Positive Change (0:00)
On this special live broadcast Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan breakdown their predictions of the Ohio State vs Penn State dual. Last year was extremely hard to call. This year the public court of opinion has Penn State winning. Askren and Dernlan briefly touch on the news that Austin Desanto was suspended for the Iowa vs Maryland. The pair agrees that Desanto is being held to a higher standard now that all eyes are on him but they understand it because he put himself in that situation. Before getting into their predictions, Askren brings up the price point of the NCAA tournament tickets. Tickets are $1000.00+ for all sessions $100.00+ for 1 session. Askren and Dernlan agree this is good news. The sport is growing and while it will upset people that have been able to go the last 4-5 years it’s overall good for wrestling.
125 lbs Devin Schnupp vs Malik Heinselman (11:00)
Dernlan and Askren agree Heinselman will take this matchup for Ohio State. Dernlan believes it will be a close match. This matchup is arguably the most important match of the dual. A loss for Ohio State at 125 lbs would take all the energy out of the room. More importantly, if you take into consideration all the other matchups Ohio State needs this to possibly win.
133 lbs Luke Pletcher vs Roman Bravo-Young or ? (15:31)
Tommy Rowlands joins the live broadcast to offer his take on what will go down tonight. Roman Brav0-Young suffered a knee injury and is extremely questionable to return vs Ohio State. No. 6 Pletcher has a big opportunity to score bonus points for Ohio State if RBY doesn’t wrestle.
141 lbs Nick Lee vs Joey McKenna (19:11)
The first premiere matchup of the night comes in at 141 lbs with No. 5 Lee vs No. 2 McKenna. Everyone agrees McKenna gets the decision over Lee in a close match.
149 lbs Micah Jordan vs Brady Berge or Jerod Verkleeren (23:40)
If Verkleeren is the guy for Penn State, Dernlan brings up the concern of his weight cut. During his last dual, he faded early. Dernlan, Askren, and Rowlands agree Jordan gets the decision and at this point, the dual is 14-0. Rowlands brings up how loud St. John Arena would be if at this point the match is all Ohio State. The Ohio State Schottenstein Center is the normal venue for Ohio State wrestling. The Schottenstein holds about 6,000 more fans than St. Johns. With a sold-out crowd of about 8,000 at St. Johns, it will be a very unique and electric dual.
157 lbs Jason Nolf vs Ke-Shawn Hayes (29:44)
Askren has No. 1 ranked Nolf majoring No. 6 Hayes. Dernlan has Nolf with a pin and Rowlands has Nolf with a major decision over Hayes.
165 lbs Vincenzo Joseph vs Kaleb Romero or Te’Shan Campbell (29:55)
Askren predicts No. 1 Vincenzo with a decision. Dernlan and Rowlands agree that Ohio State will have a really hard time winning at 165.
174 lbs Ethan Smith vs Mark Hall (30:17)
A unanimous decision between everyone with Mark Hall getting the decision over Ethan Smith.
184 lbs Shakur Rasheed vs Myles Martin (30:26)
Askren has Martin with the decision but Rowlands and Dernlan have Martin getting the major decision.
197 lbs Bo Nickal vs Kollin Moore (30:49)
Just to be different Askren picks Ohio States Kollin Moore to win. While Rowlands would love for Moore to win he picks Bo Nickal. Dernlan ups the ante and predicts No. 1 Nickal gets the pin over No. 2 Moore.
285 lbs Anthony Cassar vs Chase Singletary (30:41)
No. 3 Cassar is the pick by all three to win. Dernlan says Cassar gets the major over Singletary.
Also Available On:
Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan host the RUDIS Wrestling Podcast. Askren, World Champion, and Olympic Wrestler joins in official partnership as a content provider for all things RUDIS. Matt Dernlan joins from years of experience in D1 college coaching at Binghamton, Clarion, and Penn State University.
Stay connected with RUDIS at:
Subscribe to the RUDIS newsletter here: https://rudis.com/my-account/
