Without playing a game, and six months before its season begins, the Penn baseball team picked up a few extra victories.

If only it were always that easy.

On Wednesday, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions announced the first major infraction in Georgetown history. The school's baseball program paid $61,000 in federal work study grants to 26 players from 2000-01 through 2006-07 for work that the athletes did not complete. The NCAA committee's full report is available here [pdf].

And as a result of the violation, which was self-reported in 2007, the Hoyas will forfeit all baseball games during those years in which any of the improperly paid players participated. Georgetown has said that it will not appeal the penalty. (The program will also be placed on probation for three years, have its number of permissible grants-in-aid capped at five through the 2011-12 academic year and be required pay a $61,000 fine to the NCAA.)

Schedules and box scores prior to the 2002-03 season are not available online or in either of the school's media guides.  But the Quakers were 0-2 against the Hoyas in '03-'04 and 1-1 in '06-'07. The NCAA report does not say which players were involved, so it's impossible to determine if they participated in those games. It seems, however, that the Quakers could have three victories coming their way -- more if they played Georgetown in 2000-01 or '01-'02.

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My colleague Zach Klitzman detailed the M. Hoops schedule in yesterday's Welcome Back Issue. (If you haven't seen the print edition, I would check out the pdf, if for no other reason than to see the paper's dramatically different layout.)

Since then, two more scheduling notes, leaving Villanova as the only City Six opponent without a confirmed date:

• Drexel will play the Quakers at the Palestra in a pre-Thanksgiving Break tilt on Nov. 24.

• Saint Joseph's will play the Quakers at the Palestra on Jan. 25.

This post was updated on Sept. 4 to correct Georgetown's nickname.

Yesterday was the highly anticipated matchup of Penn visiting Drexel for the first time in school history.  The 10 a.m. game ended in a 66-64 win for the Dragons (1-0), although it wasn't that close. Penn (0-2) only lead for 39 seconds, yet came back from down 14 point to almost tie it up at the end of regulation.

Here are some different takes on the historic match.

• Bryan Armen Grame posted his pregame thoughts on Fannation.com, even though the Quaker mascot seen on the site is at least 10 years old. And familiar blogger Jonathan Tannenwald has his postgame thoughts here.
• Bill Fleischman posted his thoughts on the game at Philly Hoops Insider.
• Kyle Whelliston of The Mid-Majority fame, has both a column on ESPN.com, as well as a look at the rollouts at the game (Hint: He wasn't a fan of Drexel's rollout procedures).

FINAL: Drexel 66, Penn 64

Rodgers misses a free throw, keeping it at one possession. Rosen tries to do too much and is forced into a corner where he jacks up a three that falls well short...but he's fouled. The frosh will go to the line needing to sink all three to tie it up. Rosen misses the first. Makes the second. Lewis comes in to board. Rosen clanks the last, Lewis gets the board, gets it to Votel who has to awkwardly force up a hook that falls short. Game over.

00:14.7 2nd Half -- Drexel 65, Penn 63

Neisler misses both and Votel boards it. Rosen runs downcourt and spins, dishing to Egee in the corner who hits nothing but net with a hand in his face. The Red and Blue Crew tells the ref: "You have 15 seconds, try not to fuck this up." His reponse? "I'll do my best."

00:25.1 2nd Half -- Drexel 65, Penn 60

Harris makes the second. Belcore flies downcourt and Rosen sets up the offense. Bernardini gets partially blocked on a drive but the ball falls back to him. He's out of control and under pressure under the basket and Drexel collects the board and a trip to the line.

00:45.9 2nd Half -- Drexel 64, Penn 60

After a scramble for the ball, the refs give Drexel possession -- and a full shot-clock. Miller is irate as are most of the Penn fans in the crowd. The refs look at the replay and set it to 4, forcing a bad shot from Drexel after the inbounds. But once again, the Dragons clean up the miss and Penn is forced to foul Jamie Harris. Harris misses the first and Miller calls timeout.

1:17 2nd Half -- Drexel 64, Penn 60

My browser couldn't have picked a better time to crash. Oh well. This one's being played from the foul lines right now, and it's not impressing ESPN. One of two seems to be the norm.

1:40 2nd Half -- Drexel 64, Penn 59

3:07 2nd Half -- Drexel 62, Penn 57

Miller wants a walk but instead, Loughery gets called for a foul. The Red and Blue Crew taunts Tribbett at the line, making "Ribbitt" frog-calls. He misses both. Hmmmm...

Votel gets called for his fourth and Tribbett returns to the stripe, and knocks both down. Maybe the "Ribbitt" taunts and him missing were just a coincidence. You decide.

Votel misses two from the line; this has been a pitiful shooting performance from Penn. That said, he skies for an easy lay-in off a miss and Drexel keeps missing shots, keeping it close.

5:23 2nd Half -- Drexel 60, Penn 55

Bernardini goes for a sweet up-and-under in the lane after two free throws from Drexel. Hawthorne one-ups him with a drive that culminates in a soft floater off the glass.

7:04 2nd Half -- Drexel 56, Penn 50

Hawthorne slows it down and the Dragons start passing up on open three to drive, which is drawing fouls from Penn. Eggleston picks up his fifth and is gone.

7:29 2nd Half -- Drexel 56, Penn 50

In a bit of a switch, Bernardini drives and dishes to Eggleston for a three. Meanwhile, Drexel is having a tough time finding the basket, but an Egee airball gives them two points on the other end.

9:51 2nd Half -- Drexel 51, Penn 45

Rosen gets his first points as an NCAA athlete, swishing both tries from the line and picks up a board off a Hawthorne miss. Votel steps around his defender on the perimeter and beats him the basket for two. We're going back and forth for the lead and both the Drexel student and Red and Blue Crew are jumping. But Lewis turns it over and Hawthorne goes the length of the court -- and behind his back -- to beat Gaines for the hoop and the harm. Votel gets aggressive, posting up and fading away, drawing another foul. But he only makes one and Drexel makes two -- not a good equation for Penn.

11:41 2nd Half -- Drexel 44, Penn 40

The game is slowing down now. Both teams are missing but neither is getting its transition game going. Gaines' cold-shooting continues, but Rodgers gets called for his second foul (although Tommy McMahon yells: "Four! That's four!"). The Dragons are racking up bad fouls now; Penn just needs to get to the line. Drexel slows it down as Penn continues to eat into the its lead. Rosen heads to the line for two.

14:57 2nd Half -- Drexel 42, Penn 38

Egee gets another tough two and then a board on the other end. Bernardini slips between Drexel's bigs and tips in a Rosen miss.

15:38 2nd Half -- Drexel 42, Penn 34

Pair of quick fouls on the Dragons and Bernardini comes off a screen at the elbow for his second three of the game. All the calls are going Penn's way now, as Drexel gets called for a foul on the offensive boards and then another one on defense. Bernardini plays a little give-and-go with Votel, who scores on an easy layup. But Jamie Harris gets open against Penn's zone and knocks down a three.

17:05 2nd Half -- Drexel 39, Penn 29

The Red and Blue Crew's shot-clock shenanigans may not work, but Penn's zone finally does, forcing a 35-second violation. But wait, Eggleston is called for a foul as the clock hits 0 and Drexel gets it back, but can't do anything other than give Penn a transition bucket. The Dragons' Evan Neisler comes right back with a three-point play. Turley is in now and quickly gets called for a foul. Votel clanks a pair of putbacks and Lewis comes in for Turley.

HALFTIME -- Apparently ESPN's Andy Katz picked Yale to win the Ivy League during the halftime show. Curious where that one's coming from.

HALFTIME -- Drexel 34, Penn 27

A Drexel fan triumphantly waves a trophy with a "33rd Street" sign slapped on it at the Red and Blue crew, who are seated right behind us. Rosen misses the first of a one-and-one. Off a Drexel miss, Egee goes coast to coast and absorbs contact for a tough layup. He follows that up with a three from the corner on the next possession, and the Red and Blue is pumped up. Votel relieves Eggleston while Jamie Harris goes to the line. He makes the first. Gaines continues to be just off with his shots. Tommy McMahon slaps Brennan Votel on the butt as he inbounds, but the good-luck charm doesn't work -- the Quakers are called for a questionable offensive foul, giving the Dragons another trip -- now the double-bonus -- to the charity stripe. Givens makes one of two. Loughery, who has seen lots of minutes, heads to the line but can't capitalize on the first of the bonus. With 7.9 left on the clock, Rosen drives down and Eggleston misses a three.

Halftime stats:

Leading scorers

Penn -- Kevin Egee, 11

Penn -- Brennan Votel, 6

Drexel -- Gerald Colds, 8

Drexel -- Tramayne Hawthorne, 8

FG pct.: Penn 36.7 (11-30), Drexel 38.2 (13-34)

3-pt pct.: Penn 22.2 (2-9), Drexel 30.8 (4-13)

FT pct.: Penn 37.5 (3-8), Drexel 40.0 (4-10)

Rebounds: Penn 18 (3 offensive), Drexel 25 (8 offensive)

2nd chance points: Penn 2, Drexel 13

3:46 1st Half -- Drexel 32, Penn 20

Rodgers slices through Penn's D, NBA Live-style, for a nice layup. Drexel gets called for its sixth foul, a shooting one, and Votel goes to the line for two. He misses both, and though Bernardini finally gets his first points of the contest, Hawthorne answers with a three and Cofield gets called for a charge going back down the court. This is starting to remind me of last year's season opener. Eggleston ices both of his free throws, nothing but net on the one-and-one.

7:51 1st Half -- Drexel 25, Penn 15

Cam Lewis checks in, presumably to give the Red and Blue more presence on the defensive blocks. He makes an immediate impact, picking up an offensive board and dishing to a driving Gaines for a bucket. Then, Gaines maneuvers through a double-team and goes baseline for another basket. Loose ball foul on the Dragons and Penn is showing signs of life...as I say that, Gaines gets greedy and gets called for a push-off, which gives Drexel a bucket, and then a steal of the subsequent inbounds. Lewis is forced to foul Jamie Harris, who makes both at the line. Rosen comes back in to calm things down and finds Lewis in the post, but his shot is blocked giving the Dragons another transition bucket. Hawthorne gets shaken up and limps off the court, but under his own power. We'll see if he returns. Cofield comes in for Egee now.

Halftime stats:

10:45 1st Half -- Drexel 19, Penn 11

Rob Belcore comes in for Penn. The Quakers' zone gives Rodgers an open look from downtown, and though he misses, he cleans it up himself for two. Belcore hits a three -- against the side of the backboard. Ugly.

11:54 1st Half -- Drexel 15, Penn 11

Despite the timeout, Penn's trapping zone looks like its working...until Hawthorne is found in the corner for a knockdown three. Gaines is back in, now for Rosen; Loughery checks in for his first appearance as well and promptly forces one up from deep in the post.

13:08 1st Half -- Drexel 12, Penn 11

Egee comes in for Gaines, who has missed three shots thus far. The Dragons' man defense is frustrating Bernardini, who hasn't gotten a look yet. Egge drives baseline for two and then grabs a board on the other end. Bernardini comes off a screen at the top of the key but misses, and Colds makes an open trey in transition. After a nice steal in the post, Penn moves it well and Votel picks up an easy lay-in under the bucket. Penn is ratcheting up the defensive intensity now, as another steal yields an Egee basket. Drexel timeout.

15:33 1st Half -- Drexel 9, Penn 5

Penn wins the tip and immediately goes into their high motion offense, giving Eggleston a clear path to the basket. He gets fouled by Tribbett but only makes one. Gerald Colds responds by taking advantage of Penn's zone for a triple. Rosen forces a shot from the top of the arc and Drexel brings it down the court for two. Bernardini gets called for an offensive foul. Penn looks rushed right now; luckily for it, Drexel is missing shots. Eggleston drives again and makes a nice spin move for an easy layup. Lots of back-and-forth action now but both teams are missing their open shots. Votel misses a block-out and Yannick Formbor puts back an offensive board and draws the and-1.

Brandon Moyse here on a beautiful Tuesday morning for basketball -- not that it matters in the quaint confines of the DAC, Penn's first-ever visit to the Dragons' home court. We just sat through one of the strangest renditions of the National Anthem this side of Rosanne, and the starting lineups are about to be announced.

PENN:

F Brennan Votel

F Jack Eggleston

G Harrison Gaines

G Zack Rosen

G Tyler Bernardini

Drexel:

G Scott Rodgers

G Gerald Colds

G Jamie Harris

F Kenny Tribbett

F Evan Neisler

The Triangle -- Drexel's student newspaper -- ran a column last Friday about the Penn-Drexel men's basketball game that will be televised on ESPN at 10 a.m. Nov.18 and will take place at Drexel's Daskalakis Athletic Center. (See here for my original reaction.)

However instead of celebrating this game -- it'll be the first-ever time Penn plays at the DAC -- the columnist comes across as whining that this isn't good enough. He wants Penn to play at Drexel every other year. While I agree it is a little unfair that Penn has never played the Dragons north of Market Street, I don't think it's simply because Penn wants to maintain home court advantage.

While that plays a part, at the same time, the DAC is not that impressive of a facility.  It holds only 2,300 people (roughly a quarter of the Palestra), and is the smallest of any City Six venue.  Frankly, any game in the Palestra will have a better atmosphere, as well as allow more fans (of both teams) to attend. Why should the two teams sacrifice that?

If it's the money factor, then why not let Drexel call it a "home game" every other year and let them keep some of the proceeds?

Also, It's not like the rivalry has been that one-sided in recent years. Penn's only 5-3 in the last eight years against the Dragons.

What do you think about the DAC hosting Penn every other year? Would this significantly decrease your chances of attending (ignoring the 10 a.m. start this year)?

To my surprise, the Drexel men's lacrosse team added a third color to its uniforms, donning neon green laces. This would look ridiculous, but neon green (not to be confused with neon yellow) is a pretty sweet color.

But looks aren't everything.

Drexel wears the bright laces to support "Laces for Lymphoma," a part of the Headstrong Foundation, which is raises money and awareness for blood cancers. It was started in honor of Nick Colleluori, a former Hofstra lacrosse player who was diagnosed with Lymphoma.

"We wear them in his honor, and we have a senior next year, Matt Miller who's got cancer," Drexel coach Chris Bates said. "It's a brother-hood support, and just to raise awareness for cancer."

In Drexel's third game at the Palestra against a Big 5 team, the Dragons were overwhelmed by St. Joe's, falling 69-51 on New Year's Eve. Basically, Drexel had the best player on the floor, but the Hawks had the next six.

Dragons center Frank Elegar went 6-for-6 for 17 points and eight rebounds, but the Hawks were too much. Six-foot-8 swingman Pat Calathes had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and Ahmad Nivins, Tasheed Carr and Darrin Govens all scored in double-figures.

Here are a few interesting notes about the game:

Drexel was the home team, and put down their own stickers along the baseline, but for some reason St. Joe's sat on the home bench and got to use the Penn (much nicer, much bigger) locker room.

While both teams brought the band and cheerleaders (and in Drexel's case the dance team as well), I'd say no more than 1,500 of the 5,284 fans in attendance were rooting for the Dragons. Despite being some three blocks away, the Dragons were clearly out-numbered by migrating members of Hawk Hill.

Phil Martelli, still, only plays six players. Idris Hilliard or Rockwell Moody may get 10 minutes on a given night, but Calathes, Nivins, Carr, Govens, Rob Ferguson and Garrett Williamson off the bench got 91.5 percent of the minutes in the win over Drexel. And that's barely above their season average of 87. These teams have got to be two of the more foul-sensitive in the country. Certain players getting in foul trouble can be fatal.

There were five dunks in all (three by St. Joe's, two by Elegar), most of which were thunderous ones. A dunk that won't go down on the scoresheet was one in the first-half for the Hawks when the 6-foot-5 Williamson caught an alley-oop off on the baseline, but it hit the back iron. He jumped from out of the lane, and was about to tomahawk it, but unfortunately for all of the viewers, it didn't fall.

Drexel coach Bruiser Flint didn't disappoint, working the refs all game, drawing a technical foul in the second half and standing on the court for the majority of the game, even when the ball was in his own end.

Buried by all of the craziness that happened on the Palestra floor Friday night, you probably missed something that happened off of it.

While his team always gets supporters to walk down 33rd street, and there were more this year in particular because the Dragons were so good last season, Drexel coach Bruiser Flint has had very little success at the Palestra. Up until last night's overtime win the two-time CAA Coach of the Year is 106-74 all-time at Drexel, but 1-5 against Penn.

And out of the 20 times Drexel has played Penn, how many times have the Dragons hosted the Quakers? Yep the same amount of times I've dunked on Frank Elegar.

It's no Norries Wilson rant, but here's Flint inviting Penn to the Daskalakis Center.

bruiser-sounding-off.mp3

Penn had its chances down the stretch to win the game, but in the end, Drexel just made more big shots. A lot of that was due to the fact that the Quakers were not getting the ball to the right guys in the right spots. When they most needed shooters on the floor, there were none to be found.

Tyler Bernardini, tentatively labeled "maybe the best shooter" on the team, played four minutes total. Aron Cohen, who had the hot hand in the game, didn't even attempt a shot in overtime. But six of the final nine treys the Quakers attempted were from big men Jack Eggleston and Brennan Votel (and of those six, they made only one). Not having Darren Smith out late definitely hurt the Quakers' versatility, but it was still hard to swallow watching five guys stand on the perimeter and the center taking the shot.

I thought Harrison Gaines was the Quakers' third-best player out there. He was very patient in the half-court, showed some deft passing and a nice handle, and was solid in man defense. Three dimes and a steal in 13 minutes is more than enough for a first outing. While I thought he made a premature exit, it was probably the right move if Miller took him out in favor of experience.

Speaking of experience, Brian Grandieri stepped up when he had to. At first, things looked shaky and Miller even sat him for a long stretch in the first half. But around midway into the second, he seemed to shift a few gears up, and grabbed some big offensive boards, got in the lane, and got to the line. Before the game, Miller said that he wasn't sure if Grandieri "would have to score 18 to 20 a game or if he was even capable of that." Well, he scored 23 (8-14 FG, 7-12 FT) and was the main reason Penn got back into the game.

On the bright side, the Quakers' defense looked very sharp in the second half. The team did a good job of sealing off the leaks from the first half. While in zone, they rotated better to cover the corners and rebounded well, and in man they were generally tight and disciplined. Nonetheless, it's hard to win a game shooting 31/22/50 (FG/3PT/FT). The right guys need to be able to get the right looks, and someone is going to have to emerge as a viable isolation threat.