Wrestling Preview: No. 6 Ohio State at No. 11 Illinois

Ohio State kicks off the second semester of the season with a stiff road test Sunday at No. 11 Illinois. 

Defending NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez leads leads the Fighting Illini, who opted out of the 53rd Midlands tournament in Evanston last week to prepare for a meat-grinder of a Big Ten schedule which features matches against Ohio State, No. 2 Iowa, No. 1 Penn State and No. 13 Michigan in the month of January, alone.

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI

8–0 ROSTER | SCHEDULE

2:00 PM – SUNDAY, JAN. 3 HUFF HALL CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS

FIGHTINGILLINI.COM

Top-ranked Martinez is joined by three teammates in the top 10 of their respective weight classes, so the Buckeyes will need to be up for the challenge to bring home a road win.

Things get started at 2 p.m. and the action will be streamed online at FightingIllini.com. As always, be sure to follow me, @CurtHeinrichs, on Twitter, for a breakdown of the action as it develops.

The No. 11 Fighting Illini (8-0)

Head Coach: Jim Heffernan

Heffernan is in his sixth year at the helm of the Illini program after being an assistant in Champaign for 17 seasons. Under his tutelage, Jesse Delgado and current redshirt sophomore Isaiah Martinez have won NCAA titles, and he's coached other wrestlers to 15 All-American finishes at the NCAA tournament.

A notable wrestler himself, Heffernan won four Big Ten titles and an NCAA title at Iowa and he was a two-time Ohio state champion for Lakewood St. Edward. Assisting Heffernan is Associate Head Coach Mark Perry, who was a two-time NCAA champion – and one of my favorite non-Buckeye wrestlers – at Iowa. Jeremy Hunter, a three-time All-American at Penn State, is also on the staff as an assistant coach.

Ohioans on the Illini Roster

None, although Heffernan wrestled for St. Edward High School in Lakewood.

Notable Illini Wrestlers

Isaiah Martinez (R-SO, 157): Try to think think of a wrestling platitude and odds are, it's applicable to Martinez. Undefeated as a redhsirt-freshman, the Lemoore, Cal. native won Big Ten and NCAA titles on the way to being a finalist for the Hodge Trophy.

Martinez constantly works for ways to score and has a gas tank to go the full seven minutes at a torrid pace. When discussing Martinez last year at the B1G Tournament, two-time NCAA champ Mark Perry told me that he's the strongest wrestler he's ever matched up against and while training, sends Perry home battered more often than not. Martinez is a special talent and stands a strong chance to win four NCAA titles.

Zane Richards (RS-JR, 133): Twice an NCAA tournament qualifier, Richards has been a mainstay for the Illini since arriving on campus. He has a pair of fifth place finishes at the Big Ten Championships in an outstanding and deep weight class and enters Sunday's match ranked 9th in the country.

Zac Brunson (RS-JR, 174): Brunson fell a match short of earning All-American honors last season, falling to a pair of tough – and now graduated – Big Ten foes along the way. He's a capable pinner, with eight in his first 13 matches to start this season and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week following his championship at the Reno Tournament of Champions in December.

Brooks Black (RS-SO, HWT): Black was one of the most sought-after recruits in the country after a superb career at New Jersey's powerhouse Blair Academy. If there was a major tournament, he won it, and probably more than once. His collegiate career has not been as outstanding, but Black did finish eighth at the Big Ten Championships and eliminated Ohio State's Nick Tavanello at the NCAA tournament.

Key Matchups

157: #13 Jake Ryan vs. #1 Isaiah Martinez

Ryan is known for being difficult to score on, while Martinez is a scoring machine. Keeping a match with the undefeated Martinez close would be a huge boost to Ryan’s confidence as he's yet to record a signature win. Ryan is a promising talent, but he may be in over his head against IMar.

165: #2 Bo Jordan vs. #6 Steven Rodrigues

Rodrigues’ signature win on the season to this point is a decision over No. 9 Jim Wilson of Stanford at Reno. Bo is on another level entirely, though he has not looked 100% since dropping down to 165. Bo sat out the CKLV due to a minor injury, and if he’s still banged up and doesn’t go for the Buckeyes, the pendulum will swing in favor of the Illini.

174: Myles Martin vs. #4 Zac Brunson

After much discussion, Tom Ryan and Co. have decided to pull Myles Martin’s redshirt and unleash him on the Big Ten. Some guys are given a warm-up to ease into the starting lineup, but Martin won’t have that luxury as he’ll square off with a guy who lost in the round of 12 at last season’s NCAA tournament. It's sink or swim for Martin as Brunson will be the first of five ranked opponents he’ll face in the next two months.

Match Outlook

If you look at rankings, the Buckeyes are only favored in three of ten weight classes, while 149 and 197 are technically toss-ups.

Mark Martin is probably favored over Lee at 197, but the Buckeyes will need to win the tight matches if they’re going to knock off the Illini. Bonus points are all but expected from Tomasello against an over-matched Francis Edelen and Micah Jordan could roll up big points on Brock Ervin. 157 and 165 feature two matches with undefeated wrestlers, but Jake Ryan will have his hands full against IMar.

When all is said and done, the Buckeyes will have a better idea of how seriously they can contend for a repeat bid at the NCAA and Big Ten tournaments with a road dual against a tough opponent.