Huskers Set to Host Hawkeyes Sunday

#3 Iowa Hawkeyes 10-0 (5-0) at #6 Nebraska Cornhuskers 10-3 (4-2)

Sunday, Feb. 3

Noon CT

Lincoln, Neb.

Devaney Center

Live Streaming: BTN Plus/FloWrestling

Live Stats: TrackWrestling

 

The Matchup:

Lincoln, Neb. -- The #6 Nebraska Cornhuskers host the #3 Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, Feb. 3 at noon. This will be the Hawkeyes’ first trip to Lincoln since 2016.

 

The Hawkeyes are a perfect 10-0 on the season and have five Big Ten wins, with their most notable Big Ten win coming against #7 Minnesota. Nebraska is the highest ranked conference opponent left on their schedule. Iowa has nine wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight class.

 

How to Follow:

Both duals will be televised on BTN Plus and FloWrestling. Live stats will be available on TrackWrestling.com and updates will be posted on Twitter (@HuskerWrestling) and Facebook (@NebraskaWrestling) throughout the afternoon.

 

Scouting Iowa:

• Head Coach: Tom Brands

            • Career Record: 231-42-1 (15th year)

            • Record at Iowa: 214-22-1 (13th year)

 

            • 2018-19 Record: 10-0 (5-0 Big Ten)

            Wins (10): CSU Bakersfield, at Kent State, #10 Princeton, Purdue, #22 Iowa State,

Lehigh, at #7 Minnesota, #14 Rutgers, at #13 Illinois, at Northwestern

 

• In 12 seasons as Iowa’s head coach, Brands has led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA and four Big Ten team titles, crowning 11 NCAA champions, 15 Big Ten champions and 66 All-Americans.

• Last year at the NCAA Championships, Iowa crowned five All-Americans and one national champion. Spencer Lee (125), who returns for his sophomore year, was the 2018 national champion at 125 pounds. Alex Marinelli (165) finished sixth and Sam Stoll (285) finished fifth in their respective weight classes to earn the honor.

• The Hawkeyes have won only one of their 10 duals by less than 14 points this season. Iowa defeated in-state rival Iowa State 19-18 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 1. Iowa has four duals remaining in 2019, and besides Nebraska, only one of the other competitors are ranked in the top 10 nationally.

• Iowa avoids #1 Penn State and #2 Ohio State on this year’s schedule. On paper, their most difficult dual going forward will be against #4 Oklahoma State to close the season on Feb. 24. The dual will be in Stillwater, Okla.

• Iowa has not had a perfect season since going 23-0-0 in 2009-10. They are five dual wins away from going undefeated for the first time in nine years.

 

Series History:

Nebraska trails the all-time series against Iowa 8-26-2. Their last meeting came on Feb. 12, 2017 in Iowa City, when the Hawkeyes defeated the Huskers 27-9. The Hawkeyes have won nine straight duals in the series. NU last defeated Iowa on Jan. 14, 2006, when they took a 24-13 victory at the National Duals in Iowa City, Iowa.

 

Nebraska’s Projected Starters:

125: #16 Sr. Zeke Moisey (10-6)

133: R-Fr. Tucker Sjomeling (11-5) -OR- Fr. Jevon Parrish (13-8)

141: So. Chad Red Jr. (13-8)

149: Jr. Jordan Shearer (7-6) -OR- Jr. Collin Purinton (8-6)

157: #2 Sr. Tyler Berger (18-2)

165: #6 Jr. Isaiah White (12-3)

174: #9 R-Fr. Mikey Labriola (17-4)

184: #5 So. Taylor Venz (16-3)

197: #12 So. Eric Schultz (17-6)

285: #14 Jr. David Jensen (12-2)

 

Iowa’s Projected Starters:

125: #2 So. Spencer Lee (12-1)

133: #3 So. Austin DeSanto (13-1)

141: #16 Fr. Max Murin (11-4)  

149: #12 Jr. Pat Lugo (10-6)

157: #7 So. Kaleb Young (13-2)

165: #2 So. Alex Marinelli (15-0)

174: Sr. Mitch Bowman (4-4) -OR- Jr. Keegan Shaw (14-4)

184: #13 Jr. Cash Wilcke (13-3)

197: #5 Fr. Jacob Warner (10-2)

285: #3 Sr. Sam Stoll (6-0).

 

Top Matchups to Watch:

            125: #16 Zeke Moisey (NEB) vs. #2 Spencer Lee (IOWA)

            141: #19 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) vs. #16 Max Murin (IOWA)

            157: #2 Tyler Berger (NEB) vs. #7 Kaleb Young (IOWA)

            165: #6 Isaiah White (NEB) vs. #2 Alex Marinelli (IOWA)

            197: #11 Eric Schultz (NEB) vs. #5 Jacob Warner (IOWA)

 

Quick Notes:

• Nebraska has outscored its 13 dual opponents by a combined score of 301-181.

• Nebraska has won 80 of 130 (61.5%) individual matches in dual competition.

• With their win over Rutgers Friday, Coach Manning now has nine consecutive 10-win seasons at Nebraska

• The Huskers have a 10-3 record, but two of the three losses (22-21 vs. #10 Wisconsin and 18-17 at #7 NC State) came by criteria.

• Returning All-American Tyler Berger (157) won his 100th career match on Dec. 15 against UNC’s Sawyer Davidson. He’s the 28th Husker to hit the 100-win mark and holds a 12-1 dual record this year.

• Redshirt freshman Mikey Labriola (174) leads the team with 56 dual takedowns in 11 bouts. Labriola is 17-4 on the season (9-3 in duals) and earned the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award on Nov. 13 after going undefeated at the Northeast Duals.

• After starting the season 1-3, junior Isaiah White (165) has won 12 of his last 13 matches, with his only loss coming to #1 Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State. He’s 4-1 in his last four matches against top 20 ranked opponents.

• Returning All-American Taylor Venz (184) has won his last six dual matches. He has three pins in those matches and two top 10 wins (UNI’s #6 Drew Foster and Illinois’ #2 Emery Parker).

 

Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (3x):

• For the third time this year, a Husker wrestler has garnered Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors. #4 Taylor Venz (184) earned the award after pinning #2 Emery Parker of Illinois on Sunday.

• #6 Isaiah White (165) and #9 Mikey Labriola also won the award on Dec. 4 and Nov. 13, respectively.

• Prior to this season, the last Husker to earn Big Ten Wrestler of the week was Robert Kokesh in 2014-15. NU is tied for 1st in the Big Ten with Penn State in Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors this year.

 

Red Searching for Marquee Victory:

• Now 13-8 on the season, returning All-American Chad Red Jr. (141) is looking to build momentum heading into the final few weeks of the season before postseason play begins.

• The sophomore from Indianapolis, Ind., has had a couple heartbreakers lately. He’s dropped one-point decisions to #6 Nick Lee of Penn State (5-4), #4 Mike Carr of Illinois (4-3) and #8 Josh Alber of Northern Iowa (6-4). He’ll have a chance for a huge victory Sunday against Iowa’s #15 Max Murin.

 

Isaiah Remains White Hot:

• Junior Isaiah White qualified for the NCAA Championships last season in his first year as a Husker. He hit adversity early in the 2018-19 season, however, winning just one of his first four matches.

• Since his 1-3 start, White has won 12 of his past 13 matches, including five bouts against top 20 opponents. He’s earned three major decisions and won the other nine by decision. His best win came in the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Invitational, when he defeated #5 Logan Massa of Michigan.

 

Venz Responds to Losses with a Vengeance in 2019:

• Taylor Venz made an instant impact upon entering the Huskers lineup last fall after a redshirt season in the year prior. The 184-pounder went 29-9 and earned All-America honors after finishing fourth at the 2018 NCAA Championships.

• Venz started the season 10-0, including winning his first five matches at the Cliff Keen Invitational. He fell in championship to No. 1 Myles Martin of Ohio State, 11-5, for his first loss of the year.

• After losing to Martin, Venz dropped his next two matches after that in top 15 showdowns with UNC and NC State.

• Since 2019 began, Venz has won all six of his matches. He’s won one by tech. fall, three by pin and two by decision. Last Sunday, he pinned #2 Emery Parker of Illinois, his biggest win of the season.

 

Closing in on Milestones:

• #2 Tyler Berger (157) has 106 career wins. He’s just three wins away from being in the top 15 all-time at Nebraska.

• #9 Mikey Labriola (174) carries a 17-4 record into this weekend. The redshirt freshman from Easton, Pa., is 11 wins away from breaking the top 10 for wins as a freshman.

• #16 Zeke Moisey (94-42) is just six wins away from reaching 100-career victories. He’s 10-6 overall at Nebraska in his redshirt senior year. His other 84 wins came in his first four years at WVU.

 

Last Time Out:

The Huskers defeated #14 Rutgers on the road in Piscataway, N.J., on Friday, Feb. 1. Five of the eight individual wins came by bonus points as the Huskers ran away with a 31-9 win.

 

Up Next:

NU stays home to host #7 Minnesota on Friday, Feb. 8 for a 7 p.m. dual at the Devaney Center. Tickets are on sale at Huskers.com/tickets or by phone at 800-8-BIGRED.