First off, what a game last night. Even though the Quakers didn’t come away with the “W,” they came awfully close — even closer than they did in Ithaca a few weeks ago. For the second consecutive game against the best team in the league, Penn rose up to the challenge when it could have just as easily folded after last Saturday’s devastating loss to Brown. This has to be a big confidence-builder for the team going forward, and it should also give them a little extra motivation when Cornell comes to the Palestra next season.

And say what you will about bad calls and no calls (evidently Friday night referees in the Ivy League are the worst in the business with other conference tournament games going on around the east coast), last night’s game was the third straight very exciting Penn-Cornell contest. Dating back to last year’s fierce battle at the Palestra, we have seen the beginnings of what could likely become a very fun and heated rivalry between the Quakers and the Big Red over the next few years. Cornell is young and talented; Penn is young and talented and should be a much more successful team next season. With Princeton in the cellar, I can certainly see the potential for a great Penn-Cornell rivalry in the immediate future. Not to take anything away from the greatness of the Penn-Princeton rivalry — the two teams will always compete in entertaining games no matter what. But as far as league importance and quality basketball is concerned, Penn-Cornell might be the real attraction going forward.

Speaking of the Tigers…they somehow managed to pull off a win over the Lions last night, 75-64, earning their third Ivy League win of the season (and sixth win overall). An interesting note from that game, aside from the fact that John Baumann and Niko Scott combined for 41 of Columbia’s 64 total points, is that K.J. Matsui saw only seven minutes — more than 12 below his season average.

The Tokyo-native is somewhat of a secret weapon for Columbia. He started the first two Ivy League games of the season and has since been used as a perimeter threat off the bench. Penn fans know this all too well. Earlier this season against the Quakers, he played 31 minutes off the bench and went 5-8 from behind the arc, ending up with 17 points. Matsui is an even 50-100 from downtown this season, leading the league with his 50% clip.

Given how good Matsui was against Penn last time the two teams met — and given how much trouble Penn tends to have guarding against the three — I’d have to imagine that he sees a lot more than seven minutes tonight. Tonight, the Quakers will have to do a better job of containing him and Niko Scott around the perimeter without losing sight of Baumann.

In some circles, he’s Columbia forward John Baumann, the senior that leads the team in points. In other circles, he’s Columbia pitcher John Baumann, the second team All-Ivy hurler that led the Lions in strikeouts last season. To his fraternity brothers, he’s known simply as “Hard Hat” — the summertime construction worker keeps one in his room.

On Saturday, Baumann will make his final trip to the Palestra. A few weeks ago, the New York Times published a great article about him that can be found here.

The DP’s interesting article from a few weeks ago about this “John of all trades” can be found here.

Some news stories to keep you busy before the game tonight.

• Columbia’s paper gives another perspective on the financial aid issue.
• The Yale Daily chronicles ‘Attrition and the Yale Athlete.’
• The NCAA is considering tweaking with some penalties in college football.

Check out these betting lines: Brown is a four-point favorite at Penn, Cornell is a five-point favorite at Harvard, Columbia a two-point favorite at Dartmouth and Yale a 1.5-point favorite at Princeton.

What’s so remarkable about that? I believe today is the first time any road team has been favored all year. And the first time it happens, all four road teams are favored!

I think the best bet is for the Big Red to cover the spread at Harvard.

For those who want to keep an eye on 6-0 Cornell’s run for the Ivy League title, check out the Times’s ongoing coverage of their roadtrip through New England.

And if you can’t make it to the Palestra for the Brown game tonight, check back here for live updates. Until then, here’s the Providence Journal’s preview of the game and here is the DP’s.

Final: Columbia 74, Penn 58

In-game updates can be found after the jump.
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