Army & Navy Again

West Point and Annapolis long ago outgrew competition from civilian colleges.* Last week the two service academies looked like the best basketballers in the land. Other teams had risen only to fall; they alone went on unbeaten.

The success of Army's courtmen, unbeaten in 26 games since February 1943, hinges on peak physical shape to go with their maximum-sized home court (eight feet longer than Madison Square Garden's). Fast-finishing Army last week whirled by Pittsburgh (71-to-51), then dumped Rochester (79-to-42). Their captain (and football halfback), Dale Hall, leading scorer in the East last season, has flicked in no less than 142 points in ten games, to boost his team's scoring average to 60.9 against their opponents' 40.1.

Navy, with an even more impressive scoring average of 62 to the opposition's 39.2, is also led by a footballer turned sharpshooter, Center (blocking back) Dick Duden. The Middies, using a court brand of their rough, bruising gridiron tactics, last week tripped Temple (55-to-47) and West Virginia (60-to-40) to make it nine straight.

Runners-Up. Few, if any, of the nation's hundreds of college basketball teams can challenge Army and Navy's top ranking. One of the few, Manhattan's St. John's (won 14, lost 1), might even upset the applecart at West Point this week. Three other top teams put an extra sheen of gilt on their records last week: P: DePaul's 6-ft.-9 Center George Mikan took the scoring honors over Oklahoma A. & M.'s 7-ft. Bob Kurland (TIME, Dec. 25), as DePaul hung up its 15th victory (48-to-46) against one defeat. P: Well-balanced Iowa (won 12, lost 1), and its Wilkinson brothers took another hitch on the Big Ten title by trimming Indiana, 45-to-40.

-Army swimmers last week scored a major upset, marring Yale's 66-meet winning streak, 44-to-31.

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