With a sly smile, assistant coach Brandon Eggum made his prediction for Thursday nightâÄôs heavyweight matchup between MinnesotaâÄôs Ben Berhow and NebraskaâÄôs Tucker Lane . âÄúIâÄôll call upset at heavyweight,âÄù Eggum said. Upset would mean No. 11 Berhow knocks off No. 7 Lane . It would also mean BerhowâÄôs string of three straight matches against top 10 opponents closes with a win. And with as strong as the Cornhuskers are at the higher weight classes, it would provide the 6th-ranked Gophers with much needed team points in ThursdayâÄôs 7 p.m. dual against No. 12 Nebraska at Williams Arena . Eggum has watched Berhow wrestle then-No. 4 (now No. 10) Mitch Monteiro close and No. 2 Jared Rosholt closer. Eggum said BerhowâÄôs overtime loss to Oklahoma StateâÄôs Rosholt could, and maybe should have been, a win. Against Lane, he expects to watch a win. âÄúBerhowâÄôs going to win,âÄù Eggum said. âÄúWait and see.âÄù In addition to 7th-ranked Lane, the Cornhuskers boast the top-ranked wrestler at 157, Jordan Burroughs, No. 3 Stephen Dwyer at 174 and No. 2 Craig Brester at 197 . MinnesotaâÄôs lone ranked wrestler at those three weights is freshman Jake Deitchler (157), who still has yet to suit up this season due to injuries. EggumâÄôs tongue in cheek comments notwithstanding, an upset at any of those weights wonâÄôt be easy to come by, so the Gophers will have to take full advantage of their own highly ranked wrestlers if they are to win the contested dual. DonâÄôt be surprised if Nebraska chooses to draw. Drawing randomizes the starting matchâÄôs weight class instead of the default starting weight of 125. In fact, with No. 4 Zach Sanders (125) and No. 2 Jayson Ness (133) at the top of the lineup, Eggum said heâÄôs a little surprised that more teams donâÄôt draw against Minnesota. Sanders, a reigning All-American, is 6-0 with two pins this season. Ness, a three-time All-American, is 9-0 with eight falls. âÄúIâÄôve done a good job getting the first takedown and dominating from there,âÄù Sanders said of his season thus far. âÄúUsually the guy that gets the first takedown ends up winning, so the room for error is really small.âÄù If the meet does start from the top of the lineup, Eggum hopes continued dominance by Sanders and Ness sets the tone for the evening. âÄúIt can really break their guys down when they see guys competing against [Sanders and Ness] breaking down and quitting,âÄù Eggum said. âÄúIt gets into [the rest of the teamâÄôs] head too. I think itâÄôs an advantage for us when we start at 125.âÄù
Nebraska visits for another tough dual matchup
The Gophers could use a win after falling to Oklahoma State last weekend.
by Austin Cumblad
Published December 9, 2009
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