’s club. Scotty Reynolds is likely the best player in the City, and Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham have been big down low, but the Hawks are well-rounded enough to knock them off.

They are led by Nivins’ 12.9 points per game  - on 63 percent shooting - and 7.5 rebounds, while Pat Calathes (17.4 ppg) Darren Govens (13.6 ppg) and Tasheed Carr (12.3 ppg, 39 percent from three) round out the four players scoring in double-figures. Carr’s surprising assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4 has boosted the offense, and Rob Ferguson’s 5.3 boards and 9.1 points have helped down low. When D.J. Rivera returns to the team next semester, they will get some much needed help off the bench. That is especially crucial for a team with a six-man rotation that has had four of its five starters foul out this year.

Big 5 Standings:

Villanova  7-1 (2-0)
St. Joe’s  4-4 (0-0)
La Salle  3-3 (0-0)
Penn  3-7 (0-1)
Temple  5-5 (0-1)

I’m going to withhold comment in this post and just get to the numbers — the UNC game is already a week-and-a-half old and I didn’t see the Monmouth one. I’m sorry for taking so long to get these up, but it’s been a very busy 10 days for me.

In any case, the first pair of numbers and parentheses is +/- and minutes played from UNC, the second is from Monmouth, and the last number is +/- season total:

Eggleston: -24 (29), +8 (23), -43

Reilly: -21 (18), -2 (26), -48

Bernardini: -31 (31), +3 (28), -38

Grandieri: -31 (25), +12 (32), -56
Gaines: -21 (16), +1 (13), -9
Cohen: -11 (11), +4 (29), -51

Schreiber: -12 (19), +3 (14), -9

Kach: -4 (11), +5 (18), -50

Egee: -9 (17), DNP, -36

Gill: +4 (3), DNP, +4

Monckton: +4 (3), DNP, 0

Cofield: -6 (3), DNP, -21

Lewis: -6 (3), DNP, -16

Votel: +1 (8), DNP, +2

Turley: -8 (3), +12 (17), +2

Now that we’re about a third of the way through the Ivy season, we can really begin to evaluate what this team is like. There are clear strengths and clear weaknesses, and we can now identify which players are good at what. So without further ado, here’s my midterm awards, good and bad:

Most dependable player: Brian Grandieri
He’s scored in double figures in eight of the first ten games, and grabbed four or more rebounds in all but one. He hasn’t been fased by the bright lights, dropping 17 points and six rebounds against North Carolina and 23 and 10 in the opener against Drexel. but even the most consistent Quaker has some liabilities - he averages 17.5 points and 7 rebounds per game at home, but 10.75 and 3.75 on the road.

Biggest mystery: Harrison Gaines
The Quakers’ starting point guard seemed like he’d solidified his starting job a few weeks ago, but lost it to Aron Cohen last weekend against Monmouth. In the third and fourth games of the season against The Citadel and Virginia he had 21 points and 20 assists, but in the next five games he only posted 30 points and 12 assists. He is Penn’s far and away leader in assists with 40, but also the leading culprit of coughing the ball up, with 26 turnovers. He also tends to not show up until the second half of the game, quite often when it’s too late.

Biggest Gun: T - Aron Cohen and Gaines
In case you didn’t notice, it’s not a good thing when the two most over-shooting players are the point guards. Cohen has gone 9 for 34 on the season for 26.5 percent shooting, while Gaines is 21 for 58 (third-most attempts on the team) for 36.2 percent from the floor. When they step out for three, which happens often for Cohen, they are even worse. Cohen is 8 for 28 (1 for 7 this month) for 28.6 percent and Gaines is 2 for 13, 15.4 percent. Out of the eight players who get double-digit minutes, they are the only ones with more shot attempts than points - 34-to-30 for Cohen and 28-to-27 for Gaines.

Best defender: Perimeter - Gaines, inside - Andreas Schreiber
Gaines has the foot speed to contend with anyone, and unlike many guards, hasn’t seemed to get beat off the dribble very often. Cam Lewis could be a pick for the inside guy for his shot-blocking ability, but he’s not nearly as strong or quick as Schreiber. The sophomore actually has almost double the blocks of anyone else on the team, though he’s got to stay out of foul trouble (leads the team with 28 fouls).

Best rebounder: Grandieri
This is pretty sad - the 6-foot-4 guard leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 per game. The guy nearest to him is Eggleston with 4.7. If the many 6-foot-8 forwards and swingmen learn how to box out that would help things quite a lot.

Most upside: This award could easily go to Gaines, but I’ve talked enough about him, so I’ll go with Tyler Bernardini. He dropped 26 points against No. 1 North Carolina, a performance that included threes, fadeaways and even a play where he absolutely blew by (fellow ‘Tyler’ and 26-point scorer) Hansbrough. The freshman started the year slowly, but has averaged 20 points in the last three games. If he keeps playing like he has (and that is a big ‘if’) then the rookie has a First-Team All-Ivy bid in his sight.

Get him more shots: Justin Reilly
The Sophomore is 23 of 50 from the fieild (46 percent) and 7 for 13 from three. Although notice this category isn’t named “get him the ball”: he has five assists compared to 17 turnovers. Jack Eggleston is a runner-up fo this award. He has hit 51.8 percent from the field and and 38.9 percent from three.

Best shooter: Bernardini - 48.3 percent from the floor, 38.9 percent from three, 78.9 percent form the line.

Turnover waiting to happen: Lewis - Eight turnovers compared to 12 points

Hack: Schrieiber - leads the team with 28 fouls despite getting the eight-most minutes. He draws a whistle every five minutes he plays.

Sure-handed: Gaines - other than Grandieri, he’s the only player with more assists (40) than turnovers (26)

While the recap told the tale of Penn getting blown away, I was really impressed with the way the Quakers fought last night against No. 1 North Carolina. For a team that lost to Howard and Drexel at home, Lafayette, Sacred Heart and Colgate in scrimmages, and started the game against Villanova down 28-4, being down 27-24 a third of the way through the game (7:30 left) against the best college basketball team in the United States, that’s just about all you can ask for.

The final score wasn’t that horrible, even though Roy Williams didn’t put the scrubs in until they were up by 39 with 2:31 left, and Williams was coaching hard the enitre time, yelling at his players to play defense in the middle of the half up by 30.

Penn’s offense looked miles ahead of any other performance this year, I haven’t seen guys cutting anywhere near hard as they did against UNC, and Tyler Bernardini was unreal.

Still, they certainly have a whole lot to learn from this game. The entry passes were still atrocious, the passing along the perimeter was terrible, the transition defense leaves a lot to be desired and Penn still can’t rebound.

The boxing out factor I would say is the biggest negative coming from this game. In Penn’s last two games now the opponent has grabbed more boards on the offensive glass (41) than Penn has on the defensive end (39). This could be a real concern come time for Ivy play, especially against a team like Columbia with two good big men, or Cornell who sends quick guards to the glass.

In other random notes, the celebrities were out in full last night. Not only was Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell at (what I believe is) his sixth-straight home of the year, Amy Gutman finally made an appearance, La Salle grad and the best college basketball announcer Bill Raftery called the game for ESPN and of course, so was Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson. It was a nice crowd, but last year’s game at the Dean Dome featured Presidential candidate and Chapel Hill grad John Edwards. Although until he wins, the Guv is more important.

Not much good to say about this game, other than Bernardini’s shooting clinic and some improved decision-making on Gaines’ part in the second half. Reilly put up a solid 12 points, but grabbed only three boards in 26 minutes; a pathetic number for a forward.

Schreiber’s rebounding was excellent (five boards and three blocks in 14 minutes), but he has serious issues being able to stay in games. It always seems like the games where he puts up good numbers are also the games where he can’t play big minutes because of foul trouble.

Grandieri was just horrendous, and seemed to be forcing the issue on offense too much. Kach came off a great game at Lafayette by going 1-3 with three turnovers (no assists) in 13 minutes.

Yes, ‘Nova is a significantly better team than the Quakers. But Saturday night’s performance was very underwhelming. Penn’s free throw shooting and 2-PT shooting stunk, and the team still cannot deal with pressure from athletic teams.

Here are the +/- numbers. Minutes played are in parentheses and the season total in on the right:

Grandieri: -15 (27) -37

Kach: -20 (13) -51

Votel: +5 (4) +1

Eggleston: -17 (25) -27

Reilly: -18 (26) -25

Gaines: -11 (23) +11

Cohen: -13 (11) -44

Schreiber: -6 (14) 0

Bernardini: -16 (26) -10

Lewis: -13 (6) -10

Turley: -3 (5) -2

Cofield: -5 (4) -15

Egee: +1 (13) -27

Monckton: -4 (3) -4