Michigan Draws Holy Cross In Opening NCAA Contest

Michigan Draws Holy Cross
In Opening NCAA Contest

It's Michigan vs. Holy Cross in
the first round of the NCAA eastern
district play-offs at Madison Square
.Garden, New York, next week and
the pairing may seem a little coin-
cidental to Wolverine Coach Ozzie
Cowles.

For Cowles, who came here to
produce cage titlists just a season
ago and turned the trick in his
second winter here, had a helping
hand in making Holy Cross one of
the east's most respected basket-
ball powers.

This came about a decade ago
when Cowles was shaping Ivy
League champions at Dartmouth.
Holy Cross was in the basketball
doldrums and wanted to do some-
thing about it. One step was the
scheduling of top-notch eastern
cage teams and Dartmouth was
one of the schools Holy Cross
wanted on it ' i "lule. Appraised
of the situ?" .vies agreed to
meet the duaaucia once or twice
each year. Those games were easy
Dartmouth wins at first but soon
turned into tougher contests as
Holy Cross kept trying to match
the caliber of its opposition.
Beaten Only Thrice

Holy Cross is th ^fonding
NCAA champion and sea-
son record of 22 -vi only
three defeats. M "'Iine
titlists will matciii tiicii w.i ••'••••
ord against the Crusaders in

second game of the March 18 op,-.
ing play-off rounds.

The first contest that night will
send Columbia, Ivy League cham-

pion with 20 victories and a singi
loss, against the Southeastern ^~
ference champion, Kentuck
won 32 of 34 Rames. Win.—.s c
these tv sts will meet to
the easu- - 'ision championshi
in the Garden Saturday nighi
March 20.

The eastern champion and th
titlist out of the western divisio:

play-off at Kansas City will clas
for the national championship a
the Garden Tuesday nighi
March 23.
Not New To Cowle»

For Michigan, post-season bas
ketball play is a new experienc
but it's old stuff to Cowles wh
led four of his seven Ivy Leagu
championship outfits into NCA.I
competition and saw one of th
four reach the finals. Cowles think
his present Michigan team will b
less awed by the vastness of Mad]
son Square Garden than wer
some of his Dartmouth clubs. West
crn Conference crowds run fror
8,000 to 14,000 while the Garde:

top is about 18,000. "That shouldn'
worry our kids any," Cowles sayi