Basketball's Week

1. OKLAHOMA CITY (11-4)
2. TEXAS A&M (9-4)
3. HOUSTON (11-6)

Southwest Conference fans were thoroughly confused. Just when they were beginning to think Baylor had the best team in the league, along came TEXAS. The suddenly aroused Longhorns, shooting a remarkable 66% at Austin, stomped on the Bears and sent them back to Waco with a shattering 95-74 loss. But Baylor Coach Bill Menefee still had hopes for his team. "We're down in the dumps, all right," he said, "but my boys are good, red-blooded Americans. We'll rise up again!"

Menefee's words may have sounded like a loser's lament but, sure enough, the next time out his red-blooded Americans rose up and swatted Arkansas 84-75 as Ed Home hit for 25 points and Darrell Hardy came off the bench to score 19. TEXAS A&M also got back in the race when 6-foot-9 John (The Bomb) Beasley, shooting his flat line drives for 36 points, led the Aggies past TCU 72-71 and Rice 93-55. But TEXAS TECH, which beat the Phillips Oilers 101-91 in an exhibition, and SMU, idle last week, still shared the SWC lead.

Oklahoma city's droll Abe Lemons, who likes to take his country boys around to see the nation's sights, may wish that he had kept his Chiefs at home this time. After Ferry Lee Wells, a hip-dipping, streaking whiz with the ball, scored 34 points in an 89-82 win over Hardin-Simmons in Oklahoma City, the Chiefs began a seven-game road trip by losing to DENVER 94-76.

Houston's Guy Lewis introduced a new gimmick against North Texas State. He platooned two teams every 10 minutes, and they thrashed the foot-weary Eagles 117-83. TEXAS WESTERN held off rallying Air Force to win 60-57 as Bob Dibler, a 5-foot-10 marksman, hit all eight of his shots from 20 to 30 feet out.

THE WEST

THE TOP THREE:

1. UCLA (13-1)
2. SAN FRANCISCO (12-1)
3. ARIZONA (11-4)

There was just no stopping UCLA. With their harassing zone press working magnificently, Olympic Volleyballer Keith Erickson whirling in the air like a windmill to bat down shots and Gail Goodrich firing in baskets from outside, the Bruins clobbered California 76-54 and Stanford 80-66. "They just give you the shock treatment," marveled Stanford's stunned Howie Dallmar.

UCLA was rapidly running out of AAWU challengers. use, despite impressive victories over Stanford 75-59 and Cal 75-55, hardly looked like a fair match for the Bruins. And Oregon State, already a loser to UCLA, fell twice more, to WASHINGTON 79-70 and WASHINGTON STATE 64-53.