Upset in the Garden

Notre Dame's basketballers felt sorry for themselves. Kevin O'Shea, the star of the team, had a bad knee and indigestion; big Leo Barnhorst said he had a sprained ankle and Johnny Brennan complained of a sore throat. Last week, with stiff upper lips and handsome gold uniforms, Underdog Notre Dame (beaten seven times this season) limped out on the floor at Madison Square Garden to play hot-shot N.Y.U., only undefeated college team in the U.S.

Notre Dame rooters (a noisy lot, centering around a small nucleus of alumni, widening out to include most of New York's Irish, and eventually embracing whole armies of subway sentimentalists) out-yelled N.Y.U.'s although it was N.Y.U.'s home town. They groaned as one when the Irish fell nine points behind. N.Y.U.'s Coach Howard Cann sent out an order to play slow, safe and cozy.

The order was never carried out. O'Shea of the Irish, overcoming his indigestion, scored six points in less than a minute. The friends & alumni of Notre Dame perked up. Suddenly N.Y.U. found itself surrounded by fighting Irish, who swiped the ball, intercepted passes, and used their elbows. It took a while for N.Y.U. to realize that it would have to mix too, and the delay was costly. A roar shook the house as Notre Dame took the lead, lost it, then edged out in front again.

O'Shea, the superb dribbler, had never looked so good. Brennan and Barnhorst had forgotten all about their ailments, and both sides had forgotten all about the Y.M.C.A. way basketball used to be played. Players exchanged scowls and heated words; the referees broke up one fist fight only to have another threaten. At one point, the referee wanted to keep an N.Y.U. player from shooting a foul until the hooting stopped; the player grabbed the ball, glared at the crowd, and sank one. In the final five minutes, harassed N.Y.U. lost its head completely. When the game ended, 51 personal fouls had been chalked up to both teams; and the lead seesawed 17 times. Final score: Notre Dame 64, N.Y.U. 59. That left no undefeated college team in the land.

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