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Preview: Buckeyes Host the Gophers

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This is basically the battle for the #2 spot in the country. With healthy lineups, I believe these are the top two teams in the country not named Iowa. They will get it on in front of a packed arena and it should be a really exciting dual. 

The weird thing is it looks like 5 for Minnesota and 4 for Ohio State, and then it is a coin flip match for Schiller and Snyder at 197. Advantage Minnesota right? The problem is 5 to 5 does not look good at all for the Gophers. The best wrestler at racking up bonus points is in the other lineup along with strong advantages at 125 and 165. Nine of these matches look like they have pretty solid favorites so it'll likely boil down to the 6-point swing of whether Schiller or Snyder wins at 197. 

125- #7 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)

- Lizak had a tough appearance last week against Gilman, and things may not be much better here against the talented Tomasello who is having a really good freshman campaign. Bonus points are big here for the Buckeyes and expect to get them. Ohio State 4-0.

133- #10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) vs #1 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota)

- You could say DiJulius has been on a skid, but I think he was just overrated in the first place. Now 9-14 is where he should be and that means he is really good. Dardanes is just having a really damn good season possibly highlighted by an exciting 5-3 win over Clark on Friday. I would be surprised to see an upset or bonus points here. Ohio State 4-3. 

141- #1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs #4 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota)

- A strange thing happened on Friday night when Logie Bear wrestled Nick Lawrence (Purdue), he only beat him by 4 points. No offense to Lawrence but that seems really strange because that is the first time he hasn't majored, tech'd, or pinned someone. Stieber missed Sunday's match with Rutgers so let's hope he is okay. If he is healthy, despite how solid Dardanes is Stieber is able to pull off anything on anyone. Ohio State 8-3.

149- #6 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) vs Jake Short (Minnesota)

- Both guys are having disappointing seasons really. Hunter has only 1-2 and hasn't appeared since January 11th. Rumor is he will be in the lineup and ready to go. It'll be interesting to see, because Short should beat backup Languis if that's the matchup  . Ohio State 11-3.

157- #12 Josh Demas (Ohio State) vs #1 Dylan Ness (Minnesota)

- Ness had to fight for a comeback win after rumors of severe illness over the last couple weeks. That makes you wonder if he can be up to his usual pinning from everywhere self. Those are bonus points the Gophers will likely need in this dual. I think Demas is up to the task to keep this close, but Ness can do anything. Ohio State 11-6. 

165- #5 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) vs #17 Nick Wanzek/Brandon Kingsley (Minnesota)

- Wanzek and Kingsley have been going back and forth as starters this year and appear to be very even. Either way Jordan should win this handily and possibly earn more bonus points for the Buckeyes. Ohio State 14-6. 

174- #13 Mark Martin (Ohio State) vs #4 Logan Storley (Minnesota)

- Storley has a significant edge here, but isn't known for his bonus points though. Ohio State 14-9.

184- #12 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) vs #11 Brent Pfarr (Minnesota)

- The next two matches are really the only toss-ups of the dual which is kind of strange for such a tight dual on paper. Pfarr beat Courts 7-2 back at the Cliff Keen Inv so give the edge to him. Ohio State 14-12. 

197- #3 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs #5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota)

- Schiller bounced back with a nice win over Burak in the Iowa dual. Snyder has been unstoppable since his loss to Burak to begin January. This is a coin flip, one takedown match in all likelihood. I like Schiller here, but really nobody knows. If Schiller wins, it's probably the dual for Minnesota. If Snyder wins, Kroells or Ness need bonus points to outscore Tomasello and Logan Stieber.  Minnesota 15-14.

285- Ray Gordon (Ohio State) vs #12 Michael Kroells (Minnesota)

- Tavanello is currently ranked 9th somehow, but it doesn't sound like he is coming back soon. In steps Ray Gordon who is listed as a 197. Kroells may be able to dominate here and get Minnesota some much needed bonus points if one of the two previous matches don't go their way. If they draw a weight, look for Kroells to be very aggressive here because they may need every point they get. Minnesota 18-14.