CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 16 Illinois wrestling heads to Columbus for a showdown with No. 5 Ohio State on Sunday, January 19. The dual will begin at 12 p.m. CT, and can be streamed with a subscription to BTN +.
Probable Wrestlers
Individual Rankings from FloWrestling; team rankings from InterMat Dual
Quick Hits
*Illinois enters Sunday's dual at Ohio State 4-2 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten duals.
*Ohio State leads the all-time series with Illinois, 35-33. Illinois dropped the last meeting in the series on February 1, 2019 at Huff Hall, 23-14.
*The Illini split their first two Big Ten duals last weekend, losing a tough battle at No. 4 Penn State, 22-16, then achieving a dominant victory over Indiana at Huff Hall, 32-3.
*Three points is the fewest allowed by Illinois in a dual since defeating SIU Edwardsville, 41-3, on November 15, 2015, and the fewest allowed against a B1G opponent since its 32-3 victory over Maryland on January 30, 2015.
*Four Illini swept both of their bouts last weekend: Justin Cardani (125), Travis Piotrowski (133), Eric Barone (157) and Danny Braunagel (165).
*Illinois is ranked 16th in the latest InterMat Dual rankings (January 14), its highest national ranking of the season.
*Seven Illinois wrestlers are ranked in the national top-25 by FloWrestling, including four in the top-15. Nine wrestlers are ranked across the various weekly rankings.
*Senior Travis Piotrowski (133) and Danny Braunagel (165) are tied for the team lead in wins with 15.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
After dropping a hard fought battle at No. 4 Penn State, 22-16, on January 10, the Illini bounced back with a dominant, 32-3, victory over Indiana at Huff Hall on January 12. The Illini won bouts in nine of the 10 weight classes. Three points is the fewest allowed by the Illini in a dual since defeating SIU Edwardsville, 41-3, on November 15, 2015. The Illini received bonus points wins from redshirt junior Dylan Duncan at 141-pounds (Major Decision, 10-0), redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel at 165-pounds (Tech. Fall, 18-3) and redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel at 184-pounds (Tech. Fall, 18-3). Redshirt senior Joey Gunther (174) won the day's lone bout of nationally-ranked competitors, as the 16th ranked Gunther defeated No. 24 Jacob Covaciu by decision, 3-1.
Piotrowski Power
Senior Travis Piotrowski is now 15-2 on the season after sweeping both of his dual bouts at 133-pounds last weekend. He recorded his first win by fall of the season in the matchup against Penn State, pinning Austin Clabaugh late in the third period, 6:54 into the match. Piotrowski is a perfect, 6-0, in dual bouts, and has won his last four bouts entering this weekend.
Super Braunagel Bros
Redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165) and Zac Braunagel (184) are off to dominant starts in their first season in the Illini lineup, and that continued last Sunday against the Hoosiers. The twins each won their bouts by tech. fall, both by a score of 18-3. Their tech. fall victories accounted for 10 of Illinois' 32 points for the match. The Braunagels are now a combined 28-9 this season, 9-3 in dual matchups.
Illinois and Illini Wrestlers Climbing The National Rankings
After a battling tough at No. 4 Penn State and achieving 29-point victory over Indiana, the Illini have moved up to No. 16 in the latest InterMat Dual National Rankings. Additionally, several Illini moved up across the various national rankings after last weekend's performances. Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel moved into the top-10 at 184-pounds, joining Travis Piotrowski (133) and Joey Gunther (174) as Illini wrestlers with a top-10 ranking. Redshirt junior Dylan Duncan (141) and redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165) also moved up to No. 12 in their respective weight classes.
Here are the highest national-rankings for each Illini entering the weekend: No. 7 Travis Piotrowski (133, InterMat), No. 8 Joey Gunther (174, InterMat), No. 10 Zac Braunagel (184, Trackwrestling), No. 12 Danny Braunagel (165, WIN Magazine), No. 12 Dylan Duncan (141, FloWrestling), No. 22 Eric Barone (157, FloWrestling), No. 23 Justin Cardani (125, Trackwrestling), No. 31 Luke Luffman (285, WrestleStat) and No. 31 Matt Wroblewski (197, Trackwrestling).
A Look At The Buckeyes
Ohio State enters Sunday's matchup with an overall record of 5-1, with their lone loss of the season coming against No. 4 Virginia Tech, 21-15, on November 17. Last time out, Ohio State earned its first Big Ten win of the season, defeating Rutgers, 22-13, in Columbus. The Buckeye probable lineup features six wrestlers ranked in the national top-25 of their weight class by FloWrestling, four of whom are ranked in the top-10. Luke Pletcher (141) and Kollin Moore (197) both are ranked No. 1 nationally in their weight classes and are undefeated this season.
Illini To Watch
165: Danny Braunagel
Braunagel will have another prime opportunity to move up in the national rankings, taking on No. 12 Ethan Smith in the 165-pound bout. Braunagel enters the match with a record of 15-4, while Smith comes in at 12-6. Braunagel is 5-1 in duals this season, and swept both of his bouts last weekend to start the Big Ten dual season.
174: Joey Gunther
Joey Gunther will have a ranked matchup against No. 8 Kaleb Romero at 174-pounds. Gunther heads into the dual with a record of 11-3, while Romero enters at 11-2. Last year, the two wrestled against each other at 165-pounds when the Illini and Buckeyes met, with Gunther winning that matchup in Sudden Victory-1, 3-1.
Up Next
The Illini will host three straight Big Ten duals at Huff Hall, beginning with a matchup with Michigan on Sunday, January 26, at 1 p.m. CT. Free Pink T-shirts will be given to the first 150 fans, as the Illini show their continued support in the fight against cancer for Illinois Wrestling's Take Down Cancer Day. Illinois will host Michigan State on Friday, January 31, and No. 18 Northwestern on Sunday, February 1 at Huff Hall.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini Wrestling, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@illiniwrestling) and Instagram (illiniwrestling) and like Fighting Illini Wrestling on Facebook.
