THE WEEK
MIDEAST
When Iowa missed a shot in the final seconds at Indiana 17,528 fans cheered wildly. Of course they were excited about the Hoosiers' 102-49 win and their 17-game winning streak. But what made them really ecstatic was that the miss meant they could take up a local restaurant on its offer of a free burger and French fries to anyone with a ticket stub from a game in which an Indiana opponent scored fewer than 50 points. After the eatery was stampeded as badly as the Hawkeyes the Indianapolis Star carried the banner headline: MCDONALD'S DESERVES A BREAK TODAY. Earlier Indiana disposed of Michigan 90-76. Those wins, coupled with Ohio State's 76-67 upset of Minnesota, left Indiana the Big Ten's only unbeaten team. With 10 black players back from a one-day suspension, Michigan State zonked Ohio State 88-84 and Michigan 86-78. The suspended players said they had been upset by some of Coach Gus Ganakas' strategy, by drafts in their field house and because team pictures had not been hung in the lobby.
After vanquishing Tennessee 82-78 and Mississippi State 86-71, Alabama was the lone undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference with a 3-0 record. Switching to a 2-3 zone after 19 minutes enabled the Tide to halt the Volunteers. The shift hampered Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King, who combined for 36 points in the first half but had only 22 thereafter. Charles (Boonie) Russell led Alabama scorers with 48 points in the two games. Tennessee came back to drub Mississippi 102-82 as Grunfeld went 17 for 28 from the field and had 36 points.
Trailing Manhattan by seven points with 10:15 left, Marquette Coach Al McGuire inserted starting Forward Earl Tatum at guard. With Tatum pumping in eight quick points the Warriors overhauled the Jaspers 66-62.
1. INDIANA (14-0)
2. ALABAMA (9-1)
MIDWEST
Louisville was consistently inconsistent as it won three times. At home against Cincinnati the Cardinals had more turnovers (30) than field goals (27), got off only 55 shots to the Bearcats' 80 even though Cincy used four freshmen extensively. Still, Louisville won 82-74, thanks to 24 points from Junior Bridgeman and good foul shooting. The Cards made 28 of 35 free throws. Then, in the first of two Missouri Valley Conference road games, the Cardinals overcame West Texas State 53-51 when Center Bill Bunton slammed a Buffalo shot back almost to mid-court and Guard Phillip Bond took it in for the winning layup at the final buzzer. After a team meeting to which the coaches were not invited, the Cardinals shook their shakiness against a New Mexico State team which had the best defensive record in the country (51.9 points a game) and did their best shooting of the week. Playing at the Aggies' Pan American Center, which had been flooded with 1,200 gallons of water on the morning of the game, the Cardinals shot 73% in the first half and mopped up 82-69.
La Salle and its 6'10" center, Joe Bryant, were lavishly praised by Memphis State Coach Wayne Yates after the Explorers bopped the Tigers 93-84. Yates, who labeled Bryant the finest player he has seen this season, called La Salle '"The best team we've played aside from UCLA." Bryant had 34 points, Bill Taylor 20 and Charlie Wise 13 assists. Guard Bill Cook, who scored 30 points against La Salle, had 31 as Memphis State beat Southern Mississippi 83-77. With the Tigers leading by one point at the half, Yates told his players to defend with their feet instead of their hands to cut down on personal fouls. Playing footsie perfectly, the Tigers did not give the Golden Eagles the chance to shoot a foul in the second half.
Miami of Ohio shocked Mid-American Conference favorite Bowling Green 73-64.
1. LOUISVILLE (11-0)
2. KANSAS (8-4)
EAST
Clemson's hopes of scoring an Atlantic Coast Conference upset over North Carolina were punctured and acupunctured 74-72. After getting acupuncture treatments for his injured back, Mitch Kupchak of the Tar Heels stuck it to the Tigers with 18 points and 20 rebounds. Further deflating Clemson, which led by 16 points at one time in the first half, were 18 missed foul shots in 32 tries. Foul play, however, helped Maryland down Duke 83-77. The Terps, harried throughout by the Blue Devils' zone defense, sank six straight free throws in the last 63 seconds. Maryland then stopped Wake Forest 89-73 as a three-guard offense ignited an 18-0 scoring spree in the second half. Those guards, Mo Howard, Brad Davis and John Lucas, scored 51 points. North Carolina State flattened Western Carolina 119-61.
Virginia Tech fans taunted South Carolina Guard Jackie Gilloon with calls of "Gilloon the goon," but he shut them up with two consecutive drives through the middle that broke a 75-75 tie and led to an 81-77 win for the Gamecocks. Gilloon, who had 20 points, also got in the last word. Hearing that Tech Coach Don DeVoe felt he was the difference in the game, Gilloon said, "I agree." South Carolina also beat Fordham 94-67.
Bemoaning his team's three losses in its last four games, Penn Coach Chuck Daly referred to his players as "barracudas" turned into "guppies." Properly chastised the Quakers played like piranhas, devouring Ivy League opponents Harvard (103-75) and Dartmouth (108-79). Voracious John Engles scored 46 points and sank 20 of his last 24 field-goal attempts.
The nation's leading scorer last season, Larry Fogle of Canisius, was dropped from the team by Coach John McCarthy for failing "to make the adjustments in terms of discipline and responsibility." Fogle had been averaging 22.3 this season.
Surprising La Salle improved its record to 12-1 with an 81-71 triumph over Niagara.
1. N.C. STATE (10-1)
2. MARYLAND (11-1)
WEST
It was almost a case of no Ticky, no winny. But Utah's Ticky Burden made up for his worst shooting of the season (six for 24) by sinking a foul shot with two seconds left in overtime to hold off Arizona 75-74 in a Western Athletic Conference game. Two other free throws with two seconds left, these by James Holliman of Arizona State, iced a 96-93 loss for the Utes despite 33 points from Burden. Earlier State had shot 61% as it whomped Brigham Young 110-80. Arizona also toppled BYU 83-66.
"Call him the Glue Man," said Washington State Coach George Raveling after a 77-69 defeat by UCLA. Dave Meyers helped cement that Bruin win with 17 points and added 21 more as UCLA defeated Washington 92-82. Facing the same teams, USC blew two 14-point leads before defeating the Cougars 94-80 and nearly squandered a 10-point bulge edging the Huskies 89-87. USC's man-to-man defense provoked 37 turnovers by State and 22 by Washington.
After earning its third straight one-point win over Stanford 84-83, Oregon lost 60-58 for the first time this season to California.
It was a case of like son, like father for Pete Padgett of Nevada-Reno and his dad-coach, Jim. After Pete exchanged punches with Loyola Marymount's Don Jackson, Jim whacked Jackson with a right hook. As for the game, Loyola won 109-84.
1. UCLA (12-0)
2. USC (12-1)