Border Brawl: Top-ranked Iowa faces No. 2 Minnesota

All the elements exist for a mammoth powder keg.

You have two high-profile undefeated college wrestling programs from bordering states ranked first and second nationally, combining to have 18 ranked wrestlers on a large stage.

Expect fireworks when top-ranked University of Iowa hits the road to take on No. 2 Minnesota in the 100th meeting of Big Ten Conference rivals Friday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. The dual is set for 6 p.m.

Iowa Coach Tom Brands said he is not sure it gets much better.

'It's everything,” Brands said. 'It's the next thing on the schedule and it's your next test, your next assignment, next mission. It's a big deal to both programs.”

Brands said the Gophers' probable lineup looked like a match card. The promotion shows how emphasis placed on this dual.

'They bill it for what it is,” Brands said. 'It's two titans going at it.”

Not much love is lost between the two teams. The Hawkeyes (10-0, 5-0 Big Ten) expect a hostile atmosphere. Senior Mike Evans likes this type of competition.

'You have to look at it this way,” Evans said. 'We're to go into their arena and we're going to hear a bunch of boos and a huge crowd, and we're going to shut them up.”

The task will be easier said than done. Minnesota (10-0, 6-0) has eight ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked 157-pounder Dylan Ness and Chris Dardanes, who is No. 1 at 133.

Despite all 10 Hawkeye starters being ranked, the teams are favored in the same amount with a couple tossup matches, making bonus points vital.

'There are a lot of good matchups,” Brands said. 'We believe in our guys, even though they may have a No. 1 guy here and we're down the line a little bit. I don't believe we're that far apart in some of those one versus six rankings as well.”

One of the swing matches will be at 174 between second-ranked Evans and No. 4 Logan Storley. They have wrestled four times in college with Storley owning a 3-1 advantage. Each match has been decided by two points or less, including three one-point decisions.

'He's come out on top by the skin of his teeth (and) I came out once by the skin of my teeth,” Evans said. 'It's going to be a dogfight again, but to beat him I have to put him down.”

Evans said Storley is a slick and savvy wrestler, who takes advantages of scoring opportunities. Evans said he embraces the extra pressure and welcomes the added incentive, even though it isn't needed.

'Those kinds of guys are hard to wrestle,” said Evans, who is 18-0, which is the longest win streak of his Hawkeye career. 'Those kinds of guys you have to pick up your pace and put them down early and put them down every chance you get.”

Freshman Brandon Sorensen is one of the Hawkeyes favored. He will make his debut in the series in an unfriendly atmosphere. He is unfazed.

'It will be a good time,” Sorensen said. 'I think we'll do (well).”

Brands said he has developed tools to score from various positions and can scramble.

Sorensen as ascended the rankings, reaching the No. 2 spot at 149. He has knocked off three wrestlers ranked in the top five the last month, including the defending NCAA champion and returning national runner-up.

'He is handling the success well, obviously, and he still has more to give,” Brands said. 'I think he knows that and he'll even say that.”

In the big scheme of things, a regular-season dual won't make or break a season. The ripple effect will be felt by both teams, impacting the conference dual title, individual standings in the postseason and for a late-season boost.

'It's big for seeding coming up in March,” Evans said. 'It's big for momentum to keep our team going forward. It's big for individual matchups (and) there are a lot of reasons it's big.”

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