Six Reasons You Shouldn't Miss Missouri vs SDSU
Six Reasons You Shouldn't Miss Missouri vs SDSU
A preview of what is set to be an excellent dual between Missouri and South Dakota State on Sunday.
A top-15 showdown will get underway Sunday afternoon when the #13 South Dakota State Jackrabbits take on the #10 Missouri Tigers in Brookings, South Dakota. Wrestling gets underway at 3 pm Eastern. Below are the probable lineups and six reasons to tune in.
Probable Lineups
125: #8 Noah Surtin, Missouri vs #13 Tanner Jordan, SDSU
133: Eric Lovelace/Zeke Seltzer, Missouri vs #20 Derrick Cardinal, SDSU
141: #24 Josh Edmond, Missouri vs #23 Clay Carlson, SDSU
149: #10 Logan Gioffre, Missouri vs #22 Alek Martin, SDSU
157: #12 Brock Mauller, Missouri vs #17 Cael Swensen, SDSU
165: #1 Keegan O’Toole, Missouri vs Tanner Cook, SDSU
174: #11 Peyton Mocco, Missouri vs #4 Cade DeVos, SDSU
184: #11 Clayton Whiting, Missouri vs #8 Bennett Berge, SDSU
197: #9 Rocky Elam, Missouri vs #4 Tanner Sloan, SDSU
285: #5 Zach Elam, Missouri vs Luke Rasmussen, SDSU
7 Ranked Matches
125, 141, 149, 157, 174, 184, and 197 all feature ranked vs ranked matchups. Not just ranked vs ranked, but no one in those bouts is ranked below #24. In fact, six of the wrestlers in those bouts are top-10. Even in the bouts without ranked vs ranked matchups (133, 165, and 285), there will still be a ranked wrestler on the mat for one team. Meaning, there will be high-quality wrestling in every bout.
5 Toss Up Matches
This dual is hard to predict as there are five legitimate tossup matches. 125, 141, 174, 184, and 197 are toss-up matches with 157 being in the balance as well. That being said, Missouri might have a slight edge in these matches. Tanner Jordan defeated Noah Surtin in 2021, but Surtin has won three straight. Similarly, Peyton Mocco fell to Cade DeVos in 2022, but has won the last three times they’ve met. Even at 184, despite being ranked lower, Clayton Whiting is 1-0 against Bennett Berge. That being said, I believe every SDSU wrestler in these matches can win and 141 and 197 are true toss-ups. Clay Carlson and Josh Edmond have never met, but are ranked back-to-back and Rocky Elam and Tanner Sloan are an even 2-2 split in their career. Which brings me to my next point.
An NCAA Semifinal Rematch at 197
As previously mentioned, Rocky Elam and Tanner Sloan have evenly split 2-2 in their career. However, Sloan got the most recent and important win as it came in the NCAA semifinals last season. Elam came out and got the first takedown, but a big four-point nearfall for Sloan in the second made the difference.
Watch the highlights from Sloan and Elam’s 2023 NCAA semifinal below
That being said, don’t dismiss Elam. He won just two weeks prior at Big 12s in tiebreakers 2-1.
Keegan O’Toole
Keegan O’Toole is the #2 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country for a reason. A 2X NCAA champion he’s attempting to complete his second undefeated season and push for his first Dan Hodge Trophy Award. He currently sits at 14-0 with an almost 80% bonus rate including five falls and three tech falls. Any chance to watch Keegan O’Toole compete should be taken as I believe we are watching one of the greats. While Tanner Cook isn’t a top ranked opponent he’s a classic “kitchen sink” wrestler that has some tricks up his sleeve.
Watch Keegan O'Toole win his 2nd NCAA title below
Big 12 Seeding
The conference tournament is less than a month away meaning these matches are as important as any regular season matches. Missouri and SDSU are currently ranked #10 and #13 in the nation and only behind Oklahoma State and Iowa State in the Big 12. There is a good chance many of these wrestlers will hit again at the Big 12 tournament in Tulsa.
The Series Is Evenly Split All Time
These two have only dualed six times with the series evenly split 3-3. The two have split the last two. SDSU won the last meeting 21-12 in 2022 and Missouri won 33-9 in 2020. It’s emerging into a fun conference rivalry with talented rosters from both lineups. Missouri will be pushing for a team trophy performance this year at NCAAs while the Jackrabbits have a good chance to break their all-time highest finish of 12th (in 2018) after finishing in 14th last season.
Don’t miss out! Sunday at 3 pm Eastern!