Is Penn State-Indiana wrestling on TV? Time, best matches, projected lineups, more

UPDATE: Penn State beat Indiana 46-0 on Sunday. Read our top takeaways HERE.

Penn State wrestling kicks off the Big Ten portion of its season today. No. 29 Indiana comes to Rec Hall fresh off a match at Rutgers on Friday night. The top-ranked Nittany Lions, meanwhile, have been off since rolling to a 36-3 non-conference triumph at Oregon State last Friday. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team is 3-0 on the year as it prepares for its first conference match. And, it will be a heavy favorite in it.

The exciting part is the competition, right? Big Ten season, I think it’s one of the best, competitive seasons, maybe of any sport in the country at the college level,” Lions associate head coach Cody Sanderson said this week. “Big Ten wrestling just doesn’t really get better than that. And, if you love to compete, you’re wrestling in the Big Ten, and you’re getting ready for those competitions.

“We’re excited. It brings the best out of the best competitors. And, it’s not for everybody. There’s some guys that might need to wrestle in a different conference. But, we like to find the guys that like that challenge.”

Get ready for the match below.

Indiana at Penn State wrestling: Time and TV details

Venue: Rec Hall

Start time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: None

Streaming: Big Ten Plus (BTN+) is streaming the match for free. Fans can visit bigtenplus.com to learn more about how to watch the match and other Nittany Lion events on the streaming service over the next three days. Besides web browsers, B1G+ is also available on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, and XBOX.

Radio: Longtime Lions play-by-play voice Jeff Byers will be on the call starting with the pre-match show at 12:40 p.m. ET. You can listen on Lionvision by clicking here.

What are the top matches to watch?

Let’s start with one bout we may not see. Penn State, in its match preview, did not list No. 9 Donnell Washington as a projected starter for Indiana at 174 pounds. Rutgers did not either for its match with the Hoosiers on Friday. Why is unclear. Washington did wrestle against the Scarlett Knights. But, he lost by technical fall, 15-0, to No. 27 Jackson Turley in 4:56. Washington and Carter Starocci have seen plenty of each other throughout their college careers, including the first round of NCAAs last year, when the Nittany Lion won 4-0. Washington also handed Starrocci his first college loss. Penn State currently lists Robert Major (2-6) or Magnus Kuokkanen (4-8) as the projected starter for IU at 174 pounds. We’ll see what happens.

In terms of matches we should see, there will be few ranked bouts. The bout to watch will be at 149 pounds if Penn State sends freshman Tyler Kasak back to the mat after he upset his opponent last weekend in Corvallis. The unranked but talented Nittany Lion could face No. 14 Graham Rooks, who is a three-time NCAA qualifier. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Cody Sanderson left the door open for Kasak to possibly wrestle and possibly not. The same goes for classmate Braden Davis at 125 pounds.

“Those guys, they still have the opportunity to redshirt,” Sanderson said. “Kasak has two more opportunities [before burning his redshirt] Davis still has one opportunity to wrestle [before burning his redshirt. We have other good guys in those weights. So that’s something that shows the depth. But, we’re still kind of working through those situations.”

The other possible ranked matches would be No. 2 Beau Bartlett of Penn State opposite No. 23 Dan Fongaro of Indiana and No. 23 Hoosier Tyler Lillard versus No. 10 Mitchell Mesenbrink at 125 pounds.

Penn State-Indiana projected lineups

All of the matchups listed below are subject to change both after weigh-ins and when the time comes for each individual bout. The projections are courtesy of Penn State athletics. All rankings are courtesy of InterMat.

125 pounds: Braeden Davis, Penn State vs. Blaine Frazier OR Michael Spangler, Indiana

133 pounds: No. 4 Aaron Nagao, Penn State vs. Cayden Rooks, IU    

141 pounds: No. 2 Beau Bartlett, PSU vs. No. 23 Dan Gongaro, Indiana

149 pounds: Tyler Kasak OR David Evans, PSU vs. No. 14 Graham Rooks, IU

157 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, PSU vs. Nico Bolivar, Indiana

165 pounds: No. 10 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State vs. No. 23 Tyler Lillard, IU

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs. Robert Major OR Magnus Kuokkanen, Indiana

184 pounds: No. 2 Bernie Truax, PSU vs. Roman Rogotzke, IU

197 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, Penn State vs. Gabe Sollars, Indiana

285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. Nick Willham, IU