Missouri, now 6-2 on the season, looks to hand the Cowboys, 10-1, their second loss of the year. Earlier in the campaign, Oklahoma State suffered a 21-18 loss to then-No. 5 Penn State. Since Jan. 5, the Cowboys have won five straight duals and captured the Virginia Duals Championship Title on Jan. 12.
This marks the 36th meeting between the two programs. While Oklahoma State holds the 32-3 advantage, it's Missouri's that has won two of the last three contests. Most recently, the Tigers held off the Cowboys, 17-15, in Gallagher Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.) last season.
In the 11 years of the Big 12 Conference, Missouri has won only three league openers, with two of the three wins coming over Oklahoma State (2003-04, 2006-07). Missouri's first Big 12 opening win came at Nebraska, 24-16, during the 2001-02 season.
One of the key matchups of the afternoon can be found at 165 pounds. Missouri's Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) ranked as high as third in the nation, will take on fifth-ranked Jake Diffenbach. The two have never met, but both have impressive records. Marable owns a 15-3 record in his sophomore season with his three losses coming to then-No. 1 Eric Tannenbaum, No. 1 Keith Gavin (at 174 pounds) and current No. 1 Mark Perry. Marable's recent bout with Perry was sent into overtime where he suffered a 3-2 loss. Despite the loss, Marable's two points came by way of takedown, while Perry was only able to manage three escapes for the win. Dieffenbach, at 13-1, lost his only bout to then-No. 14 Mack Lewnes of Cornell at the Reno Tournament.
Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) climbed to No. 4 in the nation at 197 pounds after a 3-0 run at the National Duals. Askren upset Northwestern's Mike Tammilow in Missouri's final dual of the day, 5-2. Askren opened the tournament with a 12-1 win by major decision over Joe Fagiano of Indiana and followed with a fall in 3:34 over Iowa's Rick Loera.
Looking for his ninth straight win of the season, and 19th of the year, junior Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) is set to take on Jack Jensen or Cody Hill. Jordan collected his 80th career victory in Missouri's meet with Northwestern. Pairing with Adil Kolovic, Jordan won a 15-5 major decision. To date, only eight of Jordan's 18 bouts have been decided by decision. The rest have been won by major decision, technical fall or fall.
Fans attending the afternoon dual will have the opportunity to pick up the second of five unique wrestling programs. Each program this season will feature a specific Missouri grappler.
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