First, let's take a look back at what happened last weekend for the Illinois wrestling team.  The Illini came out a bit flat against Minnesota on Friday night, and the #5 Gophers made them pay, winning seven of ten matches en route to a 27-13 win.  John Deneen picked up a forfeit victory at 125, while John Dergo (184) and Patrick Bond (197) were both impressive in victory.  Dergo, ranked #2 in his weight class, picked up a major decision over Kaleb Young, while Bond dispatched Sonny Yohn, who entered their matchup as the higher-ranked wrestler.  Otherwise, there weren't many bright spots for the Illini, who had hoped to make a better showing against a top-five foe.

Sunday was much better all around for Illinois, in terms of effort and results.  The #22 Illini picked up a 19-18 victory over #13 Wisconsin to return to the .500 mark in Big Ten duals.  Senior Clint Arlis got the Illini off to a fast start, picking up a five-point technical fall for his team in a 17-2 win over Wisconsin's Jesse Hintz.  Also picking up bonus points for the Illini were Jordan Blanton (174) and Ryan Prater (141), who both earned major decisions.  Dergo and Deneen both picked up standard decisions against the Badgers.  You don't often talk about losses helping the team, but that's what happened at 149, where Eric Terrazas fought Wisconsin's #2 Kyle Ruschell, getting a big third period takedown to close the gap toward a 9-5 loss.  That was the final match of the dual, and clinched the Illini victory.

Rankings

Looking at this week's Intermat rankings, the Illini jumped up to #18 in the team rankings.  Individually, Dergo remains at #2 (184), Bond (197) moves up five spots to #9, Blanton (174) edges up one spot to #13, Prater remains at #14 and Eric Terrazas (149) is up a spot to #18.

In the NWCA/USA Today team rankings, Illinois is up one spot to #21 this week.

In the W.I.N. Magazine rankings this week, Illinois re-enters their team dual rankings at #24 after being unranked last week.  Individually, Dergo remains at #2, Prater is up one spot to #8, Blanton remains at #17, and Bond is up one notch to #18.

The current Amateur Wrestling News rankings show Dergo unchanged at #4, Blanton remaining at #9. Prater down a spot to #15 and Bond up two spots to #9.

Finally, a set of rankings that I missed last week from D1Collegewrestling.net.  They have the Illini in at #22 this week as a team.  Individually, Dergo is #2, Bond #9, Blanton #15, Prater #16 and Terrazas #19.

Standings

Last Week's Results

Friday 2/5

#5 Minnesota 27 #21 Illinois 13

#3 Ohio State 29 Michigan 9

#11 Penn State 37 Northwestern 10

#13 Wisconsin 27 #24 Purdue 11

#12 Central Michigan 23 Michigan State 10

Saturday 2/6

#5 Minnesota 23 #14 Indiana 18

#1 Iowa 38 Utah Valley State 0

Sunday 2/7

#21 Illinois 19 #13 Wisconsin 18

#3 Ohio State 37 Northwestern 6

Michigan State 20 #24 Purdue 13

#11 Penn State 29 Michigan 10

So, in my first week of Big Ten wrestling predictions, I went a respectable 9-2, with misses on Illinois Friday night and Purdue on Sunday.  We'll see how I do in this week's picks below (my winners in bold):

Friday 2/12

#3 Ohio State at Illinois

Michigan at #13 Indiana

Michigan State at #10 Penn State

Northwestern at #1 Iowa

Sunday 2/14

#13 Indiana vs Purdue (in Indianapolis)

Michigan State at #3 Ohio State

#1 Iowa at #5 Minnesota

#15 Wisconsin at Michigan

The dual I debated about the most was the Iowa-Minnesota dual at the Barn this Sunday.  I can easily see this dual being split five matches apiece.  The key for the Gophers will be the lower weights.  Will Zach Sanders be back in the lineup after missing the Illinois dual last week?  Can Jayson Ness get his first career win over Iowa's Daniel Dennis?  The Gophers need wins at 125, 133 and 141 to have a shot.  Can they overcome the bonus points that Iowa's Brent Metcalf will likely tally at 149?  Things would have to go just about perfectly for the Gophers to pull the upset.  I think it's possible, but not likely.

As for Illinois and Ohio State, an Illini victory is also possible here, but it will require an upset or two for the Orange and Blue.  Ryan Prater is capable of winning every time he goes out on the mat, but will face a very tough test in #2 Reece Humphrey.  Eric Terrazas also has a tough opponent in #2 Lance Palmer, but showed he can hold his own with the best on Sunday when he battled Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell.  Of course there's also the matchup at 184 between #2 John Dergo and #7 Mike Pucillo.  Those two matched up in Las Vegas earlier this season, with Dergo earning a 7-5 win.  Those are just three matches to watch this Friday when the Illini battle the Buckeyes.

We'll broadcast this dual live tomorrow night on WDWS-AM in Champaign at 7pm.  Hope to see you there.  Thanks for reading.

bmoline@wdws.com