Eft- Sullivan and Brownlee honored Michigan's Kevin Sullivan and Shannon Brownlee each eamed awards from the Big Ten yesterday. Sullivan was named Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Week following his third straight NCAA District IV individual title November 12. Brownlee, a senior outside hitter for the volleyball team, became the first Wolverine to be named to the Big Ten All-Conference first team. On her way to leading Michigan to a 17-13 record, Brownlee set team season records for kills (456) and attempts (1,160). Page 11 Friday 1,1995 December Blue faces small obstacle in Titans 'M' to face loser of Swc By Michael Rosenberg Daily Editor in Chief When the Michigan men's basket- ba.I team takes on Detroit tomorrow night, it will be the continuation of a good-natured rivalry. It's a rivalry be- cause, the schools are so close and the teans know each other very well. It's - good-natured because, well, the Titans haven't come close to actually beating the Wolverines in quite a while. Michigan has won the last four con- tests by double-digit margins, includ- ing.an 87-76 win in 1994-95. Tomor- row night's game will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Detroit's Cobo Aretr tire looking forA a to playing Detroit," Michi- Who: Michigan gan coach Steve Where: Cobo Ar Fishersaid."There Last year: Michi should be a lot of Detroit,87-76, at emotion. Both When: Tomorro teams are looking forward to playing each other. It's good for basketball in the state of Michigan." Many of the Wolverines and Titans know each other from playing with or against one another in high school and summer leagues. The Wolverines have won their last two games, against St. Francis (Pa.) and Ball State, by a combined 60 points. Michigan beat Ball State, 80-52, de- spite committing 34 turnovers. That's like baking an award-winning cake de- spite forgetting two key ingredients. "We'll have to play a lot better to get the same result that we got (against Ball State)," Fisher said. To get an idea of the talent difference between the the Wolverines and Titans, considerthi s: when forward Leon "Seal" Derricks wasn't happy with his playing time at Michigan, he transferred to De- troit. It remains to be seen whether the Wolverines will greet Seal with a kiss. The game is the second of Michigan's unofficial three-game series, "Play Your Former Assistant Coaches." Titans' coach Perry Watson was a Michigan assistant from 1991 to 1993. Ball State - the Wolverines' victim Wednesday - is coached by former Michigan as- sistant Ray McCallum. They take on Mike Boyd's ClevelandStateteam Dec. 18. Cynics would argue that Watson was really an assistant at Michigan during the 1990-91 season as well. That year Watson was the coach at Detroit's Southwestern High School. His star player was a 6-foot-8 swingman by the name of Jalen Rose. A year later, Rose and childhood pal -J Chris Webber were at Michigan, and so was Watson. Critics accused Fisher of of- fering Watson an as- sistantcoachposition nd Detroit in exchange for de- -na livering Webber and ,an defeated Rose. CrislerArena There are no 7:30 p.m. Webbers or Roses on Watson's current team, however. Detroit's top players are Carl Pickett and Iyapo Montgomery, along with Derricks. Pickett and Montgomery each averaged about 12 points and 4 re- bounds per game last year. Watson has tried, in his two-plus years at Detroit, to create a team of the Wolverines' caliber. He has not just attempted to recruit Michigan-type play- ers; he has tried to recruit Michigan's players. Wolverines Willie Mitchell and Robert Traylor both had Detroit on their short lists before deciding to spend their college years in Ann Arbor. Michigan point guard Travis Conlan, who grew up in St. Clair Shores, will have 200 family members and friends at the game. "It's going to be a really lively crowd," Conlan said. "It should be really excit- ing." Conlan also seems pleased with the way his team is playing after dropping two straight games in New York in the Preseason NIT. "If we keep playing hard we're going to be tough to beat," he said. battle r' By Ryan White Daily Sports Editor For the second straight week, A C will have a team tuned in to its college football coverage. Last week, the nation watched Northwestern watch the Michigan- Ohio State game as the Wildcats waited to see what bowl they would go to. This week, the Wolverines will be in front of their TVs to find out Who they will play in the Alamo Bowl Dec. 28. Michigan's opponent will be decided tomorrow when No.9 Texas (6-0 South- west Conference, 9-1-1 overall) visits No. 16 Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. The Wolverines play the loser. The game's winner will earn a Bowl Alliance spot. There is one more thing on the line for the Longhorns: a win would give them at least a piece of the final SWC championship. Next season, four members of the SWC will join with the Big Eight to form the Big 12 Conference. "I think people will remember the championship and the fact that this'is the last one means people will remem- ber this one longer," Texas coach John Mackovic said. "We will talk about it, but it's not the focus. "The focus has to be on Texas Vs. Texas A&M with everything on the line, including a spot in the Alliance. Our conference has always had a repre- sentative go to the Cotton Bowl, so this is new and exciting." Mackovic should also be excited about the possibility of getting starting quarterback James Brown back in the lineup. Brown, the conference's total offeise leader, missed last week's game agail~st Baylor with a sprained left ankle. This week, though, he feels good and is expected to play. The Aggies (5-1, 8-2) will counter Brown with an offensive threat of their own-runningback Leeland McElroy. McElroy ranks 24th in the nation in rushing with an average of 108.6 yards per game. He is fourth overall in scor- ing, totaling an average of 10.7 points per contest. McElroy will be running at a Texas defense which is allowing 203.5 yards a game on the ground. "We know he will get his hands on the ball, but what we have to do is close the running lanes as best we can," Mackovic said. "He has such great speed, like Baylor's Jerod Douglas,lhat you can't give him an open lane." Like many rivalries, however, the 102nd meeting between Texas and Texas A&M won't have a lot to do with records. "It is always exciting," Mackovic said of the rivalry. "The Longhorns:and the Aggies are always at each other,:and that won't change this week." And amidst it all, Michigan will be waiting to see who it plays in San Anto- nio. Michigan's Travis Conlan looks for someone to pass to before landing out of bounds Wednesday against Ball State. Hockey looks to halt losing streak at Bowling Green By Danielle Rumore Daily Sports Writer The Bowling Green hockey team has undergone a change and, in the process, emerged as a solid hockey program. The No. 10 Falcons (6-1-1 CCHA, 11- 2-1 overall) have been one of the top teams in the CCHA and the nation over the past year. They look to continue play- ing at that level when they battle Michi- gan (7-2 CCHA, 10-3 overall) tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Bowling Green State Univer- sity Ice Arena. The game is televised on WTOL (Channel 11). The Falcons owe a lot to coach Buddy Powers, who took over the program be- fore the start of the 1994 season. He replaced Jerry York, who left for the head coaching job at Boston College. Last season, Powers led his squad to a 25-11-2 overall record, the program's highest win total since the 1989-90 sea- son. Bowling Green's 18-7-2 conference record was good enough for second place in the league, the school's best confer- ence standing since 1987-88. "Last year was a turnaround," Powers said. "There was the coaching change which I think rejuvenated everyone. It got the group focused and we made strides." The only disappointment was that the Falcons did not receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. This year might be a different story. Bowling Green enjoys an experienced blend of offensive and defensive players and returns six of their top seven scorers from a year ago. The Falcons are already off to a 6-1-1 conference record, good enough for fourth place in the CCHA. They have accomplished this despite losing their top scorer, Brian Holzinger, to the NHL. Last season's Hobey Baker Award winnerledthe squad with 35 goals and 69 points. "Holzinger stepped up and hada career year," Powers said. "This year, we're focused but we don't have a star player. All the guys play a lot of different roles." One of the guys is forward Mike Hall, who leads the team in goals scored (12) and points (22). Hall was named the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week for hisperformance against Alaska-Fairbanks Nov. 23-25. He had a total of three goals and eight assists on the weekend. Last Thursday against the Nanooks, Hall had eight points, equalling current assistant coach Brian Hill's mark set in 1982. Although the Falcons have a solid of- fensive unit, their defense, led by first- team All-American Kelly Perrault, may be the strongest part of the squad. Perrault also showed his offensive prowess when he finished last season as the No. 3 scor- ing defenseman in the country and was named the league's Best Offensive Defenseman. "Our defense is playing really well," Powers said. "(Junior goalie) Bob Petrie returned to his form of freshman year. As a group, they are clearing the zone and getting the puck to the forwards. They are doing a heck of a job." Bowling Green is looking to hand the No. 4 Wolverines (7-2-0 CCHA, 10-3-0 overall) their third straight loss. Michi- gan, currently in third place in the league, has crossed some choppy waters as of late. The Wolverines lost to Michigan State, 4-3, this past Tuesday and fell to Minnesota, 3-2, last Saturday in the Col- lege Hockey Showcase. In both games, Michigan was without left wing Jason Botterill, who was serv- ing a two-game suspension for fighting. Botterill skates on the first power-play unit and is one of the top scorers on the team. His absence was felt in the losses. "Botterill needs to skate," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "He's a big part of our power play." Forwards Bill Muckalt and Mike Legg are questionable for tomorrow's contest. Muckalt suffered a foot injury last week and did not skate in the Michigan State game while Legg was injured during that same game. Even with Michigan's pos- sible absences, Powers doesn't underesti- mate the Wolverines. "(Michigan) has the deepest talent level in the league," Powers said. "They are a heck of a hockey team. Both teams are highly motivated (for tomorrow). It should be a good game." H N I Charley.. Home of the mouth watering Count Twists ihe seasonQ This year give the gift of gold. We have - something for everyone on your gift giving list.: Save 15% All Day Friday, December 1st 9:30 am to 9:00 pm e " 0 " Salads Sandwiches Special Burgers Mexican Entrees 668-8411 1140 S. University Ann Arbor Hand-tossing Uncle Pat's Pizza Since 1959 The 8arport UII e' uIf~l g jiC f onn~it I m l