Illinois Wrestling: No. 4 Illini at No. 10 Northwestern dual preview

Illinois travels north to wrestle in-state rival No. 10 Northwestern on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The Illini (8-4, 2-3 Big Ten) are coming off Friday's 22-9 loss to No. 12 Nebraska at Huff Hall. It was their third-straight Big Ten conference dual loss.

Illinois returns to action for their second Big Ten home meet as they host No. 12 Nebraska on Friday at Huff Hall. In the dual, the Huskers won four of the first six matches. No. 2 Zane Richards (133), No. 3 Isaiah Martinez and No. 8 Jackson Morse (165) were the lone victors for the Illini.

Northwestern (9-5, 1-4) is coming off a 38-3 blowout loss to No. 1 Iowa. Sixth-ranked Mike McMullan picked up the only win on the road with a 3-1 decision in second sudden victory over Iowa's top-ranked Bobby Telford.

Defending national champion and top-ranked Jason Tsirtsis saw his 40-match winning streak at 149 come to an end with a 3-2 loss in the second tiebreaker to No. 3 Brandon Sorensen.

Tsirtsis is one of four Northwestern wrestlers ranked in the national polls. No. 6/4 McMullan (285), No. 5/6 Pierce Harger (165) and No. 9/13 Alex Polizzi (197).

In the last dual between the two teams, Illinois won 24-12 at Huff Hall and defeated the Wildcats 24-10 in Evanston on Feb. 10, 2013.

Illinois Probable Starters

125: 1/1 Jesse Delgado, 2-0, Sr.

OR -/- Dominic Olivieri, 8-9, R-Jr.

133: 2/4 Zane Richards, 18-2, R-So.

141: 13/12 Steven Rodrigues, 9-6, R-Jr.

OR -/- Logan Arlis, 8-6, R-Sr.

149: -/- Kyle Langenderfer, 14-7, R-Jr.

157: 3/4 Isaiah Martinez, 21-0, R-Fr.

165: 8/8 Jackson Morse, 21-2, R-Sr.

174: 8/9 Zac Brunson, 18-3, R-So.

184: 15/20 Nikko Reyes, 17-7, R-So.

197: -/- Jeff Koepke, 14-8, R-Jr.

HWT: -/- Brooks Black, 11-9, R-Fr.

OR -/- Christopher Lopez, 11-4, R-Jr.

*Rankings are listed in W.I.N./InterMat

Northwestern Probable Starters

125: -/- Garrison White, 11-10

133: -/- Dominick Malone, 16-11

141: -/- Jameson Oster, 15-7

149: 1/1 Jason Tsirtsis, 24-1

157: -/- Ben Sullivan, 5-10

165: 5/6 Pierce Harger, 19-4

174: Open

184: -/- Mitch Sliga, 9-12

197: 9/13 Alex Polizzi, 20-6

HWT: 6/4 Mike McMullan, 18-2

*Rankings are listed in W.I.N./InterMat

Key Match-ups

125: No. 1 Jesse Delgado (2-0) vs. Garrison White (11-10)

- Delgado has been reported to make his return from injury against White. It will be the first time the two-time defending national champion will wrestle since the beginning of the season.

165: No. 8 Jackson Morse (21-2) vs. No. 5 Pierce Harger (19-4)

- The lone match featuring ranked opponents in the in-state rivalry. Morse has won three straight matches after dropping a 4-2 decision to Indiana's Taylor Walsh. Harger is coming off a 4-2 loss in sudden victory to Iowa's No. 9 Nick Moore

Meet Information

Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena

Time: 2 p.m. CT

Stream: BTN Plus ($$$)

Live Results: Track Wrestling

Twitter: @IlliniWrestling, @NU_Wrestle

Follow The Champaign Room on Twitter at @Champaign_Room and Like us on Facebook. You can follow Brandon Cain on Twitter at @BrandonMCain