Penn State wrestling versus Iowa: Time and streaming info, starting lineups, more

Penn State wrestling will be back in the Bryce Jordan Center tonight. The No. 1 Nittany Lions welcome No. 2 Iowa for the marquee match of both teams’ and the sport’s dual meet season. It starts at 8:30 p.m. ET.

“I don’t know about extra adrenaline, but I would say excitement is the word I’d go with,” associate head coach Cody Sanderson told reporters Tuesday. “It’s a fun group to wrestle. Their history is undeniable, and they bring a lot of excitement.

“I think it’ll just be a great wrestling match, just like always. It will be fun. Our fans are looking forward to it.”

Seven of the 10 contested matches are expected to feature top 15 matchups. Two of them will be top-five showdowns. And numerous bouts can go either way and are considered tossups.

Get ready for the action with our preview below.

How to watch, follow, Penn State-Iowa wrestling

Big Ten Network will air the match. Those with BTN+ can stream it. The action begins at 8:30 p.m.

The Penn State Sports Network with play-by-play broadcaster Jeff Byers will be on the air with the prematch show at 8:10 p.m. ET before the action begins. Click here to access the free LionVision feed.

You can also follow along live and chat with other Penn State wrestling fans on Blue-White Illustrated’s The Wrestling Room forum. Access it by clicking here.

Projected Lions-Hawkeyes starting lineups

As always, these can change up to the start of and even during the match. But, here’s the expected rundown:

125 pounds: Gary Steen, Penn State vs. No. 1 Spencer Lee, Iowa

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU vs. No. 17 Brody Teske, UI

141 pounds: No. 4 Beau Bartlett, PSU vs. No. 2 Real Woods, UI

149 pounds: No. 13 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs. No. 7 Max Murin, Iowa

157 pounds: No. 9 Levi Haines, PSU OR Terrell Barraclough vs. No. 15 Cobe Siebrecht, UI

165 pounds: No. 5 Alex Facundo, Penn State vs. No. 13 Patrick Kennedy, Iowa

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, PSU vs. No. 16 Nelson Brands, UI

184 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, Penn State vs. No. 12 Abe Assad, Iowa

197 pounds: No. 4 Max Dean, PSU vs. No. 7 Jacob Warner, UI

285 pounds: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs. No. 3 Tony Cassioppi, Iowa

What will the top bouts be?

With only one matchup featuring an unranked wrestler, the answer could easily be most of them. However, three, in particular, are clear standouts.

We start at 141 pounds. Real Woods is a two-time All-American who starred at Stanford and deserves the No. 2 ranking he now holds with the Hawkeyes. Beau Bartlett, meanwhile, has never been inside the top five after two seasons of competition at 149 pounds. He looks as good as he ever has, though, at his more natural weight of 141. This will be a chance for him to make a loud statement to the college wrestling world that he has the talent to compete for a championship this season, even if that has already been somewhat on display.

At 197, Max Dean and Jacon Warner meet for the third time in their respective careers. The Penn State wrestler beat the Hawkeye 8-3 in last year’s dual meet and then stopped him 3-2 in last year’s NCAA title bout to take the top podium spot for the first time. Another thriller is expected.

Finally, at heavyweight, Greg Kerkvliet lost to Tony Cassioppi 9-0 during the teams’ dual meet during the 2020-2021 season. Last year, the Hawkeye clipped the Nittany Lion 7-2 in Iowa City before earning a 6-4 triumph in sudden victory at Big Tens. But, Kerkvliet won the most recent matchup, beating Cassioppi 8-5 at the NWCA All-Star exhibition match back in November. Expect this showdown to live up to the hype once again.

While this trio of bouts leads the way, the only expected blowout comes at 125, where the dominant Spencer Lee should have no problem topping Gary Steen. That said, Penn State should find bonus point opportunities along the way. It’s just anyone’s guess which weight they’ll come at.

Other storylines to follow

–With a Penn State win, Cael Sanderson will secure his 100th Big Ten dual meet coaching victory at Penn State.

–As noted above, we’re still listing Levi Haines and Terrell Barraclough as co-starters at 157 pounds. But, if Penn State goes with the freshman, he will burn his redshirt. That would make him the starter for the remainder of the season.

–PSU has won three of the last four meetings against Iowa. But, the Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 28-11-2.