Page 6
University Daily Kansan
Friday, Jan. 16, 1959
By Doug Yocom
The Oklahoma basketball game this weekend will mark a decisive point in this year's basketball season.
The Sooners, ranked at the first of the season behind Kansas State and on equal ground with Iowa State, will be the highest ranked Big Eight team KU has met since the start of conference play.
Oklahoma has dropped only one league game to date, and that was to the high-flying Wildcats.
For KU fans, the game should determine the type of team Dick Harp has put together without the aid of that seemingly mythical figure of long ago. "Wilt."
"I if we can beat Oklahoma we can still have a good season." Coach Harp has said of the importance of the game.
"Unless we play our best we can't win. Oklahoma is strong physically and there is not a loss that would hurt us more," the KU coach said.
He added that he did not think Ron Loneski would be able to make the trip.
The responsibility of stopping Denny Price, the OU scoring ace, will fall on guard Bob Hickman. Price has averaged 17 points in the Sooners' first three conference games.
Hickman glued himself to Iowa State's Larry Fie in Monday night's game to hold the little left-hander to seven points. But Hickman's most notable performance of the season has probably been over quickshooting Lou Pucillo, North Carolina's 5-foot 9-inch playmaker. Pucillo hit only one of 14 tries from the field.
This Saturday should prove quite an outing for the sports-minded Sooners. Tip-off time for the basketball game is 2 p.m. The Sooners' sports publicist says it is believed to be the first varsity afternoon game to be played in the OU field house since 1926 when it was built.
At 8 p.m. later in the day Coach Jay Markley's swimming team will meet the Sooner tankmen. So far this year the Jayhawk swimmers have been the beam of light in KU's foggy sports picture.
Markley's crew owned a 3-0 record until falling to Nebraska last week. 44-42.
But the Sooners still hold an edge in the meet as OU has never lost a conference championship or a dual meet since Matt Mann became OU's coach four years ago.
It is interesting to note that Oklahoma, which has always been the team to beat in the Big Eight, has only one swimmer on their squad from Kansas. Markley, on the other hand, has four men on his squad listed from swim-conscious Oklahoma.
By United Press International Ed Conlin needed just nine minutes last night to give Syracuse its seventh win in eight starts.
Syracuse, Conlin Defeat Lakers
Conlin scored 15 points in a second period spree to give the Nationals an 111-105 victory over Minneapolis and move Syracuse to within two games of New York in the Eastern Division race.
Philadelphia edged the Knickerbockers, 95-91, in the opener of a National Basketball Association doubleheader at Syracuse.
Team Confidence Up, Says Ketchum
The recent winning streak of the Kansas basketball team can be attributed to a change in the mental attitude of the players, Dee Ketchum, sophomore guard, says.
Kansas, after opening the season with two quick wins, dropped the next seven in a row. Fans settled back for a long basketball season. But this was not the case as the Jayhawkers have bounced back to win their last four games.
"An attempt to explain the difference in play is hard. We simply have started playing good ball and everyone's confidence is up," said Ketchum.
In explaining the win over Iowa State, the Bartlesville playmaker said:
"The loss of Ron (Loneski) gave us a real challenge. We wanted to prove to ourselves we could win this one."
In the game Ketchum scored
nine points on four field goals and one free throw.
This gives the reserve guard a total of 77 points in the Jayhawkers' 13 games. Ketchum, the fifth highest scorer on the team, has a 6 point average.
Most of these points have come on Ketchum's favorite shot; a running one hand jump shot. But like many backcourt players he likes setting up a score with a good pass as well as scoring himself.
When asked about his improved offensive showing he replied as many athletes do. He attributed it to luck.
Turning to the nationally televised game with Oklahoma Saturday, Ketchum said that it is a tough job predicting a winner.
"Our team is on the upgrade and we are getting better. We are also playing together better as a team than earlier in the year. It's hard to say but we have a good chance of winning."
Missouri's Al Abram Benched Because of Scoring Slump
COLUMBIA, Mo. — (UPI) Leading scorer Al Abram of the Missouri Tigers will not be a starter tomorrow night against Kansas State.
Coach Sparky Stalcup said he hopes the benching will shock Abram out of a slump that has plummeted his 14.9 scoring average. He totaled only 12 points in the last two games against Nebraska and Kansas.
Bud Harbin, a 6-5 senior, will replace Abram at forward.
Stalcup said he received doctor's approval yesterday to play Don Sarver, 6-3 guard. Sarver, who had been out with a broken wrist, returned to practice yesterday. But the coach said Sarver probably will see only spot action tomorrow.
In 1908 the Jayhawkers defeated Kansas State in a conference basketball game, 50-12. Through the years, Kansas has won 91 while K-State has won only 45 in the long series.
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