The 10-4 Iowa State Cyclones return to the mat on Sunday February 16th to take on #7 University Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls Iowa. The dual features 16 ranked wrestlers, with 6 total head to head ranked matches.  Including one top 10 match.

Don’t Miss: The 141 matchup should be a battle from start to finish. 149 could also be an interesting match-up. Riggins and Thomsen have had some great battles as well.

History: Iowa State leads the series with 62 wins to 20 losses. This years meeting should be one of the better ones in program history.

Keys To Victory: UNI is favored in 8 of the 10 bouts. So Iowa State will need all the bonus points they can get. They will have that opportunity at 133.

125 Ethan Perryman vs Trever Anderson #22

133 Evan Frost #5 vs Julian Farber #22

141 Jacob Frost #9 vs Cael Happel #5

149 Paniro Johnson #7 vs Colin Realbuto #10

157  Carter Fousek vs Ryder Downey #6

165 Aiden Riggins  vs Jack Thomsen #19

174  MJ Gaitan #31 vs Jared Simma #17

184 Fernando Villaescusa or Evan Bockman #20 vs  Parker Keckeisen #2

197 Nathan Schon vs Wyatt Voelker #11

285 Daniel Herrera #30 vs Lance Runyon #14

Conclusion: UNI is heavily favored against a banged up Iowa State Team. I see UNI winning 6 of the 10 and scoring bouns points at 184, and cruising to a 22-12 victory.

The Hawkeyes return home to do battle with Northwestern in Carver Hawkeye Arena on  Sunday February 16th at 1pm. The dual has 14 ranked wrestlers with 5 head to head ranked bouts. Iowa is 12-1 on the year while Northwestern sports an impressive 3-6 record.

Don’t Miss: The 157 bout will be the most competitive of the night. 125 and 141 will also be interesting bouts

History: The last time these two teams met Iowa won all 10 bouts and walked away with an Impressive 46-0 victory. Iowa leads the series 76-7 and has one 16 straight.

Keys To Victory: Really this meet is just happening to get the boys some mat time. Only one outcome is possible, and if you’re reading this you already know what that is.

125 Joey Cruz #23 VS Dedrick Navarro #32

133 Drake Ayala #2 VS Chris Micknley 

141 Ryder Block NR VS Frankie Tal-Shahar 

149 Kyle Parco #3 VS Sam Cartella #23

157 Jacori Teemer #2  VS Trevor Chumbley #12

165 Michael Caliendo #2 VS Maxx Mayfield #17

174  Patrick Kennedy #7 VS Joseph Martin

184 Gabe Arnold #7 VS Jon Halvorson

197 Steven Buchanan #1 VS Evan Bates #20

285 Ben Kueter #11 VS Dirk Morley

Conclusion:  This meet will be a fun one for Iowa fans. Iowa wins 10 out of 10 matches. Final score 38-0.

The #1 ranked Penn State Lions return to the mat in Champaign Illinois, on Sunday February 16th against the Fighting Illini. The dual features 18 ranked wrestlers, with 8  head to head ranked matches. Including, 2 top 10 matchups. Illinois is 9-3 on the year, while Penn State, brings a perfect 13-0 record into the meet.

History: These two teams have met 38 times and Penn State leads the series 22-16 and is currently on a 7 match win streak against the Illini.

Don’t Miss:  149 and 184 will be absolutely amazing matches. The 133 match is also worth watching. I have been excited for 149 since the beginning of the season.

Keys To Victory: Penn State just needs to win the matches they are favored to win, nothing more. For Illinois, they need Penn State’s bus to break down on the way to Illinois.

125 Lilledahl, Luke #7 vs Ramazan Attasauov

133 #10 Davis, Braeden #7 vs Lucas Byrd #3

141 #3 Bartlett, Beau vs Danny Pucino #16

149 #2 Van Ness, Shayne vs Kannon Webster #17

157 Joe Sealey vs Jason Kraisser #27

165 #1 Mesenbrink, Mitchell vs Braeden Scoles #16

174  #2 Haines, Levi vs Danny Braunagel #22

184 #1 Starocci, Carter vs Edmond Ruth #12

197 #2 Barr, Josh vs Zac Braunagel #13

285 #1 Kerkvliet, Greg vs Luke Luffman #10

Conclusion: This is one of the best Penn State Teams I have ever seen, they have no weak links in the lineup, we could be seeing 10 All-Americans on this team, with who knows how many National Champions. In this dual I see Penn State winning 8 of the 10 bouts and claiming a 30-6 victory. Illinois squeaks out victories at 133 and 149. You can watch the dual on Big Ten+.

The Iowa State Cyclones return to the mat on Friday February 14th at 7 PM to take on #22 South Dakota State in Brookings, South Dakota. The dual features 16 ranked wrestlers, with 4  head to head ranked matches. Iowa State is currently 10-4 while South Dakota State is 13-3 on the year.

Don’t Miss: The 165 bout features to former Hawkeyes and should be an entertaining match. 125 and heavyweight should also be entertaining.

History: Iowa State leads the series with 12 wins to 2 losses. Iowa State has won the last 3 meetings. This years meeting has a bit of Iowa flair to it with South Dakota State, picking up former Iowa Hawkeyes, Cobe Siebrecht, Zach  Glazier, and Drake Rhodes.

Keys To Victory: Iowa State is favored in 4 matches, South Dakota is favored in 6 matches. So it will be important for Iowa State to score bonus points anywhere they can. I could also see Iowa State pulling an upset at heavyweight. So this dual will be a close one.

125 Ethan Perryman or Kysen Terukina #14  vs Jordan, Tanner #15

133 Evan Frost #5 vs Cardinal, Derrick #26

141 Jacob Frost #9 vs Julian Tagg #22

149 Paniro Johnson #7 vs Avery Allen

157  Carter Fousek or Cody Chittum #10 vs Siebrecht, Cobe #18

165 Aiden Riggins  vs Drake Rhodes #10

174  MJ Gaitan #31 vs DeVos, Cade #10

184 Evan Bockman #14 or Fernando Villaescusa vs  Berge, Bennett #6

197 Nathan Schon vs Glazier, Zach #15

285 Daniel Herrera #30 vs Rasmussen, Luke #25

Conclusion: I can see Iowa State getting wins at 133,141,149, 157, and heavyweight. That splits it right down the middle at 5 each. So it comes down to bonus points. Iowa State can score extra points at 133, while South Dakota State can pick them up at 184. Honestly I can’t pick a winner, this dual is a complete toss up, especially with all the backups wrestling for Iowa State lately.

The #1 ranked Penn State Lions return to the mat in Columbus Ohio, on Friday February 14th at 7pm EST, against the feared Ohio State Buckeyes. The dual features 20 ranked wrestlers, with 10  head to head ranked matches. Including, 5 top 10 matchups.

Don’t Miss:  141, 174, and heavyweight should all be fantastic matches. All three were originally scheduled for the NWCA All-Star Classic. Ohio State has a habit of peaking early, while Penn State peaks at the NCAA tournament. Could that be a factor here?

Keys To Victory: Penn State just needs to win the matches they are favored to win, nothing more. For Ohio State, they need to win the close ones.  133, 141,149,157,174 and Heavyweight are all matches that they could possibly pull off an upset. While not likely, they do have a very slim path to victory. To do this they would need to wrestle almost perfect and Penn State would need to fall apart.

125 Lilledahl, Luke #9 vs Brendan McCrone #16

133 #7 Davis, Braeden vs Nic Bouzakis #10

141 #3 Bartlett, Beau vs Jesse Mendez #1

149 #3 Van Ness, Shayne vs Dylan D’Emilio #8

157  Facundo, Alex or Tyler Kasak #1 vs Sammy Sasso #19

165#1 Mesenbrink, Mitchell vs  Paddy Gallagher #12

174  #2 Haines, Levi vs Carson Kharchla #5

184 #1 Starocci, Carter vs Ryder Rogotzke #17

197 #2 Barr, Josh vs Seth Shumate #18

285 #2 Kerkvliet, Greg vs Nick Feldman #8

Conclusion: This is one of the best Penn State Teams I have ever seen, they have no weak links in the lineup, we could be seeing 10 all-Americans on this team, with who knows how many National Champions. In this dual I see Penn State winning 18 of the 10 bouts and claiming a 38-3 victory. Ohio State squeaks out victories at 141. Honestly it wouldn’t surprise me if Penn State wins all 10 bouts. The only real opportunity for victory exists at 141. The dual will be broadcast live on BTN.