Penn vs. Princeton Basketball February 8, 2005

Many have tried to figure out why the Penn-Princeton rivalry is so heated, so emotional and so intense. Like its better-known counterparts, Duke-North Carolina in basketball and Army-Navy in football, Penn-Princeton has all the components of a good sports rivalry -- passion, respect for the opponent, distinct styles of play, close geographical proximity and two schools with very different identities. What distinguishes this rivalry from the others, however, is its winner-take-all element. Because the Ivy League is the only Division I conference not to have a post-season tournament, the regular-season winner earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. For Penn and Princeton, the loser, at best, can hope to get into the NIT. That's what happens when you play in a league that merits one NCAA bid. Only on rare occasions does the name of the winner not begin with the letter "P." No other league has seen two teams dominate the way Penn and Princeton have. Only six times since the Ivy League's inception in 1956 has the conference champion been a team other than the Quakers or the Tigers, which means that nearly every time these teams meet it is for the chance to play in the NCAA tournament. But the fact that these two schools have won 35 of the last 37 Ivy League men's basketball championships just scratches the surface of the war, for it doesn't just exist on the hardwood. The Penn and Princeton football teams played 31 times over 19 seasons beginning in 1876, but the 1894 game was so brutal that it led to a 41-year break before their next meeting in 1935. Penn-Princeton basketball is as good as it gets. It's the best rivalry in sports. And in the world of college basketball, it's the only one where the game really matters.

The Palestra, which has stood on its foundation for nearly 80 years and will continue for many more, may never see a better game than it did on that cold winter night in 2005. Princeton stunned the Palestra crowd, shutting down the Quakers and going early and often to centers Judson Wallace and Mike Stephens to take a 53-35 lead with 7:35 to play. But an 18-point lead soon became 17, then it was 15. When Andre Logan took an ill-advised leap to block Eric Osmundson's three-pointer, the resulting four-point play gave Penn fans a drop of hope. And what started as a drop would soon become a flood. The lead kept shrinking: nine, six, five, three, one... After a Logan free throw brought Princeton's lead back to two, Osmundson knocked down the two biggest free throws of his career, tying the game with 31 seconds to go. What the Quakers started in regulation, they emphatically finished in overtime. Princeton had been defeated, the pain of "Black Tuesday" had been softened, and Penn fans were left wondering whether they will ever see another one like it. Watch highlights from Penn's miracle comeback, and if it's your first time, welcome to the rivalry.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Penn
• Princeton
• Basketball
• Comeback
• Pennsylvania
• Amazing
• Rivalry

[Pennfan75]

fantastic!

[ronllave]

I was at that game...incredible. We all got wasted at Blarney Stone afterwards.

[gadionson1]

wtf

[alexandre10023]

test

[garioldwin]

princeton?it that where will smith went to college?

[hgdanger88]

AH! #33 (dan) is like the coolest guy ever!

i met him and hes so chill

and he rememberd me!

[scrum7]

its too bad p'ton is in the stinker right now... penn has a program on the rise, and i think harvard will make some noise with amakers impressive recruiting class

as for my ivy league school.... well... itll be 2011 before anyone dethrones us in the ivies

[heschel1]

best comeback in quaker basketball history...

i was there the palestra was out of control

[hunterjumper5252]

eric osmundson is amazing......he is my cousin

[arabprincess11]

sweet