Page 10 -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 6, 1991 BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK. 11, A T tRs by Josh Dubow Daily Sports Writer T ' ornebds to be limi1ted for Big Ten by Phil Green Daily Basketball Writer Now that the Big Ten has hit the halfway point of its season, it's become obvious that the conference will not approach its record seven NCAA tournament bids from last year. Nationally-ranked Ohio State and Indiana are shoe-ins, and Michigan State should cruise into the tournament field as well. However, after that, the Big Ten becomes one tremendous mess. Illinois, presently tied with the Spartans for third place, owns the impressive credentials necessary to be invited. The Illini, though, also own the not-so-impressive credential of probation. Hence no post-season action. Not only does the probation eliminate Illinois, but it could also get another Big Ten team shut out of the field. "I hope it doesn't hurt us (the Big Ten)," Ohio State coach Randy Ayers said. "Any team can step up and play well in the tournament that came from the middle of the pack. We did that last year." Illinois coach Lou Henson doesn't think his team's circumstances will hinder the rest of the conference. "If those teams are good enough, they'll be selected, regardless of where we finish," he said. While no dark horse has emerged from the pack, Iowa could be the team to watch. The Hawkeyes have won 15 games thus far, including impressive victories over UCLA and Michigan State. However, like the rest of the conference, they will need a strong second half to secure a possible post-season bid. "They have a lot of players who played last year, but not well, and this year they're playing much better," Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote said. "I don't think you're going to have a .500 record or two games over .500 and get in the NCAAs." RUBBING SALT IN HIS WOUNDS: Norhtwestern coach Bill Foster didn't think things could get any worse. His Wildcats didn't return any starters from last season's dismal 9-19 performance, and they began this year with an even less impressive 0-9 start. Like most coaches, Foster looked forward to a new beginning for the second half of the season. But for Foster, the second half couldn't begin any worse as conference powers Ohio State and Indiana are the next teams up on Northwestern's schedule. On the bright side for Foster is his point guard, rookie Pat Baldwin, who leads the conference in steals and ranks among the leaders in assists. SUPER SOPHOMORE: Ohio State's Jimmy Jackson edged out Indiana's Calbert Cheaney for Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year honors a year ago, but if the conference offered a similar award for sophomores, Cheaney would win convincingly. Jackson is not having a poor season, it's just that Cheaney's numbers are quite impressive. During conference games, the Hoosiers' sophomore ranks second in scoring (20.8 ppg), first in free throw percentage (95%), and second in field goal percentage (61.7%). RECORD SETTER: Last year's Big Ten Player-of-the-Year Steve Smith recently added another milestone to his already impressive resume. The Spartan's senior has hit 40 consecutive free throws, breaking the old conference mark of 38 straight set by Indiana's Keith Smart in 1987. Smith will put his mark on the line against Iowa tomorrow night at the Breslin Center. - Jeff Sheran contributed to this story. The Michigan wrestling team places an especially high emphasis on conditioning. Coach Dale Bahr is willing to sacrifice performance in the dual meet season in order to prepare his squad for the NCAA and Big Ten Championships. The Wolverines' practice schedule consists of four two-a-day practices during the week surrounding a recreational workout day on Wednesday. Bahr does not worry about his team being fatigued during the dual meet season as long as they are in top shape for the post-season. This high level of conditioning does not go unnoticed by Bahr's fellow Big Ten coaches, especially Tim Cysewski of Northwestern. "Michigan is probably the best-conditioned team we have faced so far," Cysewski said following the meet last month between the two squads. "You can tell that Dale works them hard in practice and it seems to be paying off in the dual meets." Bahr even practices his team on the days of meets. He does this to loosen the team up before the meet and also because his players only wrestle seven minutes in a meet. Even with the extra practice, meet day is the lightest workout day of the week. This practice regimen differs from other Big Ten schools, especially that of 17-time defending Big Ten champion Iowa. Coach Dan Gable's Hawkeyes prefer lighter practices through the regular season and then hit two-a-days in the week before Big Tens. But, Iowa also places little emphasis on the dual meets for enhanced performance.in the post-season. While Wisconsin follows a similar workout pattern as the Wolverines, the Badgers treat dual meets with greater importance. "We always want to compete our best whenever we wrestle," Wisconsin coach Andy Rein said. "In that respect we place more emphasis on the dual meets. But, as a coach I learn where our team stands in preparation for Big Tens and NCAAs.' Instead of measuring his team's success by its dual meet record, Bahr looks at the number of All-Americans and National Champions. "At Michigan, we choose to aim for higher goals than other schools do," Bahr said. "The dual meets actually get in the way of our preparation for the NCAAs and Big Tens." This is evidenced in the way Bahr schedules the dual meets and the heavy COLLEGE HNWlS TOP FIFTEEN HOCKEY POLL The Cornell Sun compiles a weekly college hockey poll, Wrestlers toil now for playoff payoff conditioning he puts the team through. While the Wolverines competed in 11 meets in January, the schedule tapers off dramatically come February with Michigan only participating in four meets. He does this to prepare and focus the team for the Championships. This philosophy is not new to Bahr even though the results have not been successful in recent years. Last season, despite posting an 11-4 record in the regular season, the Wolverines placed a disappointing sixth in Big Tens and 31st in NCAAs. "Last season we got caught up in our dual meet success in the past few seasons," Bahr said. "By the end of the season we had lost our focus and th hurt us." In response to that, Bahr has made minor changes in his approach toward the Big Tens this season. Instead of stopping practice a week before Big Tens, Bahr is having the team practice up until three days prior to the Championships. This still differs with the philosophies of Wisconsin ard Iowa, as both schools practice up until the day before Big Tens. Bahr hopes his team will start peaking in the next two weeks. While this approach seems logical, as all wrestlers qualify for Big Tens and NCAA qualification is based upon Big Ten Championship performance, it requires a lot of discipline from the wrestlers themselves. It is not easy for professional athletes to change gears from low intensity to high intensity, and it is even harder for collegiate athletes. While most of the wrestlers are confident they will be prepared for the post-season tournaments, they will have to prove it with championship performances. Bahr has placed a large responsibility on his wrestlers to motivate themselves, and hopefully they will be focused and intense enough to reach their potential by the time of the NCAAs. Even though Iowa has dominated the Big Ten, it is unfair to blame the Wolverines' practice schedule on their performance in the post-season as the two teams do not have comparable lineups. Bahr's philosophy should hel Michigan in the post-season, barring injuries. In the Big Tens and NCAA, where wrestlers have multiple matches in a day, the Wolverines' superior conditioning should manifest itself in a much improved post-season performance. voted on by the sports staffs of 12 newspapers nationwide, including different college The Michigan Daily. Points Last Week Team (First-nlace votes) Record _ .r ..... y. .v. i.uvv v.vv( ay yyaM 1. Lake Superior (13) 2. N. Michigan 3. Boston College 4. Michigan 5. Minnesota 6. Maine 7. Cornell 8. Clarkson 9. Wisconsin 10 Boston University 11 Ferris State 12 North Dakota 13 Providence 14 New Hampshire 15 St. Lawrence 25-3-4 25-5-3 22-7-0 24-5-3 23-5-4 24-6-3 13-5-2 17-6-1 20-9-2 17-9-2 19-8-5 18-12-2 17-5-2 18-8-2 13-10-1 195 179 158 154 151 131 117 99 87 78 55 47 40 29 13 1 3 4 5 2 6 8 7 10 9 11 13 12 15 14 Wi! 1991 BSN STUDENTS. Enter the Air Force immediately after gradua- tion - without waiting for the results of your State Boards. You can earn great benefits as an Air Force nurse officer. And if selected during your senior year, you may qualify for a five-month internship at a major Air Force medical facili- ty. To apply, you'll need an overall': 2.50 GPA. Get a head start in the Air Force. Call USAF HEALTH PROFESSIONS COLLECT (313) 463-8599 rsr rr Morris Morris leaves citing poor media relations * J U 1 S MONEY! MONEY! LSA-Student Government is currently accepting applications for STUDENT GROUP Funding. If your group has an event, activity or any need for funding then come to 4003 Michigan Union and pick up a request form. LSA-SCE SERVES YOU. $ from Staff Reports Lifetime Tiger Jack Morris is packing his bags for Minnesota today. Morris became a free agent after passing on arbitration and declining to sign with the Tigers for a guaranteed three year, 9.3 million dollar contract. The new contract would have been a one million dollar raise from his previous contract. Morris led the 1984 World Championship Tigers with his performances on the mound. Con- sidered one of the most successful pitchers of the 80s, Morris had his share of troubles in recent years. In the past two seasons his record i Ga .. was 21-32 with an ERA of 4.51 last year, and 4.86 the previous season. A month into this coming season, Morris will turn 36. In his years with the Tigers Morris has accumulated 198 career wins. Morris' discontent with the Tiger organization and the Detroit media had been increasingly evident over the last few years. Many baseball experts feel that the star pitcher was anxious to leave Detroit and the Tigers behind him. Claiming he received unfair treatment from the media over his contract situation, Morris said he might never talk to the media again. 4 I-- - VELENTIHE'S DAY IS COMING SOON! Can't figure out what to get your sweetie for this special day? 4 tjtic4tgan atig has the solution! On Feb. 14, we will publish a special Valentine's Day page filled with red hearts, & you can buy one of these hearts to put your own personal valentine message in for only $5.00! Please note - 94tpf E4tlau tati can only accept payment in cash, Ann Arbor area personal checks, money orders or cashier's checks. DERDLINE: $ $ -)t : RESTAURANT "26 YEARS EXPERIENCE" La - CHEF JAN- 26 years expenence TOP GOLD MEDAL WINNER OF DETROIT COBO HALL NATIONAL CONTEST Sponsored by Michigan Restaurant Association Michigan Chefs Do Cuisine Association BLUE RIBBON BEST CHEF AWARD IN WASHINGTON D.C. VOTED #1 BEST ORIENTAL FOOD 1N' ANNT7ARROR 1990 fl Mehloay, faily. KE KE KAPPA SIGMA 806 Hill Street The Kappa Sigma Fraternity at the University of Michigan invites all interested men to participate in extended rush. As we approach our centennial, we are striving to build a fraternity that will enjoy * our tradition of excellence on this campus for another hundred years. Kappa Sigma, Brotherhood lasts a lifetime. + ?'; :: I