#21 Illini Host #5 Minnesota, #13 Wisconsin

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Illini Host 2 Duals

#21 Illinois vs. #5 Minnesota
Feb. 5 // Huff Hall // 7 pm // Champaign, Ill. // BTN (live)

#21 Illinois vs. #13 Wisconsin
Feb. 7 // Huff Hall // 1 pm // Champaign, Ill.

Television
Friday's dual against No. 5 Minnesota will be nationally televised live on the Big Ten Network with Tim Johnson providing play-by-play and former Iowa State national champion, four-time All-American and assistant head coach Joe Gibbons giving expert analysis.

Radio
Both matches will be broadcast on WDWS-AM 1400, with Friday's match live and Sunday's match being run on a tape delay after Illini women's basketball. Brian Moline will call the action with Spencer Turkin providing analysis.

Live Blog
A live blog will be available for both matches, run by Illini wrestling sports information director Ben Taylor. The blogs can be found at http://www.fightingillini.com/sports...estl-body.html.

#21 Illinois (7-5, 2-2) Probable Wrestlers
125 -/-/- John Deneen (7-9, 1-3), Jr.
133 -/-/- Daryl Thomas (13-12, 1-3), r-Fr.
141 14/14/14 Ryan Prater (11-5, 2-1), Jr.
149 19/-/- Eric Terrazas (12-3, 1-3), So.
157 -/-/- Clint Arlis (10-2, 1-0), Sr.
165 -/-/- Conrad Polz (14-11, 2-2), r-Fr.
174 14/17/9 Jordan Blanton (16-3, 4-0), So.
184 2/2/4 John Dergo (24-2, 4-0), Sr.
197 14/-/11 Patrick Bond (17-9, 3-1), Sr.
HWT -/-/- Martin Smith (11-11, 1-2), So.
Records are in overall, Big Ten format
Rankings are listed in Intermat, W.I.N., AWN format

#5 Minnesota (9-4, 4-0) Probable Wrestlers
125 6/6/6 Zach Sanders (20-3, 4-0), So.
133 1/1/1 Jayson Ness (19-0, 0-0), Sr.
OR -/-/- Thane Antczak (9-10, 1-3), r-Fr.
141 6/7/3 Mike Thorn (18-4, 3-1), Jr.
149 18/20/- Mario Mason (13-6, 2-2), r-Fr.
157 2/4/2 Dustin Schlatter (10-1, 2-0), Sr.
165 -/-/- Cody Yohn (18-8, 2-2), r-Fr.
174 8/8/7 Scott Glasser (25-4, 4-0), Jr.
184 -/-/- Kaleb Young (7-10, 1-3), So.
197 10/14/- Sonny Yohn (19-8, 2-2), So.
HWT -/18/20 Ben Berhow (15-8, 4-0), Jr.
Records are in overall, Big Ten format
Rankings are listed in Intermat, W.I.N., AWN format

#13 Wisconsin (5-8, 1-2) Probable Wrestlers
125 -/-/- Drew Hammen (5-15, 0-3), Sr.
133 7/5/7 Tyler Graff (20-4, 3-0), r-Fr.
141 -/-/- Cole Schmitt (14-12, 1-2), r-Fr.
149 5/5/3 Kyle Ruschell (21-2, 2-1), Sr.
157 -/-/- Greg Burke (4-15, 0-3), Jr.
165 1/1/1 Andrew Howe (23-0, 3-0), So.
174 -/-/- Jimmy Duffy (3-14, 0-2), r-Fr.
184 16/18/- Travis Rutt (10-6, 2-1), So.
197 8/6/6 Trevor Brandvold (12-3, 3-0), Jr.
HWT -/-/- Eric Bugenhagen (10-15, 0-3), Jr.
Records are in overall, Big Ten format
Rankings are listed in Intermat, W.I.N., AWN format

• No. 2 John Dergo is having a banner senior season after moving up to 184 this year, holding a 24-2 record, with both losses coming to top-7 opponents. Dergo won the Midlands title by beating three consecutive two-time All-Americans in Missouri's No. 1 Max Askren, American's No. 2 Mike Cannon and Harvad's Louis Caputo. His two losses on the season have come to Askren and No. 7 Kirk Smith (Boise State). The 24-2 start is a career-best beginning to a season for the Morris, Ill., native and he now ranks 21st on the all-time wins list at Illinois with 93 victories. Dergo has won 13 straight matches and currently ranks 10th in the Big Ten in wins and sixth in pins.

• After a strong freshman year, sophomore No. 14 Jordan Blanton is enjoying his move down to 174 pounds this season with a 16-3 start and six pins. His six falls are more than halfway to his total of eight from a year ago and all three of his losses have come to ranked opponents.

• Junior No. 15 Ryan Prater (141) wrestled only four matches prior to Midlands because of injuries, but he returned to the lineup at the tournament as the No. 7 seed and out-performed his seed by finishing fifth with two wins over ranked opponents, including Iowa's No. 7 and second-seeded Dan LeClere in the quarterfinals. Prater is 11-5 on the season with two wins over ranked foes.

• Injuries have been a big story this season for the Fighting Illini, as four starters have missed significant time. B.J. Futrell (125 pounds) missed six weeks between the Lindenwood Open and the Findlay/McKendree duals, and has been ruled out for the rest of the season after re-aggravating the shoulder injury that has plagued him all season. No. 14 Jordan Blanton (174) missed the Las Vegas Invitational but returned for the duals against Findlay and McKendree, and No. 11 Ryan Prater (141) missed a month after Sprawl & Brawl but returned to the lineup at Midlands and placed fifth. Also, Eric Terrazas (149) was in the lineup against SIUE on Jan. 8 after missing the month following Thanksgiving because of a broken foot.

• Terrazas, a sophomore who jumped into the Intermat rankings at No. 20 on Jan. 12 - marking his first career week being ranked - battled through a tough freshman year but has burst out to a fast start this season despite breaking his foot over Thanksgiving break. He's 12-3 with all three losses coming to ranked foes in the last two weeks. Terrazas didn't get his first dual win against a Division I opponent until Feb. 20 last season.

#21 Illini Hosts #5 Gophers, #13 Badgers
No. 21 Illinois returns home for its first home dual meet since Jan. 8 when it hosts No. 5 Minnesota Friday at 7 p.m., a dual that will be televised live by the Big Ten Network. The Illini then welcome No. 13 Wisconsin to Huff Hall Sunday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the final two-match weekend of the season for the Illini.

The Gophers are 9-4 overall, 4-0 in the Big Ten, with narrow wins over the Badgers (20-18) and Michigan State (18-16) the past two weekends and blowout victories over Purdue (30-9) and Michigan (30-6). Minnesota has been without top-ranked Jayson Ness at 133 since their Jan. 9 win over Central Michigan at the National Duals tournament but he could return as soon as this weekend.

Wisconsin is only 5-8 overall in duals and 1-2 in the Big Ten, but has wrestled three close duals in conference action with a 21-18 win at Indiana on Jan. 22, a 20-18 loss at Minnesota last Friday and a 22-15 loss against Penn State on Sunday. The Badgers are led by No. 1 and 2009 NCAA runner-up Andrew Howe at 165, and add No. 5 Kyle Ruschell at 141, No. 7 Tyler Graff at 133, No. 8 Trevor Brandvold at 197 and No. 16 Travis Rutt at 184.

Series History Against Minnesota
The Gophers hold a 26-23-2 all-time series lead over the Illini and Minnesota has gone 11-3 against Illinois since 1993. The Orange and Blue also have lost their last nine home duals against Minnesota, which stretches all the way back to 1964.

Series History Against Wisconsin
Illinois is 36-27-3 all-time against the Badgers and hasn't lost to Wisconsin since 1992, going 10-0-1 in that stretch. The Illini are 5-0-1 in the last six home matches against the Badgers, with the last loss to Wisconsin at Huff Hall coming on Jan. 13, 1991.

Weekend Matchups to Watch
Finally returning home for two Big Ten duals, Illinois appears to have some favorable matchups with No. 14 Indiana and Northwestern. Here's a look at a few key bouts in each dual:

#21 Illinois vs. #5 Minnesota
141: #14 Ryan Prater (ILL) vs. #6 Mike Thorn (MINN)
Prater and Thorn have met once in their careers, with Prater scoring an 11-0 major decision at the 2008 Las Vegas Invitational. Thorn is 18-4 on the season but has largely been untested with only four matches against ranked foes. He's 1-3 against ranked opponents and also lost in sudden-victory time to Purdue's Juan Archuleta on Jan. 31. Prater has been inconsistent lately, going 4-4 after a 7-1 start to the season. He's been pinned in three of those four losses.

149: #19 Eric Terrazas (ILL) vs. #18 Mario Mason (MINN)
Terrazas gets another chance to prove himself against a ranked opponent when he squares off with No. 18 Mario Mason on Friday. Mason started the season 11-2 before losing his final two bouts at the National Duals (against Iowa and Ohio State opponents) and starting 2-2 in the Big Ten. Like Terrazas, Mason lost by two points to Michigan State's David Cheza, and Mason was the victim of an 11-3 major decision by No. 2 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) last Friday. He also lost to Northwestern's Andrew Nadhir at Midlands, who Terrazas dropped an overtime bout against on Sunday. Mason is 2-4 in his last six bouts, while Terrazas is 1-3 in his last four after starting 11-0.

197: #14 Patrick Bond (ILL) vs. #10 Sonny Yohn (MINN)
Bond and Yohn have similar résumés, with both wrestlers holding three wins over ranked opponents this season and a season record well above .500. Both also have struggled to take the next step up the ladder in losing close bouts to opponents ranked close to them. The two have never met as Yohn entered the season as a 184-pounder and moved up to 197 full-time at the Southern Scuffle Dec. 29-30. Yohn lost a major decision to Jordan Blanton last season at 184 in their first match at the Big Ten Championships.

#21 Illinois vs. #13 Wisconsin
197: #14 Patrick Bond (ILL) vs. #8 Trevor Brandvold (WIS)
Bond likely will be in one of the deciding matches against Wisconsin as he faces the Badgers' No. 8 Trevor Brandvold. Brandvold has four wins over ranked opponents, most notably a 4-3 win over No. 3 Hudson Taylor (Maryland) at Midlands. He also defeated Minnesota's Yohn, 4-2, on Jan. 29, and majored Indiana's Matt Powless, who knocked off Bond on Jan. 29.

HWT: Martin Smith (ILL) vs. Eric Bugenhagen (WIS)
It's odd that a bout between two unranked wrestlers could be a key match, but if the dual begins at 125, Smith and Bugenhagen likely will decide the outcome. Smith is 11-11 on the year after a 6-4 win over Northwestern's Marcus Shrewsbury on Jan. 31. Bugenhagen is 10-15 with four consecutive losses and a 1-8 mark in his last nine bouts. He has been in every bout, though, as he hasn't given up bonus this season. Last year, Bugenhagen was pinned by Jordan Blanton in their match at 184.