CHAMPAIGN, Ill.— The Fighting Illini wrap up the regular season on Friday with Senior Night at Huff Hall as the Orange and Blue host #16 Minnesota. Coach Heffernan and team will honor six seniors, including starters #4 Steven Rodrigues (165) and #15 Jeff Koepke (184). The two seniors have combined for a 37-7 record this season with three wins over ranked opponents.

The Orange and Blue are coming a weekend split, losing Friday at Nebraska and winning Sunday at home against Northwestern. In both contests, Coach Heffernan played down a man, as #2 Zane Richards was out with the flu. With a forfeited six points at 133 pounds, the Illini fell 30-10 to the Huskers, while ushering a 25-6 run to get the victory on Sunday at Huff Hall.

Last weekend, the Gophers defeated Northwestern in Evanston by a score of 22-20, using a decision at 197 pounds and a major decision at heavyweight to complete the comeback. On Sunday, #7 Tommy Thorn (141) sealed a 17-16 Minnesota victory, a 6-0 decision over Luke Rowh of Wisconsin

Friday's match will be streamed live on the official Fighting Illini website, FIGHTINGILLINI.com beginning at 7 p.m.

Looking Ahead: The Illini will head to Iowa City, Iowa for Big Ten Championships on March 5-6. The team placed sixth at Big Ten Championships last year in Columbus, Ohio.

#12 Illinois (12-5, 4-5)  Probable Wrestlers

125 -/-/-      Francis Edelen (1-16, 0-8 ) Fr.

133 2/2/2   Zane Richards (20-0, 6-0), r-Jr.

141 -/-/-      Mousa Jodeh (3-8, 0-4), Fr.

149 -/-/-      Kyle Langenderfer (6-11, 2-6), r-So.

157 2/2/2    Isaiah Martinez (22-1, 7-1), r-So.

165  6/4/6     Steven Rodrigues (20-2, 6-2), r-Sr.

174 4/2/2    Zac Brunson (17-1, 4-1), r-Jr.

184 -/15/18 Jeff Koepke (17-5, 5-3), r-Sr.

197 -/-/-      Andre Lee (11-10, 1-7), r-Fr.

HWT -/20/- Brooks Black (16-6, 4-4), r-So.

Records are in overall, Big Ten format

Rankings are listed in Intermat, W.I.N., OpenMat

MATCH NOTES

Minnesota: Minnesota leads 30-23-2

The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series over the Fighting Illini, including a one-point Minnesota victory last season in Minneapolis.

After #8 Jackson Morse won by major decision to put the Illini up 4-0, Minnesota won six of the next seven matches to take a 20-8 lead. A Kyle Langenderfer pin (0:51) over Seth Lange brought the Illini within six. However, #3 Isaiah Martinez was unable to add another to pin to tie the score, leaving Illinois with a 20-19 defeat.

125: Francis Edelen vs. Skyler Petry

This bout will be the only one that features two unranked wrestlers, and could be the deciding factor for the Illini and Gophers.

Both Edelen and Petry are freshman wrestling and have just one Big Ten victory between the two of them. Francis Edelen continues to get closer to a victory as he has battled tough in recent matchups against unranked opponents. On the other side, Petry picked up his first Big Ten win last Sunday against Wisconsin's Johnny Jimenez. The win for Petry improved his overall record to 12-13 on the season.

197: Andre lee vs. #3 Brett pfarr // HWT: Brooks black vs. #9 Michael Kroells

Andre Lee and Brooks Black both enter the match with mixed results over the past week or two. Lee won his first Big Ten bout against Michigan State, while showing improvement in others. However, he allowed a late pin against Northwestern that gave the Wildcats an extra three points. With Brett Pfarr 27-2 on the season with three pins and 12 major decisions, Illinois will need Lee to battle tough at 197.

Similar to Lee, Black is facing the ninth-ranked wrestler in his class, one who beat Black three times last season. While Black looks to turn the tide and pull the upset, it's vital he doesn't allow Kroells to start quick like Collin Jensen (Nebraska) did last Friday.

Controling the bonus points

Without a single ranked matchup this weekend, the major key for both Minnesota and Illinois will be in managing the bonus points. Minnesota features ranked wrestlers at 141, 149, 197, and HWT, while Coach Heffernan sends out ranked Illini at 133, 157, 165, 174 and 184.

For Minnesota, #9 Tommy Thorn has 8 victories of major decision or greater in 35 matches, while Jake Short features just 3 in 18. The difference makers for Minnesota come at 197 and HWT, with Pfarr racking up 19 victories of major decision or greater, while Kroells has 10.

Illinois has seen more dominance from their ranked wrestlers this season. For #2 Richards, 12 of his 20 wins have come by major decision or greater, while #4 Steven Rodrigues and Zac Brunson both have racked up 13 victories by at least major decision. However, the biggest advantage comes at 157 with #2 Isaiah Martinez getting 19 of his 22 victories by technical fall or greater.

With the dual victories likely to be close to even, the meet will come down to earning and defending bonus points. 

Coach Heffernan and staff will honor five Illini seniors prior to the Minnesota match. The group of seniors have totaled 252 victories, 32 pins, two Big Ten top-8 finishes, and three NCAA Championships qualifications.

Caleb Ervin: A red-shirt senior, Ervin will leave Illinois with a 41-27 overall record, highlighted by his 2012-13 season. That season he compiled 22 wins, placed eighth at Big Ten Championships, and earned an at-large bid to NCAA Championships. As a junior, Ervin was once again the Illini starter at 149 pounds, placing eighth at Big Ten Championships for the second year in a row after missing nearly two months due to injury. Caleb's success extended off the mat and into the classroom, as he claimed Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2013 and 2014.

Christopher Lopez: After red-shirting as a freshman, Lopez took over as the full-time starter at heavyweight when Pat Walker was injured in 2012-13. As a red-shirt freshman, he compiled 11 wins before improving to 13 wins as a sophomore and placing eighth at Midlands Championships. Last season, Lopez recorded a 11-5 mark, winning non-conference duals against SIUE, Appalachian State, and Grand Canyon. 

Matt Nora: Nora was the full-time starter at 157-pounds as a red-shirt freshman, notching 12 victories and pinning NCAA Qualifier Tommy Churchard of Purdue in his Big Ten dual debut. He totaled 28 wins during his time at Illinois, while earning Academic All-Big Ten honors each year. 

Jeff Koepke: Hailing from Prospect Heights, Illinois, Koepke took over as a full-time starter at 197 pounds last season, compiling a career-high 21 wins, including three over top-15 opponents and 37 dual points. During the postseason, Koepke placed sixth at Big Ten Championships for Coach Heffernan and qualified for NCAA Championships last March. After moving to 184 pounds this season, he enters play tonight with a 17-5 record this season and is currently ranked 15th.

Steven Rodrigues: After transferring from Rutgers, Rodrigues became the full-time starter at 141-pounds in 2012-13 after B.J. Futrell was lost to injury. That season, he went 30-14 overall, including a defeat of Alex Gregory by major decision in his Big Ten dual debut. His sophomore season saw him compile 12 wins and place sixth at Big Ten Championships. As a junior, he finished sixth at Midlands Championships, went 6-3 in Big Ten duals, and qualified for Big Ten and NCAA Championships. This year, he began the season with 13 straight wins, including a Reno Tournament Championship. Currently 20-2 with a career-high ranking, Rodrigues will enter postseason play with high expectations.