Coming off of a 5th place finish at last weekend's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the Buckeyes will travel west to take on the Missouri Tigers, who won the CKLV running away. The Tigers have won four consecutive conference championships, the last three since becoming members of the MAC, and stand in position to win a fifth straight. The Buckeyes will look to avenge a 20-19 defeat from last year in Columbus at the hands of Missouri.
For those unable to hop on the Eleven Warriors private jet and attend the dual, you can watch live on ESPN3 on Saturday at 8:00 PM EST.
Let's take a look at what to expect when the Buckeyes and Tigers step onto the mat on Saturday.
Head Coach: Brian Smith
Smith, in his 17th year as head coach of the Missouri Tigers, is building something of an empire in Columbia. He has won four consecutive conference coach of the year awards (one Big 12, the last three in the MAC) and his efforts to date in 2015 have him primed for yet another. Smith has coached five different wrestlers to six individual NCAA championships (Ben Askren won titles in 2006 and 2007). Under his watch, Missouri was the only undefeated team in the NCAA in duals during the 2014-15 season and currently hold a 28 dual meet winning streak. A graduate of Michigan State, Smith was the Big Ten runner-up at 126 pounds in 1990. Also lending a hand to Smith’s staff are Alex Clemsen (Edinboro), Joe Johnston (Iowa), and Drake Houdashelt (Missouri).
Ohioans on the Missouri Roster
Aaron Assad (Brecksville-Broadview Heights)- The elder Assad brother spent two years as a Purdue Boilermaker before transferring to Missouri. He was a four-time state placer in high school, winning a state title in 2013.
Notable Wrestlers on the Missouri Roster
197: J’Den Cox
Just a junior, Cox has claimed All-American honors in each of his first two seasons at Missouri. As a true freshman, he defeated Ohio State’s Nick Heflin for the NCAA championship at 197, but finished a disappointing fifth as a sophomore. Cox has amasses 80 wins already in his collegiate career and is undefeated (and largely untested) to this point in the 2015-16 season.
174: Blaise Butler
Butler previously wrestled for Virginia, finishing a runner-up and once champion in the ACC tournament. Butler finished a match shy of All-American status at the 2015 NCAA tournament for the Cavaliers. He is a graduate transfer and provides a great deal of experience to the Tigers.
141: Matt Manley
An NCAA qualifier in 2014, Manley has alternated between the starting lineup and a reserve role. This season, Manley has made the most of his chances as a starter, finishing fourth at last weekend’s CKLV Invitational, knocking off No. 1 seed Solomon Chisko in the process.
149: Lavion Mayes
Mayes is a two-time NCAA qualifier for the Tigers, earning All-American status in 2015 with a 7th place finish at 141. Undefeated to this point in 2015, Mayes rolled to a title at the CKLV Invitational, racking up a pin and two major decisions to go with decisions in the finals and semifinals.
Key Matches
Each match is going to be a key match in this dual between top 10 teams. For either team, wrestlers that are unable to win the match are going to be tasked with minimizing the damage and preventing bonus points for the opposing team.
125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello vs. No. 8 Barlow McGhee
Tomasello is still undefeated on the season, but McGhee has looked great to this point in the season. McGhee’s only losses came in sudden victory to Joey Dance and in the 3rd place bout at CKLV to Rios of Oregon State by a single point. McGhee’s signature win to date was a dominating victory over NCAA runner-up Zeke Moisey in the dual meet. McGhee is long and lanky and his leg attacks are quick as lightning. Tomasello’s defense and counter attacks are going to be key if he is to come out on top.
133: No. 5 Johnni DiJulius vs. No. 14 Zach Synon
DiJulius defaulted out of the CKLV last weekend after advancing to the quarterfinals. JDJ is certainly capable of beating Synon, but he’s also been guilty of dropping winnable matches throughout his career.
141: No. 8 Micah Jordan vs. No. 13 Matt Manley
Micah’s championship run at the CKLV Invitational sent him shooting up the rankings, previously ranked 16th in InterMat’s poll. The championship earned Micah his first ever Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award. Not only did Jordan defeat top-seeded Solomon Chisko, but Manley pinned him in the consolation semifinals on his way to a 4th place finish. This is certainly a winnable match for Micah, but Manley will not be a walk in the park. I’d like to say that bonus points are always possible for the Buckeyes based on Micah’s top game, but I don’t think it’ll happen against Manley.
149: Cody Burcher vs. No. 5 Lavion Mayes
Burcher is coming into this dual on a bit of a roll, coming within a win of placing at the CKLV Invitational, but he’ll face the champion of this year’s CKLV. Mayes is a returning All-American and easily the toughest opponent Burcher has faced all year. Cody needs to keep this match close and prevent bonus points for Missouri.
157: No. 14 Jake Ryan vs. Matt Lemanowicz or Luke Fortuna
Ryan was a bit banged up last weekend, so he didn’t wrestle at the CKLV Invitational. Fortuna wrestled for Missouri at the CKLV and won a few winnable matches before getting eliminated by Virginia’s Andrew Atkinson (Ryan defeated Atkinson with a late takedown in the dual meet) by tech fall. If you’re going to play the “common opponents” game (which is a slippery slope, indeed), Ryan ought to roll over Fortuna. Bonus points at 157 would go a long way for the Buckeyes, especially if the Tigers earned bonus points of their own at 149.
165: No. 2 Bo Jordan or Justin Kresevic vs. No. 9 Daniel Lewis or Nick DeLoach
If Bo is completely recovered from his injury that kept him out of action last weekend, he should roll over Lewis or DeLoach. If we see Jordan, we’ll likely see Lewis to minimize bonus points for the Buckeyes. Lewis placed 3rd at CKLV despite being seeded No. 12. I don’t know much about DeLoach, so a match between Kresevic and DeLoach seems like a toss-up. In a dual that’s likely to be as close as this one may be, 165 is going to be one of the major question marks and could very well determine the outcome of the match.
174: Myles Martin or Dominic Prezzia vs. No. 9 Blaise Butler or Cody Johnson
Myles Martin’s redshirt status hangs in the balance and could be based upon the team score at the time of this match. It has long been discussed that Martin’s ability to score points at the NCAA tournament will likely determine whether Bo Jordan wrestles at 174 (if Martin is not likely to finish as an All-American) or 165 (assuming Myles will score at the NCAA tournament, leaving Bo to take a shot at revenge against two-time NCAA champ Alex Dieringer). If Myles’ name is being thrown out as a possibility to start, the Ohio State coaching staff must have seen enough in his runner-up finish at the Nittany Lion Open. Butler is a seasoned veteran and would be a tough test for Myles in his first start as a Buckeye.
184: No. 11 Kenny Courts vs. No. 6 Willie Miklus
In a match between 2015 All-Americans, Courts would benefit greatly from a victory over Miklus. Miklus defeated Courts in the consolation semifinals at CKLV by major decision. Courts scored the opening takedown, but then yielded four takedowns to Miklus. Kenny Courts has been a feast or famine type of wrestler, and the Buckeyes could really utilize a win out of him here.
197: Mark Martin vs. No. 2 J’Den Cox
Martin has struggled in his move to 197 pounds this season, and a match with Cox is not likely to make it any easier for the Buckeye senior. Cox used two pins and a tech fall before two decisions over ranked wrestlers to win the CKLV at 197. Martin won just one match at CKLV and has yet to really get on his feet at 197. Cox is capable of putting up tons of points, but Martin has a habit of keeping matches close with his defense. If Cox is going to win, Martin needs to stay off of his back and keep the match to just a decision.
HWT: No. 18 Nick Tavanello vs James Romero
If Missouri has any real weakness in their lineup, it’s at heavyweight. Tavanello placed 5th at CKLV, while Romero went 0-2, losing by pin and major decision. Tavanello is an athletic heavyweight and can score from the top position, which would benefit the Buckeyes greatly if he were to rack up bonus points on Romero.
Match Outlook
Ohio State should be favored in six of the ten weight classes (125, 133, 141, 157, 165 pending Bo wrestling, and HWT) while Missouri should be the favorites in the other four. As with most dual meets, bonus points will play a large role in the team scoring and Missouri could conceivably score bonus points at 149, 184, and 197. If Ohio State is able to minimize Missouri’s bonus points and win the matches they should win, the Buckeyes will be able to put a halt to Missouri’s dual meet winning streak, which currently sits at 30 matches. I like the Buckeyes’ chances at winning the match, especially if Bo Jordan is able to wrestle at 165 pounds.
