A Roundup Of The Week March 28-april 3

BADMINTON—RODNEY BARTON won the men's national championship, and CHERYL CARTON was the women's titlist in Countryside, Ill.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL—NORTH CAROLINA STATE defeated Houston 54-52 to win the NCAA championship in Albuquerque (page 18).

Southern California beat defending champion Louisiana Tech 69-67 to win the women's NCAA title in Norfolk, Va. (page 24).

Fresno State defeated DePaul 69-60 to win the NIT title in New York City.

PRO BASKETBALL—Jeff Ruland and Rick Mahorn have been called the world's only interracial sumo wrestling team. Last week Washington's roundish center-forward combo nearly grappled the final Eastern Conference playoff berth away from New York. The Bullets have won 12 of their last 17 and drawn to within a game of the Knicks, who were extremely accommodating, losing 103-97 to San Diego, 102-88 to Pacific Division front-runner Los Angeles and 115-108 to Phoenix. Ruland and Mahorn accounted for 34 points and 26 rebounds in a 94-81 win over Central Division leader Milwaukee and 33 and 24 as the Bullets edged New Jersey 100-97. But with Ruland out with a wrist injury, Mahorn's 24 points and 15 rebounds weren't enough in a 120-117 loss to Boston. The Celtics' Larry Bird played like a true Druid in a 142-116 drubbing of Indiana. His 53 points were a team regular-season record. And it took him only 33 minutes to do it. Atlantic champ Philadelphia lost 97-95 to Chicago and 111—104 to the Nets to ensure that Moses Malone's prophecy of a 70-win season would go unfulfilled. The Sixers now have to win their last eight games to tie the 1971-72 Lakers' standard for the best record (69-13) by an NBA team. Houston, whose 13-62 mark looks like Philly's in reverse, inserted rookie Chuck Nevitt late into a game against Midwest Division-leading San Antonio. At 7'5" he became the tallest player in NBA history. But his contributions (two points and one rebound) were infinitesimal, and the Rockets lost 112-101.

BOWLING—GARY DICKINSON beat Steve Neff 214-202 to win the $140,000 U.S. Open in Oak Lawn, Ill.

BOXING—AARON PRYOR retained his WBA junior welterweight title with a third-round TKO of Sang-Hyun Kim in Atlantic City.

PRO FOOTBALL—USFL: Denver's Mile-High Stadium looked like a clearinghouse for former Broncos when Red Miller's Gold turned back John Ralston's Oakland Invaders 22-12. Miller and Ralston are the only coaches with winning records the Broncos ever had. Chicago's George Allen converted NFL castoff Luther Bradley from cornerback to free safety. "He's a natural centerfielder," said Allen. The Blitz' answer to Willie Mays snagged six interceptions in a 42-3 draining of Tampa Bay before 46,585. About 35,000 fewer fans witnessed Boston's 27-16 beating of Birmingham. Even fewer fans attended Philadelphia's 34-3 win over Washington. Los Angeles slipped by Oakland, 10-7, and New Jersey finally won, 35-21 over Arizona (the Herschel Walker count: 177 yards on 33 carries and three touchdowns).

GOLF—AMY ALCOTT won the $400,000 Dinah Shore Invitational in Rancho Mirage, Calif. with a six-under-par 282. She edged Beth Daniel and Kathy Whitworth by two strokes (page 34).

Hal Sutton fired a five-under-par 283 to win the rain-delayed $700,000 Tournament Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Fla. by one stroke over Bob Eastwood.