Game 21: Temple 60, Penn 45
It's a family reunion at the Palestra.
Box score | Enhanced box score | Bob Ford | Mike Kern | Keith Pompey
Audio is below. Video is in the player. I'm off to do soccer until Sunday, when hopefully I'll be at Georgetown-Villanova.
One thought from me before I call it a night. The announced attendance at the Palestra was 6,383, and the real thing looked reasonably close to that.
But shouldn't a Big 5 game at the Palestra with one team ranked in the Top 25 be sold out, even on a Wednesday?
This doesn't really feel like a basketball game for some reason. Yes, we're at the Palestra, and yes, there are two Big 5 teams facing each other.
But it feels almost more like a family reunion dinner than a sporting event. You have Jerome Allen facing not only Fran Dunphy, but his former college roomate Shawn Trice. And you know Matt Langel has been thinking about this night a lot too.
As of this afternoon, there were still around 1,000 seats available. Judging from the crowd so far, it won't be close to a sellout.
But you know that everyone here will remember that pregame handshake between Allen and Dunphy for a long time.