Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of Sunday's dual meet.
125: Tom Kelliher (Wisconsin) vs. No. 5 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
Sanders has been a roll lately. The two-time All-American has picked up bonus points in each of his last five matches. Interestingly, Sanders' bonus point run started with a major decision over Kelliher at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on Jan. 9. Kelliher, a redshirt sophomore, is in his second season as starter after redshirting last season. He took a lot of lumps as true freshman two seasons ago, but has gotten stronger and continued to improve in all facets of his wrestling. He has only seven matches under his belt this season, going 3-4. Last weekend, Kelliher dominated Logan Arlis of Illinois, 11-0, but fell two days later to Nebraska's David Klingsheim, 3-0.
Bottom Line: This is a battle of two former Minnesota prep standouts. Sanders is wrestling at a very high level right now. Look for Sanders to do what he does best ... push the pace, attack, and put a lot of points on the scoreboard.
Prediction: Sanders maj. dec. Kelliher (Minnesota +4)
133: No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) vs. David Thorn (Minnesota)
Graff, an All-American last season as a redshirt freshman, wrestles at a high pace and is relentless on his feet. Lately, opponents have tried to slow Graff down by tying him up and going more on the defensive. He was able to open it up a bit in his last match when he won 13-5 over Nebraska's Ridge Kiley. Graff's three previous wins were by four points or less. One of those wins came against Thorn, 7-3, at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Since that match, Thorn has won three of four, but lost his last match to No. 8 B.J. Futrell of Illinois. In the match against Futrell, Thorn was attempting to counter a leg attack and was caught in a cradle and pinned in the closing seconds of the first period. Despite getting pinned his last match, Thorn, a Junior National freestyle champion, continues to show signs of improvement in his wrestling after missing the first part of the season due to injury.
Bottom Line: Graff will be looking to open up the match a little more this time around after failing to get bonus points in his last match against Thorn. This is an opportunity for the Gopher redshirt freshman to prove that his last match against Graff wasn't an aberration.
Prediction: Graff dec. Thorn (Wisconsin +3)
141: Shane McQuade (Wisconsin) vs. No. 2 Mike Thorn (Minnesota)
Thorn has two matches against unranked opponents before finishes the regular season with No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan, No. 5 Andrew Alton of Penn State, and most likely 2010 NCAA runner-up Montell Marion of Iowa. The only blemish on Thorn's record this season came from Russell, who defeated him in the Southern Scuffle finals. Thorn typically puts up bonus points against every unranked wrestler he faces, but was slowed down in his last match by Jimmy Kennedy's backup at Illinois, Daryl Thomas, who kept it to an 8-4 decision. Wisconsin has been using Danny Arnel at this weight class, but indications are that McQuade, a freshman, will get the start for the Badgers. McQuade has been competing at 125 pounds this season. He comes in with a record of 11-10 record, but has won seven of his last eight matches.
Bottom Line: Anything but a Thorn pin or technical fall would be a major surprise.
Prediction: Thorn pins McQuade (Minnesota +6)
149: Shawn Perry (Wisconsin) vs. Danny Zilverberg/Matt Mincey (Minnesota)
Minnesota is expected to weigh in both Zilverberg and Mincey. Zilverberg, a redshirt freshman, has seen most of the action in the lineup this season. Mincey did get a start last weekend against Purdue and took advantage of the opportunity, winning by technical fall, 15-0. Zilverberg, a FILA Junior National freestyle champion, went through a tough stretch this season, losing seven straight matches, but all seven of those losses were to ranked wrestlers. He has won his last two matches and comes in with a 13-9 season mark. Perry, who is filling in for highly-ranked Cole Schmitt (who had an appendicitis and is expected to be back next week), has been the definition of a team player this season. The Badgers have used Perry in four different weight classes this season ... 149, 157, 165, and 174. He picked up two wins at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals wrestling at 157 pounds ... One of those wins came at a critical time against Minnesota's Alec Ortiz, which helped propel the Badgers over the Gophers. Perry has won three straight matches and is coming off a 6-2 victory over Nebraska's Ross Grande. Interestingly, it's the identical score of Zilverberg's victory over Grande this season.
Bottom Line: This is a swing match that could go either way. The home crowd could give Zilverberg the edge.
Prediction: Zilverberg dec. Perry (Minnesota +3)
157: Kalvin York (Wisconsin) vs. Joe Grygelko (Minnesota)
York, a redshirt freshman, ignited the Badgers last weekend against Nebraska by pinning Cody Compton in the dual meet's opening match. He has been up and down this season. Prior to his win over Compton. York had lost his six previous matches, but two of those were up at 174 pounds when he was filling in for the injured Ben Jordan. He had a tremendous prep career, going 168-12 at Belleville High School in Wisconsin. York's greatest accomplishments in the latter part of his high school career came in Greco-Roman, where he reached the Junior National Greco finals twice, winning a national title in 2008. Grygelko wrestles hard, but has struggled. He has dropped his last seven matches. Grygelko battled No. 20 Colton Salazar of Purdue, a Big Ten runner-up, to a 5-3 match last Friday, but was hammered two days later by true freshman Jackson Morse of Illinois, 11-2.
Bottom Line: Both wrestlers have had their struggles this season, but both fight for every position. This should be a competitive match.
Prediction: York dec. Grygelko (Wisconsin +3)
165: John Prezzia (Wisconsin) vs. No. 12 Cody Yohn (Minnesota)
Yohn, an NCAA qualifier last season, took a surprise loss last weekend to Purdue redshirt freshman Kyle Mosier. In that match, Yohn was dominated for two and a half periods before getting pinned by Mosier. Yohn bounced back two days later to defeat Conrad Polz of Illinois, 1-0. He has been consistent this season, with 20-plus wins already, but didn't look like himself last weekend. With NCAA champion Andrew Howe injured and out of the lineup, Prezzia, a redshirt freshman, gets the start. He is 4-1 this season, but all five of those matches came at 157 pounds. He has not competed since Nov. 21 when he defeated North Carolina's Corey Mock in overtime. Prezzia was a Pennsylvania state champion and Junior National freestyle champion.
Bottom Line: If Yohn opens up and wrestles to his ability, he should have win this match convincingly. But if Yohn wrestles like he did last weekend, this could be a competitive match.
Prediction: Yohn maj. dec. Prezzia (Minnesota +4)
174: No. 19 Ben Jordan (Wisconsin) vs. No. 8 Scott Glasser (Minnesota)
Glasser is putting together another strong season marked by consistency. His only losses since the Southern Scuffle, where he placed fourth, have come to No. 1 Jon Reader of Iowa State and No. 3 Mack Lewnes of Cornell. He picked up a 4-2 victory last weekend against three-time NCAA qualifier Luke Manuel of Purdue. The 19th-ranked Jordan returned to the Badger lineup last weekend against Nebraska after being held out of the lineup for three weeks due to injury. Jordan grinded out a 2-1 victory over Nebraska's Caleb Kolb in his last outing, but seemed a bit lethargic despite the victory. He comes in with a nice record of 15-4, but has gone 0-3 against ranked wrestlers.
Bottom Line: Glasser is performing at a higher level than Jordan right now and should win this match.
Prediction: Glasser dec. Jordan (Minnesota +3)
184: No. 3 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin) vs. No. 9 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
This is perhaps the most anticipated matchup of the dual meet. These two Minnesota natives met at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals earlier this month, with Rutt coming out on top, 3-2. Rutt, a strong, powerful wrestler, has been one of the most improved wrestlers in the country this season. After going 17-13 last season, Rutt has started this season 23-1 with several victories over ranked wrestlers. His lone loss came in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to Cornell's Steve Bosak, 2-0. Steinhaus is among the nation's top freshmen this season, exceeding the expectations of many coming into the season. He has established himself as a legitimate All-American threat this season after beating several ranked wrestlers. Steinhaus took a loss last weekend to Purdue's A.J. Kissel. In that match, Kissell jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Steinhaus battled back, scoring a takedown off a duckunder with 30 seconds left to tie the match at 3-3. But Kissel added a late escape to win the match, 4-3.
Bottom Line: Expect to see another tight, hard-fought battle between two of the nation's top 184-pounders.
Prediction: Rutt dec. Steinhaus (Wisconsin +3)
197: No. 2 Trevor Brandvold/Derrick Borlie (Wisconsin) vs. Joe Nord/No. 4 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
There is a lot of uncertainty at this weight class. Both teams are expected to weigh in two wrestlers. If Brandvold and Yohn take the mat, it would be a rematch of the Big Ten finals and pit two returning All-Americans against each other. But both wrestlers have been off the mat recovering from injuries. Brandvold has not competed since a dual meet against Northern Iowa on Dec. 11, while Yohn hasn't competed since the Southern Scuffle, which took place Dec. 29-30. Brandvold and Yohn met three times last season, with Brandvold winning all three meetings. Borlie, a redshirt freshman, has done a nice job filling in for Brandvold. He went 4-0 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals and is already a 20-match winner this season. Nord started the season 7-2, but has gone a through a rough stretch and comes into Sunday's dual meet on a five-match losing streak. Borlie defeated Nord, 8-2, earlier this season.
Bottom Line: Look for Brandvold to make his return to the lineup against the Gophers. Minnesota will likely rest Yohn for one more week and send Nord out against the Badgers.
Prediction: Brandvold maj. dec. Nord (Wisconsin +4)
285: No. 11 Eric Bugenhagen (Wisconsin) vs. No. 9 Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
Nelson, a redshirt freshman, and Bugenhagen, a redshirt senior, are both athletic heavyweights who move well. Nelson was a 215-pounder in high school, while Bugenhagen was a 184-pounder two seasons ago for the Badgers. Nelson is extremely tough to score on, but sometimes allows inferior opponents to stay in matches with him because of a hesitancy to open up on his feet. He has suffered only three losses this season. Bugenhagen started this season 10-0. He placed fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and went 2-2 at the Midlands Championships. He is coming off a victory over two-time NCAA qualifier Tucker Lane of Nebraska.
Bottom Line: Nelson defeated Bugenhagen, 2-1, earlier this season. Expect another tight, low-scoring match.
Prediction: Nelson dec. Bugenhagen (Minnesota +3)
Dual Meet Prediction: Minnesota 23, Wisconsin 13
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