Huskers to Host Badgers Friday Night

After collecting two dominant dual wins in Michigan, the #6 Nebraska wrestling team will host Wisconsin in Lincoln on Friday, Jan. 31. The Huskers (8-2, 3-1 Big Ten) look to claim another conference win in their penultimate home dual, taking on the Badgers at 8 p.m. CT. 

The last time the Big Red competed at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, Husker Nation set an all-time program attendance record of 6,736. Now, the Huskers return to Lincoln with a 3-1 Big Ten record, and are currently fifth in conference standings. In the Jan. 28 poll, five of the NWCA’s top-10 teams are from the Big Ten.

The Badgers bring a young team to Nebraska, six of their 10 starters are redshirt freshmen. With a veteran Husker lineup, there are no rematches in store for Friday night. However, Wisconsin does bring two ranked opponents at 125 and 133, in #17 Nicolar Rivera (13-2) and #22 Zan Fugitt (11-5).

Tickets for the Friday night dual can be purchased at huskers.com/tickets. The matchup will be televised on BTN following the conclusion of the Iowa at Penn State dual, and have live stats available on Track Wrestling.

HISTORY
Series: Nebraska leads, 13-12-2
Last Meeting: Jan. 28, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (Nebraska won 28-9)

UP NEXT
The Huskers head to Iowa City for a top-10, Big Ten showdown. The Big Red will face No. 2 Iowa on Friday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. (CT), which will be televised on BTN.

#6 Nebraska Projected Lineup (8-2, 3-1 Big Ten)
125: #8 Caleb Smith (14-4) OR Kael Lauridsen (6-3)
133: #14 Jacob Van Dee (10-5)
141: #6 Brock Hardy (15-3) OR Blake Cushing (10-3)
149: #3 Ridge Lovett (13-1) OR Scott Robertson (14-5)
157: #4 Antrell Taylor (15-2)
165: Bubba Wilson (9-5) OR #8 Christopher Minto (15-1)
174: #14 Lenny Pinto (15-4)
184: #8 Silas Allred (13-3)
197: #20 Camden McDanel (13-8)
HWT: #22 Harley Andrews (9-9)

Wisconsin Projected Lineup (4-8, 0-4 Big Ten)
125: #17 Nicolar Rivera (13-2)
133: #22 Zan Fugitt (11-5)
141: Brock Bobzein (4-12)
149: Royce Nilo (2-10)
157: Luke Mechler (7-11)
165: Cale Anderson (5-6)
174: Luke Condon (11-7)
184: Dylan Russo (5-9)
197: Niccolo Colucci (1-10)
HWT: Gannon Rosenfeld (6-5)

Huskers to Watch

• Lenny Pinto currently stands in seventh in technical falls nationally, as the junior has notched nine this season. Pinto tallied his 60th career win at Michigan State.
• Brock Hardy reached his 75th career win at Michigan State, with a second period tech. fall over Jaden Crumpler.
• Ridge Lovett has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week twice this season, the first Husker to do so since Mikey Labriola in the 2021-22 season. The senior sits at 89 career wins going into the Wisconsin dual. Lovett currently leads the Huskers in dual points earned, with 41, while giving up none.
• Christopher Minto (165) is in the rankings, coming in at No. 8 after two consecutive top-10 wins, and holding a 15-1 record. The redshirt freshman has been honored by the conference with weekly honors as Freshman of the Week.
• Caleb Smith currently has 98 career wins between his time at Nebraska and Appalachian State.
• True freshman Camden McDanel has the most major decisions on the season for the Big Red, with eight, including his most recent over #25 Remy Cotton. McDanel is one of only three Huskers on the current roster to have started his true freshman season, along with Brock Hardy and Ridge Lovett.