Penn Quakers men's basketball

The Penn Quakers men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Pennsylvania. As the twentieth-winningest men's basketball program of all-time, the team from Penn had its greatest success from 1966 to 2007, a period of over 40 years. Penn plays in the Ivy League in NCAA Division I.

Penn Quakers
2023–24 Penn Quakers men's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania
Head coachSteve Donahue (8th season)
ConferenceIvy League
LocationPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
ArenaThe Palestra
(Capacity: 8,722)
NicknameQuakers
Student sectionRed & Blue Crew
ColorsRed and blue[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions
1920
Pre-tournament Helms champions
1920, 1921
NCAA tournament Final Four
1979
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1971, 1972, 1979
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1953, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1979
NCAA tournament round of 32
1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1994
NCAA tournament appearances
1953, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2018
Conference tournament champions
2018
Conference regular season champions
1906, 1908, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1945, 1953, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2018
Penn senior Ibby Jaaber holds the net, which he cut from the rim, after Penn defeated Yale 86–68 on March 2, 2007, at The Palestra (which win clinched the 2006–07 Ivy League championship and Penn's 25th Ivy crown).

Prior to the formation of the Ivy League in 1956 Penn was a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL) from 1903 through 1955. Penn won 13 EIBL regular season championships (1906, 1908, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1945, 1953). Penn was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion for the 1919–20 and 1920–21 seasons by the Helms Athletic Foundation and for the 1919–20 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.[2]

Penn has appeared in one Final Four, in 1979. Penn and Princeton are tied for the most Ivy League regular season championships with 26 each.[3] Their main Ivy League rivalry is with Princeton, whom they used to always play as the last regular season game. Combining the EIL and Ivy Championships Penn leads with 39 championships; Princeton 32; Columbia 14; Yale 13; Dartmouth 12; Cornell 8; Harvard 6; and Brown 1.

The last NCAA tournament victory for the Quakers came on March 17, 1994, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The No. 11 Quakers defeated the No. 6 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 90–80, in the first round. The Quakers then fell in the second round to No. 3 Florida on March 19 as the Gators prevailed, 70–58.

Notable seasons edit

1979 Final Four edit

One of Penn's most memorable seasons came in 1978–79 when the Quakers advanced to the NCAA tournament Final Four. Player Tony Price led the Quakers, who stunned the nation with victories over Iona, North Carolina, Syracuse, and St. John's to advance to the Final Four. The Quakers faced Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Michigan State in the national semifinals in Salt Lake City, Utah, but were met with defeat, 101–67. They are the last Ivy League team to advance to the Final Four and Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament as of 2023.

Others edit

Other notable Penn teams include the team led by guards Matt Maloney and Jerome Allen during the mid-1990s and the nationally ranked teams of the early 1970s led by Dave Wohl, Steve Bilsky, Corky Calhoun and Bob Morse. Penn's 1970–71 team completed an undefeated regular season (26–0) and advanced to the Eastern Regional Final in the NCAA tournament, losing there to a Villanova team it had defeated during the regular season. Villanova lost to UCLA in the national championship game, but was later found to be using an ineligible player, Howard Porter.

Rivalries edit

The Quakers, a member of the Philadelphia Big 5, have long-standing rivalries with a multitude of institutions such as Temple University, La Salle University, Saint Joseph's University, and Villanova University. Another rival is Drexel University, which is a member of the City 6.

Postseason edit

NCAA tournament results edit

The Quakers have appeared in the NCAA tournament 24 times. Their combined record is 13–26.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1953 Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
Notre Dame
DePaul
L 57–69
W 90–70
1970 First Round Niagara L 69–79
1971 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Duquesne
South Carolina
Villanova
W 70–65
W 79–64
L 47–90
1972 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Providence
Villanova
North Carolina
W 76–60
W 78–67
L 59–73
1973 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game
St. John's
Providence
Syracuse
W 62–61
L 65–87
L 68–69
1974 First Round Providence L 69–84
1975 First Round Kansas State L 62–69
1978 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
St. Bonaventure
Duke
W 92–83
L 80–84
1979 #9 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd Place Game
#8 Iona
#1 North Carolina
#4 Syracuse
#10 St. John's
#2 Michigan State
#2 DePaul
W 73–69
W 72–71
W 84–76
W 64–62
L 67–101
L 93–96
1980 #12 First Round
Second Round
#5 Washington State
#4 Duke
W 62–55
L 42–52
1982 #12 First Round #5 St. John's L 56–66
1985 #15 First Round #2 Memphis L 55–67
1987 #16 First Round #1 North Carolina L 82–113
1993 #14 First Round #3 Massachusetts L 50–54
1994 #11 First Round
Second Round
#6 Nebraska
#3 Florida
W 90–80
L 58–70
1995 #12 First Round #5 Alabama L 85–91
1999 #11 First Round #6 Florida L 61–75
2000 #13 First Round #4 Illinois L 58–68
2002 #11 First Round #6 California L 75–82
2003 #11 First Round #6 Oklahoma State L 63–77
2005 #13 First Round #4 Boston College L 65–85
2006 #15 First Round #2 Texas L 52–60
2007 #14 First Round #3 Texas A&M L 52–68
2018 #16 First Round #1 Kansas L 60–76

NIT results edit

The Quakers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
1981 First Round West Virginia L 64–67

CBI results edit

The Quakers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2012 First Round
Quarterfinals
Quinnipiac
Butler
W 74–63
L 53–63

Coaches edit

Player awards edit

Participations in FIBA competitions edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Elements of the Penn Logo". Branding.Web-Resources.UPenn.edu. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  2. ^ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 535. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  3. ^ "2011–12 Ivy League Men's Basketball: Week 2 • November 14, 2011" (PDF). IvyLeagueSports.com. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 12, 2012. Retrieved 2011-11-14.

External links edit