Dual Preview No. 1 Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Iowa

Date: Saturday, Jan. 7
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Location: Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)

It's without question the greatest rivalry in NCAA wrestling history -- Iowa vs. Oklahoma State.

Iowa comes into this dual with a 3-0 record and ranked fifth in the country. Top-ranked Oklahoma State comes in with a 5-0 mark.

There are numerous storylines that make this year's dual one of the most anticipated in recent memory: Steve Mocco's first appearance in Iowa City since his departure in 2004, Mark Perry against his uncles (John and Pat Smith), Brandon Mason against the team he grew up admiring, No. 1 vs. No. 2 at 149, and Iowa's attempt to break the college wrestling dual meet attendance record set by Minnesota (against Iowa) in 2002.

125: Lucas Magnani (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State)

Magnani enters the match with a 5-5 record. Last weekend, he reached the quarterfinals of the Midlands, but failed to place. Scott, a returning All-American, comes in with an 11-3 season mark. If Scott can get his offense going early, he could pick up a major decision here. But with the loud Hawkeye crown behind Magnani, it won't be an easy task.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Scott decision over Magnani (Oklahoma State +3)

133: Daniel Dennis (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Nathan Morgan (Oklahoma State)

Nathan Morgan

Dennis has done an admirable job stepping into the line-up as a true freshman for the Hawkeyes. His attacking style has already made him a fan favorite. The Illinois native comes into this match with a 10-5 season mark. Morgan is one of the most technically sound wrestlers in the country. He is 11-1 this season -- with his only loss coming to Matt Keller of Tennessee-Chattanooga in the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions. If Morgan wrestles his match, and stays out of dangerous situations, he should win fairly easily.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Morgan major decision over Dennis (Oklahoma State +4)

141: No. 15 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Daniel Frishkorn (Oklahoma State)

Tsirtis comes into this match with an 8-4 record after a disappointing Midlands, where he failed to place. He's an extremely talented wrestler who has yet to reach his potential. He doesn't seem to be wrestling with the same confidence that once made him one of the sought after recruits in the country. Frishkorn, a returning All-American, is hot and cold wrestler. He's much better than his 11-6 season record indicates. He struggled in the early part of the season (losing three times at the Kaufman-Brand Open), but has picked up steam, and recently won the Reno Tournament of Champions. Expect this to be a tight, low scoring, tactical match.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Frishkorn decision over Tsirtsis (Oklahoma State +3)

149: No. 2 Ty Eustice (Iowa) vs. No. 1 Zack Esposito (Oklahoma State)

Eustice, who placed fifth at the 2005 NCAA Championships, is 8-0 this season. He won the Kaufman-Brand Open, which included a win over highly touted Brent Metcalf of Virginia Tech, but he has yet to face a top opponent. He was recently held out of the Midlands because of the flu. Esposito, the returning NCAA champion at 149, is off to a 10-0 start this season. At times, he has looked like the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the country (dominating wins over Matt Storniolo of Oklahoma and Darren McKnight of Michigan State). While other times, he has looked vulnerable (NWCA All-Star Classic loss to Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan and one-point victory over Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan). Eustice's conservative, defensive style has given Esposito trouble in the past. Last season, Esposito defeated Eustice, 2-1, in the tiebreaker period. Can Eustice beat Esposito? Certainly. But after Esposito put up 20 points against a quality opponent in Patrick Simpson of Army on Thursday night, it's hard to predict an upset.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Esposito decision over Eustice (Oklahoma State +3)

157: No. 3 Joe Johnston (Iowa) vs. No. 11 Kevin Ward (Oklahoma State)

Johnston, the 2005 NCAA runner-up at 157, is 10-3 this season. Two of his losses have come to Trent Paulson of Iowa State, with the other coming last weekend at the Midlands to Alex Tirapelle of Illinois. He struggled a bit with his offense in the early part of the season, but now is putting more points on the scoreboard. Ward, much like Frishkorn, is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. You never know which Kevin Ward will show up. Will it be the one who beat Derek Zinck of Lehigh and C.P. Schlatter of Minnesota twice? Or the one who lost to Tony Greathouse of Michigan State and was pinned by Moza Fay of Northern Iowa? Johnston seems to have Ward's number. These two wrestled four times last season, with Johnston winning all four matches -- two by major decision (21-7 and 18-8), one by pin, and one by decision.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Johnston major decision over Ward (Iowa +4)

165: Cole Pape or Eric Luedke (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State)

Pape is off to a disappointing start in his senior campaign. He comes into this dual with a 7-6 record, but has struggled recently. At the Midlands, he won his opening round match against a Division II opponent, but was completely dominated in his next two. Luedke is a two-time junior college national champion who was expected to redshirt this season, but with Pape struggling, there is a chance that he could be inserted into the line-up for this dual. Hendricks, the defending NCAA champion at 165, is 9-1 this season. He has impressive wins over 2004 NCAA champion Troy Letters of Lehigh and Midlands champion Nick Baima, but disappointing losses to lesser-opponents in Matt Nagel of Minnesota (at NWCA All-Star Classic) and Joey Bracamonte of Oregon. Hendricks will win this match going away -- regardless of who Iowa sends out.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Hendricks decision over Pape (Oklahoma State +3)

174: No. 3 Mark Perry (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Brandon Mason (Oklahoma State)

Mark Perry

Perry is 7-1 this season, but is coming off what he calls the worst performance of his collegiate career. He finished runner-up at the Midlands, losing in the finals, 5-3, to Jake Herbert of Northwestern. Up until the semifinals of the Midlands (where he won 4-2 over Donny Reynolds of Illinois), Perry had dominated every one of his opponents this season. Mason, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, has started his freshman campaign wrestling well -- compiling a 13-4 mark. He's not great on his feet, but more than makes up for it on the mat, where he is an absolute beast. This is an intriguing match-up of two very talented wrestlers who could have easily reversed roles (Perry at Oklahoma State and Mason at Iowa) -- and probably should have. Perry, the nephew of Lee Roy, John, Pat, and Mark Smith, grew up bleeding Oklahoma State orange. Mason grew up a Hawkeye fan. Perry should win this match -- with the possibility of bonus points if he wrestles smart and stays out of dangerous situations. But if he somehow gets underneath Mason, there's no saying what could happen.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Perry major decision over Mason (Iowa +4)

184: No. 4 Paul Bradley (Iowa) vs. Rusty Blackmon or Clay Kehrer (Oklahoma State)

Bradley, a two-time All-American, has wrestled only two matches this season because of a hamstring injury (three if you count his NWCA All-Star Classic loss to Pete Friedl of Illinois). He was impressive in both wins, though. He thumped Jason Trulson of Arizona State, 17-5, and defeated rival Kurt Backes of Iowa State, 8-5. Blackmon is 14-5 this season, while Kehrer is 10-3. It will be interesting to see who the Cowboys send out here. Blackmon wrestled both matches in a double dual (against Army and Northern Iowa), but Kehrer wrestled Bradley extremely tough last season (losing 6-4), which might make him the likely choice.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Bradley decision over Blackmon (Iowa +3)

197: No. 2 Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) vs. Adam Fellers (Iowa)

Rosholt, a two-time NCAA champion, is 12-1 this season, with his only blemish coming when he was pinned in the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions by Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan. Fellers is an undersized wrestler who competes with a lot of heart, but lacks the size and strength to be competitive in this weight class. He is 0-7 this season and seems to have lost confidence in his abilities. On paper, this is as a big a mismatch as possible. Rosholt won't be satisfied with anything but a pin here.

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Rosholt pin over Fellers (Oklahoma State +6)

Hwt: No. 2 Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 10 Matt Fields (Iowa)

Steve Mocco

This will mark Mocco's first appearance in Iowa City since his controversial departure from Iowa in 2004. Don't expect a warm welcome from the Hawkeye faithful. Mocco is 10-0 this season and has dominated virtually everyone, but did lose an exhibition match at the NWCA All-Star Classic to Cole Konrad of Minnesota. There was discussion about Fields possibly redshirting this season as he recovered from an injury (the Hawkeyes also had a serviceable starter in Ryan Fuller). But Fields adamantly expressed his desire not to redshirt, and wrestle in the line-up instead. According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Fields said he looked at redshirting this season as "a cop-out" with Mocco in his senior season. Fields believes he can beat Mocco, but his past history doesn't give any indication that he can. He is 0-3 against Mocco and has been shutout in every meeting (5-0, 4-0, and 4-0).

RevWrestling.com Prediction: Mocco decision over Fields (Oklahoma State +3)

Dual Meet Predicted Score: Oklahoma State 25, Iowa 11

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