CONFERENCE CALL.(college basketball)

 
                                  Hits 
 
ATLANTIC     Donald Hand, Virginia. Playing in his 
COAST        native New Jersey, he put up 21 points 
             and nine assists in an 18-point whipping 
             of Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic at 
             the Meadowlands. 
 
BIG          Bill Self, Illinois. At this rate, he'll win 
TEN          more games this year than predecessor 
             Lon Kruger will in the NBA. After back-to- 
             back wins over top-10 foes, he treated 
             fans to a rare win over Missouri. 
 
SOUTH-       Rod Grizzard, Alabama. The sophomore 
EASTERN      guard averaged 26 points in the Tide's 
             three Puerto Rico Holiday Classic games, 
             including a career-high 29 against 
             Northern Iowa. 
 
BIG          Troy Murphy, Notre Dame. He broke out 
EAST         of a three-game slump with 29 points and 
             15 hoards in the Irish's 99-71 defeat of 
             Canisius. After averaging 17 points on a 
             sprained ankle, he had 14 the first half. 
 
PACIFIC-     Stanford. Can Cardinal basketball 
10           replace the 49ers in the pro-minded 
             hearts of Bay Area fans? Probably not, but 
             overcoming a late, 15-point deficit to 
             Duke made alums positively giddy. 
 
BIG          Iowa State. A win over Drake gave the 
TWELVE       Cyclones 26 consecutive victories at Hilton 
             Coliseum--the second-longest active 
             home-win streak in the nation, behind 
             Michigan State's 33. 
 
ATLANTIC     Lloyd Price, Xavier. His recovering from 
TEN          an ankle injury was key in the team's wins 
             against Cincinnati and Marquette. That 
             two-game win streak re-established the 
             team as a strong tourney contender. 
 
CONFERENCE   Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles enter 
USA          conference play as the best team no one 
             knows about. Led by talented G David Wall 
             and paced by fierce defensive play, they 
             were 9-1 entering last weekend. 
 
WESTERN      Tito Maddox, Fresno State. The guard's 
WAC          debut was a smash. After sitting out last 
ATHLETIC     season and the first eight games of this 
             one, he averaged 19.5 points and 11 
             assists in W's vs. Toledo and La.-Lafayette. 
 
MOUNTAIN     San Diego State. The team already has 
WEST         won more games this season (six) than last 
             (five). F Randy Holcomb, a transfer from 
             Fresno State, got his act together at Los 
             Angeles CC and is putting up big numbers. 
 
                                 Misses 
 
ATLANTIC     Duke. The team's thin rotation and lack of 
COAST        frontcourt depth were exposed in its 
             second-half collapse against Stanford. 
             Duke led by 15 in the second half, when it 
             shot just 29 percent. 
 
BIG          Jerry Dunn critics. The Penn State 
TEN          coach, who's in the final year of a 
             contract, has made a strong case for an 
             extension with a 7-1 stud and a win at 
             Kentucky. 
 
SOUTH-       Tennessee. Before beating Syracuse, UT 
EASTERN      was outerbounded in four consecutive 
             games against smaller teams, including 
             an embarrassing loss to Virginia. Against 
             Syracuse, it won the boards, 46-19. 
 
BIG          Seton Hall. The youngsters got pushed 
EAST         around by Michigan State. Seton Hall was 
             outrebounded, 58-32, and took 41 
             percent of its shots from beyond the arc, 
             where it was only 4-of-25. 
 
PACIFIC-     Freddie Jones, Oregon. Jones has put 
10           up solid number, but the Ducks still need 
             more consistency from their top perimeter 
             threat, He was 2-of-12 vs. Auburn and hit 
             1-of-5 3s in a scare at Northern Arizona. 
 
BIG          Texas Tech. The team, which went 30-2 
TWELVE       in 1995-96, lost at home to Texas A&M- 
             Corpus Christi, a second-year program 
             under the direction of former South 
             Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow. 
 
ATLANTIC     Massachusetts. The Minutemen had it 
TEN          going--for a minute. They beat Boston 
             University but fell to 2-7 after a loss to 
             Boston College three days later. Next up, 
             Friday's game at North Carolina. 
 
CONFERENCE   Saint Louis, in their league opener, 
USA          against DePaul, the Billikens scored 43 
             points and shot 27.4 percent in a 25-point 
             loss, PG Marque Perry was 3-of-13 and 
             the only Billiken who hit double figures. 
 
WESTERN      Derrick Davenport, TCU. The senior was 
WAC          supposed to be TCU's low-post threat. But 
ATHLETIC     JC transfer Marlon Dumont, who had a 
             double-double in 20 minutes against 
             Texas-Arlington, is starting in his place. 
 
MOUNTAIN     Ugo Udezue, Wyoming. The 6-8 junior 
WEST         hasn't been the same since major knee 
             surgery last year. A three-game suspension 
             for violating team policy hasn't helped. He's 
             still starting. He needs to stud producing. 
 
                                Coaches' 
                                 Corner 
 
ATLANTIC     Larry Shyatt suspended his best 
COAST        player, Will Solomon, against Wofford and 
             used Tony Stockman in a three-guard 
             lineup. Stockman had 23 points, three 
             steals and three assists for Clemson. 
 
BIG          Mike Davis made Kirk Hasten a starter 
TEN          again and got rid of Indiana's traditional 
             shod sheds. "Our (underwear) doesn't 
             show anymore when we get down in a 
             defensive stance," Hasten says. 
 
SOUTH-       Tubby Smith would like to see son 
EASTERN      Saul, Kentucky's senior point guard, be 
             more assertive to take some heat off 
             Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince, who 
             are taking 41 percent of the team's shots. 
 
BIG          Pitt coach Ben Howland sent freshman 
EAST         Julius Page to the free-throw line for one 
             shot after Duquesne received a technical 
             with 2.2 seconds left. Page missed. Pitt 
             lost 71-70. Pitt was 6-of-15 from the line. 
 
PACIFIC-     Maybe an OT loss to Ole Miss will prod 
10           USC to develop the killer instinct Henry 
             Bibby seeks. The Trojans edged four D-I 
             teams by a total of 19 points and even let 
             BYU-Hawaii stick around for a while. 
 
BIG          Texas coach Rick Barnes started 
TWELVE       G Darren Kelly against Houston, even 
             though Kelly missed the first eight games 
             because of academic suspension. He had 
             23 points in 37 minutes in the win. 
 
ATLANTIC     Expect La Salle coach Speedy Morris to 
TEN          look a tot smarter with C Garrett Bragg's 
             (fractured hand) return. Now Rasual Butler 
             can start at off-guard with Victor Thomas 
             and James Jordan at the forwards. 
 
CONFERENCE   Bob Huggins wins shirt of the year for 
USA          the "island" button-down he wore at the 
             Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, where he 
             used three starting lineups in three wins 
             en mute to the Classic title. 
 
WESTERN      After losses to Kansas and Creighton, 
WAC          Tulsa coach Buzz Peterson drilled the 
ATHLETIC     team on nothing but defense, it worked, 
             with Tulsa holding Wichita State to 49 
             points and 36.5 percent shooting. 
 
MOUNTAIN     Fran Fraschilla made Arizona transfer 
WEST ...