College Basketball

?No. 3 UNLV lost to UC Santa Barbara for the second time this season. The much-improved Gauchos won 71-66 this time, as 6'6" point guard Brian Shaw hit five of six from three-point range. (Shaw is also the surprise PCAA rebounding leader, with 9.6 per game.) Said Santa Barbara's other starting guard, Carrick DeHart, "We really don't care much about getting ranked. All we want is for people to have some respect for us and not think we're just a school filled with beach bums."

?No. 4 and previously unbeaten BYU fell 102-83 at Alabama-Birmingham. Swingman Michael Charles and forward Reginald Turner each had 24 points for the Blazers. "We talked about the No. 1 rating before the game," said BYU coach Ladell Andersen. "But it would have taken a great effort by any team in the country to beat UAB on its home court tonight. I still feel great about this team."

After all the tumult, who was left to vie for No. 1? On Sunday at Ann Arbor, Mich., No. 5 Purdue fell behind No. 9 Michigan by 10 points in the first half, but the Boilermakers, led by Todd Mitchell (22 points) and Troy Lewis (20 points), rallied to score an impressive 91-87 win and thus claim the crown. Uneasy will they wear it.

SHORT SHOTS
Only four Stephen F. Austin starters took the floor for the beginning of the second half of their game against Northwestern Louisiana. Forward Leonard Willis was supposed to be out there, but no one could find him. Five minutes later a team manager located him—pounding on the inside of the locked locker room door.... Talk about a road trip: San Diego State covered 10,490 miles last week while scoring road victories over Hawaii (59-58) and the University of Miami in Florida (56-49).... Two of the nation's four undefeated women's teams met last week when Montana defeated Montana State 67-59.... Kansas forward Danny Manning had a backhanded compliment for 4-15 Colorado after the Jayhawks' 73-62 win: " Colorado has a lot of talent, but I think it's hidden by the way they play."

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]