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After posting its largest victory margin of the season, 39-2, over No. 21 Indiana on Senior Sunday, Nebraska wrestling looks to end the regular season with one more conference dual win. The Huskers (10-3, 5-2 Big Ten) will head to West Lafayette, Ind., to face Purdue (10-5, 3-4 Big Ten) on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m. (CT).
The dual will be televised on Big Ten Network, and holds potential for up to five ranked bouts. NU brings seven top-10 wrestlers to Purdue, whose lineup is highlighted by #1 Matt Ramos at 125, who is 23-0 in his senior year. Also in the top-10 for the Boilermakers is No. 7 sophomore Joey Blaze at 157.
The regular season finale could host as many as three rematches. At 125, Ramos and Caleb Smith are 1-1, both bouts ending in decisions in the 2023-24 season. Ramos has also faced Alan Koehler, and is 1-0 against the redshirt freshman after defeating him by tech. fall in last season’s dual against Purdue. Jacob Van Dee leads over Dustin Norris, 1-0, having won by decision. At 141, Brock Hardy is 1-0 against Cole Solomey, after defeating him with a tech. fall at the 2024 Cliff Keen Invitational.
HISTORY
Series: Nebraska leads 13-2-0
Last Meeting: Jan. 21, 2024 in Lincoln, Neb. (Nebraska won 27-14)
UP NEXT
After closing its regular season in West Lafayette, Ind., NU will begin its postseason with the Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Ill. The two-day tournament begins session one on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 10 a.m. (CT), and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. Session two is slated for 7 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, and sessions three and four will take place on Sunday, Mar. 9.
HUSKERS TO WATCH
- No. 10 Lenny Pinto (174) and No. 7 Silas Allred (184) are up in the rankings after securing the Huskers’ two upsets in Iowa City, taking down #6 Patrick Kennedy and #5 Gabe Arnold respectively.
- Pinto has also returned to the tech. fall NCAA DI leaderboard at No. 9, with nine DI tech. falls on the season. The junior claimed his most recent over #31 Roman Rogotzke in five minutes in NU’s 39-2 victory over #21 Indiana. Seven of the top-10 tech. fall leaders are from the Big Ten.
- At 125, Caleb Smith has notched 100 career wins between his time at Nebraska and Appalachian State. On Sunday, Smith could face Purdue’s No. 1 Matt Ramos (23-0), who has been ranked No. 1 by InterMat for 11 consecutive weeks.
- Ridge Lovett (149) is holding steady at No. 4 in the rankings. The senior is 11-1 in dual competition this season, has claimed 52 dual points for the Huskers this year, and has reached 91 career and 41 dual wins, all with NU. Lovett has claimed weekly Big Ten honors twice this year.
- Christopher Minto (165) is now 17-2 in his freshman season, with 12 bonus-point wins. Minto comes in as high as No. 8 after two consecutive top-10 wins. The redshirt freshman has been honored twice by the conference with weekly honors as Freshman of the Week.
- At 157, Antrell Taylor is currently No. 4 in the country, and last weekend notched his 20th career dual win with his fifth technical fall of the season. Redshirt freshman Weston Dalton is also a probable at 157, in what would be his dual debut for the Huskers. Dalton is 5-4 on the season.
- Three Huskers are tied for second-most dual points for Nebraska this season. Pinto, Taylor and Hardy have each garnered 39 points for the Big Red, following only Lovett who has 52.
No. 5 Nebraska Projected Lineup (10-3, 5-2 Big Ten)
125: #7 Caleb Smith or Alan Koehler
133: #16 Jacob Van Dee
141: #6 Brock Hardy
149: #4 Ridge Lovett
157: #4 Antrell Taylor or Weston Dalton
165: #8 Christopher Minto
174: #10 Lenny Pinto
184: #7 Silas Allred or Ethan DeLeon
197: #20 Camden McDanel
HWT: #21 Harley Andrews
Purdue Projected Lineup (10-5, 3-4 Big Ten)
125: #1 Matt Ramos or Ashton Jackson or Isaiah Quintero
133: Dustin Norris or Jacob Macatangay
141: #27 Greyson Clark or Cole Solomey
149: Isaac Ruble
157: #7 Joey Blaze or Wyatt Krejsa
165: Stoney Buell or Delaney Ruhlman
174: #25 Brody Baumann
184: Orlando Cruz
197: #27 Ben Vanadia
HWT: Hayden Filipovich