Feb. 2, 2011
Complete Match Notes 
The No. 12 Missouri Tigers (14-6, 0-1 Big 12) head to the state of Oklahoma for their last regular season road trip of the year, where they'll take on a pair of top-10 Big 12 opponents. Missouri will first take on No. 5 Oklahoma State (10-2-1, 1-0 Big 12) on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. CT. On Saturday, Mizzou will then face off against No. 10 Oklahoma (11-1, 2-0 Big 12), beginning at 3 p.m. CT.
Scouting Oklahoma State
The No. 5 Oklahoma State Cowboys are 10-2-1 on the season and 1-0 in Big 12 play thusfar. The Cowboys knocked off Iowa State in Ames, Iowa two weeks ago in their first Big 12 dual, and have won three straight matches. Their lone tie of the year came on the road against Iowa, as they split 10 decisions on their way to a 15-15 final. Their two losses came at the NWCA National Duals, when they lost to runner-up Virginia Tech, along with the Tigers.
In their matchup at the National Duals, Missouri got big wins at 157 and 165 to help pace their victory. Nick Gregoris upset then-No. 14 Neil Erisman, winning by fall in 2:35 at 157, while Zach Toal defeated then-No. 16 Dallas Bailey by a 6-5 decision. Alan Waters and Mike Larson each dropped tight matches to top-10 competition, which they'll look to avenge on Friday.
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series by a 33-5-1 margin, though the Tigers are 3-1-1 in their last five meetings. The Cowboys are led by head coach John Smith, the program's all-time winningest coach, who is now in his 20th year.
Scouting Oklahoma
The Sooners enter the matchup with a record of 11-1 and winners of six straight. Two of those wins were against Big 12 opponents, as they knocked off Iowa State by a 33-7 final in Ames, Iowa and beat Nebraska, 17-16, at home. Their lone loss this year came against Oklahoma State in a non-conference matchup, as they fell 22-12.
The Sooners have seven wrestlers ranked by either Intermat or WIN Magazine, capped off by No. 2 Tyler Caldwell at 165, who is 25-4 on the season. Jarrod Patterson, a 125-pound sophomore, and Zach Bailey, a 141-pound senior, each find themselves within the top-seven of their classes.
Oklahoma head coach Jack Spates is now in his 18th season as head coach of the Sooners. Oklahoma holds the all-time series lead over Missouri with a 40-8 record. The Tigers have won four of the last five meetings between these two teams.
Follow Live
Live scoring will be available for both of these Big 12 contests. Links to live scoring can be found on the wrestling page sidebar at MUTigers.com.
What's Next
Missouri closes out their regular season next Sunday, Feb. 13 with Iowa State at home. Action at the Hearnes Center gets started at 1 p.m. CT. Missouri will recognize their three seniors: Luke Cherep, Tyler Perry and Todd Schavrien before the match. The meet will be broadcast on tape delay on the Missouri Sports Network. Times and channels are TBA.
Early Points Helping Tigers
Much of the Tigers' success this season has been because of the big wins they've had right off the bat in their dual meets. More specifically, the success they've had at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. The Tigers have scored 462 total team points in duals this season, and 190 of those have come from the first three weight classes, making up over 41% of the team's total. Mizzou has accumulated 47 points at 133 pounds, 67 points at 125 and 76 points at 141. The only other class to pick up more points than 47 is heavyweight, which has accumlated 53 points so far this season. 125 pounds has picked up bonus points in four of their 19 wins, while 133 has scored bonus point wins in six of their 20 matches. 141 pounds leads the way, picking up bonus points in 12 of their 18 victories on the season. Missouri has started every match at 125 pounds this year.
Second Half Shift
After struggling through much of the year at the 157 and 197-pound classes, the additions of Nick
Gregoris and Brent Haynes into those respective weights have helped turn the tide a bit for the
Tigers. After 10 duals this season, Missouri only had recorded 9 points at 157 and 13 points at 197.
Since Gregoris and Haynes joined the lineup, Mizzou has picked up 13 points at 157 pounds and
23 points at 197 pounds during the team's last 10 duals.
No. 7 Tigers Fall to Huskers, 17-16
The No. 7 Missouri Tigers saw their five-match winning streak come to an end on Sunday, as the No. 16 Nebraska Cornhuskers upended Mizzou by a 17-16 final in their Big 12 Conference opener. Missouri is now 14-6 on the year and 0-1 in league competition.
Mizzou jumped out to a 10-3 lead after four matches, but the Huskers would go on to win four of the next five to take control of the dual.
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