No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Ohio State wrestling preview, predictions
No. 8 Nebraska (9-3, 5-1) travels to take on No. 5 Ohio State (12-2, 6-1) in a highly anticipated wrestling match late in the Big Ten season.
The Huskers and Buckeyes are pretty tight on paper, but the latter might have the overall advantage. By predicting each matchup, it’s clear Ohio State is likely to pull this one out, but that’s why the teams wrestle and don’t write, or type.
Nebraska has a prime opportunity to pick off certain opponents, but the Buckeyes bring more ranked wrestlers to the table.
If the Huskers can avoid bonus points and pull out an upset, perhaps they’ll steal it on the road. Below are the full predictions.
*All rankings are via InterMat*
Nebraska vs. Ohio State matchups, predictions
125: No. 5 Liam Cronin (NEB) vs. No. 10 Malik Heinselman (OSU), Cronin by decision, 3-0 Nebraska
133: Kyle Burwick (NEB) vs. No. 9 Jesse Mendez (OSU), Mendez by decision, 3-3 Tied
141: No. 5 Brock Hardy (NEB) vs. No. 20 Dylan D’Emilio (OSU), Hardy by decision, 6-3 Nebraska
149: Dayne Morton (NEB) vs. No. 3 Sammy Sasso (OSU), Sasso by major decision, 7-6 Ohio State
157: No. 1 Peyton Robb (NEB) vs. No. 25 Paddy Gallager (OSU), Robb by decision, 9-7 Nebraska
165: Bubba Wilson (NEB) vs. No. 12 Carson Kharchla (OSU), Kharchla by decision, 10-9 Ohio State
174: No. 2 Mikey Labriola (NEB) vs. No. 6 Ethan Smith (OSU), Labriola by decision, 12-10 Ohio State
184: No. 15 Lenny Pintto (NEB) vs. No. 5 Kaleb Romero (OSU), Romero by decision 13-12 Ohio State
197: No. 10 Silas Allred (NEB) vs. No. 17 Gavin Hoffman (OSU), Allred by decision, 15-13 Nebraska
285: Cale Davidson (NEB) vs. No. 18 Tate Orndorff (OSU), Orndorff by decision, 16-15 Ohio State
Ohio State defeats Nebraska 16-15
As you can see, the dual is razor thin. The difference is Sasso getting a projected major decision at 149 pounds to win the dual by a single point.
However, if that’s not the case, then it’ll be 15-15 and have to go to criteria. At that point, the bouts are split 5-5, there are no pins, so it would come down to who scored the most points from each individual wrestler.
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That’s a more depth exercise, but we’ll give the nod to Ohio State by virtue of scoring ability. Nonetheless, Ohio State wins anyway without criteria according to our predictions.
The biggest swing bout has to be 197. Allred is the favorite there but Hoffman made a run to the podium as an All-American last season. He finally broke out.
Hoffman could just as well take that bout. Another toss up is 125 right off the bat. We’ll pick Cronin for now, but don’t be surprised if Heinselman manages to pull it off.
But our bout of the night has to be at 174 between Labriola and Smith. A potential deep match at Big Tens or even NCAAs. That could be the deciding factor in the dual as well.
Nebraska and Ohio State square off at 7:00 p.m. ET Friday on Big Ten Network.