Iowa Wrestling: No. 2 Iowa vs No. 7 Iowa State - Preview, How to Watch Guide, & Match Thread

Can you believe it’s December? I can’t believe it’s December and we’re already on our 6th dual of the now-not-so-young season. Without doubt, this is the biggest dual happening this weekend, but it’s also one of the biggest duals happening this entire season.

Since Iowa State lost to us last year, they’ve rattled off 18 consecutive wins and are punching their way back to the limelight for the first time in over a decade.

We’ve been hearing about their eventual emergence from obscurity for years, but now it seems to finally be coming true.

However, we’ve also won 17 in a row against our in-state rivals and own the overall series 67-16-2… but at least on paper, this is the closest these two storied programs have been in quite. some. time.

IOWA STATE (5-0)

As mentioned, the Cyclones find themselves on the incline and Kevin Dresser and company (ex-Hawks Brent Metcalf and Derek St. John are coaches) are priming their guys to make a big statement today in CHA.

Lately it’s been a long and lonely road for them, but now they’ve positioned themselves inside the top 10 in the coaches poll and have 9 guys in the top 25, including 5 in the top 10.

They have 3 returning All-Americans: David Carr (165lbs), Marcus Coleman (184lbs), and Yonger Bastida (197lbs), but they are undoubtedly led by Carr, who is also the 2021 champ at 157, but has bumped up this season. Carr is their heart & soul and is right smack in the middle of the lineup. If they need a pick-me-up, he’s the guy to do it.

They’ve throttled everyone so far this season marching out to a 5-0 record and averaging just over 34 points per dual. They also beat Cal Baptist 38-9, the same team we smoked a day later, 42-3.

They haven’t only faced cupcakes though, as they ended up beating Wisconsin on that same day, 26-6.

ISU’s path to victory is clear cut: win their favored matches, win the lone toss up at 157 (on paper anyways), and grind out a marginal upset at couple of the other weights. And I’m sorry to say, it’s very do-able, especially in our current state of unhealthiness.

IOWA (5-0)

Health. Health is the key to victory this week. You’ll hear a lot of die hard Hawk fans say they only care about the postseason, so a loss here isn’t the end of the world. They’re right, kind of.

With our 3 lower weights still battling to come back from some sort of ailment, a loss here certainly wouldn’t doom us, or even impact the Big Ten race, but it would be a monster moral defeat… and would certainly impact seeding come March.

Every Hawk fan, every Cyclone fan, every wrestling fan in general, cares about this dual regardless of what they’re saying. Tom Brands especially and he talks about that right HERE.

Spencer Lee’s debut is still up in the air, but for the first time in his Hawkeye career, Real Woods is listed on the probable lineup and we need him in a BAD way to win this dual. He’s a legit national title contender and a win here, potentially even bonus, would be a big boost for us.

But just like ISU, we must win our favored matchups, though let’s be honest, they’re damn near toss-ups at this point. Either way, we must grind out wins where we can and keep our losing efforts to a decision.

PROBABLE LINEUPS:

Iowa vs Iowa State - 2:33PM GT

125: Aidan Harris vs #19 Kysen Terukina

133: Brody Teske // Cullan Schriever vs #15 Zach Redding // Ramazan Attasauov

141: #3 Real Woods // Drew Bennett vs #12 Casey Swiderski

149: #6 Max Murin vs #8 Paniro Johnson

157: #25 Cobe Siebrecht // Caleb Rathjen vs Jason Kraisser

165: #13 Patrick Kennedy vs #3 David Carr

174: #15 Nelson Brands vs #23 Julien Brodersen

184: #8 Abe Assad vs #5 Marcus Coleman

197: #2 Jacob Warner vs #6 Yonger Bastida

285: #4 Tony Cassioppi vs #10 Sam Schuyler

KEY MATCH-UPS:

I could list ALL 10 and probably should, but I’m going to force myself and narrow it down. So here goes my failed attempt

133: Brody Teske // Cullan Schriever vs #15 Zach Redding // Ramazan Attasauov

This an all-important early swing weight. Despite Cullan sitting at 8-1 on the season, he was less than impressive last week when he was held scoreless in a lackluster match against Penn.

If he gets the nod again, we need him to find that aggressive side once more.

Teske appears to be coming back from injury/ illness (who knows) and it would be a boon to all Hawk fans if we saw him step onto the mat for this one. This is the type of veteran match where we need our veterans to go.

141: #3 Real Woods // Drew Bennett vs #12 Casey Swiderski

Bennett is a fun and scrappy wrestler, but this is another match where we need our big guns. Enter Real Woods.

As mentioned, Woods is a legit title contender and if he’s given the green light we could be looking at bonus points in our direction, but if not, then we can flip that and potentially spot ISU an additional 4.

149:#6 Max Murin vs #8 Paniro Johnson

Mad Max is rolling thus far and is sky high following his 6-4 win in SV over #10 Doug Zapf last weekend. Now he must do it again against another top ranked opponent. But Paniro Johnson is another beast all together and even beat returning AA, Wisconsin’s #2 Austin Gomez (who has since beat #3 Sammy Sasso (OSU) and #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell).

Johnson is the real deal and is incredibly athletic, the exact type of guy Max seems to struggle with. But he’s also a true freshman, having gray-shirted last season, so Max may have the element of experience on his side. I’m hoping to see Max grind out 2 or 3pt lead heading into the 3rd and then apply his patent pending ride he’s so good at.

#25 Cobe Siebrecht vs Jason Kraisser

Cobe came up HUGE last week and we need him to do it again. I expect him to let the proverbial fur fly and seek out a “Go Big or Go Home” feet-to-back six pointer in this match too. Bonus points will be hard to come by in the dual and I’m not saying we should expect Cobe to deliver, but I am saying we should expect to see him go for it.

197: #2 Jacob Warner vs #6 Yonger Bastida

Warner has been a bit shaky in his last two matches, including the NWCA All-Star Classic, which lost (exhibition match).

Last week was a real gut check for him and he showed a strong will to prevail, he’ll have to do that again against a guy he’s actually 0-1 against.

#1 Max Dean lost this weekend, so a win here will actually push Warner to the top spot - so a little extra motivation should be on the way for the big guy. But Yonger is a serious title contender himself and can knock off anyone at this weight, which he’s proven in his short career.

For everyone else, we need to win the matches we’re supposed to win. I’m specifically eyeing Tony Cassioppi. He faces another tough test, but one he should push for bonus points against.

Strap in guys, this is going to be one helluva a ride!!!

Broadcast Info

Opponent: Penn

Dual time: 1:33PM GT (Central) // Sunday, Dec. 4 2022

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena // Iowa City, IA

TV/ Online: BTN

Radio: iHeartRadio (AM800 KXIC)