In no other sport can two or three pounds make such a big difference in the outcome. But that fact still not did play a major role in Pat DeGain's decision to move up to heavyweight this season.    DeGain, a senior at Indiana, had wrestled at 197 lbs. throughout his entire career. And while he may have been somewhat big for a 197-pounder at time, weighing around 220 lbs. regularly, he also is relatively small in heavyweight terms, which can take wrestlers at weigh-in time as big as 285 lbs. And don't forget the irony in his last name, which may have been a sign of foreshadowing what his career was to bring.    "It was something that me and my dad began talking about," DeGain said on Sunday morning as he prepared for the biggest match of his career. "It is my last year. I wanted to enjoy it a little more."    On Sunday morning, DeGain will compete in the Big Ten finals. He has already assured himself of his highest placement in the conference tournament in four years, and his highest seed at the NCAA Tournament as well.    DeGain bulked up some in the off-season by about 10 lbs., and then gave it a shot. However, moving up was not necessarily a decision his coaches at Indiana were fond of.    "(Duane Goldman) wanted me to make weight at 197 one time and see how it felt, and then if I still wanted to move up, I could. But I told them about guys like (Kirk) Trost and my older brother who both moved up for their last years and they were the best years they had," DeGain said.    DeGain's older brother, Joe, wrestled at Michigan and was a team captain. His younger brother, Clint, is currently a freshman on The Citadel wrestling team. The family name is a staple at Clarkston High School in Michigan.    DeGain knew going into this year that his match strategy would have to change. He had already figured that he could not be as offensive as he liked to be, needing to avoid shooting in on an opponent's legs due to their weight advantage of up to 50 lbs. at times.    "I had to learn how to score," DeGain remembered of his first couple of weeks at heavyweight. "The big guys you don't want to shoot on because they can get all that weight on you. You have to shoot from angles and drive through."    His first matches at heavyweight this season came at the Missouri Open in November. Winning his first two matches by fall, DeGain began to see his confidence rise in his abilities at this new weight class. However, he had also pinned two opponents, one of them NAIA, who were inferior in their abilities.    DeGain then went on to lose in the finals of that tournament - his first loss of his last season.    "My first tournament, most of the matches were close. It was hard to do. I was real frustrated," DeGain said. "I stayed with it and wrestled the second tournament and that went a little better. I stuck with it."    In that second tournament, the Mat Town USA Invitational, DeGain recorded two more falls and one major decision before losing a 5-3 decision to Cole Konrad of Minnesota, an All-American and one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament this year.    That was the last time this season that DeGain would lost a match in a tournament. And while he lost two other matches in early January, his record this year in conference dual meets is a perfect 5-0.    Mixed in the middle was a title at the prestigious Midlands Championships in late December. The Midlands victory put DeGain on the map as a contender at heavyweight, not just in the Big Ten, but nationally.    "(Winning) is always in the back of your mind. You're not going to make a move up and get pounded. I can win the Midland finals. I can win the Big Ten's. I'm right there," DeGain said.    So far this season, DeGain has 30 wins, eclipsing both his 29-win season in 2002-03 and 28-win season in 2001-02. But at this point, the number of wins no longer matters to DeGain. It is the quality of those wins that does.    His freshman year, he made it to the round of 12 at the NCAA Tournament before getting defeated, and he has barely sniffed NCAA glory since then. He did not even qualify for the event as a sophomore and lost both of his matches last year.    This year, he has been able to stay healthy while also figuring out how to beat the bigger guys. And while it was a concern in the off-season, his match strategy has now become a strength.    "The biggest thing I've learned is that (heavyweights) get real tired. If you can stick it out and push with them, you've got a good chance. Just because you're a little guy, they don't think you're going to push back."    DeGain, a former Cadet Freestyle World silver medalist, already has mapped out the changes in his gameplan for Sunday's rematch with Konrad.    "Nothing different," he said with confidence. "I'm just going to try to wrestle my match and not fall into their gameplan."    If all goes well, DeGain will avenge his earlier loss to Konrad and also earn a top-five seed at the NCAA Tournament. But without taking a risk in the off-season, he may never know what would have happened with his senior season.    Of course, that is what good wrestlers do - take risks.