Recap of Minnesota Dual

It was ILLINI basketball coach Lou Henson who said that each season his college teams would have two spectacular performances, two abysmal ones, and the rest would be somewhere close to the mean. Hopefully, with this match and the earlier routing by Pitt, the ILLINI have suffered the two low points on their graph. 

The first four Gophers took a very committed shot within :20 of the start of their matches. Three of those shots were successful, one was close. Two of those takedowns were the winning margins in those matches. 

In the last five matches, it was a similar story. At 125, Pat McKee shot right off the whistle and secured a takedown. At 141, Jake Bergeland shot at the whistle and got a takedown. 

The ILLINI need to be ready at the start of the match! You and I talked about this before, friends, and, at the time, I noted that other coaches would be watching. 

The Gopher staff was watching. 

MIKEY CARR

This one time I think I can speak for all ILLINI fans in saying that it is a privilege and wonder to see Mikey Carr back on the mat. During the broadcast, it was revealed that Carr worked out with the team and then decided one day to see if he couldn't wrestle for the Orange and Blue. The ILLINOIS staff sent in whatever waiver was required, and within an hour, the NCAA came back with an approval. 

The epitome of a student-athlete, a Poet-Warrior!

In this match, he wrestled Sebas Swiggum, a Minnesota state champ in his fourth year on the Gopher team with a 41-24 career record. Is Brayton Lee injured, sick or ducking? To his credit, the Minny kid shot a nice high crotch off the whistle and scored, but after that it was all Mikey Carr playing his catch and release game. 

Whether it is a head-inside single or a double, once a leg or legs are targeted and acquired, the ILLINI pushes off with his own legs and pressures in with his shoulder until he can secure both of his opponent's legs. It is pure technique (and muscle) that makes something so hard look so simple. 

Carr gets a riding point and wins 11-5. Where he belongs, on top:

DYLAN CONNELL

This was a 2-3 loss for the ILLINI, but I'm going to mention it because Connell over-performed expectations. Salazar has a very good shot to All American this year, and Dylan was right there. This was one of the two matches in the first four that were lost because of a takedown in the first :20 of the match, but the young ILLINI acquitted himself well the rest of the way. He had a very good shot to win it:

ZAC BRAUNAGEL

The Brawlnagel had Michial Foy in this dual, and the Gopher is very athletic and qualified for the NCAA tournament last season. Foy was the first Minnesota kid not to shoot a takedown within :20 of the start of the match, and that was because Brawny went on the offensive with his ties. 

Sour Grape Time! It took the referee two minutes and fifty-four seconds of Michial Foy moving backwards and not taking a shot for a stall warning. (Bailee O'Reilly was able to move backwards the last minute of his match with Ruth before a single stall warning was called). 

Both wrestlers had very nice takedowns, Zac with some chain wrestling, Foy with his long arms. The ILLINI veteran took a stalling warning against Foy (and none against himself) into the tie breakers, escaped and then held down the Gopher--and didn't even need to use the stall call he had available. This was a 5-4 win for the good guys. 

LUCAS BYRD

The announcers indicated that Jake Gliva was a three-time state champion in ILLINOIS. That was incorrect. He was a three-time champ in Minnesota at Simley, where ILLINI recruit Brandon Morvari is from. This week Lucas had Gliva, and next week he will face the exact same wrestler in Kyle Burwick of Nebraska.

I keep telling these folks: Instead of trying to ride Lucas Byrd, why don't you just order two points from Amazon and send it to his home address? See what I mean:  

After :15 of enjoyable riding for the Gopher, Lucas gets the reversal with authority! Gliva got a late escape to lose 1-3 to the ILLINI All American. 

Photo credits: Screengrabs from BTN broadcast.