Huskers Wrestle Sooners in Norman

Dual 15: #4 Nebraska vs. #14 Oklahoma
Date: Sunday, Feb. 8
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: McCasland Field House, Norman, Okla.
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Soonersports.com

Lincoln - The fourth-ranked Huskers continue their hectic schedule with a 2 p.m. dual against No. 14 Oklahoma at the McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla., on Sunday. The contest will be NU’s third dual in eight days, and second on the road. Nebraska sits at 14-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12, while the Sooners are 15-2 and 1-2 in the conference.

NU is coming off a historic 17-16 win over No. 15 Oklahoma State last Thursday night in the Bob Devaney Center. More than 2,800 fans showed up to watch the Huskers claim their first home win over OSU since the 1921-22 season and first back-to-back victories over the Cowboys ever. Each team claimed five bouts, but Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs and Vince Jones posted major decisions to give NU the edge. Burroughs leads the team in major decisions with 11, while Jones leads the Huskers in overall wins with 25 on the season.

Sunday’s matchup pits Nebraska against its third straight ranked foe with Oklahoma. It will be a return to old stomping grounds for NU Head Coach Mark Manning, who spent four seasons as an assistant coach under OU Head Coach Jack Spates from 1993 to 1997. The Sooners enter with seven ranked wrestlers, including three in the top 10. Bouts with two ranked opponents could occur at 157, 184, 197 and heavyweight. The 174-pound weight class could highlight the night, with seventh-ranked Jeff James facing third-ranked Brandon Browne.

Sunday’s contest will feature live stats on Huskers.com, while live video is available through Soonersports.com.

Last Time Out: Burroughs, Jones Help No. 4 Huskers Past OSU
Jordan Burroughs and Vince Jones notched major decisions against No. 15 Oklahoma State to help the fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team claim a historic 17-16 dual victory over the Cowboys in front of more than 2,800 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center last Thursday. The win was NU’s first home victory over OSU since the 1921-22 season, and gave the Huskers back-to-back dual wins over the Cowboys for the first time ever. Nebraska improved to 14-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12, while Oklahoma State dropped to 12-6 and 0-3 in the conference.

The contest came down to bonus points, as each team claimed five bouts on the night, and Burroughs and Jones, both natives of Sicklerville, N.J., scraped NU by with their two wins. In one of three matches featuring two wrestlers ranked in the top 10, third-ranked Burroughs used 10 takedowns, including four in the final period, to post a 21-9 major decision over No. 10 Neil Erisman of OSU at 157 pounds. The win was the junior’s seventh of the year against top-10 opponents, and kept his perfect season alive at 24-0 and 15-0 in duals.

Jones, ranked 11th in the nation at 184 pounds, used two takedowns in the first two periods to amass an early lead, but posted a six-point third period to earn an 11-2 major decision over Oklahoma State’s Cody Hill. Jones posted a takedown with a minute left and quickly cut Hill, looking for the bonus-point win. Hill put up a fight, but Jones scored his final takedown with two seconds left for the nine-point margin. The senior now has a team-leading 25 wins on the season with his 25-6 overall mark, and is 11-4 in duals.

The dual started at 133 pounds, with Oklahoma State picking up decisions at the first two weights. Senior Rob Sanders got NU on the board with a 6-3 decision over Luke Ashmore at 149 pounds. Sanders surrendered an early takedown, but rebounded with a takedown of his own in the first period and escaped easily in the second frame. Ashmore earned an escape in the third period to pull within one, but Sanders sealed the match with a takedown with seven seconds left.

Burroughs posted his major decision to give NU their first lead of the night, as junior Stephen Dwyer and senior Brandon Browne followed with decisions. No. 10 Brandon Mason held sixth-ranked Dwyer scoreless in the first period, but Dwyer earned a reversal 32 seconds into the second period and rode Mason out in the third for a 3-1 victory at 165.

On a night when Browne was honored as a Hometown Husker, the Plattsmouth-native did not disappoint. The senior posted three takedowns against No. 14 Newly McSpadden at 174, before the Cowboy claimed a late takedown to lose 7-5. Browne’s 15-2 dual mark ties him for the team lead with Burroughs.

Jones’ major decision at 184 put NU up 17-6, but No. 8 Clayton Foster upset second-ranked Craig Brester at 197 with a 5-2 decision and No. 3 Jared Rosholt posted a 2-0 decision over NU’s Tucker Lane at heavyweight to pull the Cowboys within five at 17-12. OSU’s Obe Blanc needed a technical fall to tie the match or a pin to win, but NU’s Andy Pokorny held him to a 12-3 major decision at 125 to give the Huskers the victory.

Scouting Oklahoma (15-2, 1-2 Big 12)
Sooner Head Coach Jack Spates was named the 2006 NWCA Coach of the Year after leading to Oklahoma to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, but the last two years have been rough for OU. Spates and the team claimed one All-America honor in 2007 with Sam Hazewinkel at 125 pounds, and didn’t claim any last year for the first time in Spates 15 seasons in Norman. Spates returned three NCAA qualifiers this season.

Oklahoma opened the 2008-09 season with 14 straight dual wins for its best start in program history, and climbed to as high as 10th in the NWCA poll. However, only one of those dual wins was against an opponent ranked in the top 20 in the nation. The Sooners topped Oklahoma State (18-15) in Norman on Dec. 7, and racked up 10 more victories before falling to Iowa State (23-15) in Ames on Jan. 23. OU picked up a home win over North Carolina State (38-6) and lost to Missouri (18-12) on Friday night in their latest action. The Sooners are 1-2 in the last three duals and 1-2 against ranked foes this season.

Individually, Oklahoma has three wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in the nation. Sophomores Jeff James and Joey Fio are seventh, while junior Kyle Terry is eighth. Wrestling at 125 pounds, Fio finished third at the Big 12 Championships last season to qualify for the national tournament as a true freshman. He is 16-3 this year. James has a 20-2 mark at 184 pounds, while Terry is 22-1 at 149 after wrestling behind Will Rowe last season. Rowe is a three-time NCAA qualifier that bumped up to 157 this season, but has battled for the starting spot. Sophomore Zack Bailey is also a returning NCAA qualifier for the Sooners, notching a 28-13 mark last season.

Husker History Versus Oklahoma
The Sooners hold a 34-17-1 advantage over the Huskers all-time, but Nebraska is 4-2 against OU in the last six meetings. The rivalry is has its history as the programs first met in 1926. The Sooners toped Nebraska 13.5-9.5 in Lincoln. The most memorable encounter came on Feb. 12, 2005, as the No. 6 Huskers took on No. 8 Oklahoma in Norman. Dominick Moyer’s major decision at 133 proved to the difference as NU hung on for a 16-15 win. Nebraska went on to finish third at the Big 12 Championships that season.

Last year’s dual saw the second-ranked Huskers claim the final three matches against No. 18 Oklahoma for a 21-9 win in front of more than 1,300 fans at the NU Coliseum on Feb. 10, 2008. NU won seven of the 10 contested matches in a dual that started at 157 pounds. The turning point came at 133 pounds as Kenny Jordan earned a come-from-behind win to stop a Sooner rally. Oklahoma’s Brian Shelton scored an early takedown to take a 2-0 lead, but Jordan battled back with two takedowns in the third period to claim an 11-4 decision.

The Sooners had upset on their mind just one match before as OU’s unranked Joey Fio topped No. 4 Paul Donahoe, 6-5, at 125 pounds to pull the Sooners within three points at 12-9. Jordan stopped the bleeding at 133 pounds and Mike Rowe sealed the match at 141. Rowe caught No. 15 Zack Bailey in a cradle late in the first period and parlayed it into a three-point nearfall. Rowe scored four points in the final period to cruise to a 7-4 decision and put the Huskers up 18-9.

Nebraska honored its lone senior before the dual as part of Senior Day and NU’s Jon May gave the fans what they came for with a 6-3 decision over Oklahoma’s Nathan Fernandez at heavyweight. May notched two takedowns and had a 1:37 riding-time advantage to finish his final home dual with a win.

The upset of the night came at 197 pounds as NU’s Craig Brester won a 6-1 decision over Joel Flaggert. Brester entered the match ranked No. 10 in the nation to Flaggert’s No. 5 ranking, but was the aggressor the whole match as Flaggert was penalized twice for stalling. Brandon Browne (174), Stephen Dwyer (165) and Jordan Burroughs (149) all recorded wins for the Huskers as every match was decided by a decision.

NU finished its home season with a perfect 4-0 record in the NU Coliseum as the Huskers went undefeated at home for the first time since 2003-04.

For the complete notes, click on the link above.