The Iowa Hawkeyes will welcome the Minnesota Golden Gophers to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday, January 30 for what has the potential to be the dual of the weekend. The dual will start at 8:00 pm (ET) and will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus. Before the action goes down, check out the article below for a full preview with predictions for what should be a fantastic dual. 

Iowa vs Minnesota Probable Lineups:

125: Joey Cruz/#6 Dean Peterson, Iowa vs #8 Jore Volk, Minnesota

133: #9 Drake Ayala, Iowa vs Brandon Morvari/Chris Cannon, Minnesota

141: #12 Nasir Bailey, Iowa vs #9 Vance VomBaur, Minnesota

149: #11 Ryder Block, Iowa vs #26 Drew Roberts, Minnesota

157: #11 Jordan Williams, Iowa vs #19 Charlie Millard, Minnesota

165: #3 Michael Caliendo, Iowa vs #14 Andrew Sparks, Minnesota

174: #3 Patrick Kennedy, Iowa vs #22 Ethan Riddle, Minnesota

184: #2 Angelo Ferrari/Gabe Arnold, Iowa vs #4 Max McEnelly, Minnesota

197: Harvey Ludington/Brody Sampson, Iowa vs #25 Gavin Nelson, Minnesota

285: #10 Ben Kueter, Iowa vs #12 Koy Hopke, Minnesota

125: Joey Cruz/#6 Dean Peterson, Iowa vs #8 Jore Volk, Minnesota

Both Cruz and Peterson are listed in the probables for the dual against Minnesota. Cruz wrestled last week against Nebraska and recorded a valuable win over Alan Koehler. Despite that success, I’d consider Volk a significant favorite over Cruz if the Hawkeyes send him back out again this week. With that in mind, Volk hasn’t been perfect this year and has suffered surprising losses to Vinny Kilkeary and Brary Roark. Still, I’m predicting Volk comes out on top over Cruz. If Peterson is back in the lineup, he’s a slight favorite over Volk.

Prediction: Volk by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 0, Minnesota 3

133: #9 Drake Ayala, Iowa vs Brandon Morvari/Chris Cannon, Minnesota

Drake Ayala looks back on track after his controlling win over All-American Jacob Van Dee last week. Ayala will be a big favorite against either Cannon or Morvari, who have both struggled this year. Cannon is riding a 3-7 record into Friday night, and Morvari is only 1-8 on the year. This will be a big opportunity for Iowa to collect bonus points on Friday. 

Prediction: Ayala by tech fall

Team score prediction: Iowa 5, Minnesota 3

141: #12 Nasir Bailey, Iowa vs #9 Vance VomBaur, Minnesota

141 will feature a battle of All-Americans in a match that I expect to be very close. Both VomBaur and Bailey have had their ups and downs this year. VomBaur has suffered surprising losses to Cory Land and Julian Tagg but has ranked wins over Tom Crook, Luke Simcox, and Danny Pucino. Bailey suffered an upset loss in December to Isaiah Powe but recently got back on track with a win over Braeden Davis. Bailey has struggled to generate his offense this year, and because of that, I’m picking VomBaur to win.

Prediction: VomBaur by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 5, Minnesota 6

149: #11 Ryder Block, Iowa vs #26 Drew Roberts, Minnesota

Ryder Block has been one of the bright spots for the Hawkeyes this year with a 7-3 record and notable wins over Chance Lamer, Paniro Johnson, Kade Brown, Casey Swiderski, and Josh Edmond. Roberts has been fairly consistent but has yet to record a significant ranked win on the season and has losses to Joseph Zargo, Ethan Ztiles, Max Petersen, and Kaden Keiser. Block is the clear favorite here, and I expect him to come out on top handily. 

Prediction: Block by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 8, Minnesota 9

157: #11 Jordan Williams, Iowa vs #19 Charlie Millard, Minnesota

If Minnesota wants to pull off the upset, this is a match they need Charlie Millard to win. Millard has looked solid against quality competition lately - he was seconds away from taking out Antrell Taylor and was impressive in his 12-6 loss to #1 Brandon Cannon. Similarly, Jordan Williams also wrestled well in losses to Antrell Taylor and PJ Duke. While 8 spots separate these wrestlers in rankings, this match feels like a toss-up based on recent results. 

For me, this match will come down to a few factors. The first question is, can Millard finish on Williams? Williams can be tricky with his counters, but I expect Millard to get to his legs at least a few times. Beyond that, will Millard’s riding ability come into play against Williams? Millard is underrated on top, and he absolutely can earn a riding time point. Millard has been knocking on the door of pulling off a big win, and I think he gets it done against Williams. 

Prediction: Millard by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 8, Minnesota 9

165: #3 Michael Caliendo, Iowa vs #14 Andrew Sparks, Minnesota

Michael Caliendo and Andrew Sparks have wrestled 5 times in their college career, with Caliendo winning all five of those matches. Up until their last match, all of their matches were decided by 3 points or fewer. However, Caliendo teched Sparks in the dual last year, 21-5. While I don’t expect that same level of dominance, I do favor Caliendo heavily on Friday night.

Prediction: Caliendo by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 11, Minnesota 9

174: #3 Patrick Kennedy, Iowa vs #22 Ethan Riddle, Minnesota

Patrick Kennedy is currently 10-1 on the year and has ranked wins over Christopher Minto, Luca Augustine, Carson Kharchla, Colin Kelly, Cam Steed, and Alex Facundo. Kennedy has been incredibly consistent for the Hawkeyes and always wrestles an intense pace from start to finish. While Riddle has been solid for the Gophers this year with a 12-6 record, his tech fall losses to Carson Kharchla and Ryder Downey suggest he’ll be a major underdog against Kennedy. I expect Kennedy to overwhelm Riddle on his feet and push for bonus.

Prediction: Kennedy by tech fall

Team score prediction: Iowa 16, Minnesota 9

184: #2 Angelo Ferrari/Gabe Arnold, Iowa vs #4 Max McEnelly, Minnesota

Angelo Ferrari did not wrestle in Iowa’s dual victory over, and it looks unlikely that he’ll wrestle this weekend against Max McEnelly. The Hawkeyes have the luxury of having Gabe Arnold filling in for Ferrari, and Arnold is about as good a backup as you could ask for. Arnold’s sole losses on the year have come against Danny Wask (4-1 in overtime) and Levi Haines (4-2). Aside from that, Arnold secured a big victory over All-American Silas Allred last week. Arnold is also familiar with McEnelly, and Arnold narrowly lost in overtime last year (4-1). 

Even with Arnold having a solid year, I still favor Max McEnelly on Friday night. Along with holding the head-to-head win from last season, McEnelly’s offense is the difference maker for me in the matchup against Arnold. I still think it will be a one-score match, but expect McEnelly to once again come out on top. 

Prediction: McEnelly by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 16, Minnesota 12

197: Harvey Ludington/Brody Sampson, Iowa vs #25 Gavin Nelson, Minnesota

Gavin Nelson is currently 8-8 on the year, but all 8 of his losses have been against ranked opponents. In fact, 4 of those losses are to wrestlers ranked in the top 9. Beyond the losses, Nelson has significant wins over Wyatt Ingham, Seth Shumate, and Sonny Sasso. 

Depending on where the dual starts and how it plays out, it will likely determine who we see from the Hawkeyes. If the dual is still competitive, we’ll likely see Harvey Ludington take on Gavin Nelson. Ludington is a true freshman and is currently 11-3 on the year with his only losses coming to Wyatt Ingham (10-8), Robert Platt (2-1), and Joey Novak (6-1). Those are all acceptable losses for a true freshman, but also suggest that Ludington will likely lose by decision to Nelson. 

Prediction: Nelson by decision

Team score prediction: Iowa 16, Minnesota 15

285: #10 Ben Kueter, Iowa vs #12 Koy Hopke, Minnesota

If things play out the way I predict, and the dual starts at 125, the heavyweight match between Kueter and Hopke would decide the dual. Hopke has been solid all year with a 16-6 record, defeating Cade Ziola, Christian, Carroll, Wyatt Voelker, and Jim Mullen but losing to Braxton Amos, Nick Feldman, AJ Ferrari, Luke Rasmussen, and Cade Ziola. Kueter is only 3-3 on the year with wins over Braxton Amos, Dayton Pitzer, and Daulton Mayer, but losses to AJ Ferrari, Cole Mirasola, and Yonger Bastida.

This feels like a very evenly matched bout, but for me, it all comes down to whether or not Koy Hopke can finish on Ben Kueter. Hopke is a frequent attacker and likes to force his offense, but Kueter seldom attacks and often waits to counter. Hopke is also much more athletic than most people give him credit for and might hold a slight size advantage over Kueter. So who wins on Friday night? I’m going with Kueter - I think his defense and countering ability will be the difference. Also, Hopke sometimes doesn’t wrestle the most controlled matches, and one mistake against someone as good as Kueter.

Prediction: Kueter by decision

Final team score prediction: Iowa 19, Minnesota 15