As you might recall. Last weekend UNI came to Ames to wrestle Missouri, but not Iowa State. Well this weekend Iowa State goes to Cedar Falls to wrestle Oklahoma, but not UNI. Like strangers in the night, the teams keep passing close to each other without ever actually crossing paths.

Despite the weird circumstances, Iowa State will have a job to do in Cedar Falls on Sunday. They’re coming off a 7-31 whooping by Missouri a week ago and need to use this meet against Oklahoma to prove that last weekend was just a combination of mat rust and young guys seeing their first varsity D1 action.

Where: McCloud Center, Cedar Falls, IA

When: 1:00PM CST, Sunday, January 24th

Stream: Flowrestling ($$)

Key Matches

141

This is round six between these two wrestlers. Currently Demas has a 3-2 lead in the series but Parker won their last outing, taking Demas out 4-2 in the finals of the Big 12 tournament last season. And three of those five matches have been determined in overtime (what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so we won’t talk about one of the ones that didn’t). This is a short season and there aren’t going to be many opportunities for Parker to get quality wins for NCAA seeding purposes, and last weekend he stumbled in his first shot against a top 12 opponent. To get himself back on track for a top 8 seed in St. Louis he needs to grab a win in Cedar Falls.

149

I’m starting to worry about whether or not we’re going to see our tall boy back on the mat this season. There’s only three more weekends left of the regular season and he isn’t even listed as an “or” on the lineup. Cam Robinson has done a great job filling in but is a true freshman and hasn’t picked up a signature win yet. He looked very tough in his wrestle off against Degen before Christmas and in his matches against lower division opponents to kick off the new year, but #3 ranked Mauller was just a little too much for him last weekend. Robinson will get a less imposing shot at a ranked win this weekend when he takes on 2 time NCAA qualifier Moore. A win here would likely push Robinson in to the rankings and show that he can be counted on to qualify for NCAAs and win at least a match or two if Degen isn’t able to return.

165 & 184

The key to a good dual team is not having any holes in the lineup. These aren’t standout weights for the Cyclones (at least not until we get Colbray back at 184). But they aren’t standout weights for the Sooners either. What Judge or Stotts and Battani need to do against Oklahoma is prove that they aren’t lineup holes and take advantage of opponents that will be a step down from the ranked guys they faced a week ago. A pair of wins at these weights would go a long way towards building up confidence and just as importantly keep them out of the bottom seeds at Big 12s in Tulsa.

Prediction

I have Iowa State favored at 125, 157, and HWT. And Oklahoma favored at 133, 174, and 197. That leave tossups at 141, 149, 165, and 184. I think Iowa State wins three of the tossups (or maybe picks up an upset at 197) to win it 18-13 and head back to Ames 1-0 in Big 12 action.

Next Up

Iowa State will be back in Ames next weekend for a trio of duals including a nightcap against Oklahoma State. UNI isn’t scheduled to show up.