Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown with predictions.
125: Justin Brooks (Indiana) vs. No. 5 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
Sanders, a two-time All-American, is off to a strong start in his junior season. He is currently 19-2 and has several wins over ranked opponents this season, including No. 10 Frank Perrelli of Cornell, No. 14 Ben Kjar of Utah Valley, No. 18 Alan Bartelli of Boise State, and No. 19 Trent Sprenkle of North Dakota State. Sanders was hammered by Anthony Robles, 20-2, in the NWCA All-Star Classic, but his only official losses this season have come to No. 4 James Nicholson of Old Dominion and No. 8 Jon Morrison of Oklahoma State. Brooks, a talented redshirt freshman, has started the season 12-11, but several of his losses have come to ranked opponents. He has already faced five of the nation's top 10 wrestlers at 125 pounds.
Bottom Line: Sanders has put up bonus points against all but one unranked opponent this season. Brooks could keep it competitive early on, but look for Sanders to pull away after the first period.
Prediction: Sanders (Minnesota) maj. dec. Brooks (Indiana)
133: Matt Ortega (Indiana) vs. David Thorn (Minnesota)
Expectations are high at Minnesota for Thorn, a four-time state champion and Junior National freestyle champion. The redshirt freshman was sidelined in the early part of the season. His first major test came at the Southern Scuffle, where he went 3-2 and reached the round of 12. Thorn went 2-2 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, losing decisions to No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State and No. 3 Tyler Graff of Wisconsin. Ortega, a four-time New Mexico state champion, has been the starter in each of his first three seasons with Hoosiers. He went 23-13 two seasons ago as a freshman, but struggled with consistency last season, going 10-18. He has started this season 14-9.
Bottom Line: This will mark the home debut for Thorn. The redshirt freshman raised some eyebrows by avoiding bonus points against All-Americans Hochstrasser and Graff. If Thorn pushes the pace, look for him to get bonus points against Ortega.
Prediction: Thorn (Minnesota) maj. dec. Ortega (Indiana)
141: Mitchell Richey (Indiana) vs. No. 2 Mike Thorn (Minnesota)
Thorn, a returning All-American, has sights on finishing at the top of the podium in Philadelphia. He admits that he is wrestling without any pressure in his senior season and is performing at a very high level. His only loss this season came in the finals of the Southern Scuffle to No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan. At the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, Thorn went 4-0 with two pins and outscored his other two opponents 17-2. His pin over Levi Jones proved to be the difference in Minnesota's 18-17 victory over Boise State. Richey has gone through some growing pains in his true freshman season. He is coming off a 3-0 performance at the IU Duals, but dropped six straight matches prior to that performance.
Bottom Line: Thorn seems to completely overwhelm virtually every unranked opponent he faces.
Prediction: Thorn (Minnesota) pins Richey (Indiana)
149: No. 15 Kurt Kinser (Indiana) vs. Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota)
Kinser, a senior, has been a staple in the Indiana lineup since his freshman season. He is a three-time NCAA qualifier who has amassed a career record of 99-41. He also has 40 career pins, which rankes third on Indiana's all-time list. He spent his sophomore and junior seasons at 157 pounds, but moved down to 149 pounds for his senior season. His results this season have been mixed. He has some nice wins, including two victories over No. 8 Brian Stephens of Virginia Tech, but also some head-scratching losses. He had a disappointing performance at the Southern Scuffle, where he failed to place, losing to two unranked opponents. Zilverberg, a redshirt freshman, brings a 12-7 mark into his match tonight against Kinser. He has dropped his last five matches, but three of those losses came at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Zilverberg won the FILA Junior Nationals in freestyle in last spring, which included victories over Penn State freshmen Andrew Alton and Dylan Alton.
Bottom Line: Experience will be the difference in this match. Look for Kinser to control the match and pick up the 100th win of his career.
Prediction: Kinser (Indiana) major dec. Zilverberg (Minnesota)
157: No. 6 Paul Young or Alex Warren (Indiana) vs. Joe Grygelko (Minnesota)
Young, like Kinser, moved down a weight class for his senior season. The two-time NCAA qualifier is 20-4 this season. All four of his losses this season have come to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Young was dinged up in his last competition at the IU Duals, so it remains to be seen if he even steps on the mat tonight. If he's not able to go, Warren, a natural 141-pounder, will take the mat for the Hoosiers. Grygelko has split time with Alec Ortiz in the lineup. He went 2-2 at the Southern Scuffle and 0-2 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.
Bottom Line: If Young is in the lineup, look for Indiana to win and pick up bonus points. If Young is held out, the match should swing Minnesota's way.
Prediction: Young (Indiana) maj. dec. Grygelko (Minnesota)
165: Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana) vs. No. 7 Cody Yohn (Minnesota)
Yohn, an NCAA qualifier last season, has established himself as a legitimate All-American threat at 165 pounds. He reached the finals of the Southern Scuffle before losing to No. 3 Justin Kerber of Cornell, 6-4. He has a win this season over No. 11 P.J. Gillespie of Hofstra and split two matches with No. 13 Dallas Bailey of Hofstra. At the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, Yohn went 2-2, losing only to No. 2 Andrew Howe of Wisconsin and No. 3 Kerber. Indiana has high hopes for the redshirt freshman LeBlanc. He was ranked as the No. 46 recruit by InterMat coming out of high school. LeBlanc went 20-2 last season as a redshirt. He comes into tonight's match with a 7-5 mark on the season and is still looking for his first win over a ranked opponent.
Bottom Line: Yohn is the more established college wrestler, but LeBlanc certainly has the talent to make this match interesting.
Prediction: Yohn (Minnesota) dec. LeBlanc (Indiana)
174: Nick Avery (Indiana) vs. No. 8 Scott Glasser (Minnesota)
Glasser has been a steady performer this season for the Gophers. He is 21-5 this season, with four of his five losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Glasser looked to be on track for All-American honors last season, but had a disappointing NCAAs, failing to place as the No. 5 seed. Avery, a senior, comes into tonight's match with a 9-11 record, but has only faced one wrestler currently ranked in the top 20.
Bottom Line: Glasser should control the action in this match. Avery has only given up bonus points in one of his 11 losses this season, but don't be surprised to see him give up bonus points in this match.
Prediction: Glasser (Minnesota) major dec. Avery (Indiana)
184: Eric Cameron (Indiana) vs. No. 8 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
Steinhaus has been one of the most impressive freshmen in the country this season. He has wins this season over several ranked wrestlers. Steinhaus seems to be getting stronger with every match he wrestles. He proved that he compete with the top 184-pounders in the country at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Steinhaus took No. 1 Kirk Smith of Boise State to overtime, before losing 3-1. He also dropped close matches to No. 3 Steve Bosak of Cornell and No. 4 Travis Rutt of Wisconsin. Cameron is a two-time NCAA qualifier who started the season ranked 20th. He has struggled with consistency this season and comes into tonight's match with a 12-11 record.
Bottom Line: Before the season, many would have predicted this to be a tossup match. But Steinhaus is clearly wrestling at a higher level right now than Cameron.
Prediction: Steinhaus (Minnesota) dec. Cameron (Indiana)
197: No. 6 Matt Powless (Indiana) vs. Joe Nord (Minnesota)
Powless has been one of the most improved wrestlers in the country this season. After going 30-15 last season, Powless has started his junior season 27-2, with both losses coming to No. 1 Cam Simaz of Cornell. He has wins over No. 7 Micah Burak of Penn, No. 12 Brent Haynes of Missouri, and No. 13 Anthony Biondo of Michigan. Nord has done an admirable job filling in for the injured Sonny Yohn. He won two matches at the NWCA/Cliff National Duals.
Bottom Line: If Minnesota had Yohn in the lineup, it would have been the marquee matchup of the dual as it would pit No. 5 vs. No. 6. Powless is clearly not the same wrestler Minnesota saw last season when he lost 8-2 to Yohn.
Prediction: Powless (Indiana) maj. dec. Nord (Minnesota)
285: No. 19 Ricky Alcala (Indiana) vs. No. 7 Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
Nelson, like Steinhaus, has stepped into the Gopher lineup and made an immediate impact as a redshirt freshman. He is a big, strong, athletic heavyweight who competed at 215 pounds in high school, but has filled out nicely and should be in the mix for All-American honors this season. Nelson owns a record of 18-2 record and is coming off a 4-0 performance at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Alcala, a graduate student, transferred to Indiana this season after UC Davis' wrestling program was discontinued after last season. He is a strong heavyweight who keeps solid position and doesn't surrender many points. The two-time NCAA qualifier comes into tonight's match with a 21-6 record.
Bottom Line: Nelson defeated Alcala, 2-0, at the Southern Scuffle. Look for a similar result tonight, with Nelson coming out on top again.
Prediction: Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Alcala (Indiana)
Dual Meet Prediction: Minnesota 27, Indiana 12
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