#9 MN has a very interesting dual match against #6 NE tomorrow night at 9pm on BTN!!
I'm making my most optimistic prediction ever, that we end up in a 15-15 tie, and the win is determined by criteria!! So, right now, I don't know who wins.
If all of our guys who are supposed to have upsets don't win, then we'll lose by 6 - 12 points. I just think it will be closer than that!!
It will be fun to watch, so tune in!!!
Here's the article on tomorrow night's big event from Gophersports.com:
Top-10 Matchup in Store for Big Ten Home Opener
Gophersports.com
1/18/2024
Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS -- No. 9 Minnesota (5-1, 0-1 B1G) welcomes No. 6 Nebraska (5-1, 0-1 B1G) to Maturi Pavilion Friday night in the Gophers' Big Ten home opener. The match starts at 9 p.m., and it will be shown on Big Ten Network. Live results will be available on TrackWrestling.com.
Since the beginning of last season, Minnesota has won eight of its last nine home duals at Maturi Pavilion.
Minnesota holds the all-time series lead over Nebraska with a record of 52-24 in a series that dates back to the 1921-22 season. The 76 all-time dual matches are the third-most in Minnesota history. The only other schools that the Golden Gophers have faced more are Iowa (108) and Wisconsin (101).
The series has shifted in Nebraska's favor in recent history as the Huskers have won six of the past seven matchups since 2016. It should be noted, though, that five of those seven matchups took place in Lincoln, including last season's win for the Huskers.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota owns a 37-8 lead in the all-time series. The 37 wins are the second most against one school in home duals, trailing the Gophers' 46 wins over Wisconsin in Minneapolis. The Gophers have won three of the past four at home in the series, including a 19-13 victory in 2022.
The Golden Gophers and Huskers are both 5-1 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten action, and both lost their conference openers to Iowa. Minnesota lost in Iowa City on Monday, 22-9, while Nebraska lost at home, 22-10, last Friday.
Minnesota and Nebraska have also both faced North Dakota State and South Dakota State this season. The Gophers beat the Bison, 33-7, on Dec. 10, and the Jackrabbits, 19-13, on Nov. 26 with both matches coming at Maturi Pavilion. Nebraska defeated NDSU, 31-12, in Fargo on Nov. 4 and topped SDSU, 21-17, in Lincoln on Dec. 16.
Minnesota has no Nebraska natives on its roster, while the Cornhuskers have two Minnesotans in senior Peyton Robb (157, Owatonna, Owatonna HS) and freshman Alan Koehler (125, Prior Lake, Prior Lake HS).
LAST MEETINGS
Last season, then-No. 12 Minnesota fell to then-No. 16 Nebraska in Lincoln, 21-9. With the dual starting at 125 pounds, the Cornhuskers set the tone by winning four of the first five matches to take a 13-3 lead at the break. Minnesota tried to claw back into it, but a win at 197 pounds for Nebraska sealed the dual.
Coming out of halftime, it was Andrew Sparks who would put the Maroon & Gold back on the scoreboard at 165 pounds, as he put on an impressive performance against ranked foe Bubba Wilson in a 6-1 decision.
Minnesota's final win came at 184 pounds in a wild, back-and-forth contest as Isaiah Salazar came out on top with a 7-6 victory over Lenny Pinto. Trailing 6-4 with 21 seconds left, Salazar fired off the whistle to get a quick escape, then blasted a double leg on the edge to convert the takedown as time expired.
The teams last met in Minneapolis on Jan. 15, 2022, when the Gophers prevailed 19-13. The dual came down to the final bout of the evening, a 4-0 win for Brayton Lee at 157, but the Gophers took six of the 10 matches to earn themselves the upset win over the 10th-ranked Huskers.
Among current Gophers, Isaiah Salazar defeated Brandyn Van Tassel at 184 pounds with a 9-3 decision. Patrick McKee and Jake Gliva got two crucial decision wins to push the Gopher lead to 16-6 in the dual. A huge feet to back exchange from Gliva broke the match wide open as he walked away with the 8-3 win over Alex Thomsen, while McKee topped Jeremiah Reno, 7-2.
Jager Eisch and Michael Blockhus both took losses to top-10 opponents. Eisch, who competed all the way down to 125 at times that season, showed a game performance in his dual debut at 141 pounds. Then a true freshman, Eisch rode out Chad Red for the majority of the third period and nearly eliminated the major decision with a deep attack late in the match. Blockhus lost a 7-2 decision to Ridge Lovett.
RANKED MATCHUPS
Based on the probable starters, there are scheduled to be five ranked matchups Friday night, based on Intermat's latest rankings, with the possibility of nine in total.
At 125 pounds, No. 18 Patrick McKee faces off with No. 7 Caleb Smith. They have met once before at the 2022 NCAA Championships when Smith, who won by an 8-5 decision, was at Appalachian State.
At 141 pounds, No. 19 Vance VomBaur is set to face eighth-ranked Brock Hardy. VomBaur has two ranked wins on the season, tied for the team lead, and he has the second-highest ranked win of the season for Minnesota with a 4-2 decision over then-No. 7 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State at the Soldier Salute.
No. 13 Drew Roberts meets top-ranked Ridge Lovett at 149 pounds. Roberts has two ranked wins on the season, tied for the team lead.
No. 10 Michael Blockhus matches up with No. 3 Peyton Robb at 157 pounds. Blockhus also has two ranked wins on the season to tie for the team lead. His most recent win was Monday at Iowa when he upset No. 2 Jared Franek, 5-4. It was Franek's first loss of the season and the highest-ranked win of the season for a Gopher.
No. 24 Garrett Joles takes on No. 15 Silas Allred at 197 pounds. Joles is 12-5 on the season and 1-5 against ranked opponents. His win came against No. 28 Jack Wehmeyer of Columbia at the Soldier Salute.
Ranked matchups might also take place at 133 pounds between No. 29 Tyler Wells and No. 19 Jacob Van Dee, as well as at 165 pounds where No. 30 Blaine Brenner may face No. 18 Antrell Taylor, 174 pounds where fans may see No. 33 Andrew Sparks take on No. 29 Bubba Wilson, and at 184 pounds where No. 10 Isaiah Salazar could face No. 3 Lenny Pinto.
Wells is 1-0 against ranked opponents this season with a 11-5 decision over then-No. 17 Kurt Phipps of Bucknell on Nov. 16.
Brenner is 1-4 against ranked foes this season with a 9-6 victory over then-No. 19 Tanner Cook of South Dakota State on Nov. 26. He and Taylor have met once with Taylor prevailing, 10-6, in the championship of last year's Worthington Open.
Sparks has not faced a ranked opponent this year. He's 1-1 all-time against Wilson, winning, 6-1, in last year's dual but falling, 3-2, at the Big Ten Championships.
Like Sparks, Salazar has not faced a ranked opponent this year. He won the only matchup between himself and Pinto, earning a 7-6 decision in last year's dual.
MN vs NE
My Predictions:
125 - #18 Patrick McKee wins over #7 Caleb Smith (MN 3 - NE 0)
133 - #27 Tyler Wells wins over #19 Jacob Van Dee (6-0)
141 - #19 Vance VomBaur loses to #8 Brock Hardy (6-3)
149 - #13 Drew Roberts loses to #1 Ridge Lovett (6-6)
157 - #10 Michael Blockhus loses to #3 Peyton Robb (6-9)
165 - #30 Blaine Brenner loses to #18 Antrell Taylor (6-12)
174 - Sam Skillings wins over #29 Bubba Wilson (9-12)
184 - #10 Isaiah Salazar wins over #3 Lenny Pinto (12-12)
197 - #24 Garrett Joles loses to #15 Silas Allred (12-15)
285 - #28 Bennett Tabor wins over Nash Hutmacher (15-15)
Final Team Score - Not Clear as someone wins on criteria
IN THE POLLS
The Golden Gophers moved up one spot in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, moving from No. 10 to No. 9. Minnesota is also 20th in the WIN Tournament Power Index.
Ten Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least one of the major polls, while nine appear in at least two and five are in at least three of the polls.
Patrick McKee (125 pounds), Vance VomBaur (141), Michael Blockhus (157), and Isaiah Salazar (184) lead the way by appearing in all four: Intermat, WIN, Flo and OpenMat. Salazar appears in the Top-10 in all four polls, ranking eighth by OpenMat and WIN and 10th by InterMat and Flo.
Full rankings for Minnesota can be found on Page 5 of the notes (linked above).
