HILADELPHIA -- Charlton Clarke has never played in a Massachusetts-Temple game, but he already knows what to expect. His teammates made sure of that.

"They told me it was going to be a real physical game, and every time you go through the lane, you were going to get elbowed, knocked around," said the UMass freshman, who tonight should get a taste of the hottest rivalry in the Northeast in recent years.

"That's the kind of game I like to play, a physical game, you know. We've been lifting weights all the time we've been here and we're used to banging each other in practice. I heard with Temple, there is no inside plays, just outside plays, so I guess I'll have to put a few hours in the gym shooting 3- point shots."

Clarke's teammates informed him well. Tonight's matchup will be intense and physical. It also will be a battle between the Atlantic 10's only two undefeated teams in conference play. Game time is 9:30 p.m. at Temple's matchbox McGonigle Hall.

Temple (11-7, 7-0) is one of the few teams that stand a legitimate shot of derailing the Minutemen's trek toward an undefeated regular season.

The top-ranked Minutemen (19-0, 7-0) hope to avoid becoming the second No. 1 team to be upset by the Owls this season. Temple defeated top-ranked Kansas Dec. 22.

"The league gave Temple a week off before they play us, but we've had every obstacle thrown at us that we could have," said UMass coach John Calipari. "The Temple game, the Kentucky game, the Wake Forest game -- you live for those games. Those are the games you enjoy coaching, that players enjoy playing.

"That's what you live for, going on national television in that building, in a hostile environment. I'm going to have a flak jacket on, and it will be beautiful. That's what it's about."

The series has gone from predictable to sublime: Temple won the first 21 meetings, then UMass captured its first victory in a 67-52 rout at Curry Hicks Cage in 1992. The dominance shifted to UMass' favor as the Minutemen won six straight from 1993-95.

But the contests have been close (four of UMass' victories were by 2 points or fewer). The matchup gained national attention in 1994 when Temple coach John Chaney attacked Calipari in an obscenity-laden outburst following a 56-55 UMass win. Last season the teams split the series in the regular season, each winning on its home floor, and the Minutemen won the rubber match in the A-10 tournament final at the Mullins Center.

Both coaches tend to downplay the significance of the rivalry, stating that the game simply will be one of many tough ones on their schedule. "We know they're going to be ready to play us, but most teams are when they come in to play Temple," said Chaney. "We use games like this to prepare us for the NCAA tournament."

Since starting the year 3-6, the Owls have won eight of their last nine games, including three straight. They have been led by forward Mark Jackson, who was suspended from the last game, a 54-52 win over St. Joseph's, for throwing an elbow to the head of Duke's Greg Newton that knocked the latter to the floor.

Jackson wrote a letter apologizing to Newton. Chaney, who voluntarily sat out the St. Joe's game, apologized to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

HILADELPHIA -- It's not enough to have a game plan. Quality personnel and rabid supporters won't always suffice, either. You have to be willing to make the plan work at all costs, do whatever it takes, claw, scrap, overplay, outhustle, suffocate, frustrate, deny. Make no mistake, that's how they'll come at you.

Last night the University of Massachusetts applied one of the most awesome displays of defensive pressure this season, one that would have spelled trouble for practically any team in the nation.

Temple had the misfortune of being the fodder, and before a McGonigle Hall capacity crowd of 3,900, the Owls saw their best-laid plans stymied for nearly 40 minutes. What was expected to be a close game wound up as a 59-35 Minutemen rout.

Showing why it is ranked No. 1, UMass held its Atlantic 10 archrival to 12 first-half points, just 2 in the last 12:53. The Owls, who trailed by 18 at halftime, shot 22 percent in the first half and dropped to 19 percent in the second after beginning it with a run that cut the lead to 36-28 with 11:30 left.

From that point, UMass upped the defensive pressure again, particularly on the perimeter, where -- as in the first half -- it denied Temple good looks at the basket. In both halves, the Owls had difficulty setting up their offense and often rushed bad shots to beat the 35-second clock.

Marcus Camby can't help but love a 9-block night.

Inside, center Marcus Camby (15 points) swatted away a career-high-tying nine shots and altered several more.

It added up to a lopsided affair, improving the Minutemen to 20-0 overall, 8-0 in the conference. Temple, which was 0 for 16 from 3-point range and missed 14 straight shots in the second half, fell to 11-8, 7-1.

"This was a good effort for us," said UMass coach John Calipari. "I was pleased with the way we defended, but I was more pleased with our confidence in the game. The last time we beat Temple here two years ago, it was on a last-second bank shot. Today we wanted to come in and go all out against them, and we said if they're better, we go home with a loss."

Nothing doing. The Minutemen frustrated Temple on the perimeter with chest-to-chest pressure and allowed few second shots. The Owls contributed to their own demise, often standing flatfooted while the Minutemen crashed the boards.

With 5:51 to go in the first half, Marc Jackson (17 points, 11 rebounds) scored inside to pull the Owls within 7 (19-12), ending a seven-minute scoring drought. UMass answered with the last 11 points of the half.

"When we watched films on them, Coach Cal told us that they take two kinds of shots, a 3-pointer or a bad shot," said point guard Edgar Padilla. ''We denied the 3-point basket, and after that, they couldn't even shoot. We knew we could deny them because they shoot the ball so slowly."

But the Owls rallied at the start of the second half, and with 11:27 left, the spread was 8.

But in less than four minutes, UMass had it up to 17 (47-30). From there, the Minutemen cruised, and with 2:06 left, Calipari did something he's rarely done against Temple -- emptied his bench.

"We just had to keep playing and do what gave us our big lead in the first place," said Dana Dingle.

HILADELPHIA -- Maybe it is time to seriously consider the prospect of the University of Massachusetts basketball team running the table, going through the regular season without a blemish on a record that looks more impressive each game.

Last night was supposed to be one of the speed bumps on the Minutemen's schedule. Tough team, tough crowd, tough coach. If you had to pick a spot for UMass to lose, Temple's McGonigle Hall seemed as likely a place as any.

Well, forget that possibility. UMass was tougher than Temple, tougher than surprisingly low-key Owl coach John Chaney, tougher than the sellout crowd of 3,900 that came to bury the Minutemen, not praise them.

No one should be surprised anymore. After all, this is a team that has beaten all comers in all leagues, including mighty Kentucky, which was and still may be perceived as this season's super team.

"Anyplace, anytime," may be an impressive boast, but it means more when you can go out and do it as well.

What makes the Minutemen stand out -- and makes them a deserving No. 1 (they should be unanimous as well) -- is that they go out and beat you with their defense. They take your game and shred it into little pieces until there is nothing left.

Look at what happened to Temple. After 20 minutes last night, Chaney's team had 12 points. After 30 minutes, it had 30. And when the game was over, the Owls were left with the memory of a 59-35 beating.

Allowing 35 points? Against a major Division 1 school? Against a team that beat No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Villanova in a week? Believe it.

And make no mistake. This was a grudge game for the Minutemen and coach John Calipari. The sweetest sound Calipari heard last night was the relative silence of the crowd through much of the game. The sweetest sight was of them filing out with four minutes to go and the Minutemen's victory well in hand.

The question now is, where does UMass go from here? Look at the remaining road games -- at Xavier, Fordham, Virginia Tech, Rhode Island, Louisville. All those teams are beatable. And it would be a major upset for the Minutemen to lose a game at home.

So project that to March 2 and you have 29-0 and counting.

Calipari, justifiably, says it is too early to look that far into the future. Not that he is averse to optimism.

"I've heard people say that it would be better if we lose a game or two," he said. "But I don't know what lesson you learn from losing. All I know is that if it happens, you know you've lost a game."

Calipari knows his team can lose. But he also knows his history. He talked about a Nevada-Las Vegas team that ran through the regular season unbeaten a few years ago. "They were winning their games by an average of 25 points a game," he said. "We've had to go to overtime twice. We've been down in the second half a couple of times."

Last night the Minutemen saw Temple whittle an 18-point lead to 8 in the second half. But before you could say, "There goes an unbeaten season," the lead was back to 17 and growing.

It all boils down to defense. Vegas' unbeaten team posted offensive numbers that were scary. UMass is doing the reverse.

Consider this: Temple scored 12 points in the first half, 35 for the game, the Owls' lowest half and game totals ever at McGonigle. They shot 22 percent in the first half, prompting Calipari to tell his team, "They're not going to shoot that in the second half."

They didn't. They shot 21 percent, winding up 13 for 63.

"That," said UMass assistant coach John Robic, "was one scary defensive effort."

Calipari still wants his team to maintain a tunnel vision of sorts, looking only to the next day, not even the next game. "The most important thing for us," he said last night, "is just to get out of here and get to Cincinnati tomorrow for practice."

So be it. It's only February, and the games that people will remember from this season will not be played until March and perhaps April. UMass can still lose any game any time.

But don't count on that happening soon. And perhaps not at all.

Massachusetts (59)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Dingle          33   2-6   2-4   2-7  2  1    6
Bright          31   5-8   1-4   1-4  2  2   11
Camby           35  7-14   1-1   3-5  0  3   15
E Padilla       38   1-4   2-3   0-6  9  3    5
Travieso        38  6-14   0-0   0-5  3  0   16
Weeks           15   2-2   0-0   3-7  0  3    4
Norville         2   0-0   0-0   1-1  0  0    0
Clarke           2   0-2   0-0   1-1  0  0    0
Cottrell         2   1-3   0-0   2-2  0  0    2
Nunez            2   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
G Padilla        2   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
_______________________________________________
Totals         200 24-55  6-12 13-38 16 12   59
_______________________________________________

Percentages: Fg-.436, Ft-.500. 3-Point Goals:
5-17, .294 (Bright 0-1, E Padilla 1-3, Travieso
4-11, Clarke 0-1, Nunez 0-1). Team rebounds: 6.
Blocked shots: 12 (Camby 9, E Padilla 2, Weeks).
Turnovers: 11 (Bright 3, Dingle 3, Travieso 3, E
Padilla, Norville). Steals: 6 (Dingle 2, E
Padilla 2, G Padilla, Travieso).

Temple (35)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Stewart         27   1-7   0-0   1-3  1  2    2
Battie          21  2-11   4-6 10-12  0  4    8
Jackson         38  6-18   5-6  2-11  0  1   17
Futch           14   0-5   0-0   0-0  0  2    0
Alston          38   1-8   0-0   1-2  0  2    2
Miller          35   1-7   0-0   0-2  0  3    2
Ivey            17   1-4   0-0   1-2  1  2    2
Cunningham       6   0-1   0-0   1-1  0  0    0
Adams            2   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Laws             2   1-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    2
_______________________________________________
Totals         200 13-63  9-12 16-33  2 16   35
_______________________________________________

Percentages: Fg-.206, Ft-.750. 3-Point Goals:
0-16, .000 (Stewart 0-3, Futch 0-3, Alston 0-4,
Miller 0-5, Adams 0-1). Team rebounds: 9. Blocked
shots: 1 (Alston). Turnovers: 9 (Jackson 3,
Alston 2, Futch 2, Miller 2). Steals: 7 (Miller
3, Alston 2, Futch, Stewart).
__________________________________
Massachusetts      30   29  -   59
Temple             12   23  -   35
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None.  A: 3,900. Officials: Gene
Monje, James Burr, Bob Donato.