Game Info: Monday, November 17, 2025 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: The Palestra - Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: ESPN+ | Listen: sjuhawks.com | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes | Penn Game Notes

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Opening Tip
The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team is on the road, but stays local, facing Penn at The Palestra on Monday, November 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN+ and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The Cathedral Of College Basketball    
Sitting just five miles from Hawk Hill, The Palestra is the second oldest, continuous-use college basketball arena in the country. Monday will be Saint Joseph's 469th all-time game at "The Cathedral of College Basketball," a name first given to the arena in 1939 by Philadelphia sports writer Dick Weiss. SJU played its first game at The Palestra on December 13, 1930, a 23-19 loss against homestanding Penn. St. Joe's owns a 304-164 (.650) all-time record at the arena Only Rose Hill Gym at Fordham, opened on January 16, 1925 predates The Palestra's January 1, 1927 inaugural game. Matthews Arena in Boston has been open since 1910, but college basketball was not played there until 1930.

Familiar With Their Game    
Justice Ajogbor certainly is familiar with Penn, playing the Quakers six times in his career to this point. Those six contests tie him for the second-most among active players in appearances against Penn. Only Xavian Lee has more, with seven contests against the Quakers in his career, all while at Princeton. Now playing at Florida, Lee will not have a chance to extend his total.

Welcome to Hawk Hill!    
On Wednesday, Saint Joseph's signed BJ Ranson to a National Letter of Intent. A three-star recruit out of Mount Saint Joseph in  Baltimore, Md., Ranson is rated as the No. 7 recruit in Maryland and the No. 24 point guard nationally in the 2026 class by 247Sports. As a junior last season, he averaged 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds, while shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. He was a Second Team All-Baltimore Catholic League honoree and was named to the BCL All-Tournament team. He provided the BCL Tournament's biggest moment when he connected on a three-pointer as time expired, lifting Mount Saint Joseph to a 58-56 win against defending champion St. Francis Academy in the semifinals.

Long Time Rivals    
Monday is the 94th meeting all-time between St. Joe's and Penn. It is the fourth most games for the Hawks against any opponent, trailing Temple (161), La Salle (145) and Rhode Island (112). SJU holds a 55-38 lead in the overall series.

Big 5     
Monday marks Saint Joseph's second game in Philadelphia Big 5 play for the 2025 season. On November 8, St. Joe's downed Drexel 76-65. The Hawks are 7-0 in the current Big 5 format of pod play that leads into the Big 5 Classic. A win against the Quakers earns SJU a berth in its third consecutive Big 5 Classic championship game. This year is the 70th season of the Big 5. St. Joe's is 136-123 in the Big 5 with 22 titles and 11 shared championships.

Home Sweet Hagan    
Playing at home has been a positive thing for St. Joe's throughout the building's history with a .634 winning percentage. The games have been particularly good since the beginning of the 2023-24 season with the Hawks going 29-8 (.784). The 27 victories from 2023-25 are the most in a two-year stretch since the building was renovated and renamed Hagan Arena in 2009.

Scouting Report    
Penn enters play 1-2 overall, following a 106-81 loss at Providence on Tuesday. The Quakers were selected seventh of eight teams in the Ivy League preseason poll.

Leading the way for Penn offensively is senior Ethan Roberts at 20.7 points per game. Michael Zanoni scores 18 per night with TJ Power and Cam Thrower each tallying 10.3 points a contest. Augustus Gerhart pulls in 9.0 rebounds a game. AJ Levine has 12 assists.

While the numbers may be a bit skewed due to a 119-point output against Division III Rowan in its opener, the Quakers' offense is legit, averaging 79.5 points in a pair of road games at American and Providence, scoring at least 78 in each game. Helping to bolster the offense is a 40.6 percent mark from three-point range and averaging 25.7 points per game at the free throw line.

For as much as Penn scores, it also gives up points, surrendering 87.3 a night. It has struggled to defend the three, allowing opponents to connect at a 40.8 percent clip and deliver 9.7 treys an outing.

1982 alumnus Fran McCaffrey is in his first season at the helm of the Quakers and is in his 30th season overall as a collegiate lead mentor. His 549 wins are 61st all-time in Division I victories. He has led his teams to 12 NCAA tournaments and 17 postseason appearances overall.

All-Time Series    
Saint Joseph's holds a 55-38 advantage in a series that spans more than 100 years with the first meeting coming on December 9, 1922. The Hawks have won five in a row against the Quakers, their second longest active winning streak against a Division I opponent. SJU is 41-19 against Penn at The Palestra.

Last Time Against Penn    
Securing a spot in its second consecutive Big 5 Classic championship game, Saint Joseph's downed Penn, 86-69 at The Palestra on November 15, 2024. Derek Simpson, Erik Reynolds II and Rasheer Fleming each scored 15 points for the Hawks. Steven Solano netted 11. With SJU leading 12-11 five minutes into the contest, St. Joe's went on a 12-0 run and never led by fewer than eight for the remainder of the game.

It's What He Does    
For the third time in his four stops, Steve Donahue won his first game at a new school. Previously, he defeated Saint Francis Brooklyn with Boston College and Robert Morris with Penn. His only loss in his first game in a new place was at Cornell, when the Big Red fell to the defending national champions, No. 3 Michigan State.

For Starters    
The Hawks are 84-29 in season-opening games. St. Joe's has won its last three openers, against Lafayette (2023, 2025) and Navy (2024). SJU won 32 consecutive games to start its season from 1950 through 1982.

Towering Over The Competition...    
With Justice Ajogbor (6'10"), Jaden Smith (6'11") and Steven Solano (7'0"), the Hawks' roster is loaded with height. Only eight opponents for St. Joe's have three or more players who are 6'10" or taller, led by five on Duquesne's roster. Three teams – Princeton, Coppin State and Rutgers-Camden – do not have a player on their squad that is taller than 6'9".

We Love The 80s    
St. Joe's dropped 85 points on Lafayette on November 3. It is the 13th time the program has scored 85 or more against a Division I team in the opener. The highest total is 103, accomplished twice, against Morgan State on December 4, 1992 and versus Western Carolina on November 17, 2000. Saint Joseph's posted its highest scoring output in a season opener since recording 91 points in a 96-91 overtime loss at Auburn on November 26, 2020. The team scored 80+ in a game 11 times last year, going 10-1 in those contests.

Next Up    
The Hawks complete their three-game road trip, heading to Las Vegas, Nev,., taking on UNLV on Wednesday, November 20. Tipoff from the Thomas & Mack Center is slated for 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time with the game airing on Mountain West Network.