Quintet Favored to Down Terriers at B. U. Tonight

A small floor, big men, and a tight defense are hurdles the varsity basketball team is favored to overcome at 9 p.m. tonight.

The small floor is Boston University's, which Coach Norm Shepard pessimistically fears will prove a handicap to his club.

The big men, who have helped the Terriers stay near the .500 mark, are Ernie McFadgen and Marty Reisner, both 6 foot 4, and Bob Spence, 6 foot 3.

The tight defense is a zone underneath the basket which few teams have cracked; most have had to shoot over it.

With a 71 to 49 victory over Princeton in its last start, and a polished man-to-man defense of its own, the Crimson is favored, however. The varsity won its only game with B.U. last year.

The Princeton game Monday was "certainly the best game we've played since I've been here," Shepard said. The Crimson managed to grab an impressive number of rebounds--22 more than the Tigers--while hitting 39 percent from the floor.

This was almost a complete reversal of form from the Princeton game here. The Tigers won, 83 to 53, and snagged 30 more rebounds than the varsity.

Shepard pointed out that the Crimson could have won the Army game last Saturday if both its tall centers Dick Lionette and Dick Manning had not fouled out at the start of the last quarter. The Cadets won, 79 to 76, rallying from a 16-point deficit.

Despite the loss to the West Pointers, the Crimson's Ivy League outlook improved. Although the team is still in the cellar with a 2-7 win-loss mark, it is only one full game behind Princeton, in seventh place at 3-6.

Five games--all counting in Ivy standings--remain for the quintet. Penn and Yale are scheduled twice, and a battle at Dartmouth completes the slate.

Yardling and Terrier freshman teams will meet at the B.U. gym at 7:15 p.m.