At this weekend's NCAA tournament games, Philadelphia saw a hometown kid tear it up, a local team pull out a win and almost witnessed what might have been the biggest upset in college basketball history.
UConn 72, Albany 59
When asked about the pressure on his team at media day on Thursday, Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun replied that, when his Huskies are down seven with a few minutes to go, his opponents are "just where we want them."
And on Friday night in a matchup with 16-seed Albany, Calhoun had the Great Danes right where he wanted them.
For the majority of the game, Albany played inspired basketball, while the Huskies looked flat, even nervous.
Led by a spirited student section -- perhaps more vocal than any other team's on Friday, even Villanova's -- the crowd enthusiastically supported the underdogs, hoping to witness the first 16-seed to ever beat a 1-seed.
Against one of the most imposing defenses in the country, Albany was patient on offense, attacking in a controlled way and not forcing shots. The Great Danes' allowed only 3 blocks to a Connecticut team that averages 9.2, tops in the nation.
Albany employed an interesting strategy of allowing the Huskies to take any shot they wanted from the outside but playing air-tight defense inside.
When 6-foot-10 Connecticut center Josh Boone caught the ball in the post, he wasn't doubled -- he was quadrupled. The frontcourt had seven turnovers in the first half, with the backcourt adding four more.
As a result, Connecticut was shooting a blistering 65 percent while up only one at halftime.
"They put us into a situation where I think I witnessed our poorest offensive effort maybe in close to 20 years at UConn," Calhoun said. "It looked like we were trying to go 1-on-5 like we had never been coached before."
And the offense only got worse for the Huskies, as they scored only seven points in nine minutes, going down 50-38.
But all of a sudden, the Huskies went on a tear, thanks to a number of threes by Marcus Williams and Denham Brown and a number of stops on the defensive end. Connecticut went on a 20-4 run, avoiding what would have been the most devastating loss in program history.
"We drew the entire country in to watch history being made, and history wasn't made," Calhoun said, referring to CBS showing the Philadelphia game over the other three tournament games at the time.
"We are a championship team at heart," Brown said. "These are the types of games that are testing us for what's down the road."
Despite getting bounced from the tournament, Albany coach Will Brown was justifiably happy with that way his teams' play.
"All five starters for UConn will be playing in the NBA someday, and for us to come out and challenge them with six minutes to go, it's an even basketball game, that says a lot about our kids," Will Brown said. "I can't say enough of how proud I am."
Villanova 82, Arizona 78
After pulling out an ugly, grind-it-out win against Monmouth, Villanova got to face sharpshooting, high-flying Arizona in round two.
After having a dreadful shooting day in the first round, Villanova hit 53 percent against Arizona. Despite big games from the frontcourt, the Big 5 school was led, as usual, by guards Allan Ray and Randy Foye, who scored 25 and 24 points, respectively.
After Villanova led the entire game, Arizona threatened late, but some clutch Ray free throws sent Villanova to the Sweet 16.
"I just stepped up to the line real confident," Ray said. "Coach puts the ball in my hands at the end of the game for a reason."
City native Mustafa Shakur had a second monster game, shooting 7-of-11 for 21 points.
UConn 87, Kentucky 83
The two teams meeting in Philadelphia's other second-round game have won a combined three of the last eight national championships.
But somehow they have never played each other.
The Huskies started hot, building 43-31 halftime lead.
But Patrick Sparks took over, almost shooting his team into the next round. He tied his career high with 28 points, adding five steals.
And, like the Villanova game, Connecticut led throughout but pulled away with free throws; the few late misses from the line drew devastating offensive boards.
"You can't rely on the ball bounce, you have to go get it," Kentucky forward Bobby Perry said.
