Five things to know: Rutgers and Purdue

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Five things to know: Rutgers and Purdue

February 13, 2018 | Wrestling

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Badgers will host No. 21 Scarlet Knights and No. 22 Boilermakers to finish out the regular season

MADISON, Wis.- Entering the final week of the regular season, No. 18 Wisconsin wrestling is looking to finish strong as it has two more home conference duals before the season ends and the Big Ten tournament comes into focus.

The first of the two will be on Friday when UW hosts No. 21 Rutgers (6-7, 2-6 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. The last time the two programs faced was in the 2015-16 season, where it came down to the wire, with a late Johnny Jimenez takedown sealing his 7-4 decision and the Badgers' 18-15 victory. The No. 22 Purdue Boilermakers (8-7, 2-6) will step in the UW Field House on Senior Day Sunday with action slated to begin at noon. The two programs saw one another last season, with Wisconsin taking the 22-12 victory.

And finish your weekend with the Badgers too for Sunday Kids' Day, presented by @Kohls! We are giving away Bucky Bobblehead Toothbrush holders to the first 500 kids 12 and under!https://t.co/p1Cec6b3aU pic.twitter.com/yV30XDsnmb
— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) February 13, 2018

1. LAST TIME ON THE MAT: This past weekend the Cardinal and White battled two tough opponents in then No. 15 Nebraska and No. 14 Illinois. The Badgers dropped their first dual, falling to the Huskers at home by a 24-10 final. The squad rebounded two days later, upsetting the Illini in Champaign in a 19-16 dual win that went down to the wire.

2. CRONE IN THE ZONE: Senior Andrew Crone is arguably been the hottest UW wrestler as of late, winning his last seven matches, including victories over Michigan's then-No. 5 Alec Pantaleo, Nebraska's No. 8 Tyler Berger and Illinois' No. 20 Kyle Langenderfer at 157 pounds. The Delafield, Wisconsin native is also 8-0 in dual action, 6-0 in Big Ten Duals and has been victorious in 12 of his last 14 matches.

3. HUNTER'S HOT STREAK: The other Wisconsin wrestler who could be in the argument for the hottest wrestler right now is Hunter Ritter. The sophomore is currently undefeated in Big Ten duals with a 7-0 record. With two of those wins coming over Nebraska's Eric Schultz and Illinois' Andre Lee, Ritter has won six-straight matches and nine of his last 10, currently posting a 20-7 record on the season.

4. THE WEEKEND'S MARQUEE MATCHUPS: With top-notch competition in the always-difficult Big Ten, the arrival of Rutgers and Purdue will set up some matches that are worth noting. Friday's dual against the Scarlet Knights will feature eight ranked wrestlers in total, with two matchups involving some of the country's top talent. At 165 pounds UW's Evan Wick who is 11th in the country, will face off with Rutgers' No. 7 Richie Lewis. At 184 pounds, No. 9 Ricky Robertson is looking to rebound as he has another challenge on Friday against No.12 Nicholas Gravina. Sunday's dual against the Boilermakers does not feature any ranked-on-ranked matchups, but seven of the 10 matches will feature ranked talent.

5. SCOUTING RUTGERS AND PURDUE: Rutgers, which has had one of the most difficult schedules in the country, started off the season 3-0, it has gone 3-7 since, falling to all currently ranked programs including No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Iowa. The last time the New Jersey squad was on the mat, they faced then No. 21 Minnesota, falling to a 20-12 final. Purdue had a similar beginning to Rutgers, starting out 4-0 in dual competition before dropping its next five of six, again to all ranked opponents. The last time the Boilermakers were on the mat, they fell to then No. 19 Northwestern, 24-16 in West Lafayette.

1/16 Probable Matchups- RU vs. UW
125-Johnny Jimenez (UW) (Sr./ 2-6) vs. No. 1 Nick Suriano (RU) (So./ 20-0)
133-Jens Lantz (UW) (RS-Jr./ 15-11) vs. No. 20 Scott DelVecchio (RU) (RS-Sr./ 16-4)
141-Eli Stickley (UW) (RS-So./ 15-8) vs. Michael Van Brill (RU) (RS-Fr./ 12-10)
149-Cole Martin (UW) (RS-So./ 14-9) vs. No. 11 Eleazar DeLuca (RU) (RS-Sr./ 9-7)
157-No. 14 Andrew Crone (UW) (RS-Sr./ 22-7) vs. John Van Brill (RU) (RS-Jr./ 12-8)
165-No. 11 Evan Wick (RS-Fr./ 18-4) vs. No. 7 Richie Lewis (RU) (RS-Sr./ 12-3)
174-Ryan Christensen (RS-Jr./ 18-10) vs. Joe Grello (RU) (RS-Fr./ 13-7)
184-No. 9 Ricky Robertson (RS-Sr./ 20-6) vs. No. 12 Nicholas Gravina (RU) (RS-Sr./ 12-3)
197-Hunter Ritter (RS-So./ 20-7) vs. Anthony Messner (RU) (Sr./ 1-5)
285-Ben Stone (RS-So./ 5-13) vs. Razhonn Gross (RU) (Sr./ 13-11)

1/18 Probable Matchups- PU vs. UW
125-Johnny Jimenez (UW) (Sr./ 2-6) vs. No. 18 Luke Welch (PU) (RS-Sr./ 24-7)
-OR- Devin Schroeder (PU) (RS-Fr./ 19-7)
133-Jens Lantz (UW) (RS-Jr./ 15-11) vs. Ben Thornton (PU) (RS-Jr./ 24-8)
141-Eli Stickley (UW) (RS-So./ 15-8) vs. No. 15 Nate Limmex (PU) (RS-So./ 22-12)
149-Cole Martin (UW) (RS-So./ 14-9) vs. Austin Nash (PU) (RS-So./ 6-17)
157-No. 14 Andrew Crone (UW) (RS-Sr./ 22-7) vs. Griffin Parriott (PU) (RS-Fr./ 13-10)
-OR- Cole Wysocki (PU) (RS-So./ 12-14)
165-No. 11 Evan Wick (RS-Fr./ 18-4) vs. Jacob Morrissey (PU) (RS-Sr./ 20-14)
174-Ryan Christensen (RS-Jr./ 18-10) vs. No. 12 Dylan Lydy (PU) (RS-So../ 28-10)
184-No. 9 Ricky Robertson (RS-Sr./ 20-6) vs. Max Lyon (PU) (Fr./ 17-12)
197-Hunter Ritter (RS-So./ 20-7) vs. Christian Brunner (PU) (RS-Fr./ 19-7)
285-Ben Stone (RS-So./ 5-13) vs. No. 17 Shawn Streck (PU) (Sr./ 25-11)
-OR- Jacob Aven (PU) (RS-Jr./ 9-10)