It’s been five years since the Missouri wrestling team wrestled and head coach Brian Smith coached against former Big 12 foe, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The Tigers were ranked 7th in the nation at the time, one slot below their current ranking of 6th. The Cornhuskers, however, led by four-time world champion Jordan Burroughs, would go on to upset Mizzou that day. The Cornhuskers would leave Columbia and the Big 12 Conference with bragging rights as they would join the Big 10 Conference the following year.
Last Sunday, Missouri was defeated for only the second time this season. With one match remaining, Mizzou was leading No. 3 N.C. State 17-13. Mizzou’s heavyweight James Romero was defeated by No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski 16-1, giving the Wolfpack five team points and their 22nd win this season defeating Mizzou 18-17.
The loss dropped the Tigers one spot in the rankings to No. 6. This year, the National Wrestling Coaches Association did away with their dual tournament national championships and instead adopted a system that puts the top eight Big 10 conference teams against the top eight non-Big 10 conference teams. On Monday the NWCA released the pairings, matching the Tigers with former Big 12 rival Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers are currently ranked 11th and have a record of 11-5. The dual meet will feature eight matches in which all opponents are ranked.
Starting at 125 pounds, Mizzou’s No. 9 Barlow McGhee will face No. 10 Tim Lambert. The two wrestled once before in high school, with the outcome in Lambert’s favor by a score of 2-0. The match not only plays a crucial role in the dual for team points, but also could affect seeding for the NCAA tournament if both wrestlers are to qualify.
133-pounder Zach Synon has been struggling as of late. In his past five matches he’s lost three, including two to unranked opponents. However he defeated No. 12 Emilio Saavedra of Old Dominion 3-0. A slot below Saavedra sits Nebraska’s Eric Montoya, whom Synon beat last summer 12-7 at a freestyle tournament. Synon must wrestle like he did that day to earn team points for the Tigers and avoid slipping even more in the rankings.
Despite wrestling a ranked opponent, No. 7 Matt Manley should manage to pick up some bonus points for the Tigers at 141 pounds. His opponent No. 20 Anthony Abidin, a NJCAA national champion who transferred to Nebraska has lost his previous three matches. This included being pinned by Jameson Oster of Northwestern, the Wildcats’ only victory of the dual against the Cornhuskers.
There’s no doubt that the headline match of the night is at 149 pounds. Mizzou’s undefeated No. 3 Lavion Mayes faces No. 4 Jake Sueflohn. Sueflohn has only lost four times this season, twice to No. 2 Brandon Sorenson of Iowa and once to No. 1 Zain Retherford of Penn St. Sueflohn could potentially be 0-4 against opponents ranked above him.
On paper, Nebraska is favored at 157 pounds with No. 19 Tyler Berger. However the Tigers have found their starter at 157 pounds, being Le’Roy Barnes, who has vastly improved over the course of the season.
165-pounder Daniel Lewis is peaking at the right time. He’s managed to climb his way up the rankings to the No. 4 spot as nationals are quickly approaching. Lewis defeated N.C. State’s No. 6 Max Rohskopf 6-1 last weekend. Rohskopf defeated Nebraska’s No. 13 Austin Wilson earlier this month 4-1.
Blaise Butler has also been impressive lately for the Tigers and should have no trouble facing the Cornhuskers No. 17 Micah Barnes.
Once ranked as high as 5th, Mizzou’s 184-pounder No.14 Willie Miklus needs to step it up if the Tigers want to reclaim bragging rights. He will face No. 9 T.J. Dudley. Miklus defeated Dudley last season 6-5 at the NCAA Tournament to secure seventh place.
The 2014 NCAA national champion, No. 2 J’den Cox could lock up the Tigers’ 14th victory of the season if he continues to do what he does best, dominate. Cox has looked nearly unstoppable this season and should have no trouble against Nebraska’s No. 12 Aaron Studebaker. Studebaker lost last season at 184 pounds to Miklus by fall in 4:40.
The only other Mizzou wrestler not ranked besides Barnes is heavyweight James Romero. He will wrestle No. 19 Collin Jensen.
In order to reclaim bragging rights, Missouri must do what they failed to do against the N.C. State Wolfpack: win matches they are favored in. With eight of the ten matches containing ranked opponents on both sides, Mizzou must win favorable matches and then some.
Bonus points have been hard to get for the Tigers this year and now would be the perfect time to collect some as they end their dual season Sunday, Feb. 21, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at 2 p.m.