Behind six-straight conference dual victories, the No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team (11-1, 6-1 Big Ten) travels to University Park, Pa., to battle top-ranked and undefeated Penn State on Sunday, Feb. 18. Action is set for 3 p.m. (CT) and will be aired on BTN with Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons on the call.
Penn State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) enters Sunday’s dual coming off two recent Big Ten wins over Iowa and Rutgers. The Nittany Lions’ projected lineup features five top-ranked wrestlers at their weight class: Beau Bartlett (141), Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (HWT). The remaining five weight classes have grapplers all within the Top 10: No. 6 Braeden Davis (125), No. 11 Aaron Nagao (133), No. 9 Tyler Kasak (149), No. 6 Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and No. 6 Bernie Truax (184).
Competition will be fierce as seven of 10 bouts potentially feature Top 15 matchups. Nine Huskers enter the weekend ranked, led by No. 1 Ridge Lovett (149), No. 3 Lenny Pinto (184), and No. 7 Brock Hardy (141) and Peyton Robb (157). This group boasts a collective 67-12 record and has scored 137 dual points for the Big Red this season.
History: Nebraska and Penn State meet for the 21st time in series history. The Nittany Lions lead the all time series 11-8-1 and have won the last seven matchups between the teams. The Big Red last defeated Penn State on Jan. 10, 2009, at Penn State, 20-16.
Last Time Out: With six Top 10 victories and a major decision, NU overpowered No. 9 Michigan 25-7 in front of 4,958 fans, the third most in Husker wrestling history, on Friday night.
Up Next: Nebraska will close out the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. (CT) against Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. Action will be streamed on Pac-12 Insider.
Nebraska’s Projected Lineup:
125 – No. 12 Caleb Smith (17-5)
133 – No. 17 Jacob Van Dee (16-6)
141 – No. 7 Brock Hardy (14-5)
149 – No. 1 Ridge Lovett (20-0)
157 – No. 7 Peyton Robb (16-4)
165 – No. 15 Antrell Taylor (16-4)
174 – No. 33 Bubba Wilson (11-9)
184 – No. 3 Lenny Pinto (17-3)
197 – No. 13 Silas Allred (19-4)
HWT – Harley Andrews (10-9) or Nash Hutmacher (4-2)
Penn State’s Projected Lineup:
125 - No. 6 Braeden Davis (15-1)
133 - No. 11 Aaron Nagao (9-4)
141 - No. 1 Beau Bartlett (16-0)
149 - No. 9 Tyler Kasak (12-2)
157 - No. 1 Levi Haines (13-0)
165 - No. 6 Mitchell Mesenbrink (17-0)
174 - No. 1 Carter Starocci (10-0)
184 - No. 6 Bernie Truax (10-2)
197 - No. 1 Aaron Brooks (12-0)
HWT - No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (10-0)
Top Matchups to Watch:
141 - No. 7 Hardy (NEB) vs. No. 1 Bartlett (PSU); Second matchup all-time between the wrestlers. Hardy won last year’s bout in the second round of the Big Ten Championships, 7-3
157 - No. 7 Robb (NEB) vs. No. 1 Haines (PSU); A rematch of last year’s Big Ten Finals where Haines came out on top in sudden victory, 3-1