Bratke's 10 Favorite D1 Matches Live This Weekend
Bratke's 10 Favorite D1 Matches Live This Weekend
Bratke breaks down his 10 favorite D1 matches going down live on FloWrestling this week.
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With 13 D1 duals live on FloWrestling this week from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, it can be a little overwhelming trying to decide what to watch. That's where I come in. Check out the 10 D1 matches I'm most excited for this weekend on Flo. You can check out our full offering of events inside live this week.
285: #1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota vs #2 Mason Parris, Michigan
Date: Jan. 17 | Time: 7 PM ET | Where: Ann Arbor, MI
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
Oh baby, how fun is this? A potential NCAA finals preview, Gable Steveson and Mason Parris are a combined 23-0 on the season and have won 70 percent of their matches by bonus points. In the class of 2018, Steveson was the #1 overall recruit and Parris was the #3 overall recruit.
184: #2 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech vs #6 Lou DePrez, Binghamton
Date: Jan. 18 | Time: 10 AM ET | Where: Vestal, NY
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
Since January of 2019, these two have met three times with Bolen taking both folkstyle showdowns — the first one coming in the 2019 Southern Scuffle semifinals and the second one coming last month at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite.
The two folkstyle matches couldn't have gone more different. At the Scuffle, Deprez secured the lone takedown of the match, but two escapes and a third-period ride out gave Bolen the win. In Vegas, Bolen scored six of his eight points in the first period, but of the four remaining minutes in the match, Deprez was on top. How will the third freestyle match look?
Check out their match from CKLV:
149: #4 Brayton Lee, Minnesota vs #12 Kanen Storr, Michigan
Date: Jan. 19 | Time: 2 PM ET | Where: Ann Arbor, MI
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
We thought we would be seeing Kanen Storr take an Olympic redshirt but his plans have changed and he's back in the Michigan starting lineup up a weight from last season when he qualified for the NCAA Championships at 141.
Brayton Lee has lived up to the hype coming off his redshirt and has been fantastic beating Josh Maruca, Brock Zacherl, Max Thomsen, Sammy Sasso, Henry Pohlmeyer, and Cole Martin. Can Lee add another hammer to his hit list?
133: #5 Chas Tucker, Cornell vs #11 Sammy Alvarez, Rutgers
Date: Jan. 17 | Time: 7 PM ET | Where: Piscataway, NJ
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
Did you know that Chas Tucker is undefeated on the year? While the two-time NCAA qualifier is having a relatively quiet season, he has four ranked wins including two over All-American Montorie Bridges. However, he will arguably face his toughest test Friday night inside the RAC.
On November 23, Sammy Alvarez lost to the Garrett Pepple of Michigan State. Since then, he hasn't lost, has won a Southern Scuffle title, has beaten #14 Collin Gerardi, #15 Devan Turner, #12 Cam Sykora, #6 Micky Phillippi, #20 Jordan Decatur, and has avenged his loss to Pepple. Can Alvarez stay hot and hand Tucker his first loss?
133: #8 Travis Piotrowski, Illinois vs #20 Jordan Decatur, Ohio State
Date: Jan. 19 | Time: 1 PM ET | Where: Columbus, OH
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
Travis Piotrowski is another wrestler who is up a weight from where he qualified for the NCAA Championships and has performed well. The Illinois senior is 15-2 on the year and his only setbacks came to #2 Austin DeSanto, who he kept to a regular decision, and #6 Micky Phillippi.
Decatur is a true freshman who had his redshirt pulled last week and immediately knocked off then #15 Josh Kramer. After a setback to the aforementioned Alvarez last Friday night, Decatur will be looking to bounce back and notch the biggest win of his young college career.
149: #11 Max Thomsen, UNI vs #18 Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado
Date: Jan. 17 | Time: 9 PM ET | Where: Greeley, CO
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
When these two meet in Greely Friday night, they will be looking to get back to their winning ways after tough weekends. All-American Max Thomsen will be looking to bounce back from weekend losses to Henry Pohlmeyer and Brock Mauller. On the other side, Alirez will be looking to get back on track after a dominant loss at the hands of Boo Lewallen. This math is very important for Big 12 and NCAA Tournament seeding.
149: #7 Jarrett Degen, Iowa State vs #10 Henry Pohlmeyer, SDSU
Date: Jan. 17 | Time: 8 PM ET | Where: Brookings, SD
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
To be honest, this is more of a fingers-crossed this goes down. Jarrett Degen hasn't wrestled since CKLV and Henry Pohlmeyer is starting to get it rolling. The two did meet twice last season with Degen winning each showdown. However, in the dual, the match was tied entering the third period before the Cyclone picked up a fall. If Degen is back in the lineup, will the third time be the charm for the Jackrabbit?
Check out their scrap from last year's Big 12 Championships.
133: #12 Cam Sykora, NDSU vs #17 Todd Small, Iowa State
Date: Jan. 19 | Time: 3 PM ET | Where: Ames, IA
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
Since Austin Gomez has been out of the lineup for the Cyclones, Todd Small has proven to be a more than capable replacement. The two-time NJCCA national champion has top-25 wins over Louie Hayes, Joshua Kramer, Taylor LaMont, and Tim Rooney. This weekend he'll get the chance to pick up the biggest win of his Cyclone career.
Cam Sykora is one of the elite top wrestlers in the country and over 70 percent of his wins this season have been by bonus points. Will Sykora's lethal top game be the difference?
141: #12 Dylan Duncan, Illinois vs #1 Luke Pletcher, Ohio State
Date: Jan. 19 | Time: 1 PM ET | Where: Columbus, OH
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
Luke Pletcher has been out of this world so far this season and may have the most ranked wins of anyone in the country. The top-ranked Buckeye has already beaten #5 Mitch McKee, #6 Dom Demas, #8 Chad Red, #10 Real Woods, #12 Dylan Duncan, #13 Dresden Simon, #17 Doug Zapf, and #20 Cole Matthews. How's that for a resume?
Pletcher has been electric this season and it was all him the first time these two met at the Michigan State Open, but it will be interesting to see if Duncan can provide Pletcher some issues the second time around.
285: Luke Luffman, Illinois vs Gary Traub, Ohio State
Date: Jan. 19 | Time: 1 PM ET | Where: Columbus, OH
Broadcast Info: WATCH LIVE HERE
Are you really going to let yourself miss a Gas Tank Gary match from the Covelli Center? Miss this and you may never forgive yourself.
Relive Traub blowing the roof off the Covelli Center last Friday night.
