Michigan travels to Evanston, IL, on Friday for a Big Ten battle with Northwestern. Each of these lineups has its share of ranked wrestlers. With a whole bunch of high-powered athletes and several great matchups, there are plenty of reasons to tune in for the Wolverines vs the Wildcats.

Watch Michigan vs Northwestern LIVE on FloWrestling

Friday, Jan 24 | 8 PM ET

1) Dominant Deakin vs #8 Will Lewan

Ryan Deakin has clearly been the best 157-pounder in the country this year with wins over #2 Hidlay, #3 Carr, and #6 Coleman. He'll take on his fourth top-eight opponent of the season on Friday night when Michigan's Will Lewan takes the mat.

Lewan has a handful of ranked wins this year and currently sits at #8 in the rankings. Deakin will be the biggest test of his career so far. While Lewan will be a big underdog on Friday night, he does have elite results including his win last year over Alec Pantaleo and his Cadet World gold medal in 2017.

Deakin's dominance this year has made all of his matches must-watch, and if Lewan can keep things close, that could be even more intriguing. Be sure to tune in for this one.

Check out Deakin's 14-0 major decision over #6 Kendall Coleman from last weekend:

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2) Kanen Storr vs Yahya Thomas Showdown

This matchup between #12 Kanen Storr and #17 Yahya Thomas is a treat we did not expect to see this year as Storr was in a redshirt until just a few weeks ago. Since then, he has placed seventh at Midlands and has moved into the #12 spot in the rankings.

Yahya had a standout performance in December at the CKLV but has dropped two of his last three matches as he's been struggling with injury. This matchup is a fantastic opportunity for both wrestlers to pick up a solid ranked win that could be important for seeding at the Big Ten Championships.

Here's Kanen Storr's win over #13 Cole Martin at Midlands:

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3) Jackson Striggow Gunning for #12 Lucas Davison

Michigan's Jackson Striggow was ranked before the season began but has yet to pick up a ranked win this year. He'll set his sights on #12 Lucas Davison, a 9-4 freshman who rapidly climbed the rankings after beating Christian Brunner and Shakur Rasheed in the same weekend.

Davison, who had four losses in the first half of the season, is undefeated in 2020 and will look to prove that his recent success isn't a fluke.

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4) Can Medley Finally Beat #7 DeAugustino

Michael DeAugustino has beaten Jack Medley four times in his career. Their last meeting was a 12-5 decision at CKLV, but the three meetings before that were all within two points, and two of them required sudden victory.

DeAugustino's season has certainly been more solid. He's looked outstanding placing second at Midlands and third at CKLV. DeAugustino was not considered to be the Northwestern 125-pound starter at the beginning of the year, but he's now up to #7 in the rankings.

Medley's season hasn't been as consistent, but he has appeared in the rankings this year and has wins over several ranked wrestlers. He'll try to snap his four-match losing streak to DeAugustino on Friday night.

5) The Mason Parris Show

Mason Parris was a match away from All-American honors last season, but he has been wrestling on another level this year. He's undefeated with a 63.16-percent bonus rate. 

Parris has become one of the top wrestlers in the country to watch regardless of his opponent. This Friday, he'll have Northwestern's Jack Heyob who is 0-8 on the year.

6) 9 Ranked Wrestlers in This Dual

In addition to the matchups above, this dual features several other ranked wrestlers. Here's a complete list of the ranked wrestlers we expect to see in this bout:

125: #7 Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern

149: #12 Kanen Storr, Michigan

149: #17 Yahya Thomas, Northwestern

157: #8 Will Lewan, Michigan

157: #1 Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

165: #19 Shayne Oster, Northwestern

184: #13 Jelani Embree, Michigan

197: #12 Lucas Davison, Northwestern

285: #2 Mason Parris, Michigan