Ohio State's wrestling team recorded its first shutout over a Big Ten opponent in more than 40 years last week at Maryland. They'll try to avoid laying a goose egg against the toughest team in the country Sunday afternoon as they face top-ranked Iowa in Purdue's Holloway Gymnasium.
Event Schedule
- 11:30 Purdue vs. Iowa (BTN)
- 2 p.m. Ohio State vs. Iowa (BTN)
- 4 p.m. OSU vs. Purdue (BTN+)
The Boilermakers host the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes in a tri-meet broadcast on Big Ten Network and BTN+ starting at 11:30 a.m.
After Sunday's meets, Ohio State has just two duals left to finish the regular season. After last week's drubbing of the Terrapins they are 4-1, riding a four-meet win stream after dropping the season opener at Illinois in a hard-fought battle against a top-10 team.
Iowa presents a much tougher challenge than did the Illini; Illinois defeated Ohio State 18-15, while the Hawkeyes upended the Illini 36-6.
Every one of Iowa's starters is ranked in the Top 10 in the country at their respective weight, according to TrackWrestling, including top-ranked Spencer Lee (125 pounds), Jaydin Eierman (141), and Michael Kemerer (174). Ohio State has five men ranked in the Top 10 as of the latest TrackWrestling standings, led by No. 2 Sammy Sasso at 149 (Sasso is ranked head of the class by FloWrestling, which announced last week that it had acquired Track from NBC).
Iowa holds the upper hand in the series, without question. The Buckeyes have just six victories over Iowa all time, although two of those have come in the last six meetings between the two teams. Iowa head coach Terry Brands tested positive for COVID-19 last week, though it seems unlikely that his absence matside will have any effect on his men's success Sunday.
Matches of Note
125 pounds – No. 10 Malik Heinselman vs. No. 1 Spencer Lee
Spencer Lee is as good a lightweight wrestler as you could hope to manufacture. The two-time NCAA Champion and Hodge Trophy winner is also a U.S. National champion and three-time age-level World champion in freestyle.
Heinselman is one of five undefeated men on the Buckeye roster, and is my vote for the team's breakout performance of the year. He is an elite freestyle wrestler who struggled on the mat his first two seasons, but has really come on this year, defeating a string of opponents who beat him last year, beating a top-10 opponent, and pinning the last guy he faced.
This match may not last long – Lee has pinned all three opponent's he's faced this season... in the first period of the match. It's been nearly two years since he's lost a match at all, and he's only lost five of those in his entire NCAA career.
The last time the two met, Lee pinned Heinselman in the first period; that was more than two years ago (Dec. 29, 2018, at the Midlands tournament), so this match will give Heinselman a chance to show how much he's improved versus the prohibitive favorite to win the NCAA Championship.
141 pounds – Anthony Echemendia vs. No. 1 Jaydin Eierman
Eierman was a big-time transfer pickup for the Brands brothers after the 2019 season, and he's looked every bit the title contender in his three matches so far this season, going 3-0 with two pins and a major decision to his credit.
Echemendia was one of the most ballyhooed recruits in recent memory, meanwhile, and is 4-0 in his true freshman campaign. The book on Echemendia this early in his career is that he's a world-class freestyle guy who is a bit lost yet when it comes to the finer points of folkstyle wrestling, specifically when it comes to getting off bottom.
His four matches so far have been relatively high-scoring decisions against unranked opponents. He's lightning on his feet, but has spent an uncomfortable amount of time belly-down on the mat. There's no question Eierman will try to exploit that weakness in this one, and Echemendia needs to show that he can stand toe-to-toe against an elite Big Ten opponent.
149 pounds – No. 2 Sammy Sasso vs. No. 5 Max Murin
This is the most competitive match of the afternoon for Ohio State, with the team's standard-bearer facing one of the few guys on Iowa's roster not ranked at the top of his class. Murin moved up this season with the graduation of Pat Lugo and the arrival of Eierman at 141, and has won a trio of low-scoring decisions in his first three outings at the weight.
Sasso is 5-0 on the season, with a pair of pins in his pocket. This is his first chance to notch a win against a Top-10 opponent in this pandemic-condensed season.
174 pounds – No. 4 Kaleb Romero vs. No. 1 Michael Kemerer
Kemerer's a guy who lost one match last season: an 8-5 decision versus Penn State's Mark Hall for the Big Ten Championship. He's got a pair of major decisions to his credit this year, and although he hasn't wrestled all that much yet, there's no question that this will be Romero's toughest match all year.
Romero, for his part, has improved steadily every day since he arrived in Columbus. He had a breakout season a year ago after moving back up to 174, going 19-7 and finishing at No. 4 in the country and with All-American honors.
He's 5-0 this season, and comes into Sunday's dual riding a three-match bonus streak, having majored his three most-recent opponents. Romero isn't a flashy guy; he's a power guy who is incredibly light on his feet for a guy of his strength and mass. If you shoot and miss, he'll score on you. If you don't shoot, he'll hit you with a double that will knock you out of your Asics.
Kemerer has the upper hand here, but this is absolutely a match Ohio State can steal from the Hawkeyes.
How It Plays Out
The last time these two teams met, Ohio State won just three of 10 matches in a 24-10 Hawkeye victory. On paper, Sunday's likely result looks relatively similar, with the Buckeyes favored in just two matches based on current rankings.
Iowa is a hungry team; they were favored to win the NCAA Wrestling Championships last March and were denied that opportunity due to COVID, and they are heavily favored to right that injustice this season.
How Ohio State handles their business here will say a lot about the character of this team. If they let matches get out of hand, if their conditioning isn't up to the task, or if they look like they've folded their cards late in matches... won't be a good sign. If they're still scrapping and trying to win the third, then you'll feel good about that win, lose or draw.
But wait, there's more! Two duals for the price of one.
Iowa vs. Ohio State kicks off at 2 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, but the Buckeyes won't pack their bags and head home after the last match. They'll also face Purdue at 4 p.m. in the third meet of the three-way event.
Purdue is currently ranked No. 27 in the country according to TrackWrestling, and No. 18 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Coaches Poll.
They'll field five wrestlers ranked in the Top 25; Ohio State will be favored in 7 of 10 matches based on the rankings.
Malik Heinselman will get another solid opponent in No. 11 Devin Schroder, and Sammy Sasso has undefeated No. 12 Griffin Parriott as matches to watch with ranked vs. ranked opponents.
Although the Hawkeye dual will be contested on the Big Ten Network, the Purdue meet will happen on BTN+. The over-the-top streaming service will also featured the extra matches between the three teams happening on the second mat throughout the afternoon.
