Preview: No. 2 Ohio State at No. 9 Northwestern

The Buckeyes didn't need the full roster Friday night to handle their business at Illinois in Champaign. They likely won't need their complete arsenal to get the job done Sunday afternoon in Evanston at Northwestern, either.

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

3-7, 1-4 Big Ten Conference ROSTER / SCHEDULE

1 P.M. – SUNDAY, FEB. 3 WELSH-RYAN ARENA EVANStON, ILLINOIS

STREAMING: FloWrestling

After seeing Ohio State struggle against Michigan two weeks ago, fans might lose sight of just how good Ohio State really is in the grand scheme of things. This weekend's duals are a good reminder, as both opponents feature four ranked wrestlers in the lineup, each of whom is a potential All American.

Ohio State has at least eight of those, by way of comparison.

Sunday's dual offers an opportunity for Ke-Shawn Hayes to upend a Top-5 opponent, and for Ethan Smith and Chase Singletary to prove themselves against similarly-ranked competition, if the latter is sufficiently recovered from the "flu-like symptoms" that sidelined him at Illinois.

The Northwestern Wildcats

Head Coach: Matt Storniolo

Head coach since 2016, Matt Storniolo is in his eighth season on the Wildcats staff. As a wrestler, he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Penn State prior to transferring to Oklahoma, where he was a two-time All American and the 2007 Big XII champion.

His 2017-2018 team finished 11-4 in dual meets, including five Big Ten victories; more conference wins in a single season than the Wildcats had won in the previous three years combined.

Ohio State is 42-29-1 versus Northwestern all-time, and have won seven of eight meets contested between the two teams in the Tom Ryan era. 

Notable Northwestern Wrestlers

125 pounds: No. 1 Sebastian Rivera

Rivera is one of the highest-ranking returners from last season in the 125-pound class, having finished sixth at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Cleveland as a redshirt freshman. He's a flawless 18-0 this season, and already has wins over ranked opponents Spencer Lee, Ronnie Bresser, Drew Mattin and Zeke Moisey.

Unfortunately a meeting of Rivera and Buckeye true freshman Malik Heinselman isn't in the cards Sunday. Heinselman won the 125-pound title at the Edinboro Open Saturday, because the staff want him to get more matches under his belt than a pair of duals could provide.

Malik was sent with Tervel Dlagnev and others to compete at the Edinboro Open. He has good win against Mackal from Ia State in Lindenwood Open Final. Want his RPI & Winning % up plus more matches. Go Bucks!

— Thomas Ryan (@Buckeye158) February 2, 2019

He accomplished the goal of getting more wins, adding five victories to his record including a major decision and a first-period pin. He tallied wins over wrestlers from Indiana, Minnesota and Michigan en route to the title.

There is a decent chance Heinselman would have won his bout Friday night vs. No. 11 Travis Piotrowski, but facing Rivera is a different matter. The staff made a smart strategic decision with regard to Heinselman's situation heading into the postseason, but you can count on fans of opposing teams accusing Coach Ryan of "ducking" a top-ranked opponent.

157-pounds: No. 3 Ryan Deakin

A redshirt sophomore, Deakin is 19-2 in a solid weight class. To date he has victories of four Top-10 opponents, including Kennedy Monday, Larry Early, and Kaleb Young. His tech fall versus Wisconsin is a key part of the reason the Wildcats were able to upset the Badgers in their dual meet three weeks ago.

This is another good test for Ke-Shawn Hayes against one of the best wrestlers in the country. Hayes is 15-4 on the season and he should be able to keep pace with Deakin, who has scored bonus points in just 48% of his matches this season.

Buckeye Breakdown

Malik Heinselman, as mentioned previously, won't wrestle Sunday. Neither will Joey McKenna, who is battling an undisclosed injury and is hopeful to return to the lineup for the Penn State dual Friday night in Columbus.

Te'Shan Campbell has dropped back to 165 pounds after the staff crowned Ethan Smith the starter at 174, and is now competing with Kaleb Romero for his old spot on the roster. Romero got the nod Friday night in Champaign, but dropped his sixth match of the season and Campbell seems likely to wrestle Sunday.

The other lineup question is Chase Singletary. He didn't wrestle in a likely victory because he was battling what Ohio State described as "flu-like symptoms." If he wrestles, a win over Conan Jennings would give him a third victory over a ranked opponent... though it would be his second win over Jennings this season, as the two faced off at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with Singletary coming away with the 6-5 decision.

Given that Singletary already has that win on the books, if the meet is already decided and he's not feeling 100%, the staff may decide that discretion is the better part of valor and give him the afternoon off.

What to Expect

Even shorthanded, the Buckeyes won six matches at Illinois and paced the Illini by 9 points. A similar result seems likely in Evanston, with the Buckeyes reaching the mid-20s on the strength of bonus point victories from Jordan, Martin and Moore.

Northwestern will expect to win at 125 pounds and will feel good about their chances at 157 and if Singletary is out, at 285 as well.

Ohio State is practically assured victories at 133, 149, 184 and 197, and should feel confident in Ethan Smith at 174.

Both 141 and 165 are winnable for the Buckeyes, and Ke-Shawn Hayes has the ability to pull off the upset at 157. If he does, the Buckeyes could win in a romp.

The meet kicks off at 1 p.m., and will stream via FloWrestling and BTNPlus.