The Week (jan. 28-feb. 3)

EAST

"I've been coaching 25 years and never had a team play better than that," Lefty Driesell said after Maryland had dispatched Duke with surprising ease, 101-82. Crisp passing, .630 shooting from the floor, .950 accuracy from the foul line and a 39-27 rebounding edge contributed to the romp that secured the Terps' place atop the ACC. Greg Manning, a 6'1" guard who had a career-high 26 points, drew his loudest cheers when he lofted an underhand shot over the Blue Devils' 6'11" Mike Gminski and into the hoop. To prepare for a game earlier in the week, Driesell had his players don jerseys that said BEAT VIRGINIA. It seemed to have done the job, because the Terps squeaked by the Cavaliers 63-61 as Ernest Graham hit a 19-footer with four seconds remaining.

Virginia's Ralph Sampson, hampered by the flu and a sprained ankle, still scored 12 points and got 14 rebounds in 24 minutes against Maryland. Sampson played only 15 minutes against Wake Forest, which also beat Virginia by two, 79-77, when Alvis Rogers canned a corner shot at the buzzer. But the Deacons were no match for Duke, blowing a 31-16 lead and losing 82-61. Wake's big advantage evaporated when the Blue Devils went into a full-court trap press and outscored the Deacons 22-4 during the next 7:30. Thirty-eight of Duke's 44 second-half points were pumped in by Gminski, who finished with 32, and Gene Banks, who ended up with 28.

All five St. John's starters scored in double figures as the Redmen won 87-63 at Niagara. Balanced scoring again helped St. John's at Rhode Island, where the Redmen made 14 steals and Bernard Rencher spoiled the Rams' last-shot hopes by batting the ball away to preserve a 64-63 victory. At home on Sunday, St. John's had its 17-game winning streak ended 76-71 by Louisville. Darrell Griffith had 23 points for the Cardinals, who led by 17 midway through the second half and then withstood a furious comeback by the Redmen.

By knocking off Columbia 62-57, Penn remained the only undefeated team in Ivy League competition. Eighteen-for-21 foul shooting kept the Quakers on top.

Eighteen points by freshman Dan Wright enabled Massachusetts to defeat Harvard 67-44 in the consolation round of the Colonial Classic and to end a 29-game losing streak. First place went to Boston College, which beat Holy Cross 93-83.

"Our theme was: 'The strength of the wolf is in the pack,' " La Salle Coach Lefty Ervin explained after the Explorers shocked Notre Dame 62-60. Wolfpack-type unity on defense was as vital to La Salle's triumph as the 29-point and I I-rebound output of Michael Brooks. The decisive points were scored by Greg Webster, a junior walk-on with a golf scholarship. Webster belied his poor foul-shooting percentage (.444) by twice converting both ends of one-and-one opportunities in the last 50 seconds. It all added up to what Ervin called his "biggest win since sixth grade."

Syracuse won twice, beating Temple 93-77 and Providence 89-69 (page 16).

1. SYRACUSE (19-1)
2. ST. JOHN'S (19-2)
3. MARYLAND (16-3)

MIDWEST