HIGH AND HANDSOME

That is the way Dayton has played all year to gain national ranking and a favorite's role in the NIT

Perhaps no team in college basketball is more representative of the game's modern trend toward treetop height than the University of Dayton Flyers. Led by Bill Uhl, the 7-foot All-America neatly dropping a ball through the basket on the opposite page, Dayton has won 23 games, a No. 3 national ranking and the top-seeded spot in this year's National Invitation Tournament with a squad which includes five members towering at least 6 feet 6 inches above the gleaming hardwood floor and three more who stand 6 feet 4. Even with a 5-foot 11-inch midget such as their playmaker, Ray Dieringer, to pull down the average, the starting Dayton five which trots onto the Madison Square Garden court next week for its first tournament game will check in at a mean of 6 feet 5½, a figure which would have startled the basketball world of two decades ago. For a preview of Dayton's NIT chances and a rundown of the rival National Collegiate Athletic Association playoffs, turn to page 21.

As high-scoring teammates Jim Palmer (31) and Jim Paxson (11) cut toward basket to protect on rebound, Dayton's giant Bill Uhl hooks ball over outstretched hand of Iona's Le Roy Scott in a regular-season game at Madison Square Garden

Soaring high above 6-foot 6-inch Rudy Eckhardt of Iona, Uhl flips rebound back for Dayton score

THREE PHOTOS

HY PESKIN