Can Oklahoma State End Missouri's 35-Match Winning Streak This Saturday?
Can Oklahoma State End Missouri's 35-Match Winning Streak This Saturday?
Missouri carries a 35-match winning streak into this Saturday's dual against Oklahoma State in Columbia.
The #4 Oklahoma State Cowboys and #10 Missouri Tigers renew their rivalry this weekend in Columbia. The home team owns a 35-dual winning streak, which includes last year's 21-19 win in Stillwater.
Over the past four years, the teams have split their series:
1/23/15: Missouri 22-10 Oklahoma State (Columbia)
1/22/16: Oklahoma State 23-9 Missouri (Stillwater)
1/27/17: Oklahoma State 20-16 Missouri (Columbia)
1/27/18: Missouri 21-19 Oklahoma State (Stillwater)
The last time coach Brian Smith's team lost a dual was February 12, 2017 against Northern Iowa. There are four starters from that dual who will be in the lineup Saturday: John Erneste (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Daniel Lewis (174), and Dylan Wisman (184).
Eierman's pin over Dean Heil pushed the Tigers to victory a year ago, as they won six matches to overcome a pin and an injury default win for the Cowboys. The junior, currently ranked fourth, could have a fascinating match against #14 Kaid Brock. Both are comfortable going upper body and aren't afraid to take risks that may result in them giving up takedowns.
Right after that comes a Top-10 battle between two star freshmen. Kaden Gfeller goes into this match with a 24-2 record and five ranked wins. Brock Mauller is 24-1 with three ranked wins and is considered one of the most likely true freshmen to place this year at NCAAs. The redshirt freshman Gfeller opened as a -2.5 favorite.
Based on the probable starters released by OK State, Joe Smith and Jacobe Smith will still be at 174 and 184, respectively. Which is exactly who they've been using at those weights, but with coach John Smith saying after the Air Force dual that those two would be dropping down, they'll be weighing in several pounds under their opponents. While that probably won't affect Jacobe as much, Joe will have to come in 4-5 pounds under against #2 Daniel Lewis, who is fresh off a pin of Zahid Valencia. Lewis beat Jacobe in last year's duals
Dakota Geer will also be coming in underweight, but they'll probably put out Preston Weigel against Wyatt Koelling. Chandler Rogers missed over a month after the Scuffle, and was listed as an or with Andrew Shomers at 165. Should Rogers go, it will be the only repeat match from last year when he faces Connor Flynn.
The Pokes have a decided advantage at the lighter weights, with #4 Nick Piccininni favored to pick up bonus points against Dack Punke and Daton Fix heavily favored to beat John Erneste. While Erneste is certainly dangerous (remember his spladle of Kaid Brock), and can keep matches close (his 3-2 loss to Nick Suriano at CKLV), Fix should be able to control this one.
True freshman Jarrett Jacques could be able to mitigate the Fix loss with a win over either Wyatt Sheets or Jonce Blaylock. Derek White has another opportunity to pick up a win over a likely NCAA qualifier in Zach Elam.
These two teams used to both be in the Big 12 and have wrestled 50 times. Oklahoma State won the first 30 matches of the rivalry, with the first Tiger win coming on November 21, 2003. Like I said above, the teams have split over the past four years, bringing the total season series to 42-7-1.
The Cowboys are 13-0 on the year and this is their second-to-last dual. This sets them up for the showdown with Iowa at Gallagher-Iba Arena. That one will feature several high profile matchups that will have a massive impact on seeding, especially against Spencer Lee and Austin DeSanto.
While Missouri is more than capable of pulling off several upsets, the Orange and Black are favored in at least six matches, with bonus possible at a couple of those. As many as 16 ranked wrestlers could appear in this dual. The probable starters are below.
Oklahoma State Probable Starters
125: #4 Nick Piccininni
133: #2 Daton Fix
141: #14 Kaid Brock
149: #4 Kaden Gfeller
157: Wyatt Sheets/Jonce Blaylock
165: #11 Chandler Rogers/Andrew Shomers
174: #7 Joe Smith
184: #9 Jacobe Smith
197: #13 Dakota Geer/Preston Weigel
285: #2 Derek White
Missouri Probable Starters
125: Dack Punke
133: #10 John Erneste
141: #4 Jaydin Eierman
149: #9 Brock Mauller
157: #14 Jarrett Jacques
165: #13 Connor Flynn
174: #2 Daniel Lewis
184: Dylan Wisman
197: Wyatt Koelling
285: #19 Zach Elam