CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 15 Illinois wrestling hosts two Big Ten duals at Huff Hall this weekend. The Illini will first take on Michigan State on Friday, January 31 at 7 p.m. No. 15 Illinois will then battle No. 21 Northwestern on Sunday, February 2 at 1 p.m. Both duals will be broadcast on BTN +.
Promotions
Friday's dual against the Spartans will be Super Hero and Kids Club Day at Huff Hall. The first 250 fans will receive a super hero cape, and Kids Club members will receive a free drawstring backpack. Sunday's matchup vs. the Wildcats will be Tuff N' Huff day, featuring the second annual arm wrestling competition. The arm wrestling competition will begin at 12 p.m., and the champion will win Air Pods. Â
Probable Wrestlers
* Individual Rankings from FloWrestling; Team Rankings from InterMat Dual
Quick Hits
*Illinois enters the weekend 5-3 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten Duals
*The Illini will look to make it six consecutive victories against the Spartans on Friday night. Illinois won the last meeting in East Lansing, 18-15, on January 11, 2019. Michigan State leads the all-time series, 40-20-3.
*Illinois leads the all-time series with Northwestern 48-33-3. The Illini dropped their most recent matchup with the Wildcats, 25-12, on February 15, 2019. Â
*Illinois won its last matchup, defeating No. 23 Michigan, 20-13, on January 26 at Huff Hall.
*Illinois handed Michigan its first loss in Big Ten duals.
*The Illini are 3-0 at Huff Hall this season entering the weekend. Â
*Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125) and senior Travis Piotrowski (133) are each an undefeated, 4-0, in Big Ten duals this season.
*Five Illinois wrestlers are ranked in the national top-25 by FloWrestling, including four in the top-15. Eight wrestlers are ranked across the various weekly rankings.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
No. 15 Illinois wrestling started strong and pulled away during the second half of its dual against No. 23 Michigan, defeating the Wolverines by a final score of, 20-13, at Huff Hall on January 26. Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125), senior Travis Piotrowski (133) and redshirt junior Dylan Duncan (141) won the first three bouts of the match by decision to give Illinois an early, 9-0, lead. Redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165) and redshirt senior Joey Gunther (174) each won by major decision, giving the Illini crucial bonus points at the weight-classes to go up 17-7. Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel sealed the Illini victory with his comeback, 5-4, decision victory over Jelani Embree at 184-pounds, which put the dual score officially out of Michigan's reach. No. 15 Illinois is now 5-3 on the season and 2-2 in Big Ten duals
Starting Duals Strong
Cardani and Piotrowski have been able to get the Illini out to early leads in dual matches this season. Every dual the Illini have contested this season has started at 125-pounds, and Cardani (125) and Piotrowski (133) are a combined 15-1 in dual bouts this season. Piotrowski is undefeated in duals at 8-0, and Cardani has won seven consecutive dual bouts to put his record in duals at 7-1. Both Cardani and Piotrowski enter Sunday's matchup with Michigan undefeated in Big Ten duals.Â
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 both turned in key results last week against Michigan. Danny Braunagel secured bonus points in his matchup at 165-pounds, earning four points for the 10-2 major decision over Reece Hughes. Later on at 184-pounds, Zac Braunagel defeated Jelani Embree, 5-4, which also pushed the dual score out of reach at 20-7, clinching the match for the Illini. The Braunagels are now a combined 30-11 this season, 11-5 in dual matchups.
Illinois And Illini Wrestlers In the National Rankings
The Illini rank at No. 15 in the latest InterMat Dual National Rankings. The Illinois lineup features five wrestlers ranked in the top-15 nationally. Here are the highest national-rankings for each ranked Illini wrestler entering the weekend: No. 7 Travis Piotrowski (133, InterMat, FloWrestling, Trackwrestling, OpenMat), No. 9 Joey Gunther (174, InterMat), No. 12 Dylan Duncan (141, FloWrestling) No. 13 Danny Braunagel (165, WIN Magazine, Trackwrestling), No. 13 Zac Braunagel (184, FloWrestling, InterMat), No. 17 Justin Cardani (125, Trackwrestling), No. 28 Luke Luffman (OpenMat) and No. 30 Matt Wroblewski (197, Trackwrestling). Â
Scouting The Spartans
Michigan State enters Friday night's matchup with Illinois with a record of 6-6 overall and 1-4 in Big Ten duals. The Spartans were defeated their last time out at Nebraska, 25-12, on Sunday, January 26. Michigan State has three wrestlers ranked in the FloWrestling national top-25. They are led by No. 14 Cam Caffey at 184-pounds, who is 19-6 this season.
A Look At The Wildcats
No. 21 Northwestern heads into Champaign with a 3-4 record overall and a 1-3 mark in conference duals. The Wildcats dropped their last matchup to Michigan in Evanston, 20-17. Northwestern's probable lineup features six wrestlers ranked in the national top-25 by FloWrestling. They are led by 157-pound national No. 1 Ryan Deakin, who is 12-0 this season.
Illini to Watch
184: Zac Braunagel
Nationally-ranked No. 13 Zac Braunagel (14-6) is set to take on No. 14 Cam Caffery of Michigan State on Friday night in the 184-pound bout. Braunagel bested Caffey in a 15-7 major decision at the MSU Open back on November 2. On Sunday, Braunagel will be opposed by fellow redshirt freshman Jack Jessen, who is 12-11 this season for Northwestern.Â
125: Justin Cardani
The winner of his last seven dual matches, Justin Cardani (11-5) will look to keep his hot streak going against two strong opponents this weekend. On Friday night he will take on Michigan State's Logan Griffin, who enters at 16-9, or Ethan Curtin, who is 6-9. Sunday he will be opposed by national- No. 9 Michael DeAugstino. The Wildcats' redshirt freshman probable at 125-pounds is 13-5 this season.    Â
Up Next
The Illini head to the East Coast for a pair of Big Ten duals next week. Illinois faces off against Rutgers on Friday, February 7 at 6 p.m. CT. The Illini will then travel to Maryland for a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Terrapins, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT. Both duals can be streamed with a subscription to BTN +.Â
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.Â
