Preview of Pitt & Chattanooga
WHAT: Triangular with Pitt & Chattanooga
WHEN: Saturday, December 3, 2022 (starting at 1pm Central)
WHERE: State Farm Center
WHY: Hone Skills
TV/STREAMING: BTN+ (subscription service)
TICKETS: FREE ADMISSION
PROMOTIONS: Dementia Awareness Night
A DAY IN HISTORY
November 22, 2009 was a Sunday, and it was the day that CNN named Efren Penaflorida the Hero of the Year for his efforts in starting a pushcart classroom in the Philippines to educate the poor in different areas. Jay-Z, Drake, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift were dominating the charts, but it was Owl City topping all of them with Fireflies, which included this lyric:
"I get a thousand hugs,
From ten thousand lightening bugs.
As they try to teach me how to dance."
No. Seriously. You can see for yourself. Why would I lie about something like that? The Men Who Stare at Goats was still in theaters, but it was getting killed at the box office by Twilight, a love story between a human and a vampire. No. Seriously. Again, no reason to lie. On the same day, the ILLINI won two duals at the Sprawl & Brawl in New York, but lost a third to the Pitt Panthers. This is the only match the two schools have ever wrestled. Here is the box score:
Pittsburgh 18, #17 Illinois 15
125: Anthony Zanetta (PITT) dec. John Deneen (ILL), 5-2 (0-3)
133: Daryl Thomas (ILL) dec. Zach Grove (PIT), 10-5 (3-3)
141: #10 Tyler Nauman (PIT) tech. fall #17 Ryan Prater (ILL), 16-0 (3-8)
149: Eric Terrazas (ILL) dec. Eric Albright (PIT), 8-3 (6-8)
157: Mark Powell (PIT) dec. Clint Arlis (ILL), 2-1 (6-11)
165: Conrad Polz (ILL) dec. Karl Deciantis (PIT), 6-2 (9-11)
174: #7 Jordan Blanton (ILL) dec. Dave Sullivan (PIT), 11-6 (12-11)
184: #8 John Dergo (ILL) dec. Zac Thomusseit (PIT), 9-4 (15-11)
197: #20 Matt Wilps (PIT) dec. Martin Smith (ILL), 6-0 (15-14)
HWT: #20 Ryan Tomei (PIT) dec. Pat Walker (ILL), 11-0 (15-18)
THE PITT DUAL
The good folks at wrestlestat.com are predicting a 15-15 tie between Pitt and the ILLINI. The algorithm picks these winners in the O&B: Lucas Byrd, Kevon Davenport, Danny Braunagel, Edmond Ruth and Matt Wroblewski.
Andre has Justin Cardani and Joe Roberts plugged into the dual lineup, so you'll need to make those changes; but both Panther wrestlers at those weights are supposed to beat either of their ILLINI opponents.
There could be a lot of close matches, and the ILLINI will need to avoid bonus at a couple of weights.
HEADLINERS
There are two marque tilts, with Lucas Byrd meeting Micky Phillippi for the third time. Byrd holds the 2-0 advantage so far, but the long drink of water from Pittsburgh has kept it close. Very close. Two years ago, at the NCAA tournament, the ILLINI won in tie-breakers. At the ILLINOIS Matmen Open this past season, he won by a point, 6-5.
The other headliner will be Zac Braunagel versus wrestlestat's #8 Nino Bonaccorssi. This is his sixth year at Pitt, and he has been a Round of 12er twice and a national runner up.
OTHER KEY MATCHES
This would be a big win for Maximo Renteria at 125 if he can get past #41 Colton Camacho. The Panther is in his second year starting and has a career mark of 35-18. Maximo was beset by illness last year and injuries this year and needs to get on track. This is the kind of guy who will get you into the NCAA tournament if you beat him.
At 141, Danny Pucino will face #1 Cole Matthews, who finished 5th at NCAAs with upsets over Sebastian Rivera and Real Woods. Have to do damage control here, although some unexpected funk from the ILLINI might come in handy.
The same type of damage control will be required at 157, where Luke Odom faces #15 Dazjon Casto, a Round of 12er last season. Casto also had a nice upset in the Big Dance, beating Austin O'Connor in sudden victory.
At 165, the ILLINI will need a win from Danny Braunagel over Holden Heller, the #23 wrestler at the weight. Wrestlestat.com favors the ILLINI, but Heller won the 6-5 decision against Brawny at the ILLINOIS Matmen Open last season.
Reece Heller has gone from 149 to 184 during his NCAA career and will ask some questions of Dylan Connell. The Heller brothers are originally from Chicago Heights, Ill., and attended Marian Catholic High School. They both originally attended Hofstra, and you can bet they will want to look good at State Farm Center.
HIGHLIGHT MATCH
A very key match will take place at 285. To get to a 15-15 tie, wrestlestat.com has #61 Matt Wroblewski beating #49 Jacob Slinger. It may be on account of WroboCop's 8-4 record, which looks better than Slinger's 3-3. The ILLINI also has a 50-49 career record, while Slinger is at 34-41.
The Panther is a plodder and a full 285 pounds. He likes knee grabs, but he'll also shoot a low single, even on heavyweights his own size. I think you can bet he shoots one on the ILLINI. When you're a heavyweight, and you get a chance to shoot a low single on a lighter guy, you almost always take that opportunity.
CONCLUSION
According to wrestlestat.com, the ILLINI are favored in five matches, and Pitt is favored in the other five. When you look closely at the individual matchups, Pitt is more highly ranked in the matches they are favored in, and that could equate to bonus points. The Orange and Blue will have to bring the fire to win this one.
STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO: CHATTANOOGA!
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Original Batman Art by David Keys. Batman is the property of DC Comics; the Avengers are the property of Marvel.
For those ILLINI, Pitt and Chattanooga fans wondering how to watch the match, it will be on BTN+, which is a subscription service. Here is some good advice for you: If you are willing to pay $9.95 to watch it, you can go to the website and select a "school pass" for ILLINOIS that is only that amount for one month. If you select a "sport pass" and select "wrestling," it is $69.95 for a year. You get a full year of B1G wrestling, but that's a lot of money. The steps:
ReplyDelete1. Go to the website here.
2. You will have a choice between conference pass, school pass and sport pass. Pick "school pass."
3. Underneath that, you will see the logos for various B1G schools. Choose the big Orange "I" for the ILLINI. The first on the left.
4. Beneath that, select the "monthly pass" for $9.95 and follow the payment instructions.
The good news is that I do this every year, and you can terminate the agreement online without having to talk to somebody in sales. Since this is only a monthly pass, you shouldn't even have to do that. I don't think they'll pro-rate your school pass, as the Big Ten Network sucks *****, so be ready to fork over the entire $9.95. I am not associated with the University of ILLINOIS or the BTN.
A foxtrot above my head
ReplyDeleteA sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread
That song was a banger
Haha! You surprise me. I love surprises!
DeleteI just got the monthly pass for ILLINOIS for $5.38 using the coupon code "MONDAY." Apparently, it expires today. Note that I had to type in the code and hit "Apply" twice. It didn't work the first time.
ReplyDeleteSo, if you are a Moc or Panther fan, you can try that. You'll have to set up an account, but that's simple. Just in case, cancel after you've watched all the replays you can stomach.
I thought about the year-long single-sport pass, but I couldn't find a code, and really, my dudes, I don't want to watch PSU, Iowa or an Ohio State team. I hate those guys. Cheers!