Wrestling vs. Indiana -at VarsityArena Sunday, 2 p.m. SPORTS Thursday, February 15, 1990 Men's Swimming vs. Ohio State at Canham Natatorium Saturday, 3 p.m. The Michigan Daily Gophers up next for M cagers By Lory Knapp Daily Basketball Writer In a league where winning on the road is about as easy as winning in the L.A. Forum, the Wolverine's upcoming conference road schedule can only be described by one word-- brutal. Inbthe first of two road trips that will see Michigan (18-4, overall; 8- 3, Big Ten) play such contenders as Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue, the Wolverines will begin by taking on the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis tomorrow night. Minnesota (17-4, 7-4) is just one game behind the Wolverines in the Big Ten and a victory will place the Gophers in strong contention for the conference title. And while Michigan is playing most of its remaining games on the road, Minnesota will play most of its games in the safe confines of Williams Arena. Minnesota, which has won 26 of its last 27 home games, including 12 in a row, is coming off of a 73- 72 victory over league-leading Purdue on Sunday. "We have a great home court advantage," Minnesota coach Clem Haskins said. "Our fans really get into it. Our kids play hard at home and when you (other teams) come here you have to strap it on and be ready to play." The home court advantage is not the only factor on the Gophers side. Senior Willie Burton, a Detroit St. Martin DePorres graduate, is tied for third in Big Ten scoring with Michigan's Rumeal Robinson , averaging 19.6 points per game. Burton, with 6.9 boards a game, is also tenth in league rebounding,. "Burton is a solid 6-7," said Michigan coach Steve Fisher. "They're (Minnesota) strong, phy- * sical kids that know how to play." Page 9 GOPHERS, BUCKS, AND 'CATS CHALLENGE 'M' SUPREMACY Swimmers dive into B Burton But rebounding supremacy in the conference right now belongs to Michigan's Loy Vaught. Vaught, who is averaging nearly 12 rebounds per game, leads Iowa's Les Jepsen by 15 boards, even though Michigan has played one less game than Iowa. "Vaught and Robinson found a way to elevate their game (since the injury to Sean Higgins)," said Haskins. "We must control the boards and cut down their running game. We have to get rebounds and stop the transition game." Michigan will continue to look slightly different without Higgins in the line-up, often fielding three- guard combinations of Robinson, Demetrius Calip, Michael Talley, and Tony Tolbert. "We're quicker--(without Hig- gins) we have three guards, but we really miss Sean," said Fisher. "When he comes back he may have to accept that he's not going to get as many shots because we have to get the ball inside." Haskins said: "Everyone knows Rumeal Robinson is one of the best guards in basketball. ":(But) we feel we can match up really well with that line-up (the three-guard offense)." by Jeni Durst Daily Sports Writer The Big Ten Championships, held in Indianapolis today, tomorrow, and Saturday will mark the end of the conference season for the Michigan women's swim team. However, it could be the onset of a lot more: a myriad of NCAA qualifying times to be added to those already posted by breaststrokers Ann Colloton and Jennifer Eck. That would place the Wolverines in a strong contending position for the NCAAs held in March. "We have a chance to qualify 12 individuals (for the NCAAs)," Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. "We only had five individual qualifiers last year (6th-place national finish) and I think that's about the most we've had ever in one year. So if we could double that this year, that would be pretty incredible." But first the Wolverines must concentrate on the championships at hand: the Big Tens. Michigan, has captured the conference crown for the past three years and has dominated its Big Ten rivals in dual meets this season. A win this year would give the Wolverine's senior members a four year sweep of the championships. Still, no predictions are being made. "You just don't know until you get in the pool and see how your people look, see how the taper (decrease in practise for rest purposes) went," Richardson said. "We're doing the kinds of things the last two or three days here that we need to do to get ready to swim fast. That's the only thing we have control over- what we do." n " - The Wolverines will have to remain in control to cool down some stiff competition. Northwestern should prove to be a tough opponent for the Wolverines. The Wildcats have the 1989 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, Lori Holmes, who holds '89 conference titles in the 200-yard freestyle, the 100 and 200 butterfly, and the victorious 800 freestyle relay. "The top four teams this year, it's pretty obvious, are Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, and ourselves- if you look at the stats so far." Northwestern head coach Kathie Wickstrand said. "Michigan has a lot of depth, but were just going to try and go in there and give them a run for their money." But the Buckeyes, despite a poor dual meet record, could represent the biggest hump that Michigan must get over. "They (OSU) have a young team that I think is really enthusiastic and they could present a lot of problems for us," Richardson said. "They have three swimmers that really match up ig Tens very well with us. They have the No.1 seed in the 500 free, and the 200 fly, and the 200 backstroke." According to Richardson, the Big Ten Championships don't pale in comparison to the NCAAs. "We think we have the second fastest swimming conference in the country (behind the PAC 10) and I don't care what you win a Big Ten title in- you're talking about winning a championship in a premier conference in the country," Richardson concluded. "The Big Ten championship is always important." Wolverine breaststroker Jennifer Eck, a NCAA qualifier, has high hopes for the Big Ten Championships GRIDDES 1. Illinois at Michigan State 2. Iowa at Indiana 3. Minnesota at N'western 4. Wisconsin at Purdue 5. MICHIGAN AT OSU 6. Louisville at Virginia 7. S. Miss. at S. Carolina 8. Miami(Fla.) at Fla. St. 9. Va. Tech at Cincinnati 10. Evansville at Dayton 11. Princeton at Yale 12. Nebraska at Kansas 13. Air Force at Hawaii 14. Mississippi at Auburn 15. Chaminade at AK-Anch. 16. Kansas St. at Iowa State 17. Boston Coll. at UConn. 18. Butler at Detroit 19. Furman at Marshall 20. Fresno St. at San Jose St. T-7 7 -,7777-77 " Classic designer clothing for men and women. 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