College Basketball

SOUTH

"Oh, man, those guys are a lot better, exclaimed Providence Center Marvin Barnes after he tangled with the fearsome frontcourt men from Western Kentucky, a team the Friars beat by 30 points last season. Barnes was in a position—or, more precisely, out of position—to know. Boxed out by Center Ray Bowerman (16 points, 12 rebounds) and bombed by Forward Mike Odemns (20 points, 10 rebounds), Barnes & Co. were consistently outmuscled in the second half as the unranked Hilltoppers rallied to upset the eighth-ranked Friars 89-84. "I just hope this isn't a big balloon going up in the air to burst," said Hilltopper Coach Jim Richards. For the moment, at least, it was not, as the high-flying Kentuckians went on to post their fifth straight victory, downing Butler 104-96.

Bob Davis, the new head coach of Auburn, teaches his players to cope with taller opponents by having them practice against subs armed with squash rackets on defense. "Any edge helps," says Davis, who proved his point when his charges swatted rangy Georgia Tech 88-86. The Yellow Jackets lost another close one to Clemson 63-61 when they were unable to contain Wayne (Tree) Rollins, a 7'1" freshman who contributed 23 points and 19 rebounds to the Tigers' cause. Rattled by Wake Forest's tenacious defense, Penn turned the ball over 16 times and was upset 69-61 by the undefeated Deacons. Memphis State improved its record to 6-1 when John Washington, a 6'10" sophomore, came off the bench to block eight shots, score 14 points and snare 12 rebounds as the Tigers bested East Texas State 99-76. Freshman T. R. Dunn came through with 12 crucial points to help Alabama come from behind to defeat defending NIT champion Virginia Tech 75-64. "Heck, fire, we're better than that," said Kentucky Coach Joe Hall after the Wildcats suffered their third straight loss, a 101-84 drubbing by North Carolina. Fortunately for Kentucky, which has not lost four in a row since 1926, Hall was right. The Wildcats saved face by outlasting Iowa 88-80.

Scoring only one point in the second half, Temple was chilled by its own deep freeze, losing the finals of the Volunteer Classic to Tennessee by the startling score of 11-6. Angered by the Owls' delaying tactics, Vol Coach Ray Mears afterward had his team play an impromptu intrasquad game "to give the fans a chance to see some basketball."

1. N.C. (3-0)
2. MARYLAND (2-1)

MIDWEST

The last time Notre Dame ventured into Indiana's vast Assembly Hall two seasons ago, it was humiliated 94-29, the worst defeat in ND history. Even so, Coach Digger Phelps could not count on revenge as a motivating factor when the Irish, sixth-ranked and 4-0, paid the Hoosiers, third-ranked and 3-0, a return visit last week; only one member of his young squad, Forward Gary Novak, had suffered through that embarrassment. Worse yet, Phelps was without the services of his No. 2 scorer, Guard Gary Brokaw, who was sidelined with a bruised thigh. What the Irish did have, though, was an overabundance of what Indiana Coach Bob Knight called "intensity"—a clawing defense and sheer brute strength under the boards. Center John Shumate provided a lot of the punch (26 points, 13 rebounds), but the difference was the performances of freshman Forwards Adrian Dantley and Billy Paterno, who combined for 31 points and 19 rebounds. Trailing by as much as 14 points, the Hoosiers gave the record crowd of 17,463 something to get excited about when they closed to within three points with 35 seconds left, but the Irish, turning on the intensity, pulled away to win 73-67.

Kansas State's Danny Beard, plagued by errant marksmanship last season, vowed to "come out shooting and tell myself that everything was going in." Everything almost did. Led by Beard's 11-for-15 performance, the Wildcats hit 62% of their shots from the field to riddle Iowa 105-67. Then, cooling off only slightly, they shot down Brigham Young 95-85 for their fifth win in six outings. Kansas won its own Jay hawk Classic by outclassing Washington Slate 66-51 and Oregon 67-49. After two consecutive one-point losses in overtime, Purdue Coach Fred Schaus needed a psychological boost and he got it when his wife presented him with a sterling-silver horseshoe. Though Schaus claims he is not superstitious, something worked as the Boilermakers put the hex on Missouri 79-66.

1. NOTRE DAME (5-0)
2. INDIANA (4-1)

EAST