Villanova, PA (Sports Network) - Big 5 rivals renew their relationship on the outskirts of Philadelphia tonight, as the fifth-ranked Villanova Wildcats entertain the Penn Quakers at The Pavilion.

In the case of the Quakers, members of the legendary Ivy League, they began the 2009-10 campaign on Friday with a 70-55 loss to Penn State on the road. Penn plays teams from neighboring states for the next couple of weeks and doesn't take a long road trip until heading to Davidson three days after Christmas.

As for the Wildcats, a favorite to contend for the Big East Conference crown after making it to the Final Four a season ago where they were bounced by eventual champion North Carolina (83-69), they too began their schedule three nights ago with a date against Fairleigh Dickinson, a clash that resulted in an easy 84-61 victory at home. The Wildcats are now an astounding 63-3 when opening the season at home.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Wildcats have never lost at home versus Penn, taking all six previous meetings in familiar surroundings. In terms of the overall mark, Villanova holds a 38-18 edge thanks to six straight wins versus the Quakers. Last season, Penn hosted the Wildcats at The Palestra where the visitors captured a 69-47 final.

Tyler Bernardini scored the first 10 points of the game for the Quakers in their meeting with Penn State last week, but in the end he finished with just 12 points overall in the road setback. Jack Eggleston accounted for a team- best 13 points as he made good on 5-of-6 shots from the floor, but even his effort could not cover up the fact that teammate Darren Smith missed all seven of his three-point tries and was a mere 1-of-11 from the floor in 31 minutes of action. The team as a whole made just 37.5 percent from the field and 21.7 percent beyond the arc. Bernardini, one of four returning starters from a season ago, was responsible for a team-best 13.7 ppg a year ago when he was named honorable mention All-Ivy. Eggleston comes back after having recorded 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore, while Philadelphia Big 5 Rookie of the Year Zack Rosen expects to expound upon his 8.1 ppg and 3.4 rpg in 2008-09.

Against FDU in the opener, Villanova started out slow with just 32.3 percent success from the floor, but because the Knights didn't present much of a challenge the Wildcats could afford to play flat for a spell. In the end, Corey Stokes responded with a game-high 20 points on 5-of-10 shooting behind the three-point line, followed by Corey Fisher and his 13 points. Antonio Pena came up a point shy of a double-double as he paced the squad with 10 rebounds, helping 'Nova to a 46-35 edge on the glass and limiting the Knights to just six offensive rebounds. Although it was just the first game, one can't help but be slightly concerned with the effort turned in by Scottie Reynolds who shot only 2-of-10 from the field and missed all four chances behind the three- point line as he finished with just eight points. Reynolds was second on the team in scoring last season with his 15.2 ppg as he started all 38 games for the Cats, adding team highs of 128 assists and 59 steals to take the attention off his 40 percent shooting from the field.