Preview: No. 2 Iowa vs No. 11 Nebraska

WHO: #11 Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2, 2-0 Big Ten)
WHEN: 8:00 PM CT
WHERE: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)
TV: BTN (Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Steven Grace and Mark Ironside) | AM 800 KXIC | YouTube
MOBILE: www.foxsports.com/mobile
ONLINE: www.foxsports.com/live
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @Hawks_Wrestling | @IowaonBTN

125: #1 Spencer Lee (RS SR, 8-0) vs #3 Liam Cronin (GR, 13-2)

Cronin, formerly at Indiana (though he's been at Nebraska 2021), has been having a very solid season (13-2 overall) and is coming off a good weekend in which he upset Minnesota's Patrick McKee (via 11-6 decision) and clobbered Northwestern's Michael DeAugustino (via 11-2 major decision). But Spencer Lee is Spencer Lee -- he's undefeated on the season and has first-period pins in his last four matches. His personal history with Cronin is also very one-sided: 3-0, with two pins (both in the first period). The last time they met was in 2021; Lee pinned him in 1:21. This is a big match since it features two Top 5-ranked wrestlers, but Lee should still be a pretty heavy favorite.

141: #2 Real Woods (SR, 7-0) vs #5 Brock Hardy (RS SO, 19-2)

The other match featuring Top 5-ranked wrestlers is at 141, where #2 Real Woods should face #5 Brock Hardy. Hardy went 5-0 while redshirting last season and has hit the ground running this season, going 19-2 with 13 bonus point wins so far. He dropped two of his first three matches, but has won 18 in a row since then. He's shown excellent defense lately (winning his last three matches by a combined score of 19-0) and also has high-level ability on the mat. Of course, Woods also has very stingy defense and elite mat wrestling skills. These two have never faced one another before and don't have much in the way of common opponents, which makes this a very interesting showdown -- and probably not the first time they'll cross paths this season. This is probably an upset Nebraska needs to get in order to have a shot at winning the dual as well.

157: #21 Cobe Siebrecht (JR, 7-1) vs #1 Peyton Robb (JR, 17-0)
174: #16 Nelson Brands (SR, 4-2) vs #2 Mikey Labriola (SR, 17-0)

While the other two key matches feature Top 5 showdowns, these feature Nebraska's top two wrestlers, Peyton Robb and Mikey Labriola, taking on a pair of lower-ranked Iowa wrestlers who are hungry to climb the ladder at their respective weights. Robb and Labriola are each ranked in the Top 2 at their respective weights and are a combined 34-0 this season; they're experienced wrestlers who should contend for Big Ten and NCAA titles this season. As such, Cobe Siebrecht and Nelson Brands are both notable underdogs in their matches. No time like the present to see how they match up against some of the best guys at their weights, though. These matches might provide a glimpse of how near (or far) Siebrecht and Brands are from the very best guys at 157 and 174.

Nebraska is 6-2 on the season, but has won five straight dual meets, including a pair of wins last weekend over Minnesota (21-9) and Northwestern (22-15). The Cornhuskers have definitely been getting stronger as the season has progressed -- though the same is true for the Hawkeyes, especially with Spencer Lee and Real Woods entering the lineup. Nebraska has never defeated Iowa in a dual meet since joining the Big Ten and there's no Big Ten team they want to beat more; there's usually no shortage of emotion and intensity in an Iowa-Nebraska dual meet and that will probably be true again this year.

There are several OR weights for both teams in this dual, so it's hard to say exactly who's going to be wrestling and how the results might shake out. Still, Iowa looks to be in good shape overall. The Hawkeyes should favored at up to seven weights in this dual (all but 141, 157, and 174), and should be heavy favorites with a good shot at bonus points at a handful of weights (125, 165, 285). Nebraska ought to be strong favorites at two weights (157 and 174) and one weight (141) looks like a toss-up. The Cornhuskers' path to a victory here involves getting some upsets (more likely if Brody Teske and Max Murin don't wrestle at 133 and 149, respectively), limiting Iowa's bonus points, and scoring some unexpected bonus points of their own.