Philadelphia has long been the butt of a lot of jokes in the world of sports. As nearly everyone knows, exheavyweight champ Sonny Liston once quipped that he'd rather be a lamp post in Denver than mayor of Philly. More recently Derek Sanderson said that coming back to Boston after a brief sojourn in Philadelphia was "like coming back from Vietnam."

Well, one element of Philadelphia athletics that has never been ridiculed by humorists is the University of Pennsylvania basketball team. Penn has been a consistent Ivy title threat in the last five years, nationally ranked, and, in a general sense, a pretty nasty combine to come up against.

Tonight Harvard invades Philly on the first leg of the season's last road trip. And the Crimson, with a 7-5 league record, will attempt to close out the year on a positive note.

Tonight's 7:05 p.m. contest will be a tough test for Bob Harrison's team. The Quakers are once again in first place and, after an upset loss to Brown earlier this week, are not in any mood to fool around.

Penn had little trouble turning back Harvard in January, coolly coming back from a 39-32 deficit at halftime to topple the Crimson, 66-61. The Quakers, under the guidance of Chuck Daley, are a well-disciplined squad that makes few mistakes and takes advantage of every opposition miscue. Against Harvard in January, Penn trailed by six with only six minutes left, yet chipped away and chipped away at the Crimson lead, triumphing in the late moments.

In Trouble

Harvard has been in trouble in recent weeks. In the last six contests the Crimson has lost three, including setbacks to Columbia and Yale, and Harvard could very easily end the season with an Ivy mark no better than 7-7.

The problems of Harrison's squad are hard to pinpoint, but a significant factor has to be the subconscious mental letdown, especially among the seniors, of closing out the year with no chance of a high league finish. Against Columbia the Crimson trailed by as many as 27 points in the second half, en route to as lackluster a showing as has been seen by Harvard fans in some time.

For Harvard, the Penn game has virtually no interest or worth as far as the final Ivy standings are concerned. What the game will determine is just what kind of taste the Crimson will have in its mouth after the season ends. A win would provide a little sugar for the summer months. A loss will simply add more vinegar.