CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illini wrestling team is prepared to start the Big Ten portion of their schedule. They start off with a road trip to Iowa Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. CT and host Wisconsin Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. CT. The match at the State Farm Center on Sunday will also be Alumni night and on TV through the Big Ten Network.
Illinois wrestled at the 58th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships a week ago where two Illini were crowned champion: Redshirt junior Zac Braunagel (197 lbs.) and redshirt sophomore Edmond Ruth (133 lbs.).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 2 Iowa heads into the dual with the Illini with a perfect 7-0 record. The common opponents between the Hawkeyes and the Illini are Buffalo and Chattanooga. Iowa beat Buffalo 35-7 (Illinois 28-9) and Chattanooga 27-12 (Illinois 32-9). Iowa has a couple ranked victories under their belt as well, over No. 21 Penn 26-11 and No. 7 Iowa State 18-15.
No. 13 Wisconsin holds a 6-1 record to date, they will have a match with No. 1 Penn State before their trip to Champaign. Their lone loss on the season came against Iowa State (6-26) when they were ranked 14. Wisconsin has also beat common opponents Buffalo (31-6) and Chattanooga (35-3). Wisconsin has ranked wins against No. 7 Cornell 19-13 and No. 12 Princeton 38-3.
NOTES
- Zac Braunagel will have a potential rematch with Wisconsin's Braxton Amos. Zac defeated him at Midlands last week for the 197 pound champion title.
- Edmond Ruth is currently on a 18 match win streak, boasting an 18-1 record.
- Five other Illini were place winners last week at Midlands: redshirt sophomore Lucas Byrd (133 lbs.) placed third, redshirt junior Danny Braunagel (165 lbs.) placed third, redshirt freshman Dylan Connell (184 lbs.) placed fifth, sophomore Danny Pucino (141 lbs.) placed seventh and junior Trey Sizemore (174 lbs.) placed eighth.
- Illinois holds a 12-4 record against the Badgers, their last win came at home on Jan. 17, 2021 21-9. Lat meeting Feb. 11, 2022 10-32 loss.
- Illinois holds a 2-10 record against the Hawkeyes, their last win coming on Jan. 28, 2005 25-7. Last meeting Jan. 16, 2022 3-36 loss.
