Iowa's back in action tonight, taking on Michigan State in a dual meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa beat Purdue 30-3 last night and, frankly, this dual probably won't be too much more competitive. But we'll preview it all the same.
WHO: Purdue (5-4. 0-1)
WHEN: 7:00 PM CST; Saturday, January 4th, 2014
WHERE: Carver-Hawkeye Arena; Iowa City, IA
TV: Mediacom 22
ONLINE: BTN2Go
RADIO: AM-800 KXIC (free), Hawkeye All-Access (online; $)
TWITTER: @IowaWRLive, @Hawks_Wrestling, @hagertony
It's also $1 hot dog night at CHA.
LAST MEETING
#4 IOWA 27, MICHIGAN STATE 12
125: #1 Matt McDonough DEC (8-2) UN Brenan Lyon (IOWA 3-0)
133: #2 Tony Ramos MAJ DEC (15-4) UN Brandon Fifield (IOWA 7-0)
141: #9 Mark Ballweg MAJ DEC 14-4) UN Nicholas Trimble (IOWA 11-0)
149: UN Dan Osterman DEC (10-4) #17 Mike Kelly (IOWA 11-3)
157: #1 Derek St. John DEC (12-5) UN Ryan Watts (IOWA 14-3)
165: #19 Nick Moore FALL (6:39) UN Nick Proctor (IOWA 20-3)
174: #7 Mike Evans MAJ DEC (12-2) UN Jordan Wohlfert (IOWA 24-3)
184: #19 John RIzqallah DEC (6-3) #11 Ethen Lofthouse (IOWA 24-6)
197: UN Nathan Burak DEC (7-4) UN Luke Jones (IOWA 27-6)
285: #6 Mike McClure (MSU) WINS BY DEFAULT (IOWA 27-12)
PROBABLE LINEUPS
#3 IOWA HAWKEYES (7-1, 1-0)
125: #3 Thomas Gilman ( RS FR, 11-2) or Cory Clark (RS FR, 12-0)
133: #4 Tony Ramos (SR, 14-2)
141: #10 Josh Dziewa (JR, 16-3)
149: #15 Brody Grothus (SO, 16-5) or Michael Kelly (JR, 10-4)
157: #1 Derek St. John (SR, 18-0)
165: #5 Nick Moore (JR, 10-2)
174: Alex Meyer (RS FR, 12-6) or #6 Mike Evans (JR, 17-1)
184: #3 Ethen Lofthouse (SR, 15-2)
197: #11 Nathan Burak (SO, 5-2) or Sammy Brooks (RS FR, 13-6)
285: #3 Bobby Telford (JR, 12-1)
MICHIGAN STATE (5-4, 0-1)
125: UN Brenan Lyon (SR, 0-3)
133: UN Garth Yenter (RS FR, 8-5)
141: UN Brian Gibbs (SO, 4-9)
149: UN Nick Trimble (SO, 8-2)
157: UN Roger Wildmo (SO, 3-4)
165: UN Bobby Nash (SR, 7-4)
174: UN Nick Kaczanowski (SR, 3-3)
184: #20 John Rizqallah (JR, 10-2)
197: UN Nick McDiarmid (JR, 9-1)
285: #9 Mike McClure (SR, 10-2)
PREDICTIONS
125: #3 Thomas Gilman vs Brenan Lyon
TONY: Gilman will be the starter again tonight vs the 0-3 Brenan Lyon. Have to be looking at bonus points out of Gilman.
Gilman wins via MAJ DEC (11-2)
IOWA 4-0
ROSS: I like Gilman to win, too. As far as bonus points, though... Lyon has given up bonus in all three of his losses this year, but did hold McDonough to a decision last year. Gilman also had an unimpressive 2-0 win last night. But I'll say that the atmosphere in CHA will inspire him to a major decision tonight.
Gilman wins via MAJ DEC (12-4)
IOWA 4-0
133: #4 Tony Ramos vs Garth Yenter
TONY: Ramos will be Ramos inside Carver. If NCAA's were only held in Iowa City....
Ramos wins via FALL (2:44)
IOWA 10-0
ROSS: Hard to disagree with that.
Ramos wins via FALL (3:16)
IOWA 10-0
141: #10 Josh Dziewa vs Brian Gibbs
TONY: Mr. Dziewa better come out with bonus points tonight vs Gibbs. Dziewa is the better wrestler from all positions.
Dziewa wins via MAJ DEC (13-4)
IOWA 14-0
ROSS: Gibbs has struggled mightily all season and I think Dziewa will add to his misery. I'm not quite as confident in bonus points, though.
Dziewa wins via DEC (8-2)
IOWA 13-0
149: #15 Brody Grothus vs Nick Trimble
TONY: This should be a great match up tonight. Trimble has a solid record and is riding a winning wave. This is Brody's time to shine and I see him getting a big takedown in the third period to win the match.
Grothus wins via DEC (4-2)
IOWA 17-0
ROSS: Trimble has put together a nice 8-2 record, but he hasn't really beaten anyone -- Grothus should be easily his toughest opponent so far. Brody seems confident right now, though, so I'll also ride him to a win here.
Grothus wins via DEC (5-3)
IOWA 16-0
157: #1 Derek St. John vs Roger Wildmo
TONY: DSJ gets the job done.
DSJ wins via FALL (4:25)
IOWA 23-0
ROSS: DSJ wins, but I see him methodically breaking him down for an easy major decision.
DSJ wins via MAJ DEC (14-5)
IOWA 20-0
165: #5 Nick Moore vs Bobby Nash
TONY: Moore ol' Moore I want MORE of these bonus points like last night.
Moore wins via MAJ DEC (14-3)
IOWA 27-0
ROSS: I'd like to see more bonus points of Nick Moore, too, but I think Nash will hold this to a decision loss.
Moore wins via DEC (7-3)
IOWA 23-0
174: Alex Meyer vs Nick Kaczanowski
TONY: Alex came out of last night's dual with a victory while subbing in for the sick Mike Evans. Evans is still sick so look for Meyer to get the nod again tonight. This will be another tough matchup for Meyer as he's going up against a senior.
Meyer wins via DEC (4-2)
IOWA 30-0
ROSS: I think this comes down to a takedown in the third period; since it's in CHA, I'll favor Meyer to be the guy who gets that crucial takedown.
Meyer wins via DEC (4-2)
IOWA 26-0
184: #3 Ethen Lofthouse vs #20 John Rizqallah
TONY: Rizqallah will be the first ranked wrestler the Hawkeyes see tonight but he is ranked #20, yep #20... which means nothing, really. Lofthouse does what he does.
Lofthouse wins via DEC (7-1)
IOWA 33-0
ROSS: Ethen had an impressive major decision win last night; can he keep that mojo going tonight? Rizqallah beat him at last year's dual so while this looks like a mismatch on paper (#3 ranked vs #20 ranked), I think it will be a close match. I smell upset potential here, but I think Ethen pulls it out.
Lofthouse wins via DEC (6-4)
IOWA 29-0
197: #11 Nathan Burak vs Nick McDiarmid
TONY: Burak was the lone loss for Iowa last night, but Atwood has beaten him before so I wasn't overly shocked to see him eke out a win. Look for Burak to bounce back with a decision win tonight.
Burak wins via DEC (6-2)
IOWA 36-0
ROSS: I also think Burak will bounce back with a decision win.
Burak wins via DEC (7-4)
IOWA 32-0
285: #3 Bobby Telford vs #9 Mike McClure
TONY: Telford shut out McClure, 4-0, in the Big Ten Championships last March and I look for a similar style match with McClure here.
Telford wins via DEC (3-1)
IOWA 39-0
ROSS: Match of the night here, in terms of rankings. It's still a heavyweight match, though, so the action figures to be fairly limited. I'll take Telford to pick up another win.
Telford wins via DEC (4-2)
IOWA 35-0
OVER-UNDER: 36.5
Tony's taking the OVER and I'm taking the UNDER.
This thread will also be the open thread for the dual meet.
The usual rules apply. Go Hawks.