1/27- Illini Wrestlers Head To Purdue

#7 Illinois at #25 Purdue Jan. 30 // West Lafayette, Ind. // Holloway Gymnasium // 6 pm (CT) // Big Ten Network #7 Illinois (7-1 / 0-1) Probable Lineup Wt Rank Name (Record), Year 125 -/-/- B.J. Futrell (19-6), Fr. 133 3/4/4 Jimmy Kennedy (18-2), Jr. 141 -/-/- Ryan Prater (8-8), So. 149 -/-/- Eric Terrazas (12-10), Fr. 157 2/1/2 Mike Poeta (3-0), Sr. 165 18/16/17 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (13-4), Sr. 174 -/14/16 John Dergo (7-4), Jr. 184 12/13/15 Jordan Blanton (19-6), Fr. 197 -/-/- Patrick Bond (10-10), Jr. Hwt 9/9/8 John Wise (11-5), Sr. Rankings are USA Today/NWCA/Intermat, W.I.N., AWN #25 Purdue (11-1-1 / 0-0-1) Probable Lineup Wt Rank Name (Record), Year 125 -/-/- Akif Eren (8-9), So. 133 -/-/- Carson Beebe (9-5), r-Fr. 141 -/-/- Matt Henry (6-4), So. 149 7/6/6 Jake Patacsil (26-3), Sr. 157 -/-/- Colton Salazar (11-5), So. 165 11/16/14 Luke Manuel (20-7), So. 174 -/-/- Nick Corpe (9-6), Jr. 184 14/14/18 A.J. Kissel (23-5), So. 197 13/20/15 Logan Brown (22-7), So. HWT -/-/- Chris Kasten (17-7), Jr. Rankings are USA Today/NWCA/Intermat, W.I.N., AWN Quick Hits * #2 Mike Poeta (157) and #3 Jimmy Kennedy (133) both rank in Illinois top 5 in career winning percentage, with Poeta holding down the No. 3 spot (91-13, .875) and Kennedy ranking fifth after his 18-2 start this season (79-16, .832). * #3 Jimmy Kennedy (133) has won 36 of his last 41 matches dating back to Jan. 20, 2008, and is 18-2 this season with a title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, a third-place finish at Midlands and a Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor under his belt. He earned the honor after defeating #2 Jayson Ness (Minnesota) at the NWCA All-Star Classic by a 7-5 margin. * True-freshmen #12 Jordan Blanton (184) and B.J. Futrell (125) have been exceptional early in their collegiate careers, each currently holding a 19-6 record. Blanton finished fifth at Midlands, seventh at the Las Vegas Invitational and earned Co-Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors on Nov. 18 after starting his career 3-0 at the ACC/Big Ten Clash. Blanton leads Illinois with six pins and Futrell is second on the squad with five. Futrell has scored bonus points 11 times and Blanton 10. Both wrestlers have scored bonus points in 10 of their 17 wins. * #2 Mike Poeta (157) is now 63-6 in his last 69 matches dating back to 2006-07 and has never lost to a wrestler from Purdue in his career, going 3-0 against the Boilers. * #18 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165) is 13-4, which is his second-best start to a season in his career (14-3 in 2006-07), and started 12-0 before dropping a pair of matches at Midlands. Smith-Bergsrud won the Missouri Open and is 5-1 in duals. * #10 John Wise (HWT) has started strong in his senior season, holding an 11-5 record and is second on the team with five pins. He began the season 7-1, which was a career best and upset Pittsburghs #4 Zach Sheaffer, 6-2, on Jan. 10. #7 Illini Travel to #25 Purdue No. 7 Illinois (7-1 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten) heads to West Lafayette, Ind., for a 6 p.m. (CT) dual with No. 25 Purdue (11-1-1, 0-0-1) on Friday, which will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. It will be the Illinis second of three straight duals to be shown on the BTN, with next Fridays match against No. 19 Northwestern shown on a same-day delay. The Fighting Illini defeated Purdue, 31-6, at Huff Hall last year, with Jake Patacsil scoring the Boilers only points on an injury default. However, Purdue has four new starters from a year ago and is much improved this season, going 11-1-1 so far. The Boilermakers tied No. 14 Penn State, 17-17, last Saturday to open the Big Ten season. Illinois-Purdue Series History The Orange and Blue hold a 47-26-2 (.640) lead in the all-time series with Purdue, by far Illinois best record against a Big Ten opponent. Illinois holds just a 20-16 margin in duals in West Lafayette, but has won 10 consecutive matches against the Boilers. Weekend Matchups to Watch Every dual has key matches that can set the tone or change the momentum, and this weekends Illinois-Iowa tilt is no different. Heres a look at a few bouts that could turn the tide of Sundays match: 125: B.J. Futrell (ILL) vs. Akif Eren (PUR) Should Fridays match open at 125, Futrell has a great opportunity to get the Illini to a quick start. Futrell and Eren havent faced each other this season, but they do have a pair of common opponents in Arizona States Anthony Robles and Northern Iowas Caleb Flores. Robles pinned Eren and scored a technical fall over Futrell, while both Eren and Futrell decisioned Flores. 184: #12 Jordan Blanton (ILL) vs. #14 A.J. Kissel (PUR) Blanton will look for his second win over Kissel this season after earning a 4-2 win in the wrestlebacks at Midlands. Both wrestlers have beaten Pitts Zac Thomusseit and West Virginias Lance Bryson, and have lost to top 184-pounder Louie Caputo (Harvard). The only difference among common opponents is that Kissel defeated Cal State Fullertons Tim Hawkins in the fifth-place match in Las Vegas, while Blanton lost to Hawkins in the consolation quarterfinals. 197: Patrick Bond (ILL) vs. #13 Logan Brown (PUR) Bond went 2-0 against Brown last year, recording a pair of major decisions in the dual and in the first round of Big Ten Championships. Bond won 13-4 at the dual and 14-6 at Big Tens, but Brown has been much better this season, going 22-7 compared to Bonds 10-10 mark. Illini Strong in Initial Coaches Rankings Nine of Illinois 10 starters appeared in the initial release of the NCAA coaches rankings on Jan. 26. The coaches rankings, along with winning percentage and rating percentage index (RPI) will be used to determine the number of NCAA qualifiers from each qualifying tournament. Wrestlers that meet or exceed threshold levels for all three measures will be designated "Gold Standard," while those meeting/exceeding two of the three measures will be "Silver Standard." All Gold and Silver Standard wrestlers will earn an NCAA qualifier position for their weight class at that qualifying event. Below are Illinois wrestlers in the initial coaches rankings, which included the top 33 at each weight class: 125: #27 B.J. Futrell 133: #3 Jimmy Kennedy 141: #30 Ryan Prater 157: #3 Mike Poeta 165: #17 Roger Smith-Bergsrud 174: #16 John Dergo 184: #15 Jordan Blanton 197: #28 Patrick Bond HWT: #10 John Wise Poeta Fires Out Strong in Debut No. 2 Mike Poeta (157) stepped onto the mat for the first time in 2008-09 during Illinois trip to West Virginia and Pittsburgh two weeks ago, earning a technical fall and a major decision in the two duals. He also majored Iowas Matt Ballweg on Jan. 25 to go to 3-0 on the season, with bonus points in each win.