Badgers battle in Bloomington Sunday

While most of the campus will be plopped in front of the TV watching the Super Bowl, IU's wrestling team will be offering an athletic alternative for Bloomington fans at the University Gym this Sunday.\nDespite being 0-3-1 in the Big Ten, the Badgers come in ranked 13th in the country and feature a lineup with seven ranked wrestlers. \n"They've wrestled Iowa, Michigan State -- a tough, intense schedule," said coach Duane Goldman. "If you go with the polls, we've got our work cut out for us."\nFour of Sunday's matches will be between ranked wrestlers, none of whom have faced each other yet. Perhaps the biggest match-up will be the 141-pound contest between Wisconsin's No. 16 Tyler Laudon and IU's No. 14 Mike Simpson.\nSimpson, a senior from Huntington Beach, Calif., has had an up-and-down year so far. After beginning the season 17-3, he injured his head at the Midlands Championships, requiring 40 stitches to close the wound. He also missed the Hoosiers' Big Ten opener against Northwestern and the Indianapolis Duals while suffering through a bout of the flu. Since the injury, he is 4-3, though the three losses all came against ranked competition. \n"I've had a rough season," Simpson said. "The eye isn't a factor anymore, the flu is gone and I feel like I'm better now than last week. But it's tough to keep your conditioning."\nSimpson's return couldn't have come at a better time for the Hoosiers. The team has been struggling through a rash of sickness and injuries in the last couple of weeks. With the toughest part of its schedule coming up, IU needs as many healthy grapplers as the team can get. Four of the Hoosiers' opponents in February are ranked in the top 20, with three of them coming through Bloomington. \n"I feel pretty good," said junior Brady Richardson, who finished fifth at last year's Big Ten Championship. "I'm excited about having a home match."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Petersen at andpeter@indiana.edu.