Evening star., 1954-01-11
IS Basketball Teams
Still Routing All Foes
|As Midseason Nears
sy the A,.eeie..d Pros.

NEW YORK, Jan. 11.-College
basketball nearS the seasons
halfway point this week with the
undefeated big five of Kentucky.
Duquesne, western Kentucky,
Holy Cross and George WASH
ington towering over the rest Of
the pack.
The five teams do not meet
one another in the regular sea-
son, but it's very likely they'll
clash in the championship tour
naments two months hence. It's
even more likely that the un-
beaten list will be considerably
reduced by then.
Kentucky. better than ever
after a years enforced absence,
looks like the best bet to go
through without a loss. The
Wildcats, rated No. / in the As
sociated Press poll. flattened
Georgia Tech, 1858, Saturday
night in their first Southeast
ern Conference game since the
conferences one-year ban was
lifted. It was the Wildcats ninth
victory.
It's too bad Kentucky doesn't
play Western Kentucky. rated
fifth in the country, or Louisiana
State. A game with either would
tax the 13,000-seat capacity OF
Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum
Western Kentucky took vic
tory No. IA Saturday by turning
back Murray (Ky.) Teachers.
STAB. in one of the lowest scor-
ing games of the season.
LSU Star Gets 81 Points.
In Louisiana States 100-53
trouncing of Georgia. Bob Petit
outscored the entire Georgia
team, getting 81 points. LSU,
like Kentucky. figures to go
through its Southeastern Con-
ference schedule without a loss.
Duquesne kept pace. a game
behind Western Kentucky. by
winning No. 13 over st. Francis
(Pa.), 94-64. The Dukes lived
up to their No. 2 rating with a
routine victory as Fletcher john
son. a substitute. led the scoring
with 20 points.
Holy Cross. ranked seventh.
and George Washington, rated
18th, won their ninth games with
impressive displays of power,
Holy Cross rolled over little St.
Anselm's, 102-60, while George
Washington solidificd its role as
Southern Conference kingpin Dy
clouting Virginia Tech. 73-40.
CIV was of on its offense. at
that, for it has been averaging
86.6 points per game.
Hoosiers Win Test.
Close behind the unbeaten
teams Is a pair of conference
powers which have lost only one
/ Indiana and Oklahoma AIM.
Indiana, defending Big Ten
and NCAA champion. whipped
Minnesota. 71-63. in what had
been billed as a Crucial" test,
since Minnesota is RANGED sixth
nationally.
The third-ranking Hoosiers
looked like champions. too. be-
fore a crowd Of 1882 in Mime
sofas field house as Bob Leonard
tossed in 20 points to take up the
slack caused by Don Schlundt's
low-for him-total of IL.
Oklahoma Ann. Missouri VAL
ley champion seven times in the
! past decade. took the first step
/ toward another title by defeat
ing Houston, 1851.
| The Aggies. rated fourth, now
have a 1871 overall record. That's
not quite up to the 14-1 mark
posted by Wichita. surprise team
Of the conference. which has won
three Valley games. The latest
was a 1855 verdict over Tulsa.
but the surprising Wheatshock-
ers have yet to play the Aggies
and always-dangerous st. Louis.
Dukes Blue Devils. No. 8 team,
hurdled a big obstacle in the
Atlantic Coast Conference when
they edged North Carolina State,
87-85, for a 40 league mark
North Carolina has a 80 record
after nipping Wake Forest, 66-65,
on Jerry Vayda's last-minute
basket.
Five-Way Tie on Coast.
Ninth-place Oklahoma City
was idle Saturday, but Oregon
State. No. 10, avenged a Friday
night upset by defeating Idaho.
$3.50. That left the Pacific
Coast Conferences Northern
Division in a f1ve-way dead heat
with all teams at 500. Cali
fornia tops the Southern Divi-
sion after two surprising wins
over UCLA, the latest by 1866
Saturday night.
Kansas. improving steadily
after dropping its first two
games. won No. in a row, an
$3.50 shellacking of Missouri
that reminded Jayhawker fans
OF Coach Phog Aliens 1852 and
'53 teams. Kansas won the
NCAA title two years ago and
went to the finals last year. Ne
braska, which defeated Okla
homa. 1912. is tied with Kan
saS for the Big Seven lead at
20.
The Southwest Conference
also is deadlocked with Southern
Methodist, surprise conqueror OF
Rice Friday night. even with
Texas at 20. SMU defeated
Baylor, $3.50, and Texas