Penn State's Six Most Important Matches Of The Weekend
Penn State's Six Most Important Matches Of The Weekend
Second-ranked Penn State is in action twice on Flo this weekend, first wrestling against Purdue on Friday and then at Maryland on Sunday.
Another weekend of excellent Big Ten duals are on deck for this weekend, and we'll see #2 Penn State in action twice. Both the Nittany Lions' Friday match against Purdue and Sunday match at Maryland are streaming live on Flo.
Let's go over the six most important matches of hose duals.
285: #7 Nick Nevills, Penn State vs. #8 Youssif Hemida, Maryland
The most important match of the weekend will almost definitely be the finale, as Youssif Hemida looks for his sixth ranked win of the year if he can take out Nevills. The Penn State heavyweight split last weekend, pinning Matt Lloyd of Michigan State and getting majored by Adam Coon of Michigan.
141: #6 Nick Lee, Penn State vs. #17 Nate Limmex, Purdue
Nick Lee made his rankings debut this week now that his redshirt has been pulled. He will see his third straight ranked opponent in Nate Limmex, who comes in at #17 this week after beating Chad Red of Nebraska. Lee is 16-3 with 15 bonus-point wins so far, and this would be yet another opportunity to improve his seed for the Big Ten Tournament.
141: #6 Nick Lee, Penn State vs. Ryan Diehl, Maryland
Another important match for Lee, particularly for Big Ten seeding purposes. Though he is no longer ranked, Diehl had been as high as #10 in the rankings and was an NCAA qualifier last season.
125: Carson Kuhn, Penn State vs. #14 Luke Welch, Purdue
Could the Nittany Lions feature grad transfer Carson Kuhn, now in his final semester of eligibility, this weekend? It would be a stiff test for Kuhn, as Welch has been ranked the entire year. He was not in PSU's match notes, but neither was Nick Lee when the Nittany Lions pulled his redshirt last week.
197: #7 Shakur Rasheed/Anthony Cassar/Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) vs. Christian Brunner/Kobe Woods (Purdue)
The last bit of intrigue comes at 197lb. With Shakur Rasheed and Anthony Cassar splitting last weekend's duals, it seems as though coach Cael Sanderson and his staff still have not decided who PSU's starter will be at the weight. And for Purdue, Christian Brunner has not wrestled in any of the three duals since Midlands, so the formerly ranked sophomore could make his return.
197: #7 Shakur Rasheed/Anthony Cassar/Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik (Maryland)
It should be mentioned that Matt McCutcheon was also listed in this week's match notes. It seems like this starting spot won't be sorted out just yet.
Friday, Jan. 19
Purdue at Penn State
Projected Lineups
125: #14 Luke Welch (Purdue) vs. Devin Schnupp or Carson Kuhn (Penn State)
133: Ben Thorton (Purdue) vs. Corey Keener (Penn State)
141: #17 Nate Limmex (Purdue) vs. #6 Nick Lee (Penn State)
149: Koby Reyes (Purdue) vs. #1 Zain Retherford (Penn State)
157: Griffin Parriott (Purdue) vs. #1 Jason Nolf (Penn State)
165: Jacob Morrissey (Purdue) vs. #1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State)
174: #10 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) vs. #2 Mark Hall (Penn State)
184: Max Lyon (Purdue) vs. #1 Bo Nickal (Penn State)
197: Christian Brunner (Purdue) vs. #7 Shakur Rasheed/Anthony Cassar/Matt McCutcheon (Penn State)
285: #19 Shawn Streck (Purdue) vs. #7 Nick Nevills (Penn State)
Sunday, Jan. 21
Penn State at Maryland
Projected Lineups
125: Devin Schnupp or Carson Kuhn (Penn State) vs. Brandon Cray (Maryland)
133: Corey Keener (Penn State) vs. Jhared Simmons (Maryland)
141: #6 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. Ryan Diehl (Maryland)
149: #1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. Alfred Bannister (Maryland)
157: #1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. Kyle Cochran (Maryland)
165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. Brendan Burnham (Maryland)
174: #2 Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. Jahi Jones (Maryland)
184: #1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. Niko Cappello (Maryland)
197: #7 Shakur Rasheed/Anthony Cassar/Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik (Maryland)
285: #7 Nick Nevills (Penn State) vs. #8 Youssif Hemida (Maryland)