Lineup uncertainty part of intrigue for Penn State-Wisconsin wrestling match

[TomM]

Lineup uncertainty part of intrigue for Penn State-Wisconsin wrestling match | PennLive
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/12/lineup_uncertainty_all_part_of.html

By Jim Carlson | Special to PennLive
on December 11, 2015 at 8:45 AM, updated December 11, 2015 at 8:54 AM
The news about Sunday's Penn State-Wisconsin wrestling match isn't that the top-ranked Nittany Lions will put 10 men on the mat, it's that as many as four of those 10 might not be who you are used to seeing.

Penn State (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) and the 15th-ranked Badgers (1-0, 0-0) will tangle at 1 p.m. at Bryce Jordan Center, the first of two BJC matches slated for this season. A sellout crowd is actually not expected but a crowd that at least doubles the size of a typical Rec Hall crowd is -- around 13,000.

The Lions' lineup could be watered down somewhat because of injuries. Heavyweight Jan Johnson (knee), 141-pounder Jimmy Gulibon (ankle) and 184-pounder Matt McCutcheon (back) are the casualties. In addition, Geno Morelli defeated regular starter Shakur Rasheed in the 165-pound finals at the Nittany Lion Open to complicate that particular weight class.

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson did not say changes were imminent there but did note that some decisions have to be made. He listed Kade Moss as a possible replacement for Gulibon and also cited redshirt Gary Dinmore. Brian Brill of Central Mountain or Devon Van Cura could fill 184 in McCutcheon's absence if he cannot go. He did not rule out either starter.

And Sanderson was unsure of who the heavyweight would be, although Caleb Livingston (174) wrestled in that slot on Sunday; the choices are few and far between.

Despite that temporary lineup gloom, there's plenty of firepower remaining to avoid any accompanying doom against Wisconsin. The Badgers' firepower comes at 133 with fourth-ranked Ryan Taylor, 165 with third-ranked Isaac Jordan and 174 with No. 16 Ricky Robertson.

The Lions counter with No. 4 Nico Megaludis at 125, No. 1 Zain Retherford at 149, No. 3 Jason Nolf at 157, No. 5 Bo Nickal at 174 and No. 1 Morgan McIntosh at 197, to name five in the top five.

"Wisconsin has a good team, one of the tougher teams in the Big Ten,'' Sanderson said. "They are solid up and down the lineup. We have to get the job done. We have a lot of good guys, we should be able to go out there and put some points up.''

Nolf, Nickal and Rasheed are freshmen, but Megaludis, a senior, has no qualms about any Jordan Center stage fright for that trio for the Big Ten opener.

"You see our freshmen, they're all mature,'' he said. "They expect to win. I don't think anything really fazes them.''

The same goes for Sanderson. "The bigger the match, the more excited they should be and the better they should wrestle,'' he said. "That's the way we look at it.''

Matches between No. 8 Jordan Conaway and Wisconsin's Taylor at 133 and at 174 between Nickal and Robertson should be the highlight bouts. However, Taylor has yet to wrestle because of injury. He was slated to compete at Las Vegas last week but did not. Another weight to watch is how Rasheed or Morelli stand up against the talented Jordan at 165.

Penn State will put three seniors on the mat while Wisconsin has only heavyweight Brock Horwath. The Badgers come with four juniors, three freshmen and two sophomores.

"These matches have a little more emphasis because it does affect our seeding going into the Big Ten, and your Big Ten results affect your national seeding,'' Sanderson said. "You have to earn that seed. It's not that you can't win regardless of your seed, but it certainly does help.''

Wisconsin wrestles at Pitt on Saturday. The Badgers and Lions haven't wrestled since 2013 when Penn State posted a 36-6 victory to take a 13-8 lead in the series.

PREDICTION: Penn State 33, Wisconsin 7.

[Musky Hunter]

Any chance the Badgers can exploit the holes in the Nittany Lions lineup?

GO Zeke!!!