No. 12 Michigan vs. No. 2 Iowa wrestling preview, predictions

No. 12 Michigan (9-3, 4-2) heads to Iowa City to take on the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes (13-1, 6-1) in Big Ten wrestling action. Friday night is loaded with another slate and this one is definitely an intriguing dual on the docket.

Both teams will likely miss one, if not more, ranked wrestlers in their starting lineups. At full strength, this is one heck of a matchup.

But don’t worry, it still is. We previewed and predicted the 10 bouts as we get that much closer to the Big Ten Tournament Ann Arbor.

But it kicks off with Iowa’s national champion taking the mat first. Below are previews and predictions for Michigan versus Iowa.

Michigan vs. Iowa matchups, predictions

125: No. 18 Jack Medley (UM) vs. No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa), Lee by tech fall, 5-0 Iowa

133: No. 12 Dylan Ragusin (UM) vs. No. 16 Brody Teske (Iowa), Ragusin by decision, 5-3 Iowa

141: No. 27 Cole Mattin (UM) vs. No. 2 Real Woods (Iowa), Woods by decision, 8-3 Iowa

149: Fidel Mayora (UM) vs. No. 6 Max Murin (Iowa), Murin by major decision, 12-3 Iowa

157: No. 9 Will Lewan (UM) vs. No. 14 Cobe Siebrecht (Iowa), Lewan by decision, 12-6 Iowa

165: No. 4 Cam Amine (UM) vs. No. 7 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), Amine by decision, 12-9 Iowa

174: No. 28 Max Maylor (UM) vs. No. 16 Nelson Brands (Iowa), Brands by decision, 15-9 Iowa

184: No. 8 Matt Finesilver (UM) vs. Drake Rhodes (Iowa), Finesilver by major decision, 15-13 Iowa

197: Brendin Yatooma (UM) vs. No. 12 Jacob Warner (Iowa), Warner by major decision, 19-13 Iowa

285: No. 1 Mason Parris (UM) vs. No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), Parris by decision, 19-16 Iowa

Iowa defeats Michigan 19-16

Chance Lamer (149) and Cole Mattin (141) have not wrestled in a bit. Mattin missed the last two duals against Maryland and Oklahoma State but Lamer’s been out since a Jan. 15 loss to Wisconsin’s Austin Gomez.

Cameron Amine also missed the last two matches so it remains to be seen if all three are back in the lineup against the Hawkeyes. For now, we’ll slot Mattin and Amine in while we put Mayora back in at 149, for now.

Lee kicks things off with a tech fall because he’s simply on another level. Not winning a fourth national title next month would be a stunner. 

Ragusin gets a win at 133 but Iowa rips off two wins in a row. Then it starts to get a little tighter.

Lewan edges Siebrecht and Amine gets the win over Kennedy in highly anticipated bouts. Just like that, Michigan is within three.

But the Hawkeyes will be too much at that point. Brands gets a win before Finesilver cleans up with a decision. Despite the 15-13 score, Warner is too much for Yatooma at 197.

A shame that the dual can’t come down to the final bout. But a potential NCAA final or semifinal is there with the team score locked up. We’ll go with Parris over Cassioppi.

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Michigan takes on Iowa Friday at 9:00 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.