***Oklahoma Preview/Predictions/Results(1/5 in Norman)***

[Judoka]

ISU heads to Norman to face off against #10 Oklahoma on Saturday at 7:00PM

To follow:
Live TV: Fox Sports North and Fox Sports Oklahoma
Tape delayed FCS Central (Mediacom 173 in central Iowa), 10 p.m.
Live stats: www.trackwrestling.com
Live Blog: Will update once link is available
Twitter: CyclonesWR

+--------+----------------+------+------+-----+---------------+------+------+
| Weight |      ISU       | Rank | W-L  |  -  |   Oklahoma    | Rank | W-L  |
+--------+----------------+------+------+-----+---------------+------+------+
| 125    | Ryak Finch     | 19   | 4-4  | vs. | Kyle Garcia   | UR   | 6-7  |
| 133    | John Meeks     | UR   | 3-4  | vs. | Cody Brewer   | 10   | 13-4 |
| 141    | Luke Goettl    | 15   | 6-5  | vs. | Kendric Maple | 1    | 15-0 |
| 149    | Max Mayfield   | UR   | 5-5  | vs. | Nick Lester   | 11   | 12-5 |
| 157    | Logan Molina   | UR   | 13-8 | vs. | Matt Lester   | 14   | 12-4 |
| 165    | Micheal Moreno | 20   | 14-4 | vs. | Bubby Graham  | 4    | 13-2 |
| 174    | Mikey England  | UR   | 7-3  | vs. | Matt Reed     | UR   | 12-7 |
| or     | T. Weatherman  | UR   | 7-4  | -   | -             | -    | -    |
| 184    | Boaz Beard     | UR   | 4-3  | vs. | Nolan McBryde | UR   | 3-3  |
| -      | -              | -    | -    | or  | Greg Wilson   | UR   | 6-10 |
| 197    | Kyven Gadson   | 11   | 11-2 | vs. | Brad Johnson  | UR   | 8-7  |
| 285    | Matt Gibson    | 20   | 9-3  | vs. | Keldrick Hall | UR   | 6-16 |
+--------+----------------+------+------+-----+---------------+------+------+

I'm hoping we'll have everyone back and healthy, especially Finch and Gibson. We match up very well against Oklahoma and both teams will be favored in five of the matches. They'll be favored at 133, 141, 149, 157, and 165. We'll be favored at 125, 174, 184, 197, and HWT. To win we'll need to score an upset (looking at you Goettl) or get some pins out of our upper weights.

125: ISU favorite. Need Finch to show up and score us some bonus points here. Garcia has only given up two MDs in his 7 losses but Oklahoma will be favored in the next five matches so it'll be important for Finch to start us off with a little extra. If Finch is still out I'm guessing we put Connor Clarke out there and hope he can scrape out a win. If we lose at 125 it'll be very tough for us to win the meet.

133: Heavy Oklahoma favorite. Cody Brewer is a pretty decent wrestler and he'll be favored against Meeks. Hopefully Meeks has broken through his funk and can make this a match. But if not, its important that he doesn't give up bonus points. If we are going to score an upset I think that 133 is where it will happen. If Meeks is still out with a concussion I think we put RJ Hallmann out there and cross our fingers that he doesn't get pinned.

141: Oklahoma favorite. Last year Goettl wrestled Maple three times, losing twice by major decision and beating him once in OT. This year they've gone at it once already with Maple winning 11-5 last weekend at Midlands. Another upset would be amazing but I don't see that in the cards. What I am hoping is that Goettl can keep it to a decision.

149: Very heavy Oklahoma favorite. Mayfield beat their backup at Midlands but I don't see him getting a win over Lester. What worries me is that in Lester's 12 wins he has scored bonus points in 10 of them, with 4 tech falls and two pins. As with the prior two matches Mayfield needs to do his best to keep this to a decision and not give up bonus points. This is the most lopsided matchup in Oklahoma's favor so really just giving up 4 points rather than 5 or 6 is probably what to hope for. They have one common opponent this year, Mitchell Minotti of Lehigh. Lester pinned Minotti and Mayfield lost to Minotti 3-8.

157: Oklahoma favorite. Molina will face off against the larger Lester brother at 157. This is another match where we have a shot at an upset. They have two common opponents. They both lost to Ian Miller of Kent State at Midlands, Molina 8-13 and Lester 5-11. They also both have beaten Hayden Zillmer of NDSU. Molina 8-6 and Lester 8-0. Lester will be favored but this could easily turn out to be a great match.

165: Oklahoma favorite. This will be the last match where Oklahoma is favored. Moreno and Graham met at Midlands with Graham coming away with a 5-3 victory. An upset is possible but Graham is a very good wrestler and will likely not overlook Moreno a second time.

174: ISU favorite. Tanner Weatherman beat Read 7-0 at Midlands. Whoever we send out there at 174 needs to get us back in the win column after five straight matches where Oklahoma is favored. A loss here is inexcusable and a major decision or better would go a long way towards giving us a shot to win the meet.

184: Heavy ISU favorite. Beard will need to get back on track after a disappointing Midlands performance by beating up on what is Oklahoma's weakest weight. I'm looking to see bonus points in this match.

197: Heavy ISU favorite. Gadson is on fire right now and needs to keep that going with a major decision or better against an overmatched Johnson.

HWT: ISU favorite. Hall is a 197 pounder wrestling up. He was pretty decent at 197 last year (NCAA qualifier, went 1-2) but has struggled with the move up to HWT. I'm looking to see Gibson get on top and turn him a few times for bonus points. If Gibson is still injured then I think we have to send out either Voelker or Shaffer and then Hall becomes the favorite in the match. Shaffer at 184, Beard at 197, and Gadson at HWT could also be a possibility depending on how the meet is going.

If they start at 125 it is going to look ugly by the time we get to 174, but we will be favored from there on out (kind of like the NDSU meet).

If Finch and Gibson are in the lineup we have a shot at an upset. If we are missing either of them it'll be very tough to walk out of Norman with a victory.

 

[mikewdm]

I am not counting a win against OK.

 

[Wesley]

How many of our wrestlers are concussed to date again?

 

[buf87]

I think you have to leave everybody where they are at. Let Swope do the job at Hwt. Beard needs wins at 184.

 

[Judoka]

I am not counting a win against OK.

I'm not counting on a win either. I'd say we have about a 25% chance of getting a win in this dual (if all our starters are there). But do you disagree with who is favored in each individual matchup? Are there any weights where you think I am missing something or being overly optimistic? Oklahoma is built to be a tournament team this year and is not as good of a dual team as their #10 ranking would lead you to assume.

 

[buf87]

Judoka is right, that we can't count on any dual wins, but this is one we are capable of winning.

 

[cyfan9]

I am going to make my predictions assuming we have all of our starters, except for Gibson because his injury is so recent. Has anyone heard if we will have everyone back or not?

125: I will take Finch by decision. I think this is going to be a very close match. Garcia is better than his record.
3-0

133: I think Brewer will beat JM by decision. Hopefully I am wrong and JM can build some confidence.
3-3

141: Maple is really, really good. I don't see LG beating Maple again.
3-6

149: Mayfield is just coming back from his concussion and I think his shape is questionable. I hope he can keep it to a major.
3-10

157: I think Molina will be competitive but not enough to get the win. Lester by decision.
3-13

165: I really want a win here and he can definitely do it, but I am going to go with Graham.
3-16

174: Have to win this one! Hope for bonus points, but going with a decision.
6-16

184: I hope Beard comes back ticked off and wrestles aggressive. I am going to give him the major. He needs to stay here and get wins at 184. We are going to have a hard time getting guys to DSM.
10-16

197: Showtime keeps on rolling. KG by major.
14-16

HWT: I see Swope losing by major. Hope Gibson can go.
14-20 Oklahoma

 

[brett108]

Judoka is right, that we can't count on any dual wins, but this is one we are capable of winning.

From what I have seen out of this team this year, it would require some heart and desire from a good portion of our lineup to win this meet, and they have shown me nothing but the opposite. We appear to have regressed with regards to wrestlers like Finch, Goettl, and Beard. Everyone is dealing with a concussion(do they slap each other in the face all practice long?), and our guys are consistently losing to lower level opponents from what simply looks like lack of preparation.

I try not to be a downer, but this team just gets my blood pressure up. Other than Moreno and Gadsen, our guys don't compete like wrestlers that want it. I have no reason to believe it will be different here.

 

[Judoka]

I am going to make my predictions assuming we have all of our starters, except for Gibson because his injury is so recent. Has anyone heard if we will have everyone back or not?

I'm guessing the ISU press release will come out tomorrow afternoon or Friday morning, if we see "or"s anywhere other than 174 I'll take that to mean people are still out with injuries.

 

[Judoka]

Cyclones To Open Big 12 Slate Against Oklahoma - Iowa State University Athletics Official Web Site - www.CYCLONES.com - The home of Iowa State Cyclone Sports

Worth noting: Looks like Finch and Meeks are back, but there are "or"s in the lineup at 174, 184, 197, and HWT. 174 and 197 always have "or" because we have two guys fighting at 174 and a returning two year starter at 197 in Shafer. But at 184 we have Beard or Mikey England and at HWT we have Gibson or Swope.

Not sure what to make of 184 - but that is probably Jackson being upset with Beard and making him sweat after that dismal Midlands performance. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see Mikey on the mat and I think either of them can get a win over the Okie 184 pounder.

At HWT I'm going to assume we'll see Swope. That's a huge blow. I'd say our chances at a win fall from 25% to more like 5% if Gibson is out. We'll have to win 125, 174, 184, and 197 plus get an upset from somebody else.

 

[buf87]

Beard and Gadsen are wrestling their weights. not sure on who is going at 174 or hwt.

 

[Judoka]

I hope they start at 125. Oklahoma's favored weights are 133-165. So our upper weights will know if they have to score bonus points and Jackson will be able to know how much he needs to jostle around the lineup.

At Heavy if the dual is out of reach for either team I think it is Swope to give him a taste of a Big XII dual (assuming Gibson doesn't pass concussion testing today). But I'm not sure what'll happen if we get to 197 and are down by 0-8 points.

 

[jahfg]

Gibson didn't make the trip. Swope will be in his place.

 

[buf87]

Lots of options available. Shafer could probably wrestle anywhere from 184 to Hwt. Mikey could wrestle 174 or 184. Gadsen (with it being Hall) could wrestle 197 or Hwt.

I think it comes down to things we don't know. Health of the individual wrestlers! And of course, the score of the dual at that time!

 

[Judoka]

Looks like this would be a great time for Meeks to break out of his funk.

 

[buf87]

Was told that John is working with a nutrionist to make sure he is eating the right food and avoid some of the big fluctuations with his weight. Hopefully that provides that energy he needs for the matches. He has a tough one tonight!

 

[jordono123]

twitter says this is gonna be on a fox sports channel on mediacom delayed at 10pm... anyone know what channel this would be on Dish? or if dish has it? is it being streamed anywhere?

 

[buf87]

I think it is 436 on Dish. But the guide showed it at 7 not 10, so that would be live and again at midnight. Not sure, but glad to see some TV time

 

[Judoka]

twitter says this is gonna be on a fox sports channel on mediacom delayed at 10pm... anyone know what channel this would be on Dish? or if dish has it? is it being streamed anywhere?

FCS Central is doing the tape delayed broadcast. I have no idea what channel number that is on Dish since I have Mediacom.

 

[Judoka]

Fox Sports Oklahoma and Fox Sports North will carry the meet live. I am not home right now to check but I am pretty sure that Fox Sports North is part of the sports pack in Eastern Iowa.