Back in action after a 2-1 showing last weekend, the Cyclones are on the road today with just one month remaining before the Big 12 tournament for yet another day of multiple duals. UNI is not scheduled to be in attendance.

Where: Scheels Center, Fargo, ND

When: 1:00PM (NDSU), 3:00PM (SDSU)

Stream: Flowrestling ($$)

Key Matches

133 (SDSU)

Redding has put together a pretty solid true freshman season so far but he hasn’t yet picked up a ranked win. He’s got a great shot at doing that today against a just barely ranked Price. A win here would be a great sign that Redding can be counted on for a win or two in St. Louis to add some support points to Iowa State’s score in the team race.

165 (NDSU)

Weber from NDSU is 4-3 on the season with a 1-1 mark in Big 12 action and, while he isn’t in the top 20, is putting together a season that likely has him on the borderline of NCAA qualification. Which is basically the exact same thing that I could write about Judge. Both of these guys are going to be in the middle of the pack for Big 12 seeds so getting a win is important to move up one notch towards the top and make the path to qualification just a little bit easier. The winner of this match is probably on pace to be on the right side of a spot in St. Louis and the loser is on pace to be on the outside.

Everywhere Else

This was a tough meet to pick key matches for because there really just aren’t a lot of notable matchups today. Which means today is one of those days where its really easy for the team to come out flat and lose matches they should be winning. So in those 18 other varsity matches in Fargo it’s key for each and every guy on the team to show up. The season is short and every match matters for rankings and seeding. Even a two month long season like this one is still a grind and good teams show up to win in the midseason doldrums.

Prediction

I almost went with a shutout for the NDSU dual, but I think enough of the matches are tossups that NDSU picks up at least one win while the Cyclones dominate for a 30-3 victory. SDSU should be closer though, with Iowa State winning it 19-13 to end the day at 2-0 while improving the overall season record to 8-2.

Next Up

The Cyclones will host their last home dual of the season next Sunday, February 14th, with a quad against Northern Colorado, Arizona State, and you guessed it, UNI.