Tonight’s Penn State-Iowa match is as big as it gets in regular-season college wrestling.
It’s No. 1 vs. No. 2.
It’s the 2022 national champs vs. the 2021 national champs.
The two programs have 34 national championships, and there’s a good chance that number will increase to 35 this March because both represent America’s best in college wrestling. This match is a big deal and will be one of just two that Penn State will hold in the Bryce Jordan Center (capacity 15,261) instead of Rec Hall (capacity 6,502). Penn State’s other BJC duel was last week against another formidable opponent in No. 3 Michigan.
Penn State won that duel and proved itself as the country’s No. 1 team.
Now, an even bigger test awaits. Penn State and Iowa were No.’s 1 and 2 last season when the teams faced off at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Coach Cael Sanderson’s team won that meet and went on to win its 11th national championship.
Penn State has a great chance to win No. 12 this March, and beating Iowa would firmly establish it as the favorite.
This will be the first time Iowa wrestling has gone against Penn State in Happy Valley since February 2018. Iowa veteran Spencer Lee was a freshman back then. Today, he’s a sixth-year senior, and fans want to see the two-time Hodge Trophy winner wrestle Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young, a two-time national champion. This would require Lee to move from the 125-pound weight class to 133, which doesn’t often happen in wrestling. Nonetheless, it would be a treat if it took place. Penn State will sell out the Bryce Jordan Center for this one. Here’s how to watch and listen for fans who won’t be attending.
Time: 8:30 (ET)
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: 93.7 FM/103.1 FM/1450 AM
Online Radio Stream: GoPSUSports
