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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1979)
Page 8 THE BATTALION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1979 Start your calculator^ Tournament situation shaping up By MARK PATTERSON Battalion Sports Staff Dust ott your slide rules, break out your calculators and sharpen your pencils, it’s Southwest Conference tournament time. The tournament format has been changed somewhat this season be cause of coaches’ complaints about the past three tournaments. Before this season the conference champion received an automatic bye into the final round to face the tournament survivor. The previous format sounded good to every team except the con ference champion. The conference winner, forced to wait two weeks be fore playing a game after its season was over, lost the edge it honed dur ing conference play. The argument was well documented. Only Arkansas, the 1977 confer ence champion, was able to sit out for the two weeks and beat the tourna ment survivor, Houston, to gain the NCAA playoff berth. In 1976, the tourney’s first year, Texas A&M won the conference crown but lost in the tournament’s final game to Texas Tech 74-72. Last season Houston survived the first three rounds and beat confer ence champion Texas in the final game 92-90. This year the first place team and the second place finisher in confer ence play receive byes into the semi-final round of the tournament. Texas and Arkansas have already clinched the top two spots, with Texas being assured of the first place slot no matter what happens Tuesday night against SMU. Win or lose the Longhorns win the upper-bracket position due to the tie-breaking pro- ceedure set up by the tournament committee. If Texas should lose and Arkansas beat Texas Tech in Lubbock Tuesday night, the two would be declared conference co-champions. But be cause the two teams split during the season in heads-up competition, in order to break the tie for tournament play, it’s on down to the third place finisher and see how the two teams fared against it. The Texas Aggies will assure themselves of a third place finish with a victory at home Tuesday night against Rice. A third place finish in 1979 POST-SEASON CLASSIC BRACKETS Saturday. Feb. 24 Thursday. March 1 (three sites) (The Summit) Friday, March 2 Saturday, March 3 (The Summit) (The Summit) Ninth Place at Fourth Place Seventh Place at Sixth Place Second Place Third Place (bye) Eighth Place at Fifth Place NCAA Playoff Representative FOSTER STAINED GLASS STUDIO Largest Selection of Stained Glass Supplies Etching Workshop Saturday 9-12 (Call to reserve your place) 2801 S. College 779-5864 M-Sah 9:30-5:30 the conference race gives the Aggies a first round bye this weekend and an automatic berth into the second round of the tournament at the Summit March 1. Texas beat the Aggies twice this season while Arkansas split with Texas A&M, so on the basis of the year’s performance the Longhorns are declared the conference cham pion for the tournament’s sake. Fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers host first round games Saturday against ninth, eighth and seventh place finishers, respec tively. And the TCU Horned Frogs are the only team in the lower six with their spot locked up, ninth with :★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ £MANOR EAST 3 * Engineering & Computer Science Majors DON’T MISS TALKING TO THE HUGHES RECRUITER VISITING YOUR CAMPUS SOON. Contact your placement office for interview dates. HUGHES Creating a new world with electronics AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER M/F * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MOMENT BY MOMENT a 1-13 record. TCU can look forward to traveling to the home of the fourth place finisher, either Tech or Baylor. The Red Raiders were the only team that controlled their own de stiny in their last four games. The Raider’s faced Texas A&M, Hous ton, Texas and Arkansas, with a pos sible conference championship at the end of the line. After beating the Aggies, Tech lost to Houston and Texas and now face the Razorbacks Tuesday night. Going into the Ar kansas game. Tech is 9-6 in confer ence play. But right behind the Raiders are the Baylor Bears, currently 8-7 in conference play, with TCU as their last game Tuesday night. A Baylor win and a Tech loss would throw the two team into a tie for fourth and force a coin flip to decide which team hosts TCU Saturday. The loser of the flip, the fifth place finisher, would host either Rice or Southwest Conference Standings Texas . . . .13-2 .867 Arkansas . .. .12-3 .800 Texas A&M . . . . 10-5 .667 Texas Tech 9-6 .600 Baylor 8-7 .533 Houston . . ..6-10 .375 SMU . . ..4-10 .288 Rice . . . .4-11 .267 TCU . .. .1-13 .071 This week’s schedule TUESDAY: Arkansas at Texas Tech; TCU at Baylor; Rice at Texas A&M; Texas at SMU. WEDNESDAY: SMU at TCU. SATURDAY: First Round of SWC postseason tournament — No. 9 finisher at No. 4; No. Sat No. 5; No. 7 at No. 6. EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE’ KING OF THE GYPSIES SKYWAY TWIN WEST COIN’ SOUTH PLUS CITIZEN’S BAND EAST OLIVER S STORY PLUS FIRST LOVE CAMPUS PARADISE ALLEY J starring Sylvester Stallone Fri. and Sat. Midnight ^ ROCKY HORROR J *★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★* xxr jxk cMjJumdcfo NOON-SEVEN 75c bar drinks 40c beer NORTHGATE (Next to the Dixie Chicken) M*' 1 >ff* - --.-MW- MSC Cafeteria ^ Now Better Than Ever. You Will Be Pleased With These Carefully Prepared and Taste Temptina Foods. Each Daily Special Only $1.79 Plus Tax. “Open Daily” Dining: 11 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. —4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. MONDAY EVENING SPECIAL Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy Whipped Potatoes Your Choice of One Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea TUESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Mexican Fiesta Dinner Two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas w/chili Mexican Rice Patio Style Pinto Beans Tostadas Coffee or Tea One Corn Bread and Butter WEDNESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Chicken Fried Steak w/cream Gravy Whipped Potatoes and Choice of one other Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea THURSDAY EVENING SPECIAL Italian Candle Light Spaghetti Dinner — (!( 1 R 1 )$) SERVED WITH SPICED MEAT BALLS AND SAUCE wvvijAj/ Parmesan Cheese - Tossed Green Salad Choice of Salad Dressing - Hot Garlic Bread Tea or Coffee FRIDAY EVENING SPECIAL BREADED FISH FILET w/TARTAR SAUCE Cole Slaw Hush Puppies Choice of one vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee SATURDAY NOON and EVENING SPECIAL Chicken & Dumplings Tossed Salad Choice of one vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee SUNDAY SPECIAL NOON and EVENING ROAST TURKEY DINNER Served with Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Dressing Roll or Corn Bread - Butter - Coffee or Tea Giblet Gravy And your choice of any One vegetable <D CO <D DOKTOR MABUSE, THE GAMBLER (Der Spieler) o o> E E o o CO “the merciless, power hungry, genius of disguise’ A silent thriller directed by FRITZ LANG <o CD 8 PM Monday Feb. 19 Basement Coffeehouse Meyer and Must an arent horsing aroun SMU, the eighth place team. Eighth place is still undecided. Rice, 4-11, visits Texas A&M while SMU, 4-10, host Texas Tuesday and travels to TCU Wednesday. Should SMU win its final two games and end 6-10 and in a tie for sixth with Houston (already through with SWC play with a 6-10 record) it would force a coin toss to determine which team would host the other. So to recap all we have learned, Texas and Arkansas have assured themselves of byes into the tourna ment semi-finals March 2 at the Summit in Houston. A victoiy by Texas A&M Tuesday night would give the Aggies a first round bye and into the second round March 1. The fourth place finisher hosts the ninth place finisher (TCU), the fifth place finisher host the eigth place finisher and the sixth place finisher hosts the seventh place finisher. And all ties, second throvxgh ninth, are broken by a coin toss. Beyond that, it’s simple. TMSC TRAVEL HOW ABOUT LIVING WITH A FAMILY IN EUROPE, ASIA, OR AFRICA? Find out about the EXPERIMENT IN IN TERNATIONAL LIVING on Thursday, Feb ruary 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 205, MSC. For more information, contact Rusty Phelps, MSC Travel Committee, at 845- 1515 or in Room 216, MSC. United Press International DALLAS — Having pulled off one recruiting coup after another Meyer is ready to reap the benefits. And Meyer, the never-shy Southern Methodist coach who gather one of the best groups of high school players in the country last w !i feels those benefits will be forthcoming in a hurry. “When we go out on the field next year we will be able to anybody we play,” Meyer said. “We’ve been favored maybet\vi«' year the past few years. Next year we will he favored in at leastsr, our games and maybe more. And when we are the underdog we woi be the underdog we were.” The arrival of Meyer as football coach and promotion-minded Rt Potts as athletic director has turned Southern Methodist’s footL program into a potentially dominating force in the Southwest Confe ence, and last week’s recruiting results mark the highlight oftfe efforts. LAST YEAR THE MUSTANGS WERE always a threat in (Re with sophomore quarterback Mike Ford — the nation’s total offei,, leader — and a talented crew of receivers. But they could not runt) ball and the opposition knew it. Now Meyer has landed the two best running prospects in Texas Eric Dickerson of Sealy and Craig James of Houston. In additioi.,, talent-laden recruiting crop includes running back James Collier Seagoville, 9.3 sprinter Mitchell Bennett of Bonaham at wide receive, defensive back Stanley Godine of Houston and highly sought alii lineman Michael Carter of Dallas. There is also New Mexico’s player of the year, quarterback Laj Walker. Of the players generally considered to he the top lOOinTea SMU grabbed 15. Nf tH Bt Al Meyer feels there will be no trouble keeping all of those wl# |R tional signing date comes Wednesday and he says there mightevaff national signing be a few more surprises. “THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE,” he said 111 Unite might get a few more from around the country.” 1ALLAJ But SMU’s recruiting efforts were marred by rumors ofwrongdoh t as and by an NCAA investigation into an automobile being drivenli itor, is f Dickerson, a player who originally said he was going toTexasA&Mnl concenl then chosen SMU. lights 1 “The NCAA investigator told me. Hey, coach. I’ve checkedita >ss the < and it’s fine, Meyer said. "That was just all part of the innuendotli > N.J., was going around. lts call “The thing that bothered me was that as soon as a rumor is broada eeves, on a radio or television station or is printed in the newspaper) htestyc becomes fact in the minds of 99 percent of the people wholiearit. leading “Take the example of the James’ family in Houston (James backed! 1 cam signing with SMU for a day because what other recruiters weresayiAts new about the Mustangs left his parents in doubt). Beorge V ■its’ gen “THEY ARE FRIENDLY PEOPLE. When the phone ringstk repor answer it. And they had people saying. I’m so and so and this is goi >' Rhom to happen to SMU. Well, who knows if it is so and so or not. ear-old “But it can really get vicious, particularly in the hotbed that Housti top oi is where there are alumni from every school and you happen tob ikes, two of the best players in the state. * s "Both kids told me all along they were going to SMU. Dickersonsa ' °f d° three or four weeks ago that he was going to SMU. Ofcoursewhei res, \vh came out that he had committed to Texas A&M it concerned me n calls called him and he said he wanted to think about it. narde “He said, ‘Coach, you come at 8 p. m. Friday and we ll sign. Sothi reevale what we did. I didn’t talk to him any more. You just have to trustthfl an d I s If you are going to hand them the ball on the goal line you needtotm >se. Bu them from the start.” iagains ivatehin MEYER SAID HE DIDN’T THINK it should be a shock to any# to s that SMU has been able to pull itself out of the depths. 1 “When John McKay went from Oregon to coach at USCitw certainly no bed of roses,” the SMU coach said. “Schools haveria from the bottom of the heap to the top before and theyve legally. “Anybody in football knows that. If they don’t they are just bei short sided. And we didn’t get everybody we wanted. There wereal of fine athletes that we wanted that signed with other schools balanced out.” Sun Theatres 333 University 84( The only movie in town Double-Feature Every Week Open 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Mon.-Sat. 12 Noon - 12 Midnight Sun No one under 18 Escorted Ladies Free BOOK STORE & 25c PEEP SHOWS Rock ’n Roll Country-West® 1 Easy Listenin’ Disco Jazz CHECK OUR WEEKLY RECORD SPECIALS We also stock Maxell recording tapes 211 University Drive 10 7 The All-1 but on tar l n ° s t-se, TRAVf\, WANT TO STUDY OVERSEAS? NEED FINANCIAL HELP? The MSC OVERSEAS L-OAJ FUND is available for studen- interested in overseas travel Information, applications & ■ nterv ' e '? ncC ups at secretary’s desk in Rm. 216 Sign up by February 19. Interviews will be conducted February 20^ Gre hum R C Soft T 6 Bask T 7 d