2019 Pittsburgh vs West Virginia | NCAA Wrestling

6 Reasons To Watch #17 Pitt vs West Virginia

#17 Pitt and West Virginia wrestle in a rare Thursday-night dual. Here are six reasons to watch.

Dec 4, 2019 by David Bray

6 Reasons To Watch #17 Pitt vs West Virginia

The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational isn't the only action on FloWrestling this weekend. On Thursday night, we have a showdown between West Virginia and #17 Pitt. This dual stands alone on our Thursday-night calendar, and while not everyone is familiar with these two teams, there are more than enough high-powered wrestlers in this contest to make it interesting.

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Here are six reasons to tune in on Thursday night.

Watch #17 Pittsburgh vs West Virginia LIVE on FloWrestling

Thursday, December 5 | 7:00 PM ET

1) #4 Micky Phillippi is a Monster

Pitt's 133-pounder Micky Phillippi made major waves at 133 last year with wins over Austin Gomez, Tariq Wilson, Ethan Lizak, Luke Pletcher, and Daton Fix. Since transferring to Pitt in 2017, Phillippi has become one of the faces of the program.

Last year, Phillippi's rise to national prominence came on this very weekend at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where Phillippi made an unexpected run to the finals from the #6 seed. He'll have Lucas Seibert of West Virginia, an opponent he teched in the second period a year ago.

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2) #11 Wentzel and #20 Kiussis Have Gone Back and Forth

The 165 match is one of the most compelling bouts of the dual. Wentzel and Kiussis split their two matched during the 2017-18 season, and Wentzel got the better of their one contest last year.

The interesting thing about this series is that, while their first meeting went to overtime, their last two bouts haven't been particularly close. Wentzel's most recent win was a 6-2 decision while Kiussis' win was 8-3. Scores like that make Thursday's contest feel unpredictable. For West Virginia to have a chance in this dual, they'll need Kiussis here.

3) #13 Nino Bonaccorsi Won't Stop Shooting

Pitt's Nino Bonaccorsi started the season ranked #4 but has since dropped due to his loss to Campbell's Andrew Morgan. Despite his #13 ranking, make no mistake, Bonaccorsi is a serious All-American contender at 184 with wins in his career over All-Americans Dakota Geer, Emery Parker, and Chip Ness.

He's not only good, he's also entertaining as he seems compelled to shoot at all times. Consider, for example, this clip of his match with Emery Parker at last year's NCAA Championships.

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4) Rematch Between #17 Noah Adams and #23 Kellan Stout

When West Virginia's Noah Adams and Pitt's Kellan Stout met in last year's dual, Stout came out on top 5-3. Since then, Adams has arguably had better results than Stout and sits above him in the 197-pound rankings. This presents an opportunity for Stout to move up in the rankings by replicating a result from last year.

Noah Adams will look to reverse the result from last year which could be important for his team as he'll be the only Mountaineer in this dual who is ranked higher than his opponent.

5) #12 Taleb Rahmani Has Show Moves

Pitt's senior 157-pounder is a fan favorite who regularly hits crowd-pleasing techniques. He'll be heavily favored against West Virginia's Alex Hornfeck which could present an opportunity for another highlight moment.

Rahmani finished one match off the medal stand at NCAAs last year and looks to improve upon his performance in his final season as a Panther. Check out this Rahmani highlight Pitt put out earlier this fall.

Ready for his final season as a Panther?@RahmaniTaleb | ??? ??????

?? to 18-19 season...

?NCAA Qualifier
?ACC Runner-Up
?All-ACC Wrestling Team
?Recorded 19 wins#pinzburgh » #H2P pic.twitter.com/Fl7HpjUPdk
— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) August 13, 2019

6) #9 Demetrius Thomas Coming Off Signature Win

Pitt heavyweight Demetrius Thomas has been steadily improving since his transfer from NAIA Williams Baptist in 2018. Thomas' last four matches have all been against highly ranked opponents. He dropped bouts to Mason Parris and Chase Singletary, but he also upset Jere Heino and, most impressively, All-American Jordan Wood.

Thomas' win over Wood is the best of his career. He'll look to keep the ball rolling against West Virginia national qualifier Brandon Ngati. When the two met last season, Thomas won 6-4.