Evening star., 1939-01-16
Leaders Of 1898
Falling Hard in
Southern Loop
Kentucky-T
Clash Crucial in
Southeastern
BY the Associated Press.


NEW YORK, Jan. 16.-The race
between Minnesota and Ohio State
for the Big Ten court crown leads
off the national basket ball pro-
gram this week, with Oklahoma
sharing the password as the Sooners
seek to overcome bad start in de-
fense of their Big Six title. :.
Minnesota, one of the best teams
in the Midwest if not in the whole
country, has won three straight Big.
Ten games, having turned back
Michigan threat, 34-2l Saturday.
Topping the usual five-game Mon
day program in the circuit, the
Gophers face the last-place North
western team at Evanston, while
Ohio State, which has won two and
lost none. encounters the strong
Illinois outfit at Champaign.
Oklahoma, a favorite to retain
the Big Six championship, received
a rude shock Saturday when the
Missouri Tigers took a 1888 over
time decision and went to the top
as the only team undefeated in two
conference games. Tonight the
Sooners face Iowa State at Ames and
need to win.
The leaders in the various other
sectional races-and most of the
major conferences and leagues al
ready have revealed one or two
standout teams-nearly all are due
for severe tests this week.
Duke and Clemson Decline.
The situation is something like
this:
Southern Conference - Clemson,
runnerup in the 1888 tournament.
is almost out of the picture after
five defeats, while Duke, the win
ner, is on the ragged edge with
three victories and as many defeats.
Wake Forest and Davidson are
running one-two and both seem
sure to win places in the 8-team
championship tournament.
Southern Conference-Next Sat-
urday's Kentucky-Tennessee game
should give the first indication of
how the pre-tournament race will
be run. Kentucky is preseason
favorite, although beaten by the
power Long Island University and
Notre Dame quints, but hasn't
played a Conference game. Alabama
heads the parade now with five
wins and one loss but had to go
overtime to beat Tennessee.
Eastern League-Dartmouth, IA
vorite to retain its title, opened last
Saturday with a 1892 victory over
Pennsylvania, previously unbeaten,
while Columbia gained a half in
terest in the lead by trimming Yale.
The Indians take on Harvard and
Penn this week while Columbia
meets Princeton and Cornell. Either
one may suffer its first defeat.
Romping Skibos Hit Road.
Eastern Conference: Carnegie
Tech, after three straight wins at
home goes on the road for the first
time Tuesday to face Penn State,
an in-and-Out team SO far which
hasn't met any conference opposi-
ton. Temple, the defending cham
pion which hasn't come close to
matching last years performances,
plays West Virginia and Penn State
in the other two games.
Southwest Conference: The only
certainty so far seems to be that
Texas Christian, all powerful on the
gridiron this year, isn't so hot at
basket ball and that Arkansas won't
keep its 1888 title, although it upset
Texas, the preseason favorite, last
week. Southern Methodist, Rice
and Baylor, all undefeated, are tied
for the lead.
Pacific Coast Conference: Califor-
mia heads the Southern division after
two straight victories over U. c. L.
A., but it's still a question whether
the Bears can beat out Southern
California, which split with STAN
ford.
Rocky Mountain Big Seven: Colo
RADIO, Utah State, Wyoming and
Utah still are undefeated, but Colo
RADIO is the standout with three
straight victories.