WHAT 2 WATCH 4: Major Dual Action
WHAT 2 WATCH 4: Major Dual Action
Week 12 of the NCAA season is powering through with another jam-packed slate of ranked matches. Here's what you should watch while ignoring the endless Super Bowl hype.
Week 12 of the NCAA season is powering through with another jam-packed slate of ranked matches. Here's what you should watch while ignoring the endless Super Bowl hype.
As always, consult the USA Wrestling broadcast schedule for TV and streaming information and links.
No streaming or ranked matches in this dual, I just wanted to bring attention to the oldest continual military academy wrestling rivalry of the South. The Virginia Military Institute's Keydets lead the Bulldogs of South Carolina in the all-time series 39-24.
WATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING
285: No. 20 Thomas Haines, Lock Haven vs. No. 11 Billy Miller, Edinboro
The Bald Eagles of Mat-Town USA take on their PSAC rivals, the Edinboro FIghting Scots. Sean Russell, at 125 for the Scots is the highest-ranked wrestler of the dual at No. 10.
Streaming: Patriot League Network
125: No. 2 Joey Dance, VA Tech vs. No. 6 Darian Cruz, Lehigh
149: No. 7 Solomon Chishko, VA Tech vs. No. 9 Laike Gardner, Lehigh
157: No. 20 Sal Mastriani, VA Tech vs. No. 4 Jordan Kutler, Lehigh
174: No. 2 Zach Epperly, VA Tech vs. No. 5 Ryan Preisch, Lehigh
285: No. 3 Ty Walz, Va Tech vs. No. 14 Doug Vollaro, Lehigh
Fourteen ranked wrestlers will descend into the Lehigh Valley on Friday night for a tremendous inter-conference battle between top 10 teams. Lehigh will look to rebound from its razor-close loss last Sunday to bitter EIWA rival Cornell.
Streaming: BTN Plus
157: No. 13 John Van Brill, Rutgers vs. No. 12 Brian Murphy, Michigan
There is only one bout between ranked wrestlers but expect a close one, as these two top 20 teams are evenly matched. Conor Youtsey's unretirement at 125 will give the host Wolverines five ranked wrestlers to the Scarlet Knights' four. Michigan will also have home-mat advantage in this dual in Ann Arbor, MI.
Streaming: Cyclones.tv
Each team is expected to suit up four ranked wrestlers, although none are scheduled to meet on the mat. #8 Lelund Weatherspoon at 174 and #10 Pat Downey at 184 are the two highest ranked grapplers, both for the Cylones. Sooner, Yoanse Mejias, looks to continue his hot streak at 165.
Streaming: BTN Plus
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, Penn State vs. No. 15 TJ Ruschell, Wisconsin
197: No. 9 Matt McCutcheon, Penn State vs. No. 14 Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin
285: No. 4 Nick Nevills, Penn State vs. No. 2 Connor Medbery, Wisconsin
While arguably only the fourth best dual in an action-packed Friday night, Penn State will bring plenty of horsepower to Madison, Wisconsin. Besides the three ranked matchups, the Nittany Lions will also have No. 3 Nick Suriano at 125, No. 1 Zain Retherford at 149, and No. 2 Bo Nickal at 184 at their disposal.
Streaming: ESPN3
133: No. 2 Kaid Brock, OK State vs. No. 16 John Erneste, Missouri
141: No. 1 Dean Heil, OK State vs. No. 9 Jaydin Eierman, Missouri
149: No. 2 Anthony Collica, OK State vs. No. 4 Lavion Mayes, Missouri
157: No. 5 Joe Smith, OK State vs. No. 6 Joey Lavallee, Missouri
165: No. 4 Chandler Rogers, OK State vs. No. 5 Daniel Lewis, Missouri
197: No. 8 Preston Weigel, OK State vs. No. 1 J'den Cox, Missouri
The No. 1-ranked team in America travels to Columbia, Missouri, for the first time since 2012. The visiting Cowboys will be heavy favorites, but viewers should not be disappointed, as half the bouts feature two top 10 wrestlers.
Television: Big Ten Network
133: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State vs. No. 3 Cory Clark, Iowa
141: No. 13 Luke Pletcher, Ohio State vs. No. 19 Topher Carton, Iowa
149: No. 5 Micah Jordan, Ohio State vs. No. 3 Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
174: No. 1 Bo Jordan, Ohio State vs. No. 10 Alex Meyer, Iowa
184: No. 9 Myles Martin, Ohio State vs. No. 4 Sammy Brooks, Iowa
For the THIRD straight time, Iowa finds itself in the biggest dual of the week when the No. 4 Hawkeyes take on No. 3 Ohio State -- Iowa's third straight opponent ranked in the top three. With Ohio State's Bo Jordan potentially out due to injury and Kyle Snyder in Siberia competing in the Yarygin freestyle tournament, Iowa will likely be the favorite on paper and will try to avoid losing three straight duals for the first time since 2006. Top 10 matchups at 133, 149, and 184 should keep fans rapt to their screens.
Streaming: Hofstra Live Stream
Saturday is quiet day for most of the top-ranked teams, so why not give some of the less heralded programs a view? Fifth-ranked James Benjamin at 197 leads the Buffalo Bulls as they head to Long Island to take on in-state rival Hofstra.
Streaming: Utah Valley Live Stream
Tune in to check out the other Wolverines take on the other Cowboys (not that I would call either team that to their faces), as Wyoming heads to Utah Valley for a Big 12 dual. Eighth-ranked Bryce Meredith at 141 will be the top-ranked wrestler of the dual.
Streaming: Ivy League Digital Network
You don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to enjoy a dual between these studious Ivy Leaguers. Cornell will the favorites with their Brobdingnagian trio of #8 Dylan Palacio at 165, #4 Brian Realbuto at 174, and #1 Gabe Dean at 184.
5 PM ET (2 PM PT): CSU Bakersfield vs. North Dakota State
7 PM ET (4 PM PT): Cal Poly vs. North Dakota State
9 PM ET (6 PM PT): Cal Poly vs. CSU Bakersfield
North Dakota State leaves the frigid upper Midwest to join two under-the-radar California teams for a tri-meet hosted by Righetti High School in Santa Maria, CA. No word yet on if future duals will be scheduled at the Nina or the Pinta. Ranked participants include No. 8 Joshua Rodriguez of ND State at 125, No. 10 Clayton Ream, also of ND State, at 157, and No. 17 Lorenzo De La of CSUB at 165.
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
141: No. 2 Kevin Jack, NC State vs. No. 7 George DiCamillo, Virginia
An all-Atlantic Coast Conference tilt in Charlottesville, Virginia, features N.C. State's second-ranked Kevin Jack, who is undefeated in his four bouts against top 10 opponents this year (his sole loss coming to Lehigh's Randy Cruz in the first week of November). He'll get his fifth top-10 match of the season against the Wahoos' seventh-ranked George DiCamillo.
Streaming: BTN Plus
184: No. 3 Tim Dudley, Nebraska vs. No. 6 Nate Jackson, Indiana
This Big Ten dual is highlighted by a top 10 matchup at 184, as Indiana's Nate Jackson, at home in Bloomington, will try and upend the favorite, Nebraska's Tim Dudley.
Streaming: BTN Plus
125: No. 6 Darian Cruz, Lehigh vs. No. 7 Conor Youtsey, Michigan
133: No. 9 Scotty Parker, Lehigh vs. No. 7 Stevan Micic, Michigan
157: No. 4 Jordan Kutler, Lehigh vs. No. 12 Brian Murphy, Michigan
174: No. 5 Ryan Preisch, Lehigh vs. No. 9 Myles Amine, Michigan
The Moutainhawks will be in Ann Arbor to try and pick off an always dangerous Michigan squad in an out of conference dual. Youtsey's aforementioned unretirement make 125 the highlight, especially since LU's Parker may be out of the line up due to injury.
Streaming: Cyclones.tv
125: No. 12 Nick Piccininni, OK State vs. No. 18 Markus Simmons, Iowa State
133: No. 2 Kaid Brock, OK State vs. No. 12 Earl Hall, Iowa State
174: No. 7 Kyle Crutchmer, OK State vs. No. 8 Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State
184: No. 5 Nolan Boyd, OK State vs. No. 10 Pat Downey, Iowa State
It's easy to find ranked matchups when No. 1 OK State comes to town, as no one in its lineup is ranked lower than No. 12. The Cylones will be underdogs at every weight class but keep an eye on 174 and 184 as they are essentially toss-ups.
285: No. 5 Jacob Kasper, Duke vs. No. 3 Ty Walz, VA Tech
There is no streaming for this dual, so you'll need tickets to the Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg, VA, to watch. The Hokies should not have any difficulty dispatching the Blue Devils, but fans will want to stick around until the end no matter how lopsided the score, as fan favorite preseason dark horse, Jacob Kasper looks to prove his bona fides against 2X All Amercian, Ty Walz.
Television: Pac-12 Network
157: No. 19 Kyle Langenderfer, Illinois vs. No. 11 Joshua Shields, Arizona State
165: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez, Illinois vs. No. 9 Anthony Valencia, Arizona State
174: No. 12 Zac Brunson, Illinois vs. No. 3 Zahid Valencia, Arizona State
285: No. 16 Brooks Black, Illinois vs. No. 7 Tanner Hall, Arizona State
Our weekend concludes with a stellar late afternoon dual between the visiting Illini and Sun Devils in Tempe, Arizona. All eyes will be on the Valencia brothers as the elder, Anthony, will have to contend with Imar, a two-time NCAA champion, while younger brother Zahid will tackle the 12th-ranked Zac Brunson. Both teams are evenly matched so it could all come down to the two top-20 heavyweights -- Illinois' Brooks Black and ASU's Tanner Hall.
Enjoy the duals, wrestling fans!
As always, consult the USA Wrestling broadcast schedule for TV and streaming information and links.
Friday, January 27:
The Citadel at VMI
When: 6 PM ETNo streaming or ranked matches in this dual, I just wanted to bring attention to the oldest continual military academy wrestling rivalry of the South. The Virginia Military Institute's Keydets lead the Bulldogs of South Carolina in the all-time series 39-24.
Lock Haven at Edinboro
When: 7 PM ETWATCH LIVE ON FLOWRESTLING
285: No. 20 Thomas Haines, Lock Haven vs. No. 11 Billy Miller, Edinboro
The Bald Eagles of Mat-Town USA take on their PSAC rivals, the Edinboro FIghting Scots. Sean Russell, at 125 for the Scots is the highest-ranked wrestler of the dual at No. 10.
No. 5 Virginia Tech at No. 9 Lehigh
When: 7 PM ETStreaming: Patriot League Network
125: No. 2 Joey Dance, VA Tech vs. No. 6 Darian Cruz, Lehigh
149: No. 7 Solomon Chishko, VA Tech vs. No. 9 Laike Gardner, Lehigh
157: No. 20 Sal Mastriani, VA Tech vs. No. 4 Jordan Kutler, Lehigh
174: No. 2 Zach Epperly, VA Tech vs. No. 5 Ryan Preisch, Lehigh
285: No. 3 Ty Walz, Va Tech vs. No. 14 Doug Vollaro, Lehigh
Fourteen ranked wrestlers will descend into the Lehigh Valley on Friday night for a tremendous inter-conference battle between top 10 teams. Lehigh will look to rebound from its razor-close loss last Sunday to bitter EIWA rival Cornell.
No. 11 Rutgers at No. 15 Michigan
When: 7 PM ETStreaming: BTN Plus
157: No. 13 John Van Brill, Rutgers vs. No. 12 Brian Murphy, Michigan
There is only one bout between ranked wrestlers but expect a close one, as these two top 20 teams are evenly matched. Conor Youtsey's unretirement at 125 will give the host Wolverines five ranked wrestlers to the Scarlet Knights' four. Michigan will also have home-mat advantage in this dual in Ann Arbor, MI.
No. 16 Oklahoma at Iowa State
When: 7:30 PM ET (6:30 PM CT)Streaming: Cyclones.tv
Each team is expected to suit up four ranked wrestlers, although none are scheduled to meet on the mat. #8 Lelund Weatherspoon at 174 and #10 Pat Downey at 184 are the two highest ranked grapplers, both for the Cylones. Sooner, Yoanse Mejias, looks to continue his hot streak at 165.
No. 2 Penn State at No. 14 Wisconsin
When: 8 PM ET (7 PM CT)Streaming: BTN Plus
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, Penn State vs. No. 15 TJ Ruschell, Wisconsin
197: No. 9 Matt McCutcheon, Penn State vs. No. 14 Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin
285: No. 4 Nick Nevills, Penn State vs. No. 2 Connor Medbery, Wisconsin
While arguably only the fourth best dual in an action-packed Friday night, Penn State will bring plenty of horsepower to Madison, Wisconsin. Besides the three ranked matchups, the Nittany Lions will also have No. 3 Nick Suriano at 125, No. 1 Zain Retherford at 149, and No. 2 Bo Nickal at 184 at their disposal.
No. 1 Oklahoma State at No. 7 Missouri
When: 8 PM ET (7 PM CT)Streaming: ESPN3
133: No. 2 Kaid Brock, OK State vs. No. 16 John Erneste, Missouri
141: No. 1 Dean Heil, OK State vs. No. 9 Jaydin Eierman, Missouri
149: No. 2 Anthony Collica, OK State vs. No. 4 Lavion Mayes, Missouri
157: No. 5 Joe Smith, OK State vs. No. 6 Joey Lavallee, Missouri
165: No. 4 Chandler Rogers, OK State vs. No. 5 Daniel Lewis, Missouri
197: No. 8 Preston Weigel, OK State vs. No. 1 J'den Cox, Missouri
The No. 1-ranked team in America travels to Columbia, Missouri, for the first time since 2012. The visiting Cowboys will be heavy favorites, but viewers should not be disappointed, as half the bouts feature two top 10 wrestlers.
No. 3 Ohio State at No. 4 Iowa
When: 8 PM ET (7 PM CT)Television: Big Ten Network
133: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State vs. No. 3 Cory Clark, Iowa
141: No. 13 Luke Pletcher, Ohio State vs. No. 19 Topher Carton, Iowa
149: No. 5 Micah Jordan, Ohio State vs. No. 3 Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
174: No. 1 Bo Jordan, Ohio State vs. No. 10 Alex Meyer, Iowa
184: No. 9 Myles Martin, Ohio State vs. No. 4 Sammy Brooks, Iowa
For the THIRD straight time, Iowa finds itself in the biggest dual of the week when the No. 4 Hawkeyes take on No. 3 Ohio State -- Iowa's third straight opponent ranked in the top three. With Ohio State's Bo Jordan potentially out due to injury and Kyle Snyder in Siberia competing in the Yarygin freestyle tournament, Iowa will likely be the favorite on paper and will try to avoid losing three straight duals for the first time since 2006. Top 10 matchups at 133, 149, and 184 should keep fans rapt to their screens.
Saturday, January 28:
Buffalo at Hofstra
When: 1 PMStreaming: Hofstra Live Stream
Saturday is quiet day for most of the top-ranked teams, so why not give some of the less heralded programs a view? Fifth-ranked James Benjamin at 197 leads the Buffalo Bulls as they head to Long Island to take on in-state rival Hofstra.
Wyoming at Utah Valley
When: 6 PM ET (4:00 PM MT)Streaming: Utah Valley Live Stream
Tune in to check out the other Wolverines take on the other Cowboys (not that I would call either team that to their faces), as Wyoming heads to Utah Valley for a Big 12 dual. Eighth-ranked Bryce Meredith at 141 will be the top-ranked wrestler of the dual.
No. 8 Cornell at Harvard
When: 6:30 PMStreaming: Ivy League Digital Network
You don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to enjoy a dual between these studious Ivy Leaguers. Cornell will the favorites with their Brobdingnagian trio of #8 Dylan Palacio at 165, #4 Brian Realbuto at 174, and #1 Gabe Dean at 184.
Cal Poly, North Dakota State, CSU Bakersfield Tri-Meet
At Righetti High School (Santa Maria, CA)5 PM ET (2 PM PT): CSU Bakersfield vs. North Dakota State
7 PM ET (4 PM PT): Cal Poly vs. North Dakota State
9 PM ET (6 PM PT): Cal Poly vs. CSU Bakersfield
North Dakota State leaves the frigid upper Midwest to join two under-the-radar California teams for a tri-meet hosted by Righetti High School in Santa Maria, CA. No word yet on if future duals will be scheduled at the Nina or the Pinta. Ranked participants include No. 8 Joshua Rodriguez of ND State at 125, No. 10 Clayton Ream, also of ND State, at 157, and No. 17 Lorenzo De La of CSUB at 165.
Sunday, January 29:
No. 18 North Carolina State at Virginia
When: 1 PMStreaming: ACC Network Extra
141: No. 2 Kevin Jack, NC State vs. No. 7 George DiCamillo, Virginia
An all-Atlantic Coast Conference tilt in Charlottesville, Virginia, features N.C. State's second-ranked Kevin Jack, who is undefeated in his four bouts against top 10 opponents this year (his sole loss coming to Lehigh's Randy Cruz in the first week of November). He'll get his fifth top-10 match of the season against the Wahoos' seventh-ranked George DiCamillo.
No. 6 Nebraska at Indiana
When: 2 PMStreaming: BTN Plus
184: No. 3 Tim Dudley, Nebraska vs. No. 6 Nate Jackson, Indiana
This Big Ten dual is highlighted by a top 10 matchup at 184, as Indiana's Nate Jackson, at home in Bloomington, will try and upend the favorite, Nebraska's Tim Dudley.
No. 9 Lehigh at No. 15 Michigan
When: 2 PM ETStreaming: BTN Plus
125: No. 6 Darian Cruz, Lehigh vs. No. 7 Conor Youtsey, Michigan
133: No. 9 Scotty Parker, Lehigh vs. No. 7 Stevan Micic, Michigan
157: No. 4 Jordan Kutler, Lehigh vs. No. 12 Brian Murphy, Michigan
174: No. 5 Ryan Preisch, Lehigh vs. No. 9 Myles Amine, Michigan
The Moutainhawks will be in Ann Arbor to try and pick off an always dangerous Michigan squad in an out of conference dual. Youtsey's aforementioned unretirement make 125 the highlight, especially since LU's Parker may be out of the line up due to injury.
No. 1 Oklahoma State at Iowa State
When: 3 PM ET (2 PM CT)Streaming: Cyclones.tv
125: No. 12 Nick Piccininni, OK State vs. No. 18 Markus Simmons, Iowa State
133: No. 2 Kaid Brock, OK State vs. No. 12 Earl Hall, Iowa State
174: No. 7 Kyle Crutchmer, OK State vs. No. 8 Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State
184: No. 5 Nolan Boyd, OK State vs. No. 10 Pat Downey, Iowa State
It's easy to find ranked matchups when No. 1 OK State comes to town, as no one in its lineup is ranked lower than No. 12. The Cylones will be underdogs at every weight class but keep an eye on 174 and 184 as they are essentially toss-ups.
Duke at No. 5 Virginia Tech
When: 4 PM ET285: No. 5 Jacob Kasper, Duke vs. No. 3 Ty Walz, VA Tech
There is no streaming for this dual, so you'll need tickets to the Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg, VA, to watch. The Hokies should not have any difficulty dispatching the Blue Devils, but fans will want to stick around until the end no matter how lopsided the score, as fan favorite preseason dark horse, Jacob Kasper looks to prove his bona fides against 2X All Amercian, Ty Walz.
No. 12 Illinois at No. 17 Arizona State
When: 6 PM ET (4 PM CT)Television: Pac-12 Network
157: No. 19 Kyle Langenderfer, Illinois vs. No. 11 Joshua Shields, Arizona State
165: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez, Illinois vs. No. 9 Anthony Valencia, Arizona State
174: No. 12 Zac Brunson, Illinois vs. No. 3 Zahid Valencia, Arizona State
285: No. 16 Brooks Black, Illinois vs. No. 7 Tanner Hall, Arizona State
Our weekend concludes with a stellar late afternoon dual between the visiting Illini and Sun Devils in Tempe, Arizona. All eyes will be on the Valencia brothers as the elder, Anthony, will have to contend with Imar, a two-time NCAA champion, while younger brother Zahid will tackle the 12th-ranked Zac Brunson. Both teams are evenly matched so it could all come down to the two top-20 heavyweights -- Illinois' Brooks Black and ASU's Tanner Hall.
Enjoy the duals, wrestling fans!