Tonight, the mighty Princeton basketball team--with five men averaging in double figures, ranked seventh in the nation in the AP poll, conquerers of North Carolina--immortal Princeton will appear at the IAB beginning at 8 p.m.

The Tigers will, most likely, paste Harvard like they paste everyone else. But there is a thin beam of hope. Not only has Princeton lost a game (to second-ranked Louisville, 72-63), but the Tigers had to struggle to tip Yale last Saturday, 77-75.

Harvard, however, especially without Chris Gallagher, is not made of the same stuff as these giants. Already 0-2 in the Ivy League, Harvard can hope for a weekend split by defeating Penn here tomorrow night -- but that would be something of an upset, too.

Both Princeton and Penn have the big man. The Tigers' Chris Thomforde, a 6 ft. 9 in. sophomore who knocked a two-year starter out of the lineup, has been averaging 15.8 points and 13 rebounds per game. Penn's Tom Mallison, at 6 ft. 10 in., is moving at a 10.5 scoring clip.

The similarity ends there. Princeton has experience -- Thomforde is the only sophomore in the starting five. They also boast incredible balance. Guard Joe Heiser (14.8), forward John Haarlow (13.8), forward and captain Ed Hummer (13.3) and speedy guard Gary Walters (10.8) have divided the scoring almost evenly with the big pivot man.

Pennsylvania, on the other hand, is a bottle of soda that was great when it was fresh (they won the League crown last year) but has lost its zip. The Quakers lost five games in a row until they stomped on already-dead Brown last Saturday, 84-60. The night before, they played their worst game of the year in dropping their Ivy League opener to Yale, 86-74.

The Quakers, like Harvard's five, rely heavily on sophomores. Charlie Snell, a backcourtman who led the freshmen in scoring last year, now leads the varsity with a 13.5 average. Pete Andrews, another sophomore guard, is averaging 10.5 They work in the backcourt with junior Tom Northrup, who is averaging 12.0.

Sophomore forward Jeff Osowski poured through 25 points against Brown. Now that he's had a good night, this 6 ft. 5 in. New Jersey boy could be dangerous.

In fact, they are all dangerous. It seems as if every player, every team in the Ivy League, is tough. After a while, it can be numbing.