Friday
Wisconsin-Kent State Over 34.5
Date/Time: Friday/5:30 p.m. ET
The arrival of Chris Bono in Madison has Badger fans excited about the present and future of the program. Bono and his staff will look to build a winning culture at Wisconsin and put an exciting product on the mat. The Badgers opened their season last week with a 25-12 win over a solid, well-coached Buffalo squad. Kent State, led by returning NCAA All-American Kyle Conel (197), opened its season by going 3-1 at the Kent State Duals, with the loss coming to Ashland. Wisconsin should win the dual meet easily. The total of 34.5 is too low with the number of mismatches in this dual meet. Wisconsin has six ranked wrestlers, while Kent State's lone ranked wrestler is Conel. With the minimum points scored in a dual meet meeting 30, there needs to be just five additional bonus points scored for it to go over 34.5.
Saturday
Wyoming -3.5 vs. Edinboro
Date/Time: Saturday/2 p.m. ET
The Mark Branch-led Wyoming Cowboys are coming off a strong showing at the Cowboy Open where they crowned six champions in the Elite division. The team is led by returning All-American Mantorie Bridges at 133 pounds. He is one of three returning NCAA qualifiers for Wyoming. Edinboro will likely go through some growing pains this season after the departure of head coach Tim Flynn along with several accomplished wrestlers, including Sean Russell, Korbin Myers, Dakota Geer and Billy Miller. Wyoming is significantly better than Edinboro this season and should not have any trouble winning by four or points.
Sam Krivus battles Zain Retherford in the Southern Scuffle semifinals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)Sam Krivus (Virginia) +4.5 vs. Chad Red (Nebraska) at 141 pounds
Date/Time: Saturday/2 p.m. ET
It's a good buy-low spot for the two-time NCAA qualifier Krivus. After competing at 149 pounds the last two seasons, the Pennsylvania native dropped to 141 pounds for his senior season. He made his season debut last season and struggled in a 10-3 loss to Indiana's Paul Konrath. That loss led to a slightly inflated betting line this week. Krivus should be better adjusted to the lower weight class when he competes this weekend. While Nebraska competed at the Daktronics Open last weekend, Red did not compete. The returning 141-pound All-American is expected to make his season debut this weekend at the Northeast Duals. Red enters the match ranked No. 6, while Krivus is unranked. Red should beat Krivus, but this one should be competitive. I'll take the 4.5 and bet Krivus to cover.
Sunday
Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) -6.5 vs. Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) at 141 pounds
Date/Time: Sunday/1 p.m. ET
It's a battle of returning 141-pound All-Americans. These two met last season in a dual meet, with Eierman winning by fall. Both have made significant gains since that meeting. Perry went on to become a surprise, unseeded All-American for Eastern Michigan, a program that was dropped after the season. He has found a home at ODU and is currently ranked No. 7. Eierman reached the NCAA semifinals last season before losing in overtime to eventual NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell. The Mizzou Tiger wound up placing fourth. But it was his performance on the senior level in freestyle this year that had the college wrestling world buzzing. He knocked off 2016 world champion Logan Stieber en route to reaching the finals of the U.S. Open before losing to Ohio State's Joey McKenna. Although he came up short of making the U.S. team in freestyle, his future in the international style looks bright. Last weekend, Eierman found himself down 8-4 heading into the third period against Michael Carr of Illinois before storming back to win in overtime. Perry competed in last weekend's Princeton and won a couple matches before medical defaulting. Eierman just has so many ways to blow a match open or even get another pin.
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