MONDAY, MARCH 27,1950
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
PAGE FIVE
By BOB NELSON
Kansas Citizens witnessed some of the most unpredictable basketball the past week that has ever been seen in their Municipal auditorium. Just about everything happened in the KU.-Bradley game and the N.C.A.A. western regional playoffs. After seeing almost unbelievable happenings in those three events, nothing will surprise us in the cage sport from now on.
After looking over Bradley's accomplishments in the past 13 days, we'd say they are LUCKY. There are probably many who still rate them No. 1 in collegiate ranks. We think they belong at the top or mighty close to it, but only after certain conditions are considered. Certainly their N.C.A.A. play doesn't uphold the Braves' rating.
A summary of Bradley's activity the past 13 days shows the Braves have been busy. They scored an easy 78 to 66 win over Syracuse for their first win in the National Invitational tournament in New York. Three nights later Bradley advanced to the final by downing St. John's 83 to 72. The Peorians then blew a three-point half-time lead March 18 and lost the N.I.T. championship to City College of New York 69 to 61. That loss was Bradley's fourth in 33 games.
After a hurried air trip to Kansas City the following day, Coach Forrest Alderson's team nearly met its equal in the spirited Kansas Jayhawkers. Kansas lost 59 to 57 primarily because it converted only 11 of 19 free throws while Bradley was hitting 13 of 17. Each club scored 23 field goals.
Bradley appeared worn out as Kansas led 45 to 38 with 12 minutes remaining. Only a real clutch performance by Paul Unruh, the Braves' All-American center, in the late minutes saved the game for the great team from Peoria.
*Inspired U.C.L.A. also came close to bopping to Bradley March 24 in the N.C.A.A. playoffs. U.C.L.A. fell apart in the final six minutes to lose 73 to 59. However, the California team was trailing only 61 to 59 with less than two minutes left. The Bruins outhustled and outbounded the weary Bradley team through most of the contest. It looked as though they played too hard during the first 30 minutes without properly pacing themselves to protect a late seven-point lead.
seven point. In the playoff finals March 25, most fans thought it would hardly be a contest with Bradley the run-away winner. But Bradley—a cool, 14-point favorite—just edged Baylor 63-66. Again it was a tired Bradley club that almost didn't have enough to maintain a 63 to 55 lead with three minutes remaining.
As we said before, Bradley is probably as good a team as there is in collegiate basketball this year, but certainly it didn't prove it in N.C.A.A. play. In order to insure N.C.A.A. basketball the best in the future, we feel N.C.A.A. officials should bar teams from competing in both the N.I.T. and the N.C.A.A. tournaments.
All in all, Bradley played six tough games in those 13 days. The Braves traveled from Peoria to New York to Kansas City to Peoria to Kansas City and now will go to New York again. We can't see any possible way for even the nation's No. 1 team to do things like that and still do justice to the game of basketball.
Along the same line of reasoning, we think Bradley would have won the western ployfofs hands down had it chose to give the N.C.A.A. all it had instead of trying to take both tournaments.
Since the N.LT is played first, we feel it saps the teams' physical stamina and the N.C.A.A. is getting leftovers. To our way of thinking, KU would have breezed through the western play-offs due to its much better physical condition had the Jayhawkers beaten Bradley March 20.
We seriously doubt if Coach Anderson really wanted to see his great team compete in both tournaments. From what information we
Organization managers and other persons interested in intramural spring sports will meet in 107 Robinson gym at 4:15 p.m. today. The spring sports program includes swimming, softball, tennis, horse-shoes, badminton, handball , and golf.
IM Spring Sports Meeting Is Today
At the meeting entry blanks for competition in the spring program will be distributed, and questions concerning the program will be answered then.
Denver, March 27—(U.P.)—The Phillips Oilers of Bartlesville, Okla., had the National A.A.U. basketball championship back again today, a feat that can be credited to airright defense strategy.
Don Powell, intramural directors, said only the swimming meet will be held before spring vacation begins April 8. The swim meet will be held Monday through Wednesday, April 3-5.
Phillips had held the title for six straight years before that. They went on the floor last night with one purpose in mind to get it back again.
It was obvious the Oilers would succeed after the first 10 minutes. Led particularly by Gerald Tucker and Roy Lipscomb, the amazingly well-coordinated squad was calling its own shots.
So perfect was the Phillips defense that the Oakland Blue and Gold team, defending champions, was stopped cold for more than 12 minutes at one point in the game Saturday night. The Oilers won the contest, 65 to 42, and regained the title they lost a year ago at Oklahoma City to the same Oakland five.
Phillips Oilers Cop AAU Tournament
At halftime, Phillips held a 28 to 18 lead. At one point in the second period they were 29 points ahead.
Expert Swimmers Train With Splints
Chicago, — (U.P) — Fifty expert swimmers have learned to swim with their legs in splints or their bodies tabled.
They went through a five-day course here to find out what it is like to swim while physically handicapped.
Thus, they are better equipped to teach swimming to handicapped persons.
The unique project was part of the American Red Cross swimming project for physically handicapped persons.
When a team plays 37 games, we think that's carrying things too far. A schedule like that hardly permits the players' mail from home to catch up with them. Kentucky's playing 34 games a year ago was almost as bad.
The 50 men and women instructors are Red Cross national field representatives and safety directors of 16 midwestern states.
can gather, it seems most of the pressure to play in both came from Bradley boosters in Peoria.
Unruh told this writer following the K.U.-Brave game that he thought the Jayhawkers were the best team Bradley had faced this year. Considering that the Braves played such powerhouses as DePaul, Tulane, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oklahoma A. & M, St. John's, and C.C.N.Y., we felt that quite a compliment to the Kansans.
Here's hoping Bradley comes through with a win over C.C.N.Y. Tuesday night, but if the Braves aren't in better physical shape than that shown in Kansas City, you'd better place your bets on the Beavers.
We repeat that if Kansas had hedged Bradley, we believe the Jayhawkers would be in New York City playing for the crown tomorrow night. If Bradley wins out, it will certainly look as though the championship game was played in the fifth district play-off game in Kansas City a week ago. Want to bet that Kansas fans didn't see the 1950 N.C.A.A. championship game played March 20?
Read the Want Ads Daily.
Bradley Will Be CCNY Foe In Race For NCAA Crown
New York, March 27—(U.P.)—City College of New York. whose soul claim to sports fame two weeks ago was its "Allagaroo" cheer, was a two-point favorite today to beat Bradley in the N.C.A.A. finals Tuesday night and thus become the first team ever to sweep college basketball's two major tournament championships in the same year.
The Madison Square Garden on- test will be the game of the season and perhaps the most important in history.
If coach Nat Holman's C.C.N.Y. team wins, it will complete a sweep of the National Invitation and N.C.A.A. tournaments. Other great teams—Kentucky, Duquesne, and Colorado—tried for the "grand slam" in past seasons and failed.
It will be a history-making game, however, whether C.C.N.Y. wins or loses. It will be the first time the same clubs ever have met for the N.I.T. and N.C.A.A. crowns in the same season. Victory will mean almost as much to Bradley as it will to City.
Before the two big tournaments begin, Bradley was conceded the best choice to take them both. City promptly swept through its bracelet
in the N.J.T. and smashed Bradley's dream of a sweep by beating the Prides of Peoria, 119, to 61, in the Invitation final.
Since then, Bradley's Braves have driven toward a "revenge" meeting with Holman's Beavers. The Midwesterners beat Kansas for the right to represent district five in the N.C.-A.A. playoffs. Then they won the western regionalists and the right to play City for the national championship by beating U.C.L.A., 73 to 59, and Baylor, 68 to 66, at Kansas City, Mo.
City won the Eastern N.C.A.A. a title Saturday night by downing North Carolina State, 78 to 73. C.C.N.Y. reached the finals by edging Ohio State, 56 to 55.
Read the Daily Kansan daily.
U.S. Dance-Happy Again! He Did It!
"RALPH FLANAGAN (that's him above) plays Rodgers and Hammerstein" . . . Some Enchanted Evening, It Might As Well Be Spring, If I Loved You, 3 others . . . in a new "DESIGNED FOR DANCING" album The clean-cut rhythms of the Flanagan Band in just one of 15 brand-new RCA Victor albums by 15 top bands . . . 15 great composers, 90 danceable hits! Own 'em all, start stepping! We have them now!'
Bell Music Co., 925 Mass.