THE WEEK
MIDWEST
Marquette, undefeated in 22 starts this year and all 26 regular-season games last year, got itself not only beaten, but badly as Detroit humbled the Warriors 70-49. It was Marquette's lowest point total ever under Al McGuire. Detroit shot 61% from the floor and clogged the middle thoroughly on defense. "It's probably the worst game I ever coached," McGuire said, shrugging off the loss of Jim Chones. "Even if we'd had Kareem Jabbar we would not have beaten Detroit today."
For the second time this season Louisville defeated Cincinnati. Guard Jim Price, the game's high scorer with 25 points, held Cincy's Lloyd Batts to four points and grabbed nine rebounds in the 93-73 victory. Then, on Sunday, the Cardinals beat St. Louis, 84-78.
In a rocky Big Ten week Michigan came out with solid credentials, downing Minnesota 64-52 and switching places with the Gophers as the conference leaders. Down 31-23 at halftime because of Minnesota's full-court zone press, the Wolverines went into a press of their own. Thereafter junior Ernie Johnson blanked Minnesota ace Clyde Turner. Ohio State stayed in contention by winning at Northwestern, 76-74 in overtime. The shaky Buckeyes, who missed 16 of 28 free throws at Illinois a week before, sank 22 of 29 this time out. The Ohio State hero was sophomore Wardell Jackson, who hit a jumper from the corner with two seconds left to send the game into overtime and then scored a key rebound goal with 45 seconds left in the extra period. Ohio State and its brawl rival, Minnesota, are tied for second place in the conference and both have three games to play, only one away from home.
Kansas invited its entire 1952 NCAA championship team back as guests for a Big Eight showdown battle against Missouri, and there was no need to suit up any of them. Jayhawk Bud Stallworth ended with 50 points, a Big Eight conference game record, and Kansas won 93-80. Kansas State took advantage of Missouri's loss to move into first place, beating Oklahoma State 74-52 and Oklahoma 80-71.
Oral Roberts, scoring 107 points a game, neared the alltime NCAA record. Should the Titans, whose record is 22-1, average only 81 in their last games, they will break Jacksonville's record of 100.3.
1. MARQUETTE (22-1)
2. LOUISVILLE (21-2)
WEST
UCLA's ruinin' Bruins had three reasonably tough Pacific Eight games in one week—and made chopped meat of all three opponents. On Monday they had Cougarburgers, grinding Washington State 85-55. Friday, Bill Walton gobbled up Oregon with 37 points, a career high for the sophomore center as the Ducks were cooked 92-70. But Saturday's game against Oregon State was expected to be the hardest. It was, just barely. "We were destroyed at the start," said Coach Ralph Miller. "One man goes the wrong way on the tip. His man scores. Then we make two or three turnovers before we get a shot. They sure make it a long night awfully early." The score: 91-72.
The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara twice galloped to 14-point leads over sixth-ranked Long Beach, but CSULB simply wore Santa Barbara down with superior height, 80-66. At halftime Coach Jerry Tarkanian put in a 3-2 zone, but told Glenn McDonald to stay with John Tschogl only on the zone's perimeter. McDonald misunderstood, creating a box-and-one that worked so well Tschogl scored only four points the rest of the game. The 49ers had even more trouble before edging Los Angeles State 62-60.
BYU, which clinched the WAC championship by beating Wyoming 70-56 and Colorado State 105-85 at home, will play its last two games at UTEP and New Mexico purely for recreation. The Cougars (20-3) will enter the NCAA regional at Pocatello. Weber State won its fifth straight Big Sky title and a Pocatello berth, too, probably against Hawaii, by taking Idaho 82-56.
The Rainbows, meanwhile, ended their season at 24-2 by beating San Diego twice, 94-75 and 91-83. About 7,500 islanders, all clad in green, sent seniors Jerome Freeman, Bob Nash, Dwight Holiday and Al Davis off with a poignant aloha.
Houston, taking advantage of two smaller foes, beat Corpus Christi 105-81 and Houston Baptist 96-80 for its 11th straight victory.
1. UCLA (23-0)
2. LONG BEACH STATE (23-3)
SOUTH
North Carolina, lying as it does between Virginia and South Carolina, has been called "a valley of humility between two mountains of conceit." Before its big game Saturday with the Tar Heels, Virginia would have liked to avoid any humility at all but, alas, it was not to be. North Carolina towered over the Cavaliers 91-78, largely because of its defense. The team held Virginia's Barry Park-hill to eight baskets on 20 attempts, and Bob McAdoo, as Virginia Coach Bill Gibson said, "hurt us under our basket by rejecting all those shots." Earlier Virginia had slipped past Clemson 62-60 and put down Pitt 84-74 while North Carolina was routing Georgia Tech 87-66.
Maryland struggled against normally hapless Richmond, 76-61, but was upset 68-59 by reviving Duke, as Bucky Waters' mongoose offense won again. Duke student signs that read FIRE BUCKY before a 74-73 overtime defeat of N.C. State now said BACK BUCKY AND THE BOYS.
Cincinnati's Tay Baker warned his Bearcats about Southwestern Louisiana's Dwight Lamar, and the Ragin' Cajun did not disappoint him, scoring 38 points. But Derrek Dickey got 32 points of his own, Lloyd Batts added 23 and Cincy won 86-82.
Although Memphis State handled Wichita rather routinely, 108-98, the Tigers ran into a hot time in Tulsa, where they were caught in a motel fire and the heavy crossfire of Steve Bracey and Jim Clesson, who between them scored 64 points. Fortunately for the Tigers, nobody was hurt—in the motel or the game—as State just survived 91-90.
After avenging an earlier loss to Georgia, Kentucky was upset by LSU 88-71. Tennessee beat Florida 55-52 but then lost to Alabama 72-67 and remained half a game behind the Cats in the tight SEC race.
South Carolina quelled Toledo with its rebounding 94-72, and then Davidson, loser of only two of its last 13 games, both to the taller and stronger Gamecocks. The score this time was 88-82.
"I don't know how it feels to win the NCAA," said Florida State's Ron King after a 70-61 grudge win over Jacksonville, "but if it's any better than this, I want to be there." Down 38-31 at the half, FSU turned mean on defense and held the Dolphins to 23 last-half points. Earlier FSU was less convincing against little Stetson, escaping by the margin of a shot off the rim 49-47.
1. N. CAROLINA (20-3).
2. S. CAROLINA (19-4)
EAST
Penn easily defeated Cornell and Columbia, winning its 26th and 27th consecutive Ivy League victories at the Palestra and moving its season record to 20-2. The Quakers shot 65.6% from the floor in their 111-82 rout of Cornell as Forward Bob Morse scored 24 points in the first half.
Duquesne had excessive trouble at DePaul, winning by only 70-65, but beat Providence 72-67 as Lionel Billingy made a basket and two free throws in the last six seconds. Providence previously had difficulty with small but potent Assumption, which had the presumption to lead the Friars by as much as 14 points. A basket by Marvin Barnes in the last 26 seconds finally crushed the visitors 81-77.
Syracuse similarly trailed the sophomores of La Salle by 18 points before a desperation press insured an 87-80 victory. Leading scorer Greg Kohls, who had been two for 12 in the first half, finished with 10 for 24 and 29 points. Mike Lee got 20 points, several off steals. "We near got blowed out," winning Coach Roy Danforth sighed in relief. He felt better when Syracuse beat George Washington handily 98-84.
Villanova defeated Seton Hall 104-62, La Salle 86-73 and Boston College 92-70 in a game played under one of sport's least violent protest movements to date, the threat of a "strip-in" by coeds angry over dorm visiting regulations.
1. PENN (20-2)
2. VILLANOVA (18-6)