What 2 Watch 4: The Final Week of NCAA Duals

What 2 Watch 4: The Final Week of NCAA Duals

What to watch for this weekend in NCAA Wrestling.

Feb 16, 2017 by Andrew Spey
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Live This Week: Feb. 16 - Northern Colorado at Air Force | Feb. 17 - Purdue at SDSU | Feb. 17/18 - New England Prep Championships | Feb. 18 - Iowa at Edinboro | North Dakota St at South Dakota St | Feb. 19 - #2 Penn State at #1 Oklahoma State (Exclusive Live Broadcast)

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Here is your final slate of ranked D1 Duals for the 2016-17 season, and we've saved quite a few gems for last! The NWCA National Duals are all included, just looked for the * in the listing.

Whatever your thoughts on the Duals (and we all have takes, all of us), it did produce some pretty righteous match ups. So watch now and debate later!

And as always, consult the USA Wrestling Broadcast Schedule for television and streaming information and links.

Friday, February 17:


* #13 Rutgers at #14 Lehigh
When: 7:00 PM
141: #5 Anthony Ashnault, Rutgers vs #16 Randy Cruz, Lehigh
149: #17 Ken Theobold, Rutgers vs #11 Laike Gardner, Lehigh
157: #14 John Van Brill, Rutgers vs #4 Jordan Kutler, Lehigh

Two thirds of the Middle Three Conference is back in business. The Patriot League Champs will host a resilient Rutgers team in Bethlehem, PA.

* #11 Michigan at North Carolina State
When: 7:00 PM
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
125: #13 Conor Youtsey, Michigan vs #17 Sean Fausz, NC State
133: #7 Stevan Micic, Michigan vs #19 Jamal Morris, NC State
157: #12 Brian Murphy, Michigan vs #20 Thomas Bullard, NC State

The Dual Bowl Series continues with an intriguing match up of two Power 5 universities. The Wolfpack enter with a 4-1 conference record in the ACC while the Wolverines are 4-5 in the B1G.

Sacred Heart at VMI
When: 7:00 PM

The Pioneers travel to the Virginia Military Institute to wrestle the most cleanly shaven team in the NCAA.

George Mason at American
When: 7:00 PM
Streaming: Patriot League Network

The Patriots will make the commute across the beltway and over the Potomac to take on the Eagles. Will Gunston join them? The fans in Bender Arena Friday night can only hope so.

* Purdue at #15 South Dakota State
When: 8:00 PM ET (7:00 PM CT)
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING

The Jackrabbits are 7-1 this year in the Big 12 while the Boilermakers sport a 3-6 record in the Big Ten. Unranked Luke Welch of Purdue, (but #29 in the latest coach's poll), will take on the highest ranked wrestler of the match, #5 Seth Gross, of South Dakota State, at 133 pounds.

Saturday, February 18:


*#3 Iowa at Edinboro

When: 7:00 PM
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING
125: #1 Thomas Gilman, Iowa vs #9 Sean Russell, Edinboro
133: #4 Cory Clark, Iowa vs #18 Korbin Myers, Edinboro
149: #3 Brandon Sorensen, Iowa vs #9 Pat Lugo, Edinboro
165: #16 Joey Gunther, Iowa vs #10 Austin Matthews, Edinboro
184: #3 Sammy Brooks, Iowa vs #16 Dakota Geer, Edinboro

Coach Flynn has quietly assembled an Edinboro squad with six ranked starters, five of whom are underclassmen. Coach Brands will bring his familiar line up of powerhouses as the Hawkeyes gear up for the home stretch.

And did you know? Edinboro was known as the Iowa of the East? Watch the Flo Film to find out why (spoiler alert, Dan Gable helped).

Sunday, February 19:


* #4 Ohio State at #7 Cornell
When: 1:00 PM
Streaming: Trackwrestling
174: #1 Bo Jordan, Ohio State vs #3 Brian Realbuto, Cornell
184: #7 Myles Martin, Ohio State vs #1 Gabe Dean, Cornell

The Buckeyes should be bringing three number one ranked wrestlers to Ithaca to take on the Ivy League Champs, Tomasello at 133, BoJo at 174 and Snyder at 285. Cornell will counter with the #1 ranked destroyer of galaxies, Gabe Dean, at 184.

Drexel at Penn
When: 1:00 PM

Drexel and Penn don't share a campus, but they come about as close to it as you can. They'll wrestle in West Philadelphia (born and raised), at the Battle for Brotherly Love (nickname made up just now).

#20 Central Michigan at #10 Wisconsin
When: 1:00 PM ET (12:00 PM CT)
Streaming: BTN Plus
157: #9 Colin Heffernan, CMU vs #17 TJ Ruschell, Wisconsin
197: #14 Austin Severn, CMU vs #17 Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin

Ten ranked wrestlers will take the mats in the only match up between two top 20 teams that is not part of the Dual Championships.

Navy at Army
When: 2:00 PM
Streaming: Knight Vision
141: #12 Jared Prince, Navy vs #18 Logan Everett, Navy

It's the annual Classic American Combat Sporting Contest (nickname made up just now). The Knights and the Middies fight for academy bragging rights Sunday afternoon.

* Indiana at Appalachian State
When: 3:00 PM

The Hoosiers are headed to Boone, North Carolina, to do battle with the Southern Conference champs, the App State Mountaineers.

#9 Minnesota at Iowa State
When: 3:00 PM ET (2:00 PM CT)
Streaming: Cyclones.tv
133: #20 Mitch McKee, Minnesota vs #10 Earl Hall, Iowa State

Kevin Jackson is stepping down as head coach of the Cyclones, while Brandon Eggum will be finishing up his first year at the helm of the Golden Gophers after taking over for the legendary JRob under less than ideal circumstances. It should be an emotional dual for both teams with unpredictable results.

North Dakota State at #15 South Dakota State

When: 3:00 PM (2:00 PM)
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING

The fight to determine the the REAL Dakota goes down in Brookings, SD. The winner of this dual will henceforth be known simply as, Dakota State.

* #2 Penn State at #1 Oklahoma State
When: 4:00 PM ET (3:00 PM CT)
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING
125: #2 Nick Suriano, PSU vs #11 Nick Piccininni, OK State
141: #13 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU vs #1 Dean Heil, OK State
149: #1 Zain Retherford, PSU vs #2 Anthony Collica, OK State
157: #1 Jason Nolf, PSU vs #6 Joe Smith, OK State
165: #4 Vincenzo Joseph, PSU vs #7 Chandler Rogers, OK State
174: #9 Mark Hall, PSU vs #7 Kyle Crutchmer, OK State
184: #2 Bo Nickal, PSU vs #5 Nolan Boyd, OK State
197: #9 Matt McCutcheon, PSU vs #8 Preston Weigel, OK State
285: #5 Nick Nevills, PSU vs #6 Austin Schafer, OK State

Hey maybe you heard about this one? 19 ranked wrestlers, 17 in the top 10, ten in the top 5. Yes that is correct, TEN TOP FIVE WRESTLERS! You could write book on each weight class. And we pretty much did! Check out the archives here.

* #6 Nebraska at #5 Virginia Tech

When: 6:30 PM
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
125: #3 Tim Lambert, Nebraska vs #5 Joey Dance, VA Tech
157: #3 Tyler Berger, Nebraska vs #19 Sal Mastriani, VA Tech
184: #4 Tim Dudley, Nebraska vs #9 Zack Zavatsky, VA Tech
197: #6 Aaron Studebaker, Nebraska vs #3 Jared Haught, VA Tech
285: #10 Collin Jensen, Nebraska vs #4 Ty Walz, VA Tech

Quite the act to follow, but Huskers and Hokies should be up for the task. Perhaps not the main event, but an impressive collection of worthies nonetheless. VA Tech finished the year undefeated in the ACC while Nebraska went 6-3 in the Big Ten.

And so, for the last time this season, enjoy the duals, wrestling fans!