Sunday’s dual marks Minnesota’s return to the Hoosier State, somewhere the Gophers have not visited since 2013. Minnesota (4-3, 3-2), making its first trip to Bloomington in four years to take on Indiana (7-4, 0-2) this weekend, will be back in the state three more time in the next eight weeks, with an upcoming dual at Purdue and the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington.
Sunday’s dual will begin at 1 p.m. Central from University Gym. The dual will be streamed live on BTN Plus, live stats will be available on TrackWrestling.com, and updates from throughout the evening can be found by following Gopher Wrestling on Twitter (@GopherWrestling).
So Far This Season
Minnesota hits the road after finishing up a three-match homestand Friday night against Nebraska. The Gophers jumped ahead of the Huskers by winning four of the night’s first five matches (decisions for No. 13 Nick Wanzek, Chris Pfarr, No. 2 Brett Pfarr and No. 8 Michael Kroells), but dropped the dual 21-11 as Nebraska swept the final five matches of the night.
The Gophers split the first two duals of their January home stretch, opening the calendar year with a loss to Penn State, then taking the Border Battle dual over Wisconsin on Jan. 15. Prior to returning home in January, Minnesota swept a pair of road matches in Michigan to begin the Big Ten season, after splitting a pair of non-conference duals in November against Oklahoma State and South Dakota State.
Mixed into their dual schedule, Minnesota wrestled at both the Cliff Keen Invitational and the Southern Scuffle. Two Gophers (Short, B Pfarr) won titles in Vegas as the Gophers finished fourth. In its best showing in Chattanooga since 2014, Minnesota produced one individual champion (Lizak, 125) and seven placewinners, finishing fourth at the Scuffle.
The Hoosiers finished the non-conference schedule 7-2, including a win over now-ranked North Dakota State. Indiana dropped their Big Ten opener at home to Wisconsin on the third tie breaking criteria, an eerily similar result to Indiana’s upset of Minnesota 367 days earlier. Most recently, Indiana fell to in-state rival Purdue. Over the holiday break, Indiana traveled to Evanston to wrestle at the Midlands. The Crimson and Cream took 13th, led by podium finishes from Devin Stakzka and Nate Jackson, at 174 and 184, respectively
Marquee Match
Featuring wrestlers with NCAA Championships experience, the 125-pound contest between No. 6 Ethan Lizak and Elijah Oliver should offer plenty of possibility for big points. Lizak has shown the ability to rack up back points quickly, while Oliver has five pins in just 12 matches this season.
Last Time Around
These two teams opened the Big Ten season with a back-and-forth affair in Minneapolis last December. In a dual that featured three ties and three lead changes, the team’s split 10 bouts. Brett Pfarr gave Minnesota an early 9-6 lead by pinning Jake Masengale, but Alonzo Shepherd equaled that by pinning Sam Brancale three matches later, putting Indiana on top, 15-12. Tommy Thorn’s 6-2 decision over Cole Weaver – the only match that will be rematched on Sunday – evened the score again, and a split in the final two matches left the teams tied at 18. With the teams having an equal number of match wins (five) and an equal numbers of falls, disqualifications and forfeits (one each), Indiana earned the 19-18 victory on the third tie breaking criteria, total match points (excluding falls and defaults), 55-52.
Series History
Historically, Minnesota has controlled its series with Indiana, with 45 wins in 52 all-time meetings (45-5-1). The Gophers have won 13 of the past 14, and 30 of the past 32, in the series, but its the Hoosiers who own the most-recent head-to-head victory.
Parting Shot
The Gophers have yet to wrestle the same lineup in consecutive duals this season, something that’s expected to change on Sunday when it’s anticipated the same lineup as Friday will take the mat. So far this season, 17 different Gophers have seen time in the lineup, with two weights (125, 149) featuring three different starters.
Match Notes Indiana
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