Wrestling Breakdown: Iowa vs. Penn State

Breaking down Friday's wrestling dual between Iowa and Penn State.

Dual facts

Time and place — 8:05 p.m. (CST), Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City

TV — BTN

Radio — KXIC (800-AM) and Hawkeye All-Access (online)

Records — Iowa 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten), Penn State 7-1 (4-0)

Rankings — Iowa is No. 1 and Penn State is No. 2 in the NWCA Division I coaches poll.

Series — Iowa leads 27-10-2.

Iowa lineup

125 — Spencer Lee (Jr., 10-0). 133 — Austin DeSanto (Jr., 12-1). 141 — Carter Happel (Jr., 6-4). 149 — Pat Lugo (Sr., 13-1). 157 — Kaleb Young (Jr., 11-2). 165 — Alex Marinelli (Jr., 14-0). 174 — Michael Kemerer (Sr., 8-0). 184 — Abe Assad (Fr., 19-3). 197 — Jacob Warner (Soph., 10-3). 285 — Tony Cassioppi (Fr., 13-0).

Penn State lineup

125 — Brandon Meredith (Fr., 11-8). 133 — Roman Bravo-Young (Soph., 12-0). 141 — Nick Lee (Jr., 12-0). 149 — Jacob Verkleeren (Soph., 12-3) or Luke Gardner (Jr., 6-1. 157 — Brady Berge (Soph., 1-0) or Bo Pipher (Jr., 8-9). 165 — Vincenzo Joseph (Sr., 7-0). 174 — Mike Hall (Sr., 15-0). 184 — Aaron Brooks (Fr., 7-1). 197 — Shakur Rasheed (Sr., 2-2). 285 — Seth Nevills (Fr., 10-0).

Matches to watch

It's going to start early, at 133. DeSanto, ranked second nationally, will take on Bravo-Young, ranked third.

And that's before the 165/174 battles. Joseph and Hall are ranked No. 1 in their respective classes, while Marinelli and Kemerer are at No. 2. Combined, the four wrestlers are 44-0 this season.

Marinelli is 2-0 against Joseph in his career — Joseph was ranked No. 1 in both meetings.

Kemerer and Hall are facing off for the first time. Kemerer is 25-6 all-time against ranked opponents.

Matches at 184, 197 and 285 are all battles of ranked opponents.