THE WEEK
MIDWEST
John Dromo, head coach of Louisville, had not watched his team perform since early January when he suffered a heart attack. Last week, though, his doctors allowed him to sit in the stands during the Cardinals' game with Drake, and mercifully it was a peaceful evening. During one six-minute period in the first half the Cards out scored the Bulldogs 22-3. They won 94-52, prompting Dromo to say, "One of the best games Louisville ever played." The following game against Wichita State might have been one of Louisville's worst. The team squandered a 12-point lead at the half, committed seven fouls in three minutes and watched Wichita sink 26 of 39 shots to send the game into overtime. Louisville finally won with 12 seconds remaining. "Coach, the medics ought to give you a clean bill of health," a shaken spectator told Dromo. "They couldn't devise a tougher test."
Less calm was Al McGuire of Marquette. His Warriors drew 14 fouls in the opening half against Air Force. After receiving a technical of his own, McGuire exploded at Jim Chones for the same sin. "He threw his shirt on the floor," McGuire said. "I don't mind if it's me with the officials, but the players have to leave them alone." The players left the Falcons for dead, 77-62.
The Big Ten remained in doubt. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 79-71 and Northwestern 84-72 to stay one game behind Michigan. The league title will be decided when the Buckeyes and Michigan meet Saturday.
1. MARQUETTE (21-0)
2. KANSAS (20-1)
EAST
"Sure it's a big crowd," said Fordham's Charlie Yelverton of the largest regular-season gathering (19,500) for college basketball in Madison Square Garden history, "but all these people came to see if we were for real. They came to see us lose to Notre Dame." Not all of them did. One Fordham student passed around mimeographed sheet music parodying the British rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. One verse read: "Charlie Y, Superstar, you'll score much more than Austin Carr." Carr outscored Yelverton 29-28, but Yelverton fouled out with almost seven minutes to go. Ram Guard Bill Mainor took up the slack, and Fordham won 94-88.
It was an uncomfortable week for Philadelphia sportswriters. "They are a bunch of clowns," said 6'10" Barry Nelson of Duquesne. "After we beat Villanova, they described us with phrases like 'you need a whip and a chair' and 'uncaged animals' and 'toss them raw meat.' " Duquesne appeared to be no more civilized on Wednesday against LaSalle, making 17 of its first 23 shots and winning 95-86. Then the Dukes relaxed against St. Peter's and barely beat the Peacocks and their lady Doc 104-98.
"You're writing about the superstars in town," admonished Penn Coach Dick Harter to those Philly writers, "but I don't know if even the two All Americas [Villanova's Howard Porter and LaSalle's Ken Durrett] could give us what Corky does." Corky Calhoun is a defensive specialist who scored a career-high 28 points during a surprisingly easy 103-72 rout of Harvard. The next night he had his usual nine points, and Penn toyed with Dartmouth 102-75.
Syracuse, winner of six straight games and 10 of the last 11, downed St. John's of Brooklyn 78-73 and Connecticut 97-76. Holy Cross won its ninth in a row, 103-73 against Connecticut, after considerable confusion in Storrs, Conn. A bomb threat cleared the gym of 4,000 spectators and Governor Thomas Meskill. The game was finished without spectators.
1. PENN (22-0)
2. DUQUESNE (19-2)
SOUTH
A month ago South Carolina's opponents in the Atlantic Coast Conference began to breathe vast sighs of relief. The Gamecocks of Frank McGuire had lost four league games, and it appeared that their brilliant sophomore guard, Kevin Joyce, would be out for the season, a victim of thrombophlebitis in his left leg. But last week hard-pressed SC went back to its old simplistic game of pressure defense and shoot, John, shoot. John Roche scored 41 points to send South Carolina past North Carolina State 79-63 and then began to psyche himself for league-leading North Carolina. "It's funny," he said. "People liked us two years ago when we were underdogs. But now we're villains and everybody pulls against us." Pulling strictly for his own team, Roche scored 32 points against the Tar Heels in a contest that included 57 personal fouls, six technicals and a brief conversation between Roche and NC Coach Dean Smith. "How good were you as a player?" Roche asked. "Not nearly as good as you," said Smith, "but at least I never swore at opposing coaches during games." Then Roche sank five free throws during the final minute to insure a 72-66 victory.
Tom Wasdin, Jacksonville's rookie coach, is reacting emotionally to end-of-the-sea-son pressure. When Forward Pembroke Burrows drew a foul with one second left in the first half against Florida State, Wasdin charged the timekeeper. The ensuing technical cut Jacksonville's halftime lead to a mere 48-27, and the Dolphins went on to smash the Seminoles 90-79.
Pro scouts have questioned the rebounding ability of Western Kentucky's Jim Mc-Daniels. Last week he took down 25 against East Tennessee and said, "I've had a bellyfull of this talk. Twenty-five of them ought to prove I can get on the boards. Fact is, it's beautiful."
With ailing Adolph Rupp watching from a hospital chair, sophomore Tom Payne scored 39 points and got 19 rebounds as Kentucky defeated LSU 110-73. Tennessee State, the nation's sixth-ranked small-college team, beat the Stormy Petrels of Oglethorpe College 7-4. State jumped out to a four-point lead at the game's start and saw no reason to challenge the Petrels' stall. After the game Larry Walker, an Oglethorpe forward, told a State player, "I just want to tell you that this wasn't our idea."
1. JACKSONVILLE (20-2)
2. S.C. (16-4)
WEST
Hawaii away. This always has been a trip for basketball teams from the mainland to dream about—the ultimate escape from the drudgery of practice. The players spend a few days on the beach staring at Diamond Head, United Airlines stewardesses and Singer Don Ho, then journey out of town to an airplane hangar for a laugher against the Rainbows of the University of Hawaii. Tiny Bubbles, except that this season the bubbles have been fairly good-sized waves. Georgia Tech, for example, spent last weekend in Honolulu and returned water tortured, 63-61 and 91-62. The ramblers were probably wrecked as far as tournament bids are concerned, but the Rainbows may have got themselves invited. They have a 21-3 record and a young girl superfan in New York who appeared outside Madison Square Garden and handed out miniature basketballs that proclaimed, BEAUTIFY NEW YORK—PUT THE RAINBOWS IN THE GARDEN.
Steve Belko, the Oregon coach, stood in the hallway of Pauley Pavilion Saturday night and considered the basketball talent of Sidney Wicks. "He ranks with the greatest forwards in collegiate history," he said. Wicks managed 28 points against Oregon, but it was the return of the UCLA press that defeated the Ducks 74-64. John Wooden moved Wicks into the center of the defensive press and proclaimed: "He is the fastest man of his size I've seen."
The night before in the Sports Arena, the Ducks led Southern Cal 40-28 with more than five minutes gone in the second half. Then USC substitute Forward Monroe Nash entered the game. He contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. The Trojans charged home, 63-55 winners.
Maybe it was the altitude. When Utah State's Marvin Roberts and Nate Williams arrived in Denver they were averaging 40 points a game. But against the Denver Pioneers they made only four of 22 shots from the floor. The result was a 96-74 upset. "When those two go sour, we're not much," lamented Aggie Coach LaDell Anderson. He was ignoring Denver's record: State was the 11 th straight victim. On Thursday, Oklahoma City was the 12th 64-63.
Because of illness and dropouts, St. Mary's took just eight players to the Santa Clara game. They would have sufficed for one game, or even a game and an overtime period. But this one went into a second overtime, and five Gaels fouled out. Finishing with only three men, they lost 114-111.
1. UCLA (20-1)
2. USC (20-1)