All rankings according to InterMat 1/24/23
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 17 Fighting Illini wrestling squad is poised for a trip to Minnesota to take on the No. 11 Golden Gophers on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. CT on BTN. The Illini are coming off of a 1-1 weekend where they lost 17-17 at No. 15 Northwestern via tiebreakers and a dominant 29-11 home victory against No. 22 Maryland.

Redshirt sophomore No. 10 Edmond Ruth won his 19th and 20th straight matches over the weekend. He defeated Northwestern's Ankhaa Enkhmandakh via tech. fall 16-0 (5:28) and Maryland's Dominic Solis 2-0. Redshirt freshman No. 9 Danny Pucino went 1-1 on the weekend and broke the top-10 rankings at 141 pounds.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

No. 11 Minnesota enters the competition with a 10-2 (3-2 B1G) record. They are currently a perfect 4-0 at home as well. Two common opponents between the Illini and Gophers are No. 15 Northwestern and Purdue. The Gophers lost to the Wildcats earlier this month 11-18 (Illinois lost 17-17) and they beat Purdue 20-12 (Illinois won 31-9).

Minnesota holds a 24-33-2 over the Illini all-time with the first meeting dating back to 1926. In their last meeting on Feb. 4, 2022 the Gophers defeated the Illini 22-12.

NOTES

• No. 10 Edmond Ruth is 22-1 overall with a streak of 20 and counting.
• No. 10 Zac Braunagel is 18-3 with a nine-match win-streak.
• No. 10 Lucas Byrd is 19-3, he's won his last eight.
• No. 9 Danny Pucino and No. 19 Danny Braunagel lead the team in falls with four each on the year.
• No. 14 Mike Carr has made a return and stands at 2-0.
• Illinois is seeking their first road win of the season, they are 0-2.
• The last time Illinois won in Minnesota was Feb. 20, 2005 (24-13).