Ones with the people

Coming up to a big showdown against Duke, Temple knew it wasn't going to get a free ride.

It had to pay $2.60 each.

For the game against the No. 9 Blue Devils at the Wachovia Center, Fran Dunphy had his club take the subway from Cecil B. Moore to Pattison avenue.

Especially for a home game, this is almost unheard-of. Dunphy cited convenience and just wanting to give it a try, but it didn't seem like there were any motivational tactics involved. Some players took SEPTA to high school every day, while others had never been on it before.

As for the game, the Owls started slow, but gave Duke a scare in the end. They went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to single-digits late, but couldn't get any closer, losing by 10.

Temple lost once again tonight, this time in tough fashion by 2 to Charlotte in the Atlantic 10 opener. All five of the Philly teams besides Penn were in action tonight as well, and some of the games were somewhat disappointing.

While La Salle and Saint Joseph's disposed of some bottom-of-the-barrel A-10 teams in St. Bonaventure and Richmond, respectively, Villanova lost to Cincinatti, 69-66, and Drexel lost at Towson.