All-American Eric Montoya gets his hand raised after picking up a win against Penn State (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)No. 5 Nebraska hosts No. 13 Michigan at the Devaney Center on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. CT. The dual meet will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network and streamed live on BTN2Go. The Cornhuskers cruised to a 28-11 victory over Wisconsin on Friday night in Lincoln. The Wolverines are coming off a decisive 25-16 victory over Maryland on Friday night.
Below are five matchups to watch in the dual meet.
133: No. 3 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) vs. No. 8 Stevan Micic (Michigan)
Montoya, a returning All-American, appears to be on track to contend for a national title this season. He won a Midlands title in December, beating Zane Richards of Illinois in the finals. On Friday he earned a 10-1 major decision over Wisconsin's Eli Stickley to improve his season record to 18-0. Micic, a three-time Indiana state champion, was one of the nation's top 20 recruits coming out of high school. He spent his first year at Northwestern before transferring to Michigan. The eighth-ranked Micic notched an 11-4 win over Billy Rappo on Friday, and comes into the match with a record of 11-3 and No. 8 ranking.
141: No. 11 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska) vs. Sal Profaci (Michigan)
McCrystal has wrestled well against some of the nation's best this season. His most notable win came over returning NCAA runner-up Bryce Meredith of Wyoming in a dual meet on Nov. 20. He lost close matches to No. 4 Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton and No. 5 Joey Ward of UNC. After failing to place at the Midlands, McCrystal bounced back last weekend to beat Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon convincingly. Profaci comes in with a record of 8-6, but virtually all of his losses have come against ranked wrestlers. He has picked up some quality wins this season, including one over returning NCAA qualifier Mike Longo of Oklahoma. Profaci is coming off an 8-4 victory over Maryland's Jhared Simmons on Friday night.
157: No. 3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) vs. No. 10 Brian Murphy (Michigan)
This is one of the premier matchups in this dual meet. Both wrestlers reached the round of 12 last season. Murphy was an All-American in 2015, but injuries have slowed him about the last couple season, and his results have been mixed. Murphy is coming off a win against Maryland on Friday night, but has dropped four of his last five matches. Berger started this season by winning his first 20 matches. His first loss came to Iowa's Michael Kemerer in the finals of the Midlands Championships in tiebreaker. Last weekend he fell to top-ranked Jason Nolf of Penn State 15-7, but come back to earn a major decision over Wisconsin's Jarod Donar on Friday night.
165: Dustin Williams (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Logan Massa (Michigan)
Massa has been one of the nation's top freshmen this season. He ascended to No. 2 in the rankings after claiming a title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which included a victory in the finals over Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan, a returning NCAA runner-up and three-time All-American. Since Las Vegas, Massa has been nothing but dominant, picking up two wins by technical fall and another by major decision. Williams, a three-time Kansas state champion, has an up-and-down season. He was a runner-up at the Harold Nichols Open, but failed to place at the Midlands Championships where he went 2-2. It's a tough weekend of competition for Williams. On Friday, he wrestled third-ranked Isaac Jordan and lost 4-1. Now he will face the second-ranked Massa.
174: Micah Barnes (Nebraska) vs. No. 8 Myles Amine (Michigan)
Myles Amine is one of several Amines who have wrestled for the Wolverines. His father Mike was an NCAA finalist and four-year letterwinner at Michigan (1986-89) and his uncle Sam also wrestled at Michigan (1988-90). In addition, his brother Malik and cousin Jordan are currently on the Michigan wrestling team. After redshirting last season, Amine has stepped into Michigan's lineup and made an immediate impact, winning 16 of 18 matches. He placed third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and has climbed to No. 8 in the rankings. Barnes qualified for the NCAAs last season where he went 2-2. He has taken some expected losses this season, but still has a solid record of 15-9. In his last outing he hammered No. 20 Ryan Christensen of Wisconsin 8-1, so he will be riding some momentum into his match against Amine.
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