Evening star., 1955-03-08
.NCAA Tourney
Opens in -Four
Cities Tonight
Mountuineer-LuSuIIe,
Duke-ViIIunovu Top
Cord in New York
BY the Associated Press

LaSalleS S Explorers, leo Dy
three-time All-America Tom
Cola, open defense of their ma
tlonal intercollegiate basketball
title in New York tonight, meet
ing West Virginia's Southern
Conference champions in one of
eight preliminary games Sched-
uled for four cities.
Actually, the NCAA tourna-
ment gets under way before the
field of "a is completed. The Ivy
League, which ended in a three
way tie as Princeton defeated
Brown, $3.50, last night, will
decide it's representative at Rut-
gers Wednesday night when Co.
lumbia meets Princeton.
Columbia eliminated Pennsyl-
vania, 1911. with a late rally in
a game played after the Prince
ton-Brown contest. The Ivy
champion will not swing into
NCAA action until Friday when
it has the unenviable task of
facing the LaSalle- West Virginia
winner at Philadelphia.
Triple-Header at Garden.
LaSalle (22-4) and West Vir-
ginia G9-1O, featuring colorful
Hot Rod Hundley, wind up a
triple-header at Madison Square
Garden. Williams Q7-D, New
England representative, takes on
Canisus $3.50 in the first game
and Duke GOD, runnerup to
ineligible North Carolina State
in the Atlantic Coast Conference
meets Villanova $3.50.
The other preliminary round
games will be played at Lexing-
ton, KY; Ell Reno, Okla, and
San Francisco.
Marquette, which had the
unique regular-season record of
losing its first and last games
but winning % in between, takes
on Miami of Ohio Q4-8), the
Mid-American champion, at
Lexington. The other game
matches Penn State Q7-8)
third in last years champion
ship. and Memphis State, a
a small college powerhouse
which put together a string of
16 straight in compiling a TIA
record.
DOns Meet West Texas.
San Francisco's Dons, again
ranked No. l in this weeks AS
sociated Press poll, with a 23-1
record and featuring All-Amer-
lea Bill Russell, swing into
action against West Texas
(15-D. Border Conference rep
resentative, at San Francisco.
On the same card Idaho State
Q8-D, Rocky Mountain Confer
ence title holder, tackles Seattle
$3.50 in the fifth meeting of
the year between the two teams.
Seattle holds a 81 edge.
The last two at-large teams
to be selected for the champion
ship, Bradley 7-19) and Okla
homa City Old, battle it out
at Ell Reno, 80 miles from Okla
homa City. Both lost more
games than they won this year,
although Bradley was runnerup
to LaSalle in the 1854 tourna-
ment.
From the four sites the win
ners will move into Fridays re-
gional playoffs at Philadelphia
Evanston, ILL.,; Manhattan
Kans., and Corvallis, Greg.
Finals at Kansas City.
This is how they'll line up fol
Fridays play, with the winner:
to meet Saturday for the right
to make the trip to Kansas City
for the final rounds on March
1919:
At Philadelphia-Ivy League
champion Princeton Q2-1O o.
Columbia (17-D VS.. LaSalle'
West Virginia winner and Will
liamS-CaniSillS winner VS.. Duke,
Villanova winner.
At Evanston-Kentucky (22.
10, Southeastern Conferenc,
champion, VS.. Miami-Marquettt
winner and Iowa (17-5), Big Ter
titlist, VS.. Penn State-Memphi'
State winner. Iowa wound vi
its season last night with a de-
feat, falling before Michigan
74-58.
At Manhattan Southern
Methodist 16-D, Southwes
Conference champion. VS.. Brad
ley Oklahoma City winner ant
Colorado $3.50, Big Seven it'll
ist, VS.. Tulsa (20-6), selected II
represent the Missouri Vale,
Conference after tying st. Louis
At Corvallis-Oregon Statt
CID, Pacific Coast Conference
champion, VS.. Idaho State
Seattle winner and Utah (23-3)
best in the Skyline Conference
takes on the West Texas-Sar
Francisco winner.
Kentucky Edged in Poll.
San Francisco, leader in thu
Associated Press poll of college
basketball powers for the las
four weeks, remained in the No
/ spot today after a close ballo
duel with Kentucky.
The final regular season pol
(See BASKETBALL. Page CA,
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