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Standings
| Team | Big 5 | All | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temple | 3-1 | 24-5 | Don Casey |
| Villanova | 3-1 | 23-9 | Rollie Massimino |
| La Salle | 2-2 | 18-12 | Paul Westhead |
| Pennsylvania | 2-2 | 20-8 | Bob Weinhauer |
| St. Joseph’s | 0-4 | 13-15 | Harry Booth |
| 98-49, 66.7% |
Game Results
All games were played at the Palestra.
| Date | Winner | Loser | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10 | Villanova 69 | Penn 68 | 7,251 |
| Alex Bradley was the difference with 19 pts | |||
| Dec 17 | Penn 78 | La Salle 75 | 5,640 |
| Tom Crowley’s three jumpers seal the win | |||
| Jan 14 | Temple 81 | Villanova 73 | 7,031 |
| The Owls push their record to 12-1 | |||
| Jan 25 | Penn 80 | St. Joseph’s 69 | 4,078 |
| Price and McDonald score 19 each | |||
| Jan 28 | La Salle 82 | Temple 75 | 9,208 |
| Explorers built a nine-point halftime lead | |||
| Feb 4 | La Salle 82 | St. Joseph’s 74 | 7,761 |
| Brooks (31 pts, 18 boards) leads La Salle | |||
| Feb 11 | Temple 72 | St. Joseph’s 65 | 3,650 |
| Hawks bothered by the flu fall by seven | |||
| Feb 18 | Villanova 82 | La Salle 79 | 6,149 |
| Herron and Bradley each score 21 points | |||
| Feb 21 | Temple 71 | Penn 56 | 4,611 |
| Tim Claxton nets 22 pts and grabs 12 boards | |||
| Feb 25 | Villanova 72 | St. Joseph’s 64 | 8,152 |
| Villanova wins without Keith Herron | |||
Honors
Big 5 First Team:
- Michael Brooks (La Salle)*
- Tim Claxton (Temple)
- Keith Herron (Villanova)
- Keven McDonald (Pennsylvania)
- Marty Stahurski (Temple)
* Brooks averaged 24.9 points a game as a sophomore en route to becoming the first Explorer to lead the team in scoring and rebounding four times.
Michael Brooks, who was the 1980 National Player of the Year selected by both the United State Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, was picked to captain the Olympic Team (which eventually boycotted the Moscow Games). A prolific scorer, Brooks graduated as La Salle’s all-time top scorer (since passed by Lionel Simmons) and was seventh on the NCAA’s all-time list. He is now second at La Salle and 21st nationally with 2,628 career points. His biggest scoring output came against BYU, when he netted 51 points in triple overtime. That remained the Explorer record until Kareem Townes had 52 against Loyola of Chicago in 1995. In each of his four years, the strong yet graceful Brooks averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He played eight seasons in the NBA.
Hall of Fame Inductees:
- John Baum (Temple)
- Jim Huggard (Villanova)
- Harry Litwack (Temple Coach)
- Tom Wynne (St. Joseph’s)
NCAA Tournament
Villanova 103, La Salle 97, at The Palestra
Villanova 61, Indiana 60, in Providence, RI
Duke 80, Villanova 72, in Providence, RI
Pennsylvania 92, St. Bonaventure 83, at The Palestra
Duke 84, Pennsylvania 80, in Providence, RI
National Invitation Tournament
Texas 72, Temple 58, in Austin, Texas