Men's basketball vs. Western Michigan Saturday, 2:00 p.m. Crisler Arena SPORTS Men's Basketball vs. Central Michigan Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m. Crisler Arena Tb. Michigan Daily Wednesday, December 11, 1985 Page 12 Hoosiers highlight heavy holiday slate , By BARB McQUADE Semester break comes in the form of a less-than-formidable schedule for tie Michigan basketball team. The Wolverines can continue to relax with five non-conference foes before heading into Bloomington January 2 to tip off the Big Ten season. ^ WHILE THE opponents won't provide any poise lessons, it's the quantity, not the quality, that should sharpen the Wolverines. a "Everything we're doing is preparing us," Frieder said. "We're preparing ourselves by playing a lot of games - too many really. We're pIaying so much we're not able to get the practice time we need." -That may be a factor when Michigan squares off against Indiana in its first conference game of the year. Bob Knight's team, which knocked off the Wolverines last season in Ann Arbor in the opening Big Ten game, is as dangerous as ever. The 16th-ranked Hoosiers (3-1) throw 6-2 guard Steve Alford at backcourt opponents. Alford can score a bunch and keys the Indiana offense. In the Hoosiers' loss to Kentucky, the 170- pound junior was sorely missed. Indiana gets some immediate size from junior college transfers. New Hoosiers 6-10 Todd Jalow, 6-7 Andre Harris, and 6-7 Lennel Moor add quickness as well as size. BUT THE TERM "big man"' receives a different definition on the next stop, Ohio State, where 7-1 Brad Sellers leads the Buckeyes (5-0). The senior center, while no bruiser under the boards, averaged 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds last year. The only thing that saves a nonexistent backcourt, however is the transplant of 6-5 Den- nis Hopson from forward. The 6-5 junior is not much of a scoring threat, but can pass with the best. But before they must face Big Ten competition, the Wolverines can enjoy the holidays with a lighter load. After coasting to four straight home victories to boost its record to 7-0, Michigan hosts Central Michigan tomorrow night. The Chippewas could bring an early Christmas present for the Wolverines. "There's no question Michigan is one of the top teams in the country," said CMU assistant coach Dave Gin- sberg, filling in for head coach Charlie Coles, who is recovering from triple- bypass surgery. "Looking at it on paper, we're certainly out-manned at every position." THE 1-4 Chippewas are trying to battle back from a 10th-place finish last season in the Mid-American Con- ference. CMU's lone threat is sophomore forward Dan Majerle, who averaged 18.6 points per game in 1984-85. But at 6-6, he doesn't stand a chance against Michigan's big men. In fact, no player on the Central team is over 6-7. Following CMU's act are two of Michigan's other regional schools that also appear to come up short. Western Michigan (4-2) poses the only possible danger, December 14, among the map-named schools. Despite a 12- 16 record last season, the Broncos can rise to the occasion against top op- ponents, as they proved in upsetting DePaul a year ago. Western returns four starters from last year's squad, including forward Booker James. The junior is averaging 16.3 points per game, but at 6-2, should not plan to dominate in- side. NORTHERN Michigan (7-1) arrives at Crisler December 21, and Illinois-Chicago visits a week later, The Wildcats boast a record of 7-1, but with such forces as Bemidji State and Gustavus Adolphus on its schedule, cannot cause opponents to shudder. And the Flames are lucky to flicker with little talent and experience. The best of the break opponents comes in the package of Cleveland State. Returning everyone from the team that went 21-8 last year, the Vikings are averaging 103 points a game this season. If all goes as planned, the Wolverines could be a 12-0 on New Years Day. But their resolution will have to be to start playing basketball. t, I .. .. 3 Per copy dependin ORIGINAL MUST E 1mm mm -mmim SELF Ex DOLLAR B] ig on copies/original with this ad BE FEEDABLE -201b. white papert xpires Feb. 28, 1986 SERVE 3 pires 12/31/85 ILL COPYING 6E 665-9200 OPEN 7-DAYS M Z a <® a s I UPI Top Twenty 1. North Carolina (30) .6-0 570 2. MICHIGAN (7). 6-0 541 3. Duke (1) ........... 8-0 491 4. Kansas............6-1 382 5. Syracuse..........5-0 368 6. Georgia Tech........4-1 361 7. Georgetown ........4-0 311 8. Kentucky..........5-0 280 9. Oklahoma.........6-0 209 10. Nevada-Las Vegas .5-1 190 11. Illinois ............. 5-1 170 12. Louisiana St.......6-0 137 13. St. John's ..........6-1 116 14. Louisville .........3-2 109 15. Memphis State ..... 5-0 102 16. (tie) Notre Dame ... 3-1 55 (tie) Indiana.....2-1 55 18. UAB ............ 5-1 51 19. Ohio State ..........5-0 39 20. DePaul.............3-0 24 611 CHURCH ° "..: /t:'. '