MADISON, Wis. — Ranked No. 15 by Intermat and No. 18 by the NWCA, Wisconsin (7-7, 1-6 B1G) returns home to wrap the Big Ten dual season against No. 23/12 Minnesota (11-3, 4-3 B1G) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the UW Field House.
The dual match will air live on Big Ten Network in the fourth national television broadcast of the season for the Badgers. Shane Sparks and Tim Johnson will be on the call for BTN. The Badgers return to action after a week of rest for the dual starters.
Quick Facts
Wisconsin head coach Chris Bono shared a Jump Around update on Thursday. Watch it here:
1. LAST TIME OUT: Last time out, Wisconsin dropped a narrow 18-17 loss at No. 9 Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 27 and a 24-11 loss at No. 5 Nebraska on Sunday, Jan. 29. Five Badgers earned victories against the Wildcats, led by No. 7 Dean Hamiti with a 14-2 major decision over No. 18 Maxx Mayfield at 165 pounds. Notably the Badgers lost No. 2 Austin Gomez mid-bout against No. 4 Yahya Thomas to an injury and Gomez was forced to injury default the bout leading to six points for Northwestern. Read the recap here.
Hamiti, Taylor LaMont (133) and heavyweight Trent Hillger were the only Badgers to earn wins against the Cornhuskers. LaMont earned a gritty 2-0 win against former Badger Kyle Burwick. Hillger defeated Cale Davidson 9-2. The Badgers wrestled without Gomez, as Aidan Medora wrestled at 149 earned a narrow 7-3 loss to Nebraska's Dayne Morton. Read the recap here.
2. READER IN THE HOF: Wisconsin associate head coach Jon Reader was selected in the Class of 2023 to the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa for his collegiate success at Iowa State and then his impact on a national level as a collegiate coach at South Dakota State and now at Wisconsin. Read the news.
3. SCOUTING NO. 23 MINNESOTA: Minnesota is coming off a 18-13 loss in the team's home finale last weekend to second-ranked Iowa. The Gophers claimed four of the ten bouts on the night, with Bailee O'Reilly, Isaiah Salazar, Michial Foy, and Garrett Joles all earning victories. It was a dual of streaks for both teams, as Iowa would come out to secure each of the first six matches of the night to put the dual in their control, before the Gophers would storm back and claim the final four. The dual kicked off at 125 pounds, where No. 6 Patrick McKee showcased a game effort against top-ranked Spencer Lee, but would ultimately fall 7-1. The match of the night came at 197 pounds, as No. 28 Michial Foy secured the match-winning takedown as time expired to knock off returning NCAA finalist Jacob Warner, 2-1. Garrett Joles claimed heavyweight with a 5-0 win over Bradley Hill, but Iowa would take the dual. Read the recap here.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers hold the all-time series lead over Wisconsin with a record of 63-36-1 in a series that dates back to the 1921-22 season. The Gophers have been in command of the series as of late, with wins in nine of the previous ten matchups. However, Wisconsin did snap Minnesota's nine-dual win streak last season with a win inside Maturi Pavilion. Read Minnesota's match preview here.
4. NCAA COACHES RANKINGS: The second set of NCAA coaches rankings were release on Friday, Feb. 10. Seven Badgers received national rankings from the coaches in advance of the NCAA Championship seedings in March. Notably, Austin Gomez earned the No. 1 ranking at 149 pounds ahead of Ohio State's Sammy Sasso at No. 2 and Cornell's Yianni Diakhomalis at No. 3 (the reigning NCAA Champion). The Badgers also had three other wrestlers among the top-10 for their weight classes: Eric Barnett, 125 No. 7, Dean Hamiti 165 No. 5 and Trent Hillger, 285 No. 10.
5. LINEUPS:
#15 WISCONSIN
125: #7
Eric Barnett (14-5)
133: #30
Taylor LaMont (8-11)
141: #28
Joseph Zargo (9-8)
149: #2
Austin Gomez (11-2)
157: #18
Garrett Model (13-7)
165: #6
Dean Hamiti (16-4)
174:
Josh Otto (6-12) or
Cale Anderson (0-0)
184:
Tyler Dow (7-10)
197: #20
Braxton Amos (14-5)
285: #11
Trent Hillger (12-6) or
Peter Christensen (4-1)
HC:
Chris Bono
AC:
Jon Reader (Assoc. HC)
AC:
Seth Gross
#23 MINNESOTA
125: #6 Patrick McKee (10-3)
133: #14 Aaron Nagao (14-3) or Jake Gliva (12-7)
141: #14 Jake Bergeland (12-7)
149: #15 Michael Blockhus (13-4)
157: #17 Brayton Lee (4-7)
165: #28 Andrew Sparks (13-7) or Cael Carlson (10-6)
174: #10 Bailee O'Reilly (14-3) or Jared Krattiger (8-1)
184: #9 Isaiah Salazar (15-1) or Sam Skillings (8-8)
197: #23 Michial Foy (13-7)
285: Garrett Joles (12-10)
HC: Brandon Eggum
AC: Luke Becker
AC: Trevor Brandvold
