Indiana Wrestling Set for Televised Showdown at Purdue
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — This match has been circled on Indiana's calendar for a long time.
Not only is it a rivalry match with Purdue that will be televised on the Big Ten Network, but the Hoosiers haven't been able to top the Boilermakers for quite some time.
Indiana's losing streak is currently at 10 when facing Purdue. The last Indiana win came on Feb. 14, 2010 in Indianapolis in a 22-17 victory for the Hoosiers.
"We want to win," head coach Angel Escobedo said. "It's going to be a battle. We're going to have to stay on our offense and get some upsets."
The Hoosiers' are riding a bit of momentum heading into this match as well. The last time Indiana was on the mat, it defeated Maryland 27-13 in Wilkinson Hall.
During that match, Escobedo was pleased with his team's ability to stay on the attack, but he thought they needed to do a better job at finishing matches. So, that was a big point of emphasis this past week in preparing for Purdue.
"We touched up a lot on finishes," Escobedo said. "We touched up on bottom work as well. I feel like those are the two areas we needed to improve on. Just conditioning and making sure guys can finish matches when they're tired."
Escobedo is hoping Indiana starts off the same way it did against Maryland, and that's with a win in the 125-pound weight class.
Jacob Moran will likely be getting the start again, but there's a chance it could be Brock Hudkins.
"Whoever starts us out has to go out there with 100 percent effort and have a great attitude with just staying after it," Escobedo said.
Escobedo also looks to Graham Rooks, Nick South, Donnell Washington and Kyle Luigs as potential swing matches for the Hoosiers, and if Indiana can get some of those, they have a good shot to win.
Also making his debut for Indiana on Monday night will be freshman Santos Cantu.
"I just want to see him being confident," Escobedo said. "He's coming back from an injury, so I want to see him confident in his attacks."
Escobedo was a wrestler himself at Indiana from 2007-10, so he knows just how big the rivalry is between Indiana and Purdue.
He said he took it personal when he was competing against the Boilermakers, and he hopes his guys walk in to West Lafayette with the same attitude this season.
"It's the battle of the state," Escobedo said. "Every time I wrestled a Purdue guy I was going for bonus, and that's it. I don't want anything less. No close matches, dominate them, let them know that we're the best school.
"I still have that mentality as a coach. Even though we're not favored, that doesn't matter. We still have the mentality that we're going out there and we can beat them."
The match will take place on Monday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.
Indiana Probable Lineup
125: Jacob Moran or #17 Brock Hudkins
133: Kyle Luigs
141: Cayden Rooks
149: #15 Graham Rooks
157: Matt Ortiz or Jonathan Kervin
165: #20 Nick South
174: #6 Donnell Washington
184: Santos Cantu
197: #32 Nick Willham
285: Rudy Streck