The top game of the weekend involved a clash between two of the best big men in college basketball spiced with controversy over the amateur status of one of them.

• In this corner, from Chicago, with a record of 10-1, DePaul's Blue Demons, led by 6'9" C George Mikan, the nation's leading scorer with 239 points. In the opposite corner, sporting a record of 11-1, Hamline's Pipers from St. Paul MN with 6' 6 1/2" Howie Schultz in the pivot. (The extra half-inch is significant because it put "Stretch" over the limit for military induction and made him 4F.) Sounds like a great matchup. How can anyone object to it? Well, Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) secretary Dan Ferris did, contending that two Hamline cagers, Schultz and G Rollie Seltz, are ineligible to play college basketball because they are professionals in baseball. Schultz held down 1B for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1943 and '44 baseball seasons while Seltz played infield for the Rochester Red Wings of the AAA International League. Not only is the AAU ostracizing Hamline, it threatens to hold ineligible for AAU competition athletes in any sport from any school that plays the Pipers. As a result, some teams, such as Valparaiso and Westminster, have cancelled their games with the Pipers. But DePaul Coach Ray Meyer, calling the spat a "tempest in a teapot," went ahead with the game and the fans were happy he did. The score was tied nine times during the first half, which ended 24-24. After five minutes of the second half, DePaul surged ahead to a lead they didn't relinquish. With Hamline leading 29-28, coach Joe Hutton was called for a technical foul when he stepped onto the playing floor to protest a basket by Jack Allen of the Blue Demons. Mikan sank the technical FT to extend the lead to 2. George scored 26 to lead all scorers and continue his quest to surpass the great Hank Luisetti in career points.
• Notre Dame's Ramblers, with Johnny Dee taking the scoring spotlight, recovered from a six-point deficit in the last half to defeat Great Lakes Naval Station 55-51 at Chicago Stadium. Dee, who took advantage of the double coverage Great Lakes placed on C Vince Boryla, dumped in 25. The victory avenged an earlier 59-58 loss to the Bluejackets.
• Purdue gave Coach Ward "Piggy" Lambert his 500th victory by upsetting Northwestern 52-48 in OT in W. Lafayette. The Boilermakers had lost the previous three times at the milestone after starting Big Ten play with a surprise win over Ohio State. Lambert's boys led only once, 11-10, until taking the lead 45-43 with two minutes to go. However, it took Red Anderson's FT in the last second to tie the game at 46. The Boilers then scored the first six points in the extra period and played keep-away from that point.
• Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Ohio State took over undisputed possession of second place behind Iowa Saturday night by downing Michigan 61-47 in Columbus. The Buckeyes never trailed behind C Arnie Risen's game-high 11 points.
• The night before, the Wolverines had lost to undefeated Iowa 29-27 in Ann Arbor. The Hawkeyes 5'8" freshman Murray Wier popped in the winning basket after sparking the rally from a 25-16 deficit midway through the second half.

Murray Wier

• In another tight conference contest, a basket by Ray Brandenberg in the closing six seconds gave Indiana a 48-46 win at Minnesota. It was the Gophers' third defeat in four Big Ten starts. Kleggie Hermsen, UM's elongated C, was the main cog in the Gopher scoring machine with seven buckets and six FT for 20 points.
• Southern Methodist won an easy Southwest Conference game in Dallas over Baylor's Bears 56-34. The slow-moving but effective-shooting Mustangs cshed in from all angles while the Bears, although getting as many shots as SMU, couldn't maintain a consistent scoring pace. A crowd of about 1,000 saw Baylor drop its fifth straight conference game.
• Arkansas, rudely upset by Texas on Friday night, roared back to smash the Longhorns 74-38 Saturday night before a howling throng of 5,000 in Austin. Giant C George Kok paced the Razorbacks with 27 points while Don Wooten was high for Texas with 11.
• Kansas State proved to be rude hosts to Nebraska in a Big Six contest, routing the Cornhuskers 70-48. Every one of the 11 men who took the floor for K-State scored, with G Jay Payton topping all with 16.
• Iowa State suffered its first Big Six defeat at Missouri, 38-32. The Tigers romped to a 29-14 halftime lead. Only in the last few minues were the Cyclones able to narrow the Tiger advantage. James Myers of the losers was the only scorer on either team to reach double figures, tallying 16, mostly from far out on the court and in the corners.
• The other Big Six clash was the most exciting as Oklahoma Sooners edged Kansas 44-43 in OT. Harold Hines and Bill Whaley scored in the extra 5-minute period to give Bruce Drake's Sooners the win over Phog Allen's Jayhawks.
• A fast-paced North Carolina State team came to College Park and defeated Maryland for the second time this season, 57-42. Flynn of the Terps topped all scorers with 24, over half his squad's tally, while Turner led the visitors with 15 points.
• In nearby Annapolis, Navy smothered Villanova 71-28 for its third straight victory. The Middies displayed their usual speed and power, and their man-to-man defense worked well all night while Villanova's zone was never organized in time to ward off the onrushing Tars. Navy coach Johnny Wilson put all four of his quintets into the fray, not only outplaying the visitors but also wearing them down.