PREVIEW: Penn State wrestling looks for 50th straight dual win vs Michigan State

Penn State wrestling ran away with a 27-9 victory over No. 5 Michigan Friday night in Ann Arbor. The Nittany Lions now have a quick turnaround and will travel to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday afternoon, looking for their 50^th straight dual win. What can we expect to see from Penn State against Michigan State?

Penn State wrestling vs Michigan State preview

Penn State leads the all-time series 24-9 and is currently on a 15 match win streak. The last meeting was a 34-6 Nittany Lion win at Rec Hall on January 22, 2023.

This matchup will most likely look like what we saw when Indiana made the trek to Rec Hall last weekend. Michigan State is 7-2 (0-2) on the season and is coming off a 22-13 loss to No. 20 Rutgers Friday night. The Spartans have five ranked wrestlers, the highest being No. 10 Caleb Fish at 165 pounds.

Match to watch

165: No. 9 Mitchell Mesenbrink 12-0 (PSU) vs No. 10 Caleb Fish 18-4 (MSU)

Mitchell Mesenbrink is fresh off his first top-10 win of the season in a dominant 12-1 major decision over No. 7 Cameron Amine of Michigan on Friday. The freshman has been rolling through opponents and appears to be a national title contender at 165 as we get deeper into the Big Ten dual season.

Caleb Fish is coming off a 6-1 decision over Anthony White of Rutgers on Friday night. Fish has seen much improvement in 2024, with an 18-4 record, including a 45.45% bonus percentage. This is a big jump from last season, where he went 25-11 with a 28.21% bonus percentage.

This is the lone top-10 matchup in the dual and could be the most exciting we see all afternoon. There is a possibility that Mesenbrink pulls away similar to what we saw on Friday night. Either way, it will be a big test for the redshirt freshman. If Mesenbrink is able to pull out the win, it would mean back-to-back top-10 wins and surely would bump him up in the rankings.

Projected lineups

125: No. 14 Braeden Davis 11-0 (PSU) vs Tristan Lujuan 12-8 (MSU)

133: No. 4 Aaron Nagao 7-2 (PSU) vs Andy Hampton 4-14 (MSU)

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett 11-0 (PSU) vs No. 33 Jordan Hamdan 15-5 (MSU)

149: No. 12 Tyler Kasak 6-1 (PSU) vs Braden Stauffenberg 6-12 (MSU)

157: No. 1 Levi Haines 8-0 (PSU) vs No. 21 Chase Saldate 16-3 (MSU)

165: No. 9 Mitchell Mesenbrink 12-0 (PSU) vs No. 10 Caleb Fish 18-4 (MSU)

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci 7-0 (PSU) vs Marty Lurkin 9-9 / DJ Shannon 9-11 (MSU)

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax 6-1 (PSU) vs No. 22 Layne Malczewski 6-4 (MSU)

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks 7-0 (PSU) vs No. 29 Kael Wisler 22-9 (MSU)

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet 7-0 (PSU) vs Josh Terrill 23-8 (MSU)

Penn State vs Michigan State predictions

125: No. 14 Braeden Davis (PSU) by major

133: No. 4 Aaron Nagao (PSU) by pin

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett (PSU) by major

149: No. 12 Tyler Kasak (PSU) by tech fall

157: No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) by decision

165: No. 9 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) by decision

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) by pin

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax (PSU) by decision

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) by tech fall

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) by tech fall

FINAL SCORE: No. 1 Penn State 44 – Michigan State 0

This is another one of those duals where it will be as bad as Cael Sanderson lets it be. If Penn State wrestles its entire starting lineup, the Nittany Lions will be favored in every match, with the only toss-up being at 165 with Mesenbrink vs Fish. The availability of Carter Starocci and Tyler Kasak is still to be determined. Starocci didn’t wrestle on Friday against Michigan because of an illness.

Penn State was able to bring 15 wrestlers on the road trip to the state of Michigan, and we already saw backups David Evans and Terrell Barraclough wrestle on Friday. Don’t be surprised if Sanderson decides to give some of his younger wrestlers some dual experience and rest a few of the guys who will be contending for a national championship later this season.

Even if the lineup isn’t littered with ranked wrestlers like Penn State wrestling fans have become accustomed to, it wouldn’t be shocking if the unranked Nittany Lions filling in also find some bonus points. Either way, the general consensus should be that Penn State breaks the 40-point mark. Don’t be surprised if the Nittany Lions break their season high of 46 that was set against Indiana last weekend.

How to watch?

Date: January 21, 2024

Time: 1:00 pm ET

TV: BTN+

Location: Jenison Field House, East Lansing, Michigan

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