Penn's unanimous All-Ivy forward was sick the last time he saw Illinois. Tonight at 8:30 on FS1 he gets a healthy look at the No. 3 team in the country.
The last two big games of TJ Power's season went about as far apart as two games can.
In the Ivy Madness title game against Yale, he scored 44 with 14 rebounds and Penn won in overtime. He was named the tournament MVP. Then in the NCAA first round, Illinois beat Penn 105-70. Power had missed practice the day before with an illness and finished with 6 points on 2-of-8 shooting. Ethan Roberts didn't play.
Tonight is the rematch. Penn opens its season at No. 3 Illinois at 8:30 PM ET on FS1.
Keep the sick game in its box. One night when he wasn't right isn't a verdict on Power. His whole season says more. He averaged 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, scored in double figures 25 times and was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy pick, the first Quaker to get there since Jordan Dingle in 2022-23.
He also isn't doing it alone this time. Penn brings back four starters and seven of its top nine scorers, and the Quakers were the pick to win the league in the Ivy preseason media poll, with 11 first-place votes.
So what's worth watching from your couch tonight?
First, whether Power looks like the guy from the Yale game early, before Illinois can turn this into March again. Second, how he holds up on the glass against a Big Ten front line. His 7.6 a game came against Ivy bodies. Third, whether Penn has a second scorer ready, so Illinois can't just load up on Power.
Penn probably isn't winning in Champaign. Nobody sane is betting the house on it. But a healthy Power against a top-three team is the best early read anyone will get on how good this group really is before Ivy play starts. A 44-point night is not required. Looking like himself is.
Richmond 79, Temple 53. The Spiders scored the first 14 points in a building Temple hadn't played in for four years, on the night it turned 100. One week after a 17-0 start, the Owls had as many turnovers as made field goals.
Halftime was 54-31. Final was 97-93. Penn State set a program free-throw record at 43 of 49 and still watched Anigbata's three cut it to one possession with under a second left. Credit the free throws. Do not hide the second half. Pitt is next.
Burton was the purchase: 42.5 percent on 76 threes at Stephen F. Austin. He led La Salle with 15 points and four threes in the Houston opener. Volume is not a clinic. Homecoming against LIU is where the bet has to look real at home.
Last year Temple beat George Mason in overtime. This year Turner goes for 21 with five threes on the road and the Owls lose by 20. Credit her night. Do not hide the boards or the score. Navy at home is the next read.
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