Penn is playing for Ivy weekend thanks to a game against Harvard that showed its heart

Let the Madness begin.

On Saturday, Penn men’s basketball took down Harvard, 64-61, securing a bid to the Ivy League Tournament. As the game came down to a back-and-forth, one-possession game, senior forward Ethan Roberts (21 points) took over for the Quakers — scoring eight straight in the final minutes to secure the victory.

“It meant everything,” Roberts said. “I kind of blacked out when the buzzer hit. This is what we wanted our entire year. Since last summer, we had a coaching change. We see McCaffery coming here, and to see that we’re in this position today, it’s like, back me up, this is literally all we work for. Our North Star. It’s emotional, and I can’t really put it into words.”

Roberts, along with Cam Thrower, Dylan Williams, and Johnnie Walter, were honored pregame as a part of Penn’s senior night celebrations.

The Quakers took control of their own destiny by defeating Harvard, with the win securing Penn an Ivy League tournament bid in head coach Fran McCaffery’s first year as head coach.

Penn last won the Ivy League tournament in 2018, and will look ahead to a rematch with Harvard, the two seed, in the semi-final round on March 14th at noon in Ithaca, New York.

“It’s not like we don’t know each other,” McCaffery said in reference to Harvard. “We have a lot of respect for them. We played twice, we won by three and they lost by one. Expect a good fight; we expect to have our guys ready.”

The Quakers can’t wait for Ivy Madness to start, with the team being proud of their “roller coaster” regular season nearing its end.

“This ivy season has been a roller coaster,” AJ Levine said. “It’s been so hard fought. I mean, we know every single game we go into, we have an opportunity to win. We’ve had so many close games, some that we won, some that we lost, but you know, those all make us better, and they all prepare us for this postseason.”

Harvard’s league-leading defense dismantled Penn in the first half, holding the Quakers to only 21 points on 24 percent shooting, forcing six turnovers en route to a 10 point halftime lead, 31-21.

The Quakers’ three-headed attack of TJ Power, Michael Zanoni, and Ethan Roberts went a collective 2 of 19 from the field — with starting point guard AJ Levine only playing 10 minutes.

In the second, in just the first four minutes of play, Penn turned the tide — forcing four turnovers and scoring an electric 15 points, with every point coming from one of Roberts, Power, or Levine.

“I think the huge thing is defensive intensity,” Levine said in reference to what the team changed at half time. “ [We were} a little quiet on defense and not as energetic, and that was a huge point at halftime, that we’re gonna come out, and we’re gonna get stops, we’re gonna get on this glass and push the ball, that’s where our best offense is, and we want to really capitalize on that.”

Quakers continued to pile on, with the trio scoring a collective 36 of the team’s 41 points in the second half. Power provided much-needed versatility — hitting three of four from behind the arc with four boards, while Levine was ferocious downhill, going four of five with two made free throws for 10 points.

“But to his credit, he showed maturity today,” McCaffery said regarding Levine. “Figured it out. And I think you could know, with all due respect to the game Ethan had, I think you could really look at AJ and say, Okay, that was a difference. The way you played at the start of the second half changed everything.”

Roberts, in his final regular-season home game donning the Red and Blue, controlled the pace, using his physicality and outside touch to uphold the offense, scoring 17 in the second half.

In the end, the former transfer sealed the game for the Quakers and showed emotion after his final home game with Penn.

“I love this place,” Roberts said regarding his performance. “And I just want to give everything back to Penn. How much it means to me to wear this jersey. So to do that means a lot, and I hope that caps off my legacy, but I still got more to go, because, you know, I want to win.”

Zanoni, a senior, was left out of the senior night celebrations. McCaffery, when questioned post-game, confirmed that Zanoni is expected to return to Penn next year.

While Zanoni struggled tonight, his impact this season has been felt — as the Greensboro, North Carolina, native averages 12.1 point per game.

His best performances came against Providence (30 points) and Ivy League leading Yale (20 points), with his outside shooting looking to boost McCaffery’s fast-paced offense for at least one more year.