This March, Philly is the hoops capital

Penn, Temple, Drexel and Villanova are all headed to the Big Dance, making Philadelphia by far the best represented city in America. If having four teams from Philadelphia in the NCAA Tournament is not proof enough that Philadelphia is America's best city for college basketball, consider this: A fifth Philadelphia team, St. Joseph's, beat all four of the Philly Tournament qualifiers, and still did not make the field of 64. So, while its baggage claim system may be the slowest in the free world, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell was correct Monday in proclaiming his city the basketball capital of the country at a pep rally at City Hall. For only the second time ever, Philadelphia has four teams in the NCAA Tournament. So it is indeed the brightest star in the college basketball universe. Yeah, that's right. You got a problem with that? The town with an attitude. The town that booed Santa Claus twice. The town that would view the minister saying "you may now kiss the bride" as a cue to boo the groom for an unsatisfactory smooch. The town of cheesesteaks and soft pretzels and America's Mayor now has a new boast. Most disappointing for many Philadelphians, they will have nobody to argue with over the claim. Cincinnati is the only other city in the country with more than a single team in the Tournament -- Cincinnati and Xavier. The only possible gripe for Philadelphians is that St. Joseph's did not make it despite having a higher power rating than eight teams that received at-large berths, including Michigan, Manhattan and BYU. "I am rooting for all the other Philadelphia teams," Penn center Eric Moore said. "I know guys on all the other teams and I have friends on all the other teams, so I am rooting for all of them to do well unless they are playing us." Moore will get a chance to root for Drexel in person. The Dragons' game with Oklahoma State immediately follows Penn's tilt with Alabama tomorrow night at the Baltimore Arena. The Dragons' Malik Rose, who averages 13.3 rebounds per game, will have to stop Oklahoma State's 7-foot, 292-pound Bryant Reeves from crashing the boards if the Dragons are to advance. If Penn does play Drexel, it will mark the second year in a row that two Philadelphia teams have met in the Tournament. Last year Temple knocked off Drexel in the first round. This year the Owls travel to Salt Lake City to face Cincinnati tomorrow. The Bearcats blasted the Owls back in December on a night Temple shot 21 percent from the floor, but the Owls have improved markedly since then. Penn's Matt Maloney will have a special rooting interest in Temple's game. His father Jim is a Temple assistant, and their teams will be playing the same day. If Temple upsets Cincinnati, the Owls figure to play Connecticut in the second round. Villanova might be able to give Temple a few pointers in preparing for the Huskies. The Wildcats beat Connecticut twice late in the season. With the friendships that exist between all of them, the Philadelphia coaches might be doing some talking. "Drexel coach Bill Herrion and I are good friends," Penn's Fran Dunphy said. "Steve Lappas and I talked a number of times throughout the year. His daughter and my son go to school together. John Chaney is a guy I have respected over the years. Speedy Morris and I are best of friends, and John Griffin is another guy I respect greatly. There is a coaching fraternity in Philadelphia that is unlike every other city in the country. We have great respect for each other." So John Griffin and his St. Joseph's Hawks were clapping Monday for the other schools. And if Griffin had asked, Steve Lappas could have given him advice about winning the NIT, which Villanova did a year ago. This year the Wildcats have grander plans. Villanova opens against Old Dominion Friday. And Lappas might be calling Griffin for film -- St. Joseph's defeated Old Dominion earlier this year. If Villanova gets past the Colonial Athletic Association champions, it will match up with the Tulsa-Illinois winner. In the future looms a Sweet 16 date with UMass. But Lappas probably doesn't want to call Dunphy for any advice about that.