PHILADELPHIA -- David Hawkins was the only Temple player wearing a white T-shirt under his practice tank top, almost purposely standing out as the lone ineligible player on the team.

But don't mistake his white shirt for a sign of surrender.

The Owls are hardly giving up. They never do, not when they lose early-season games to high-profile teams, deal with losing streaks, injuries, attrition or overall exhaustion from Hall of Fame coach John Chaney's demanding schedule.

By February, the rest of the Atlantic 10 is usually running scared as Temple starts mounting its annual campaign to either win the regular-season title or the conference tournament.

	“	By March, we've been through so many ups and downs ... It always comes down to March for us. We always know we have a chance. ”
		— Lynn Greer, Temple senior point guard

By March, forget it. They're the team no one wants to face as last season's Elite Eight appearance proves.

Get ready for the same story from one of the toughest teams in the sport.

The Owls will be without the 6-foot-4 Hawkins (10.4 ppg) -- the expected starter in place of the departing Quincy Wadley (15.1 ppg) -- for at least the first seven games while he attempts to get academically eligible. Which games? Try Florida, either Maryland or Arizona in New York, Charlotte, Penn State, at Wisconsin, at Duke and against Villanova. Which non-conference games would Hawkins be back for? Alabama in New Jersey, Memphis, DePaul and Penn.

Come on.

"I'll be back," Hawkins said. "But I know it's going to be tough. I would rather we just do what we're suppose to instead of having to be the miracle team in March."

The reason Temple can be the chosen team late in the season is the Owls' mental toughness. They got through a seven-game losing streak last season, only to win the games they had to later in the season and claim the A-10 tournament title.

"By March, we've been through so many ups and downs," Temple senior point Lynn Greer said. "The 5:30 in the morning practices don't compare to anything else teams are doing. The reason we have trouble at the beginning of the season is the freshmen need to learn the system. That's why we lost seven games last year. We always knew last year that even though we didn't have the best record, we still had the A-10 tournament to win. It always comes down to March for us. We always know we have a chance."

But the Owls will have a harder time winning the tournament with St. Joseph's as a legit top 10 team and Xavier a likely top 25 team. But give the Owls and their newcomers time.

Greer is in the mold of Pepe Sanchez heading into the season. He's the crafty vet, the one Chaney can rely on for leading the offense, which leans heavily on ballhandlers and protecting the ball. Kevin Lyde and Ron Rollerson, a pair of 6-10 senior centers, although one is listed at 260 and the other at 290 (both generous weights), give the Owls two of the most immovable centers in the game. But the key, as always, will be on the wings and how well they take care of the basketball and understand Chaney's patented match-up zone.

That means sophomore guard Brian Polk, a decent mid-range shooter and adept ballhandler, and 6-3 Nile Murry, who could end up being a point as well as a 3-point threat, have to be consistent next to Greer. Alex Wesby, a 6-6 senior, understands the system and shouldn't be a problem. And the Owls have an athletic small forward in 6-9 freshman Glen Elliott, who could be freed up to work the offensive backboard for putbacks when double teams go to Lyde and Rollerson.

"Brian and Nile have to take care of the ball," Hawkins said. "It's harder for the guards to get what coach is teaching early in the year. You can't turn the ball over in our system."

Chaney is going to ride them throughout the next month and Greer expects they'll be able to get through the toughest portion of the schedule. But the Owls almost know they're going to lose some of these games, as long as they get better and become another March team.

"The big men don't have to know as many things because we've got less area to cover," Rollerson said. "But one of those guys has to emerge as another go-to guy for us. Realistically, we'll lose some of those games. But we'll still be a team that everyone will worry about in March. No one will want to play us."

The Elite Eight wasn't a fluke. Another appearance wouldn't be a shocker. The soon-to-be-70 Chaney (in January) seems energized since the Hall of Fame. He's got, potentially, a better shooting team than last season, possibly with Elliott a more active rebounding team, and another team that will be a tough out in February and March.

"We do get in a hole," Rollerson said. "But we always run through the A-10."

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.