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THE WEEK
EAST
The Atlantic Coast Conference's schedulemakers made North Carolina face the music last week. By the time the Tar Heels were finished what might be called a Carolina Reel, they had shown they are tough, but maybe not tough enough. With Charlie Scott scoring four consecutive 20-foot jump shots in the closing minutes, the Tar Heels defeated previously unbeaten North Carolina State 78-69. Then Scott's 11 points late in the second half whirled UNC past Duke, which had lost only once, 86-78. But these wins came after a sour start at South Carolina, where the Gamecocks held Scott to nine points. Tar Heel Coach Dean Smith figured to slow down methodical South Carolina and slough off 6'8" John Ribock, who is reputed to be a weak outside shooter. The slower tempo disrupted Scott's quick game, and Ribock lived down his reputation by hitting seven jump shots as South Carolina won 65-52. The Gamecocks added to their ACC lead with a 55-44 victory over disciplined Maryland.
Discipline is a word that had new meaning this week for Florida State Coach Hugh Durham. His Seminoles played their usual high-geared style of game in beating Arizona 87-78 and Miami 104-63, but College President Stanley Marshall was in high dudgeon. Durham, he decided before facing the NCAA Council in Washington, D.C., was not keeping his house clean despite already being on NCAA probation for recruiting irregularities. Marshall ordered his coach to stop recruiting for one year, to drop his radio and TV shows, to give up plans for a summer basketball camp and to make no appearances at banquets or clinics. For the NCAA, Marshall's disciplinary action was too little, too late. After its meeting with the FSU president the council ordered two more years' probation.
New England's best teams, Rhode Island and Holy Cross, battled into overtime before Rhody won 88-87. Bob Kissane led the Crusaders with 40 points, and Dwight Tolliver, the Rams' big guard at 5'10", scored 24. Rhody's other backcourt starter is 5'5" Ed (The Flea) Molloy.
Davidson was making a laugher, as expected, of the Southern Conference race with wins of 112-88 over George Washington and 95-52 over VMI. Along with St. Bonaventure (page 16), Niagara and Jacksonville, with 11-0 and 12-0 records, remained undefeated. The Purple Eagles ripped Canisius 101-75, and the Dolphins beat Hawaii 63-58, Richmond 113-77 and Miami 121-87.
1. S. CAROLINA (10-1)
2. ST. BONA (10-0)
MIDEAST
"We need a guy to take charge on top, a complete player," said Illinois Coach Harv Schmidt. "If we find him, we have the ingredients to be a fine team." Last week Schmidt found his missing man in 6'2" junior Guard Rick Howat, and his team looked just fine, winning twice to take over as the Big Ten favorite. Howat came off the bench and scored eight consecutive baskets as the Illini wrecked Indiana 94-74. Overall, Illinois hit 40 of 59 shots for 69%. Assigned a starting job against Ohio State, another Big Ten favorite, Howat poured in 10 of his 11 field-goal attempts, and the Illini defense forced 23 Buckeye turnovers on the way to a 77-59 victory.
Iowa kept pace with Illinois by winning twice on the road. The Hawkeyes defeated Michigan 107-99, then Wisconsin 92-74. Junior college transfers John Johnson, who scored more than 30 points in each game, and Fred Brown, who topped 20 in each, led the Iowa offense.
Southeastern Conference leader Kentucky had an easy time with Mississippi State (111-76) and Florida (88-69), while receiving an unexpected boost from Mississippi and Georgia. The Rebs and the Bulldogs both defeated Tennessee, heralded as the Wildcats' toughest SEC rival. Bruce Rich's jumper in the last five seconds of a second overtime won for Mississippi 59-57, and Lanny Taylor's 16 points led Georgia to a 61-56 victory.
Ohio was nudged from the Mid-American Conference lead by Bowling Green 85-65, and Toledo showed it is definitely a contender by outscoring defending champ Miami 47-31. With 7' Doug Hess, who finished with 18 rebounds, controlling the boards, the Rockets held the Redskins without a basket during the closing 7:20 of the first half.
Marquette won easily over Loyola of Chicago 85-72 and DePaul 72-60, but powerful Western Kentucky barely remained undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Hilltoppers edged Eastern Tennessee 95-91 and Eastern Kentucky 86-83.
1. KENTUCKY (11-0)
2. MARQUETTE (11-1)
MIDWEST
Deep in the Heart O'Texas Coliseum, at Baylor, the playing floor helped shift the favorite's role in the Southwest Conference from Texas to the Bears last week. Baylor's new floor is made of AstroTurf, and although the bounces are true, the sounds are not. Neither dribbles nor pounding feet are heard, and the Bears' Larry Gatewood used the silent treatment on the Longhorns, scoring 24 points in his team's 81-59 romp. Baylor then went on the road and made some noise by rattling defending SWC champ Texas A&M 79-71 as Gatewood scored 31 points.
Louisville was winning on the road in the Missouri Valley Conference, where visitors are rarely victors. The Cardinals triumphed at St. Louis 68-63 and Cincinnati 64-63, with a starting lineup composed of senior Mike Grosso and four cool-headed sophomores. The win over the Bearcats again proved that Louisville Coach John Dromo is a pretty cool customer himself. In his 2½ seasons the Cardinals have played six one-point games and won them all.
In the disorderly Big Eight, where earlier Oklahoma State and then Oklahoma had taken the attention away from preseason favorites Colorado and Kansas, Kansas State became the latest surprise team. The Wildcats turned the tables on both the Cowboys and the Sooners with wins of 72-56 and 77-56. Against State, Jeff Webb scored five straight points to break a 27-27 first-half tie, and the Wildcats' aggressive man-to-man defense held the Cowboys to a 35% shooting average in the second period. Later, Sophomore Dave Hall came out of the infirmary, where he had been bedded down with a back injury, to score 21 points and grab 21 rebounds against Oklahoma.
After a 103-87 victory over a service team in Hawaii, Houston returned to the mainland and official competition to top West Texas State 91-83.
1. HOUSTON (12-1)
2. LOUISVILLE (7-2)
WEST
For the first time Western Athletic Conference history two teams swept two-game road trips in the same week. Texas at El Paso, which won 77-64 at Colorado State and 80-70 at Wyoming, and Utah, a 93-92 victor at Arizona State and a 79-74 winner at Arizona, pulled off the upsets. The Miners, led by Guard Nate (Roller Skate) Archibald, were the more impressive. While his teammates held the Rams to a 33% shooting average and the Cowboys to 36%, Archibald scored 55 points, 31 of them from the foul line. He was awarded 35 free throws, most of them resulting from overly tight defenses moving in to stop his jump shots and fancy dribbling.
Arizona, like so many other schools recently, became embroiled in a battle with Brigham Young, but most of the action was off court. Protesting the racial policies of the Mormon Church, Arizona students burned the foul line off the court with lighter fluid the day before the game, and at game time 200 demonstrators collected outside the gym. With every Wildcat player wearing a black waistband to show sympathy with the Black Student Union's protests, Arizona won 90-77.
For the third time this season UCLA needed a last-second shot to win a one-point victory over an opponent using a controlled offense. Earlier Minnesota and Princeton held the Bruins to nearly 30 points under their usual scoring total only to lose at the buzzer. The latest near winner was Oregon State, which trailed by as many as nine points in the first half. The Beavers patiently wiped out the Bruins' lead in the second period but still lost 72-71, substitute Forward John Ecker's three-foot jump shot with four seconds to play providing the winning point. Earlier UCLA defeated Oregon 75-58.
New Mexico State beat UTEP 75-66 and Montana State 106-68.
1. UCLA (10-0)
2. NEW MEXICO ST (14-1)
