If ever a headline can be written before the story occurs, this is it.

"PENN WINS 1993-94 IVY LEAGUE TITLE."

That's right. The fat lady's sung on this one. It's over. The lights are out. "The refrigerator door," as old-time Lakers announcer Chick Hearn was apt to say, "is shut."

With its entire rotation returning from a squad that went 22-5 last year and swept through the Ivy League undefeated, Penn looks like a lock for its second consecutive conference championship.

Perennial contender Princeton could mount a challenge for the title, but even the strong Tiger squad will be hard-pressed to keep pace with the Quakers.

After the top two favorites? A pack of teams will likely end up jockeying for position in this wide-open, rough-and-tumble Ivy League race.

Following, in order, are the Crimson staff's official picks for the 1993-94 Ivy League men's basketball race.

Pennsylvania

Just how loaded is this team? Well, consider that its best player last season, League MVP Jerome Allen, was only the third leading scorer on the squad. And his backcourt mate, All-Ivy first teamer Matt Maloney, was the top three-point shooter in the Ancient Eight.

The junior duo, clearly the best backcourt in the league, complements a front line full of athletic, experienced performers. All-Ivy second teamer Barry Pierce, a forward who was "surely first-team quality" according to one preseason magazine, works alongside center Eric Moore, forwards Shawn Trice, Tim Krug and Andy Barrata.

Depth and talent are not this team's problems. In fact, winning its first-round NCAA game will probably be the first big challenge of its season. Anything less than 14-0 in league playwould be, in the words of one writer at Penn'sstudent daily, "a huge disappointment."

Princeton

In previous years, writers would have taken onelook at this squad and chalked up another IvyLeague title for Princeton. The Tigers, after all,formed a virtual dynasty during the 1980s.

Princeton Coach Pete Carril's troops slipped toa shocking fourth-place league finish last yearand even lost to lowly Brown near the end of theseason. Hypotheses abound as to why. The 1991-92League Rookie of the Year Rick Hielscher, a 6'9"center, suffered a poor sophomore year. The Tigerslacked experience. They went only 4-3 at homeafter having won 50 of 56 over the previous fiveseasons.

But the biggest problem, according to storiedcoach Carril, lay in Princeton's traditionalstrong point: defense. As Carril noted afterPrinceton narrowly beat Harvard last year inBriggs Cage, "We just can't guard anyone."

This year, it should be a different story. Withsix players who have started at least one gamecoming back, Carril possesses a solid nucleus.Hielscher, senior co-captains Chris Mooney andMike Brennan, and guard Chris Yetman will likelymake the biggest contributions. Unfortunately forPrinceton fans, it won't be enough.