James Hackney
#18 Oklahoma (5-3) vs #20 Northern Iowa (3-4)
Watch Live: ESPN+, January 27th 7PM CT
The Sooners continue their tough weekend after Iowa State with a dual against Northern Iowa. The Panthers had a rough start to their dual season going 1-3, but outside of an upset against a tough Columbia team they have only lost to NC State, Ohio State, and Nebraska. They will be coming off a dual against OK State the night before, so both teams could be beat up. They have a number of ranked wrestlers, lead by #1 Parker Keckeisen at 184lbs. The Sooners could potentially match up well, but will still need to wrestle at a high level coming off a tough dual.Â
125lbs: Conrad Hendriksen (11-7) vs #30 Trever Anderson (8-6)
A match between two young wrestlers and a good opportunity for Hendriksen. Anderson is a tough wrestler who jumped into the rankings with a win over Jakob Camacho, and has wrestled opponents like Caleb Smith and Jore Volk tough. He’s longer for the weight and excels on top, but doesn’t have the most neutral offense. That could be a good style match for Hendriksen who showed a lot more offense in his win over Navy. If he can get out from bottom then his defense could hold solid against Anderson. I’ll take Hendriksen getting a close decision in a toss up match to start the Sooners off strong.
Prediction: Hendriksen Dec. Anderson (OU 3 UNI 0)
133lbs: Jace Koelzer (7-2) vs #23 Julian Farber (12-5)
After spending two years behind Kyle Biscoglia, Farber has burst onto the scene and the rankings this season. He is on a four match win streak and got a big upset over Nic Bouzakis earlier this season. Farber looks strong at 133, and is a tough gritty wrestler that can win in multiple ways. Koelzer can be tough himself and Farber has taken some losses this year, but it is likely that Farber gets the win and potentially bonus points…
