'Red letter days' approach as tourney bids are on the line for the conference champions
By United Press International
By United Press International Feb. 24 was one of those red letter days in the life of a college basketball coach because that's when the bids go out for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Invitation Tournaments.
Ten independents and 15 conference champions filled the NCAA tournament, and the NIT got to choose from everybody that's left. NCAA bids went out 60 minutes before the NIT's.
Second-ranked Kentucky practically assured itself the Southeastern Conference title and the NCAA bid that goes with it Monday night by beating Alabama, 98-89, on a 47-point performance from senior center Dan Issel.
Kentucky's hold on first place in the conference was strengthened when Tennessee limited
Pete Maravich to only 30 points and knocked over Louisiana State, 88-87. And it was no secret that the NIT hoped to land Maravich and LSU's trained Tigers after having to pass them up last year because of an unimpressive record.
Third-ranked South Carolina also won Monday night, beating Wake Forest, 67-51, but the victory has no effect on determining which tournament will wind up with the Gamecocks. The Atlantic Coast Conference has a championship tournament at the end of each season to determine the NCAA participant, and the runner-up traditionally goes to the NIT.
The Independents, however, were scrambling to make favorable last-minute impressions on the tournament selectors since
bids don't automatically come to them like conference champions.
Among the ranking independents, No. 5 New Mexico State rallied for 60 points in the second half to crush Boise State, 105-79, as Jimmy Collins hit 25 points and Sam Lacey added 20; All-America candidate Austin Carr scored 50 points to pace No. 15 Notre Dame to a 121-114 victory over Butler; and No. 10 Marquette, paced by guard Jeff Sewell's 29 points, overcome stubborn Xavier, 81-73.
Several other top independents in line for tournament play also scored victories with Cyril Baptiste hitting for 24 points, including two foul shots in the final 43 seconds, to lift Creighton over Providence, 68-64; Georgia Tech trouncing Tulane, 84-75; and Nate Williams tossing in a free throw with one second remaining
to give Utah State an 80-78 triumph over the Air Force Academy.
Ohio Valley Conference champion Western Kentucky, tied for 16th in the ratings, got 24 points from Jim McDaniels to beat Dayton, 76-63.
New Royals gain praise from Metro
FORT MYERS, Fla. (UPI) — Three off-season acquisitions of the Kansas City Royals came in for special praise from manager Charlie Metro Tuesday.
Two of them, pitcher Bob Johnson and center pitcher Amos Otis, came in the December trade with the New York Mets which sent third baseman Joe Foy to the world champions.
good," Metro said. "Of course, it's still early. Otis has shown a very quick bat in our first two days of hitting practice."
"Johnson's pitching is far above our expectations at this point and Nick Willhite is looking real
Johnson led the Texas League in earned run average with a fancy 1.48 last year while compiling a 13-4 record for Memphis. Willhite, a 29-year-old lefthander who has played for four major league teams, was signed as a free agent last week after missing most of the 1969 season with a shoulder ailment.
Indictment links Dean to gambling conspiracy
DETROIT (UPI)—Jerome "Dizzy" Dean, whose "very helpful" information led to several arrests in a government gambling crackdown, was one of five conspirators named Tuesday in a federal indictment charging 10 other men with gambling conspiracy.
Dean, the Hall of Fame pitcher, was not indicted. But U.S. Attorney James H. Brickley indicated he might be called to testify at any trials.
Feb. 25
1970 KANSAN 9
The indictments, handed down by a 23-member grand jury Feb. 16, were sealed until Tuesday because one of the men indicted was being tried on another charge.
Though federal investigators hinted at the beginning of the crackdown into an alleged sports betting ring based in Detroit that well-known sports figures might be involved, there were no such names among the 10 indicted.
All 10—seven of them from Michigan and three from Mississippi—were arrested Jan. 1 or
shortly after and have been free on bond.
The only "new" name in the nearly 2-month-old investigation was Paul Dean Jr., believed to be Dean's nephew. He, too, was named as a co-conspirator but not as a defendant.
Denny McLain, the star Detroit Tiger pitcher under indefinite suspension from baseball for alleged involvement in Flint, Mich., bookmaking activities in 1967, was not named on either list. McLain testified before the grand jury two days after the sealed indictment was handed down.
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