Evening star., 1962-01-03
vi||anovaP|ays
Seton Hall in
Cage Feature
Wildcats Favored
To Take No. II in
Bottle Of Unbeuten
BY the Associated Press

T.
Villanova goes after it's 18th
straight victory tonight against
another unbeaten team. But
the opposition isn't likely to
provide a major test despite it's
spotless record.
The Wildcats play Seton
Hall 40 at the Villanova
Field House. Off past per-
formances, Jack Kraft's hus-
Ting Cats should scuttle
Richie Regan's Pirates. While
Villanova has been beating
some big boys and zooming
into No. position in the ma
tional rankings, Seton Hall has
been building its record against
lesser lights.
Seton Hall, almost always a
force to contend with in East
ern basketball in other years,
is in the midst of de-emphasis
after being hurt by last years
point-fixing scandals. The Pi-
rates are playing a schedule
roughly half major, half minor
and so far have beaten South
ern Illinois, Fairleigh Dickin-
son, Wagner and Rider.
Speedy and Aggressive
Kraft took over at Villanova
this season after 13 years of
prep school coaching as sue
cessor to AL Severance, who
directed the Wildcats for a
qu arte ef century. Building
around the quick, high-scoring
Hubie White and sophomores
Wally Jones and George Left
Wich, Kraft has put together a
spirited club stressing speed and
aggreSsiveness. After winning
their first eight, the Wildcats
really dashed into the spotlight
by clipping Niagara, previously
unbeaten Duquesne and Iowa in
the Quaker City tournament.
If there's a surprise team of
this young season, they're it.
In other games tonight,
e1ghth-ranked Duke is at home
to Penn State, Texas Tech
opens defense of its Southwest
Conference title against Texas
and West Virginia returns to
Southern Conference competi-
ton, where it is SO, after losing
three out of its last four to
non-league rivals. The Noun
taineers entertain VMI.
Kentucky, ranked third ma
tionally and the only member
of the top 10 in action last
night, took a 19-point lead
against, Virginia in the opening
half and whipped the Cavaliers,
1913. Adolph Rupp played Is
Kentuckians and IL of them
scored, with Larry PurSiful's 81
points high. Cotton Nash added
18 and Scottie Baesler had II.
Indiana Ties Record
Indiana tied its team scoring
record and scored a new high |
against a Notre Dame squad,
pounding the Irish, 1925.
Perhaps the Notre Dame boys
hadn't recovered from the 100
So shock at Kentucky's hands
last Saturday night.
In the last-minute hero de-
partment: Jerry Smiths three
point play with 81 seconds to
go gave Furman a 77-76 South
ern Conference squeaker over
William & Mary; with II sec
onds left. Bob O'Billovich stole
the ball at midcourt and raced
in for layup that enabled Mon
tana to top Idaho, 63-61; and
Tennessee State made up a IT.
point deficit in the final IL
of regulation play,
drawing even on Porter Meri-
wether's 30-footer seven sec
ondS before the buzzer, then
trimmed Seattle in overtime,
101-97.
Wake Forest broke open a
tight one in the second half
and downed Minnesota, 1910
- and aren't Big Ten teams
finding things tough out of the
conference this season? David
son surprised Alabama for the
second time in two weeks, 1857.
Vanderbilt made good on %
OF 26 free throws in the last
half in beating Yale, 1859.
Butler maintained it's perfect
record against Ivy Leaguers, de-
feating Princeton, 1888. And
Maine upset Connecticut, 73-
SO, in the Yankee Conference