University Daily Kansan Friday, January 14, 1953
KU Meets Huskers Tomorrow Night
For the first time in six seasons Kansas will not be protecting championship aspirations when it runs the snowy reefs of the Northern Badlands at Nebraska Saturday and Iowa State Monday.
But the annual two game swing against Nebraska and Iowa State carries scarcely less importance for this year's Jayhawks. For it will require at least a split of these engagements to keep them from dropping out of the bottom of the league when the first semester standings are compiled.
Off the basis of early-season play and the Jayhawks' traditional huffings and puffings at these two sites, even in their peak seasons, this winter's sophomoric gang will go well to bring off a 1-1 division. Iowa State is flooring its best team since the 1946 five finished third in the next-to-last-season of the old Big Six. Nebraska, lightly regarded after a 0-3 blanking in the Big Seven tournament, turned on the favored Cyclones in their conference opener Jan. 4 for a 76-63 upset in Lincoln. Tuesday night the Scarlet tumbled Kansas State out of a first place tie with a 69-59 upset.
Although KU hasn't bowed in Lincoln since 1950 nor at Ames since 1948, nearly always the victories have been wrenched away only after tortuous warring. The 1952 Olympic champions, for instance, had to come from behind to beat State. 55-50. Last year it took a 31-point cannonade by center B. H. Born to break open a 78-70 conquest. An average of only 4.6 points per victory has separated the two teams at Lincoln over the past three seasons. And Kansas was a title club on each occasion.
This is, of course, a cruel backdrop for a youthful squad disillusioned from a promising four-win start by four defeats in its last five outings. A double defeat in the northlands would bring Kansas up to the semester recess with an 0-4 level. With such a mark, the Jayhawks would be fortunate to have company in the cellar. More important the gap between them and the first-division goal set for this season might be so wide that even sharpened performances through a heavy February schedule could not span it.
Complicating this possible outlook is the fact that Phog Allen's youngsters already have gone down twice on their home court. This means, of course, they will have no more home-court advantage than road obstacles through the last eight conference games.
All this focuses the always wicked northern swing into as tense a situation as ever. No title can be lost there this winter, but ground toward a respectable season can be
Kansas will haul a 12-game winning streak over Nebraska into Lincoln Saturday night. Latest was a 69-66 conquest in the recent Big Seven tournament. NU, playing its first season under Jerry Bush, stood 2-1 following its win over Kansas State.
Iowa State nipped KU, 82-31, in the first round of the tournament, thereby snipping a streak of 12 consecutive defeats at Jayhawk hands. The Cyclones, re-grouped solidly under a new coach. Bill Stramnigan, are favored to snap their present cellar tie with Kansas and Oklahoma., all are 0-2., by topping the Sooners Saturday night in Ames. KU moves in Monday night.
Allen hopes to have his top scorer, Dallas Dobbs, back in the harness for both games.
IM Schedule
TODAY
Fraternity "A"
4:00 Phi Delt-Phi Kappa Sig; 5:00
Sig Alph-Theta Chi; 6:00 AKL-
Sigma Nu
Fraternity "C"
7:00 DU-Delt (E); 7:00 Sig Alph-Kappa Sig (W); 7:45 Lambda Chi-Phi Gam (E); 7:45 Beta-TKE (W); 9:15 Delt-ATO (E)
Independent "C"
8:30 AROTC-Phi Beta Pi (E); 8:30
Rochdale Co-op-AFROTC (W); 9:15
Tritruters-Jets (W).
TOMORROW
Fraternity "A"
1:00 Kappa Sig-Triangle; 2:00 Phi Gam-Accacia.
Independent "A" 3:00 Liahona-UVO.
Fraternity "B"
1:45 Phi Psi-Beta (E); 1:45 Alpha
Phi Alpha-Sigma Chi (W); 2:30
Phi Delt-Kappa Sig (E); 2:30 ATO-
TKE (W); 3:15 AKL-Sig Ep (E);
3:15 Delt-Sig Alph (W).
2:00 Phi Gam-Lambda Chi (E) (W)
2:00 Phi Kappa Sig-Sigma Nu (W)
2:45 Delta-Upsilon-Phi Kappa Tau (F)
SUNDAY Fraternity "B"
Elstun Wants Another Crack at MU's Stewart
"I don't think I'm that good well at Columbia I'll be happy. times as a defender."
This from Gene Elstun, KU's angular forward, who put the suck on Norm Stewart, Missouri's leading scorer, in his (Elstun's) very first Big Seven conference game. Stewart, the gliding 6-4 blond who is considered by many the finest all-round hand in the league, came into the 1955 conference opener with a 17.9 average. Elstun restricted him to three goals, one a lay-up, another a recovery, and the third a short-range shot under full-speed. Under Elstun's vigilance, Stewart cuffed nine other hoists from the floor.
Most players,
and some coaches
too, would
consider this almost enough for the season. Yet
Elstun was durious of his feat.
As if he were a coach appraising a rookie the budding Jayhawk ace must be treated to a couple more
GENE ELSTUN
Kansas
suen achievements before taking himself out of the "flash-in-the- pan" category.
Such attitude is one reason the 6-3 Shawnee-Mission product, not a great deal thicker than the golf club he wields so well during the summer, already is leading the parade for mythical sophomore of the year honors in one of the nation's toughest circuits.
It is, of course, a little early to be handing out that scepter. But take a look at Elstun's credentials: He was the leading sophomore scorer in the recent Big Seven tournament with 58 points, good enough for fifth in the meet point derby, Oklahoma's Jimmy Peck was the only other conference rookie among the top ten pointsmen. Through his first eight games, his average is 15.1, second only to Dallas Dobbs on the club roster. His rebound average is 10.5 per game, just a little behind club leader Lew Johnson. Early in the year Elstun pulled down 19 rebounds in a single game as the Jayhawks beat Rice.
The picketing job on Stewart blatantly completed Elstun's allround credentials.
Gene must be a standout to shine
Independent "B"
2:45 Pearson-Jolliffe (W); 3:30
Battenfeld-Osage (E); 3:30 Jim
Beam-Gam Delt (W); 4:15 KHK-
Theta Tau (E); 4:15 Stephenson-
AFROTC (W).
Watch This Fellow-
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defensively. If I can hold him that I'd like to prove myself a few more
in this year's sophomore crop. Peck is only one of a host, which includes Gary Thompson, Iowa State guard; Rex Ekwall, Nebraska forward; Lionel Smith, Missouri guard, and Pachin Vicens, Kansas State backliner. And what of Elstun's own teammates like John Parker and Johnson?
KU Athletic Events For This Weekend
KU meets Nebraska here Saturday in its opening swimming meet at 2:30 p.m. in the Robinson gym pool.
KU's B team plays Forbes Air Force Base at Hoch auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
KU meets Nebraska in Lincoln Saturday night in the third conference basketball game.
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FLIGHT TRAINING
PROGRAM
Is being offered for Spring Semester,'55
Erhart Flying Service Municipal Airport Phone 314
OR
Aeronautical Engineering Building KU 337
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