What 2 Watch 4: Inaugural Weekend

What 2 Watch 4: Inaugural Weekend

Take a glance at our What 2 Watch 4 guide and plan your weekend viewing around these big league matches in NCAA Division I wrestling.

Jan 20, 2017 by Andrew Spey
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Live On Flo This Week: Jan. 20-21: Tulsa Nationals | Jan. 20: WVU at #1 OK State | Jan. 22: Who's #1 Duals | Jan. 22: SDSU at #1 OK State

As the nation's eyes fix on Washington, D.C., for an event of presidential importance on Friday, there are plenty of major NCAA Division I wrestling dual meets to pull your attention away from politics this weekend. Instead, plan your weekend viewing around these big league matches.

As always, consult the USA Wrestling Broadcast Schedule for TV and streaming information and links.

Friday, January 20


Edinboro at No. 20 Rider
When: 7 PM ET
Streaming: BroncVision
165: No. 14 Austin Matthews, Edinboro vs. No. 7 Chad Walsh, Rider

At last year's EWL Conference Championship, Rider topped Edinboro for its first title since joining the league in the 2013-14 season. Walsh, the highest-ranked wrestler of the match, and his Broncs teammates will try to deny the visiting Scotsmen their revenge.

Oregon State at No. 11 Rutgers
When: 7 PM ET
Streaming: BTN Plus
149: No. 19 Joey Delgado, Oregon State vs. No. 16 Ken Theobald, Rutgers

The Beavers will travel cross country to try and upend the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, New Jersey, led by two-time All-American Anthony Ashnault, currently No. 6 at 141.

Pittsburgh at No. 5 Virginia Tech
When: 7 PM ET
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
285: No. 16 Ryan Solomon, Pittsburgh vs. No. 3 Ty Walz, Virginia Tech

The Panthers head south to Blackburg, Virginia, to try and solve the Hokies' murderers' row of Zach Epperly (No. 2 at 174), Zack Zavatsky (No. 7 at 184), Jared Haught (No. 3 at 197), and Ty Walz (No. 3 at 285).

No. 15 Michigan at No. 12 Illinois
When: 8 PM ET (7 PM CT)
Streaming: BTN Plus
133: No. 4 Stevan Micic, Michigan vs. No. 6 Zane Richards, Illinois
165: No. 2 Logan Massa, Michigan vs. No. 1 Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
174: No. 10 Myles Amine, Michigan vs. No. 9 Zac Brunson, Illinois

One of two Big Ten battles between top 20 teams. The highlight of the match (if not the entire weekend) will be at 165, where No. 1-ranked two-time national champion Isaiah Martinez will be challenged by No. 2-ranked freshman phenom Logan Massa.

Northern Iowa at Iowa State
When: 8 PM ET (7 PM CT)
Streaming: Cyclones.tv
125: No. 10 Dylan Peters, Northern Iowa vs. No. 18 Markus Simmons, Iowa State
133: No. 12 Josh Alber, Northern Iowa vs. No. 11 Earl Hall, Iowa State
174: No. 12 Taylor Lujan, Northern Iowa vs. No. 8 Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State
184: No. 12 Drew Foster, Northern Iowa vs. No. 10 Pat Downey, Iowa State

Ancient Iowan rivals will duke it out amidst the cornfields of Ames. The Cyclones and Panthers are evenly matched, so expect a figurative (if not literal) barnburner.

No. 6 Nebraska at No. 13 Minnesota
When: 8 PM ET (7 PM CT)
Streaming: BTN Plus
125: No. 7 Tim Lambert, Nebraska vs. No. 4 Ethan Lizak, Minnesota
133: No. 5 Eric Montoya, Nebraska vs. No. 18 Mitch McKee, Minnesota
141: No. 10 Colton McCrysal, Nebraska vs. No. 11 Tommy Thornton, Minnesota
157: No. 3 Tyler Berger, Nebraska vs. No. 10 Jake Short, Minnesota
197: No. 7 Aaron Studebaker, Nebraska vs. No. 2 Brett Pfarr, Minnesota
285: No. 14 Collin Jensen, Nebraska vs. No. 6 Michael Kroells, Minnesota

Fifteen total ranked wrestlers are slated to compete in the Minnesota Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, covering every weight class except 149. Nebraska will be a slight favorite but don't count out the surging Golden Gophers at home.

West Virginia at No. 1 Oklahoma State
When: 8 PM ET (7 PM CT)
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING
165: No. 10 Dylan Cottrell, West Virginia vs. No. 4 Chandler Rogers, OK State
197: No. 6 Jake Smith, West Virginia vs. No. 4 Preston Weigel, OK State

The Cowboys shouldn't have any trouble sending the Mountaineers packing with a loss but expect several competitive matches, including a big-time, top 10 battle between 197-pounders with major seeding implications on the line.

No. 4 Penn State at No. 2 Iowa
When: 9 PM ET (8 PM CT)
TV Broadcast: Big Ten Network
125: No. 3 Nick Suriano, Penn State vs. No. 1 Thomas Gilman, Iowa
133: George Carpenter Penn State vs. No. 3 Cory Clark, Iowa
141: No. 18 Jimmy Gulibon, Penn State vs. No. 19 Topher Carton, Iowa
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, Penn State vs. No. 3 Brandon Sorenson, Iowa
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, Penn State vs. No. 2 Michael Kemerer, Iowa
165: No. 6 Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State vs. No. 19 Joey Gunther, Iowa
174: No. 13 Geno Morelli, Penn State vs. No. 13 Alex Meyer, Iowa
184: No. 2 Bo Nickal, Penn State vs. No. 4 Sammy Brooks, Iowa
285: No. 5 Nick Nevills, Penn State vs. No. 9 Sam Stoll, Iowa

Iowa is in the biggest match of the week for the second week in a row. Penn State will wrestle in a packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a dual meet that will feature nine matchups between ranked wrestlers and an incredible four matchups between top five wrestlers. Unless you were recently sworn in as the next president of the United State of America, you have no excuse for missing this match.

Saturday, January 21


No. 9 Cornell at No. 7 Lehigh
When: 2 PM ET
Streaming: Patriot League Network
174: No. 4 Brian Realbuto, Cornell vs. No. 6 Ryan Preisch, Lehigh

A clash of EIWA titans takes place in Lehigh's historic Grace Hall in Bethlehem, PA. The Mountainhawks finished runner-up to to Cornell in the last three EIWA championships. Lehigh will be favorites this time, as it has ranked wrestlers at all but three weight classes. Meanwhile, Cornell is expected to start four ranked wrestlers, including 184-pound No. 1-ranked man beast Gabe Dean.

Pittsburgh at VMI
When: 2 PM ET

The Pitt Panthers will bring three ranked wrestlers to the Shenandoah Valley, but no VMI Keydets crack the top 20. Really, I just wanted an excuse to post this video of VMI's incredible, wrestling-specific facility that will host the dual in bucolic Lexington, VA.


CSU Bakersfield at Boise State

When: 4 PM ET (2 PM MT)
Streaming: Boise State Live Stream

Saturday is pretty skimpy on big-time matchups, so why not take the opportunity to watch and support two quality Pac-12 programs when the Roadrunners travel to Idaho to take on the Broncos.

Oregon State at Drexel
When: 7 PM ET
Streaming: Drexel Live Stream
149: No. 19 Joey Delgado, Oregon State vs. No. 12 Matt Cimato, Drexel
285: No. 18 Cody Crawford, Oregon State vs. No. 20 Joey Goodhart, Drexel

Oregon State completes its East Coast sojourn with a stop in West Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons in what may be the most competitive dual of the evening.

Sunday, January 22


West Virginia at No. 16 Oklahoma
When: 1 PM ET (Noon CT)

There are no matchups of ranked opponents between these two Big 12 rivals but keep an eye on 165 as No. 10 Dylan Cottrell of West Virginia takes on rising stud and Northern Iowa CC transfer Yoanse Mejias of Oklahoma.

Maryland vs. No. 3 Ohio State at Olney, MD
When: 1 PM ET
149: No. 14 Baby J Bannister, Maryland vs. No. 5 Micah Jordan, Ohio State

The third-ranked Buckeyes and Nathan Tomasello, the newly minted No. 1-ranked 133-pounder in the nation, will be heavy favorites against the Terrapins. The "home" meet for Ohio State is scheduled to take place in Good Counsel High School's gym, former home of Buckeyes heavyweight and reigning Olympic and world freestyle wrestling champion Kyle Snyder.

Eastern Michigan at Northern Iowa
When: 2 PM ET (1 PM CT)
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING
125: No. 17 Noah Gonser, Eastern Michigan vs. No. 10 Dylan Peters, UNI

A tussle between two ranked wrestlers at 125 kicks off an important scrap between familiar Mid-American Conference foes.

Central Michigan at No. 8 Missouri
When: 2 PM ET (1 PM CT)
Streaming: ESPN 3
149: No. 6 Justin Oliver, Central Michigan vs. No. 4 Lavion Mayes, Missouri
157: No. 8 Collin Heffernan, Central Michigan vs. No. 6 Joey Lavallee, Missouri

There's more MACtion for your Sunday in Missouri, as last year's No. 2 finisher at the conference tournament visits the reigning champion.

No. 19 South Dakota State at No. 1 Oklahoma State
When: 3 PM ET (2 PM CT)
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING
133: No. 7 Seth Gross, SD State vs. No. 2 Kaid Brock, OK State
149: No. 20 Alex Kocer, SD State vs. No. 2 Anthony Collica, OK State
165: No. 16 Luke Zilverberg, SD State vs. No. 4 Chandler Rogers, OK State
174: No. 15 David Kocer, SD State vs. No. 5 Kyle Crutchmer, OK State
197: No. 9 Nathan Rotert, SD State vs. No. 4 Preston Weigel, OK State

The Jackrabbits have five top-20 wrestlers but will need to pull one of their mascots from the proverbial hat to get the best of the top-ranked Cowboys, who have a starter ranked 11th or higher at every weight class.

Virginia at No. 5 Virginia Tech
When: 4 PM ET
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
125: No. 8 Jake Mueller, Virginia vs. No. 2 Joey Dance, Virginia Tech
157: No. 18 Andrew Atkinson, Virginia vs. No. 20 Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech

Virginia will need to race to an early lead in the lower weights if the Cavaliers want to prevail against their intrastate ACC rival, Virginia Tech, and the Hokies' aforementioned murderers' row.

No. 17 Arizona State at No. 10 Stanford
When: 5 PM ET (2 PM PT)
Streaming: Stanford Live Stream
165: No. 8 Anthony Valencia, Arizona State vs. No. 18 Keaton Subjeck, Stanford
174: No. 3 Zahid Valencia, Arizona State vs. No. 16 Jim Wilson, Stanford
285: No. 4 Tanner Hall, Arizona State vs. No. 13 Nathan Butler, Stanford

End your weekend with a classic Pac-12 dual. Stanford should have the advantage in the lower weights with ranked wrestlers Gabriel Townsell (No. 15 at 125),  Connor Schram (No. 10 at 133), and Joey McKenna (No. 4 at 141), but Arizona State matches up better in the upper weights with the Valencia brothers (165, 174) and Tanner Hall at 285.

Now please solemnly swear that you will faithfully enjoy this week's wrestling happening across the U.S.!