Iowa Wrestling: No. 2 Iowa vs Illinois & Purdue – Preview, How to Watch Guide, & Match Thread
Here we are, just hours away from kicking off the official Big Ten dual season for our #2 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes! Considering the Illinois dual is later tonight (followed by a trip to Purdue on Sunday) I won’t waste a lot of time here with the histories of these programs. By now, we know who they are.
According to the official notes we’re 54-26 all-time against The Fighting Illini including a 36-3 clubbing in Champaign last year, in which they won one match at 133lbs. FYI – it very well could be a rematch again this year: Lucas Byrd vs Cullan Schriever.
Our record against Purdue is considerably more lopsided: 45-4-3. We’ve won a staggering 33 consecutive duals against the Boilermakers dating back to 1961. For perspective’s sake, JFK was only weeks away from being sworn in the last time they claimed victory over Iowa.
ILLINOIS (2-2)
Our neighbors come into the dual with a split record of 2-2 and are eyeing an uphill battle, but one that they’re hoping will be a momentum builder for March.
While they aren’t a particularly deep team, they do have a handful of tough individuals that can and will cause us problems this evening. They have five guys appearing inside The Intermat Rankings including two in the top ten.
Lucas Byrd (133lbs) is a 2x All-American and their lone podium finisher, but the Braunagel brothers are also national qualifiers that are dangerous in their own right. A path to victory for Illinois is damn near impossible unless a few MAJOR upsets were to occur. Even with those upsets, bonus points will be required.
Knowing they’ve got a thin line to walk I expect them to wrestle smart and strategically. They’ll look to keep the score close late in the 3rd in an attempt to take us to deep water and secure a TD in the waning seconds. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see some big throw attempts to try and steal some near fall points.
Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself to keep myself fully engaged…
PURDUE (4-3)
I will do a separate HTW/ Match Thread for this dual on Sunday.
The Boilermakers are in the same boat as their hideously orange colored conference brothers. They’re coming into Big Ten play at 4-3 with their four wins coming over smaller schools, none of which are sniffing the top 30 in the team rankings.
Though admittedly, they have had some turn over with a few national qualifiers graduating including former Iowa high school standout, Max Lyon (Dyersville, IA).
They have three appearing in the rankings and are led by Kendall Coleman (157lbs) who has jettisoned up the rankings to #3 nationally. Joining him with that coveted number before the name is #8 Matt Ramos (125lbs) and #15 Parker Filius (141lbs).
Outside of their 3 big guns in the bottom half of the roster, they’re going to struggle to match our point output on Sunday afternoon.
IOWA (7-0)
Our hot start to the season continued last weekend as we blew the doors off the inaugural Soldier Salute, taking home the championship and setting a new tournament record in the process with 228 points. (It’s the inaugural tourney, Trez. Duh.)
We crowned 8 winners and 16 top six finishes – all in all, it was a successful two day tournament.
However, health is the biggest factor and Tom Brands continually mentions this in almost every interaction he has with the media (video below).
The biggest news of the weekend was that Spencer Lee looked like the Spencer Lee of old as he thoroughly and convincingly destroyed fellow Hawkeye, Drake Ayala, in the finals – pinning him in 1:24.
There was drama immediately following the match between the two wrestlers, the coach’s corner, and social media warriors. After decking Ayala, Lee was seen jawing at Drake then at Tom and Terry in the corner, visibly frustrated and angry. I don’t want to dive into this right now – because I’m of the stance that it’s a non-issue, at least until it becomes an issue. Brands briefly speaks on it in the same video below.
Anyways, getting back to the upcoming duals, we have a handful of tough tests over this short weekend – especially against Purdue in what I assume will be a nice long bus ride on Saturday afternoon to West Lafayette. Wrestling followed by immediate travel followed by immediate wrestling can create unexpected outcomes. Our energy level is something we should keep an eye on for Sunday. It won’t change the end result of a Hawkeye win, but it could certainly make things a bit more interesting.
PROBABLE LINEUP vs ILLINOIS:
125: #1 Spencer Lee vs Maximo Renteria
133: Brody Teske // Cullan Schriever vs #10 Lucas Byrd
141: #2 Real Woods vs Danny Pucino
149: #5 Max Murin vs Kevon Davenport
157: #17 Cobe Siebrecht vs Anthony Federico
165: #13 Patrick Kennedy vs #11 Danny Braunagel
174: #16 Nelson Brands vs #10 Edmond Ruth
184: #8 Abe Assad vs #29 Dylan Connell
197: #6 Jacob Warner vs #13 Zac Braunagel
285: #3 Tony Cassioppi vs Matt Wrobleski
PROBABLE LINEUP vs PURDUE:
125: #1 Spencer Lee vs #8 Matt Ramos
133: Brody Teske // Cullan Schriever vs Dustin Norris
141: #2 Real Woods vs #15 Parker Filius
149: #5 Max Murin vs Trey Kruse // Jaden Reynolds
157: #17 Cobe Siebrecht vs #3 Kendall Coleman
165: #13 Patrick Kennedy vs Stoney Buell // Cooper Noehre
174: #16 Nelson Brands vs Brody Baumann // Macartney Parkinson
184: #8 Abe Assad vs Ben Vanadia
197: #6 Jacob Warner vs Hayden Filipovich
285: #3 Tony Cassioppi vs Tristan Ruhlman // Hayden Copass
KEY MATCH-UPS vs Illinois:
133: Brody Teske // Cullan Schriever vs #10 Lucas Byrd
Allegedly Teske is eyeing his comeback this weekend. On the other hand, Schriever is coming off a 1st place finish at the Soldier Salute and I’m sure is also eager to avenge his 5-0 loss to Byrd from last season.
Byrd is a tough, gritty opponent and the odds on favorite to win against either of our guys. If Teske or Schriever are to reach podium status this year, then the Lucas Byrd’s is the type of wrestler they need to be able to not only hang with, but beat. Tonight we’ll know exactly where they stand.
165: #13 Patrick Kennedy vs #11 Danny Braunagel
The 165lbs field is absolutely loaded this year and for the first time in years, it’s not populated with Big Ten wrestlers in the top 5. Not only will this be a battle of AA contenders, but this could also have a HUGE impact come seeing time not only for the Big Tens, but also nationals.
Everyone knows PK has the talent, but so far it’s about if he can put it all together for a full 7 minutes. A good showing and solid win over a higher ranked Braunagel will go a long way to proving he has a legit shot at a podium finish in one of the of the deepest weights in recent memory.
KEY MATCH-UPS vs Purdue:
125: #1 Spencer Lee vs #8 Matt Ramos
Perhaps it’s ridiculous to say that a 15-5 major decision was a struggle, but for Spencer Lee in the SF’s of the Soldier Salute, it was. He appeared to gas-out early in the 3rd period and shut things down against Jore Volk, only to ratchet it up 20 levels and deck Ayala in the finals.
If Lee brings that same anger and attitude to the Ramos match it should end via pin or tech fall. However, if Ramos survives into the 3rd it’ll be interesting to see how Lee handles going deep. Right now his focus is building up his stamina and getting back into his routine – tonight we’ll see how far he’s come over the past week
157: #17 Cobe Siebrecht vs #3 Kendall Coleman
Siebrecht has been the big surprise of the young season and here he’ll face his toughest opponent yet in the emerging Coleman. Coleman has always been a talented wrestler, but one that hasn’t able to break through into the next tier, now it appears he’s trying to do just that.
With the departures of (what I count) to be 4 AA’s from 157lbs, the junior Boilermaker is now making his move and certainly a fringe AA. Cobe has been a delight to watch in his “Go Big or Go Home” mentality, but now we’ll see how well that approach works against a legit threat.
Broadcast Info
Opponent: Illinois
Dual time: 7:00PM GT (Central) // Friday, Jan. 6 2022
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena // Iowa City, IA
TV/ Online: BTN+
Radio: iHeartRadio (AM800 KXIC)
