PREVIEW: Penn State wrestling opens Big Ten play inside Rec Hall

Penn State wrestling is off to a 3-0 start this season, fresh off a 36-3 blowout win over No. 18 Oregon State last Friday. The Nittany Lions will now enter Big Ten play and take on the Indiana Hoosiers this Sunday at Rec Hall. What can we expect to see from Penn State against Indiana?

Penn State wrestling vs Indiana preview

Penn State wrestling returns home for the Big Ten opener against the Indiana Hoosiers this Sunday. The Nittany Lions are coming off a dominant 36-3 win over No. 18 Oregon State that featured three freshman wins, four tech falls, and overall nine victories in 10 bouts.

Penn State is 23-0-1 against Indiana all-time and has won the past 10 duals. Last season, the Nittany Lions took down the Hoosiers 35-8 in Bloomington. The last dual between the two in Rec Hall took place in 2017, and resulted in a 44-3 win for Penn State.

But Indiana is off to a 3-0 start to the season as well, with wins over Rider, Central Michigan, and Princeton. The Hoosiers currently aren’t ranked in the InterMat tournament rankings, but are ranked No. 29 in the dual rankings. While Indiana doesn’t have a super deep lineup, there will still be a few matches to look forward to that should provide a challenge to Penn State.

Match to watch

149 Tyler Kasak/Davis Evans (PSU) vs No. 14 Graham Rooks (IU)

There are only two ranked matches in this dual, and both will feature the Penn State wrestler as a heavy favorite. The match at 149 is more intriguing for numerous reasons. With Shayne Van Ness out for the season due to an injury, we are still waiting to see who is going to take over in the weight class. Last week, freshman Tyler Kasak upset No. 11 Nash Singleton of Oregon State with a 4-1 decision in Corvallis and improved to 5-1 on the season.

Cael Sanderson also has another option at 149. Junior David Evans is also off to a solid start with a  7-2 record on the year. This could be an opportunity for Evans to get his shot to beat a top-15 opponent and keep the competition for the starting spot at 149 up in the air. If Sanderson decides to start Kasak again and he pulls off the upset, that might be enough to solidify him as the starter the rest of the way and propel him into the top 30 of InterMat’s rankings.

Whoever gets the go will have a tough challenge with Graham Rooks. Rooks is ranked No. 14 at 149 and is the highest-ranked wrestler on the entire Indiana team. The graduate senior is off to a solid 11-4 start to the season. He doesn’t pin or tech fall his opponents often, with just a 20% bonus percentage this season and 16.43% for his career. Both Kasak and Evans will certainly have a shot to win this match and use the home crowd at Rec Hall to their advantage in this Big Ten opener.

Projected lineups

125: Braeden Davis 9-0 (PSU) vs Blaine Frazier 6-10/Michael Spangler 8-5 (IU)

133: No. 4 Aaron Nagao 6-1 (PSU) vs Cayden Rooks 7-5 (IU)

141: No. 2 Beau Bartlett 9-0 (PSU) vs No. 23 Dan Fongaro 15-1 (IU)

149: Tyler Kasak 5-1/David Evans 7-2 (PSU) vs No. 14 Graham Rooks 11-4 (IU)

157: No. 1 Levi Haines 6-0 (PSU) vs Nico Bolivar 10-9 (IU)

165: No. 10 Mitchell Mesenbrink 10-0 (PSU) vs No. 23 Tyler Lillard 13-4 (IU)

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci 6-0 (PSU) vs Robert Major 2-6/Magnus Kuokkanen 4-8 (IU)

184: No. 5 Bernie Truax 5-1 (PSU) vs Roman Rogotzke 16-7 (IU)

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks 5-0 (PSU) vs Gabe Sollars 17-6 (IU)

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet 5-0 (PSU) vs Nick Willham 4-4 (IU)

Penn State vs Indiana predictions

125: Braeden Davis (PSU) by decision

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

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

149: Tyler Kasak/David Evans (PSU) by decision

157: No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) by tech fall

165: No. 10 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) by decision

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

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

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks by major

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet by pin

FINAL SCORE: No. 1 Penn State 41 – Indiana 0

This dual won’t be particularly close, no matter who Cael Sanderson sends out there. The Hoosiers have a few good wrestlers but aren’t currently projected to finish in the top 30 at the 2024 NCAA Championships, according to InterMat. If Penn State wrestles its full lineup, the only match it would be favored to lose is at 149. I think that if Kasak is the one who gets the start, he can pull off the upset over Rooks.

There is a legitimate possibility that the Nittany Lions shutout the Hoosiers and should score over 40 points in the process. It will be interesting to see who Cael Sanderson decides to wrestle in this one. Don’t be surprised if we see some starters out and the depth of the room displayed against an inferior Big Ten opponent.

How to watch?

Date: January 14, 2024

Time: 1:00 pm ET

TV: BTN+

Location: Rec Hall, University Park, PA

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