2023-24 Monmouth Basketball Gameday Preview: Game Seven
                                                                    
Cathedral of College Basketball Classic                   
Monmouth Hawks (4-2, 0-0 CAA) vs. Penn Quakers (4-3, 0-0 Ivy)
Sunday, November 26, 2023 - 2:30 p.m.
The Palestra, Philadelphia, PA
 
TV
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Joe Tordy
Analyst: Vince Curran

RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Joe Vasile

QUICK BULLETS
-This is MU's third game as part of the Cathedral of College Basketball Classic
-MU has won three in a row and are looking for a fourth straight and third this weekend
-Xander Rice has scored 20+ points in five of six games this season
-Nikita Konstantynovskyi comes off a career-best 11 rebounds vs. Lafayette
-Jakari Spence grabbed a career-best five steals against Lafayette
-Konstantynovskyi scored a career-high 22 points vs. Belmont
-Jaret Valencia grabbed 11 rebounds against Belmont, a career best
-Nikita Konstantynovskyi posted his first career double-double vs. Lehigh
-Abdi Bashir exploded for 21 points and five threes vs. Lehigh
-MU's 15 steals against Lafayette was their most since January 12, 2020

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-mark the fifth win of the season for Monmouth
-be MU's fourth ever win over Penn
-make King Rice 5-0 all time at The Palestra
-be MU's first win over Penn since 2018
-register as the 194th win of Rice's career
-hand Penn its fourth loss of the season
-be Monmouth's first 5-2 start since the 2020-21 season
-mark Monmouth's fourth win in a row
-make MU a perfect 3-0 in the Cathedral of College Basketball Classic

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-Monmouth and Penn are meeting for the 10th time in MBB competition
-Monmouth has played 42 times against Ivy League members in history
-MU is playing three Ivy opponents this season, having already played Princeton and heading to Cornell this Wednesday
-Monmouth is 14-28 all-time against the Ivy League
-King Rice is 2-2 against Penn, with both wins coming at The Palestra
-The last two meetings have seen overtime, with MU winning in 2018 via Ray Salnave's game-winner to secure the Hawks' first win of
the season on New Year's Eve
-In 2017, the teams played a four-overtime marathon that Penn took, 101-96
-In the 4OT game, Austin Tilghman made two buzzer beaters to extend the game
-The first meeting came in 2002 at Convention Hall in Asbury Park

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT
-Monmouth's three-game winning streak is its longest of the season.
-The Hawks have won their first two games in the Cathedral of College Basketball Classic.
-Xander Rice topped the 20-point mark for the fifth time in six games this year.
-Rice opened the season with six in a row in double figures for the first time since Deion Hammond in 2020.
-MU had 15 steals, the most since grabbing 16 on January 12, 2020 at Quinnipiac.
-Monmouth has had a player with double-digit rebounds in four straight games for the first time under King Rice.
-Jakari Spence had five steals, the most by a Hawk in a game this season.
-Monmouth is now 2-1 all time against Lafayette.
-Monmouth outshot Lafayette 37% to 31%.
-Monmouth was better off turnovers, 24-13.
-MU beat Lafayette in the paint, 28-18.
-The Hawks were better on the fast break, 10-5.

NEXT UP
-Monmouth heads to Cornell on Wednesday night to take on the Big Red
-The teams will meet for the fourth time ever
-Monmouth will take on its fourth Ivy opponent this year
-The game will air on ESPN+ and on the radio via the Monmouth Digital Network