#2 Iowa will welcome #3 Oklahoma State to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, February 23. This match will take place at 8:30 pm (ET) and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Check out the below article for a full preview with predictions for every match of what should be an incredible dual meet.

Iowa vs Oklahoma State Probable Lineups

125: #4 Troy Spratley, OK State #14 Joey Cruz, Iowa

133: #1 Drake Ayala, Iowa vs #17 Reece Witcraft, OK State

141: Cullan Schriever, Iowa vs #6 Tagen Jamison, OK State

149: #3 Kyle Parco, Iowa vs #14 Carter Young, OK State

157: #2 Jacori Teemer, Iowa vs #13 Caleb Fish, OK State

165: #2 Michael Caliendo, Iowa vs #6 Cameron Amine, OK State

174: #7 Patrick Kennedy/Nelson Brands, Iowa vs #3 Dean Hamiti, OK State

184: #7 Gabe Arnold/Angelo Ferrari, Iowa vs #3 Dustin Plott, OK State

197: #1 Stephen Buchanan, Iowa vs #5 Luke Surber, OK State

285: #11 Ben Kueter, Iowa vs #3 Wyatt Hendrickson, OK State

125: #4 Troy Spratley, OK State #14 Joey Cruz, Iowa

Spratley and Cruz wrestled early last season with Spratley winning that match by a tech fall, 19-2. Despite that dominance, Cruz has made major improvements and over the past six weeks he has significant wins over #16 Cooper Flynn, #15 Brendan McCrone, and #20 Nicolar Rivera while only losing to #6 Caleb Smith and #9 Luke Lilledahl. Because of Cruz’s improvements, I expect this match to be far closer than their last meeting. Even still, Spratley has established himself as one of the best 125-pounders in the country and I’m predicting Spratley wins this one by a major decision.

Prediction: Spratley by major decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 0, OK State 4

Troy Spratley's win over Caleb Smith in the 3rd place bout at the 2024 CKLV:

133: #1 Drake Ayala, Iowa vs #17 Reece Witcraft, OK State

Ayala and Witcraft have only wrestled once in their careers - three years ago at the Southern Scuffle where Ayala won by a 17-6 major decision. Both have made improvements since then but Ayala enters this match as a significant favorite with the ability to push for bonus. Ayala should have an advantage in neutral and I’m predicting he uses that to secure a major decision over Witcraft.

Prediction: Ayala by major decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 4, OK State 4

Ayala's win over Witcraft at the 2022 Southern Scuffle:

141: Cullan Schriever, Iowa vs #6 Tagen Jamison, OK State

Tagen Jamison is currently 14-3 on the year with significant wins over #4 Brock Hardy, #10 Sam Latona, #12 Mosha Schwartz, and several other ranked wrestlers. Jamison has established himself as a clear All-American contender and will be a considerable favorite over Iowa’s Cullan Schriever. Since taking over the starting position in late January, Schriever is only 2-4 but all of his losses have been to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Of those losses, he only gave up bonus once and because of that, I think he’ll hold this match to a decision.

Prediction: Jamison by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 4, OK State 7

149: #3 Kyle Parco, Iowa vs #14 Carter Young, OK State

Kyle Parco is currently 17-1 on the season with notable wins over #4 Ridge Lovett, #6 Dylan D’Emilio, and #5 Lachlan McNeil. Parco is one of the best all-around wrestlers at 149 and is incredibly dangerous if he gets on top. Carter Young has been solid this year but he has yet to show that he can beat the top wrestlers at the weight. Because of that, Parco should win this one but I expect Young to keep it to a decision.

Prediction: Parco by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 7, OK State 7

Kyle Parco's win over Ridge Lovett:

157: #2 Jacori Teemer, Iowa vs #13 Caleb Fish, OK State

Jacori Teemer is the returning NCAA runner-up but he’s had a unique year wrestling only 6 matches because of an early season injury. Teemer’s lack of wrestling makes it hard to predict how close to 100% he is right now. In the past three weeks, Teemer has defeated #9 Tommy Askey (4-1) and Sammy Sasso (10-5) but lost to #1 Tyler Kasak (5-2). 

Caleb Fish has established himself as an All-American threat this year with notable wins over #7 Ryder Downey, #14 Ed Scott, Paniro Johnson, and several other ranked wrestlers. Fish has crafty defense and is capable of putting up big-time points. If Teemer isn’t 100%, Fish is capable of pulling off the upset but I’m still predicting Teemer to a close decision.

Prediction: Teemer by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 10, OK State 7

165: #2 Michael Caliendo, Iowa vs #6 Cameron Amine, OK State

Caliendo vs Amine is crucial to the outcome of this dual and is the biggest “toss-up” match of the night. They’ve wrestled twice in their careers with Caliendo winning both matches last year in overtime (5-2 and 8-5). Both have wrestled solid this year but Caliendo has been slightly better with a 16-1 record compared to Amine’s 13-4 record. I expect this match to come down to one exchange and there’s obviously a great chance that it will go to overtime. I favor Caliendo based on past results but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Amine comes out on top.

Prediction: Caliendo by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 13, OK State 7

174: #7 Patrick Kennedy/Nelson Brands, Iowa vs #3 Dean Hamiti, OK State

Dean Hamiti is 18-0 this season with a 78% bonus rate - 2 pins, 8 techs, and 4 majors. Hamiti is 2-0 in his college career against Patrick Kennedy but has never wrestled Nelson Brands. Regardless of who wrestles for Iowa, Hamiti should be considered the favorite but it will be a challenge for him to get bonus against either wrestler.

While I don’t expect Brands or Kennedy to defeat Hamiti, it will be interesting to see who the Hawkeyes send out on Sunday. This will be a crucial opportunity for both wrestlers to prove themselves and it’d be safe to assume whoever wrestles on Sunday will be the starter come the post-season. 

Prediction: Hamiti by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 13, OK State 10

184: #7 Gabe Arnold/Angelo Ferrari, Iowa vs #3 Dustin Plott, OK State

Dustin Plott has been fantastic this season accumulating a 15-2 record with his only losses coming against #2 Parker Keckeisen. On top of that, Plott defeated Gabe Arnold last year in a controlling, 5-1 decision. If the Hawkeyes send Arnold out on Sunday, Plott will be favored and I’d expect a similar outcome to their match last year. 

The big question in this match is who will wrestle for Iowa - Angelo Ferrari or Gabe Arnold? When asked about the situation at 184 pounds earlier this season, coach Brands said that Arnold will be the starter for the post-season but they will use all of Ferrari’s 5 attached dates. This is the Hawkeye’s last match of the season so it would only make sense that Ferrari wrestles against Plott. However, Ferrari wasn’t listed in the probables released by Iowa this week! 

It’s worth noting that Ferrari also wasn’t listed in the probables earlier this year prior to the Iowa State dual. That means there’s still a chance we could see him on Sunday. If that’s the case, Ferrari is an incredibly interesting matchup for Plott. Ferrari is currently 9-1 on the year with his best win coming against #14 Evan Bockman. Beyond that, Ferrari was impressive in defeat losing 3-1 to 4X NCAA Champion Carter Starocci. Ferrari has outstanding neutral defense and a lefty single-leg that he finishes with high frequency. Though it might be a surprising take, I’m picking Ferrari to come out on top if he wrestles Plott on Sunday.

Prediction: Ferrari by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 16, OK State 10

Dean Hamiti's win in the CKLV semis over Cornell's Simon Ruiz:

197: #1 Stephen Buchanan, Iowa vs #5 Luke Surber, OK State

Stephen Buchanan has established himself as the #1 wrestler in the country at 197 pounds with an 18-0 record that includes wins over #2 Josh Barr, #8 Trey Munoz, #9 Isaiah Salazar, and several other ranked wrestlers. Surber is having the best year of his college career with an 18-1 record and is fresh off a 5-4 win over Little Rock’s #6 Stephen Little. 

Despite Surber’s success this year, Buchanan matches up well against the Cowboy. Surber is very scramble-reliant on his feet and has a hard time generating his own offense. Buchanan is one of the best leg attack finishers in the country and has several ways to score on his feet. Surber is also tough on top but Buchanan hasn’t given up nearfall or a riding time point all year. On top of the style matchup, Buchanan defeated Surber last year 6-2 and I’d expect a similar result in their match on Sunday.

Prediction: Buchanan by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 19, OK State 10

Stephen Buchanan on his transition to Iowa and the upcoming dual against Oklahoma State:

285: #11 Ben Kueter, Iowa vs #3 Wyatt Hendrickson, OK State

Wyatt Hendrickson is 17-0 this year with 15 of his wins coming by bonus points. Hendrickson has been a wrecking ball this year and will be the heavy favorite entering this match against Kueter. Kueter is 12-4 on the year with significant wins over #8 Nick Feldman and #12 Seth Nevills but notable losses to #1 Gable Steveson (19-3), #2 Greg Kerkvliet (12-2), #10 Luke Luffman (3-1), and Yonger Bastida (7-2). Despite Kueter’s success, he’ll have a hard time stopping Hendrickson and I’m predicting bonus points for Hendrickson in this one.

Prediction: Hendrickson by major decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 19, OK State 14

Wyatt Hendrickson's win in the finals of the 2024 CKLV over Isaac Trumble:

How Can Oklahoma State Defeat Iowa?

No one should be surprised on Sunday if Oklahoma State defeats Iowa. If my above predictions hold true, all the Cowboys need to win this day is one match to flip in their favor where I have them losing. 184 is the most likely match this could happen for Oklahoma State but they’re also capable of winning at 157, 165, or 197. Regardless of how this dual plays it, it should be an incredible match from start to finish and has the potential to be the best dual of the season.