No. 9 ranked Ohio State will take a road trip over the weekend to take on a pair of ranked foes from the state of Indiana, with the No. 22 Hoosiers up first. The Buckeyes will look to improve to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten in a winnable match against an experienced Hoosier team, who boast a record of 6-2 on the season.
The match will take place at 7 pm on Friday night and will be available for streaming on Big Ten Plus (subscription required).
Let's take a look at what to expect when the Buckeyes take on the host Hoosiers.
Head Coach: Duane Goldman
Goldman has been the head coach at Indiana for the past quarter century and has coached 28 All-Americans in that time. Most recently, Goldman coached Taylor Walsh to a runner-up finish at the 2015 NCAA tournament with Walsh dropping a 14-7 decision to Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State. As a competitor, Goldman was a standout wrestler for Iowa under Dan Gable. Goldman won four straight Big Ten titles and finished runner-up each of his first three seasons before winning a national title as a senior. Internationally, he won the Pan-American games in 1987 and was an Olympic alternate in 1988. Goldman is assisted by Nick Simmons (Michigan State), Travis Pascoe (Nebraska), and Matt Powless (Indiana).
Ohioans on the Hoosier Roster
Jake Danishek (RS FR, 149)
Danishek was one of the few wrestlers to win four state titles in Ohio, doing so for Dayton Christian. Danishek was runner-up at the Ironman and was a three-time All-American at the Disney Duals.
Cole Jones (FR, HWT)
Jones was a two-time state placer for Cincinnati St Xavier, going undefeated as a senior on his way to the Division 1 state title at 220 lbs. Jones initially committed to wrestle for Army, but transferred to Indian after just a semester.
Jonathan Edwards (RS JR, 133) - River Valley HS
Jake Hinz (FR, 174) - Westerville North HS
3-time state qualifier, 3rd place winner.
Wyatt Wilson (RS SO, 165) – Cincinnati Moeller HS
Notable Wrestlers
Nate Jackson (RS JR, 174)
Jackson put the wrestling world on alert earlier in the season when he knocked off No. 1 ranked Bo Nickal of Penn State, which is Nickal’s only loss to date this season. Jackson is a tough competitor with a great gas tank and tends to find a way to win when time is dwindling in a match.
Jake Danishek (RS FR, 149)
Danishek has approached Big Ten competition fairly well in his freshman campaign, defeating opponents from both Michigan and Michigan State. He’s struggled against more experienced opponents, but will only improve with time.
Elijah Oliver (FR, 125)
Oliver is making a name for himself as just a freshman, going 24-4 and 3-1 in the Big Ten to this point in the season. He’s got the ability to catch his opponents and pin them and he’s able to win tight matches, which will certainly factor in at the Big Ten tournament. He’s ranked in this week’s InterMat rankings, but may struggle with Tomasello’s torrid pacing at this stage in his career.
| No. 9 Ohio State | No. 22 Indiana | |
| 125 | No. 1 Nathan Tomasello | No. 19 Elijah Oliver |
| 133 | No. 8 Johnni DiJulius | Alonzo Shepherd |
| 141 | No. 4 Micah Jordan | Cole Weaver |
| 149 | No. 11 Hunter Stieber | Luke Blanton |
| 157 | No. 14 Jake Ryan | Jake Danishek |
| 165 | No. 2 Bo Jordan | Eric Roach or Bryce Martin |
| 174 | No. 15 Myles Martin | No. 6 Nate Jackson |
| 184 | No. 13 Kenny Courts | Matt Irick or Wyatt Wilson |
| 197 | Josh Fox | Jake Massengale |
| HWT | Nick Tavanello or Thomas Haines | Garret Goldman |
Key Matches
174: No. 15 Myles Martin vs No. 6 Nate Jackson
Martin defeated Jackson early in the season at the Eastern Michigan Open back in November, but much has changed in the past two months. Martin is no longer a redshirt and Jackson has a few huge wins under his belt. Big Ten seeding could be at stake in this match.
149: No. 11 Hunter Stieber vs Luke Blanton
Stieber earned his first win of the season last week against Michigan State, but Kaelan Richards isn’t going to be an All-American at the end of the season. Blanton won’t really contend for many accolades in March, but he’s a step up in competition and Hunter will need all of the matches that he can get if he’s going to be ready for guys like Zain Retherford (Penn State), Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), and Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
157: No. 14 Jake Ryan vs Jake Danishek
Danishek will be a tough opponent for Ryan, who could use some tough competition before taking on the field at the Big Ten tournament. Ryan will likely face Jason Nolf in the Penn State dual, so he’ll need all the momentum he can get to take on another No. 1 ranked wrestler. Danishek will be tough, but beatable for Ryan.
Match Outlook
Indiana is tougher than Michigan State, but they shouldn’t challenge the Buckeyes in the team score. With a pair of winnable duals over the weekend, we’re likely to see several of the starters getting a rest against Indiana and Purdue. Micah Jordan and Mark Martin sat out against Michigan State due to minor injuries, so the smart bet is that they’ll sit out one or both of this weekend’s duals to be at 100% against Penn State on February 5.
I’m told that Micah will be back, but the dual with the Nittany Lions looms large in the near future. This weekend will be important for knocking the rust off of Hunter Stieber as well as getting younger guys like Jake Ryan and Myles Martin experience against lower-tier Big Ten opponents. The Buckeyes should win going away against the Hoosiers on Friday and quickly regroup to visit Purdue on Sunday.
