Hoosiers look to notch first Big Ten victory this weekend

After dropping its first two matches of the Big Ten season, the IU wrestling team gets two chances to bounce back for its first conference victory this weekend against Ohio State and Michigan State.\nThe first contest of the weekend pits the No. 16 Hoosiers (11-4, 0-2) against the No. 7 Buckeyes (14-3, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. Last year, Ohio State took down the cream and crimson in Columbus 19-14. The Buckeyes’ only loss this season came to the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 24-10. Ohio State has picked up wins against No. 8 Penn State and No. 13 Wisconsin, both teams the Hoosiers have dropped matches to this season.\nTwo days after facing the Buckeyes, IU is set to do battle with Michigan State at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Spartans (3-7, 0-2) come into the contest with a decisive edge in the all-time series, leading 44-19-3. But the Spartans have lost three straight and will face the Badgers before traveling to Bloomington Sunday.\nIn addition to picking up two conference wins, this weekend has special meaning for the Hoosiers. One win this weekend will give IU coach Duane Goldman his milestone 200th win.\nAlso, freshman Kurt Kinser will look to inch closer to the school record of 20 pins in a season. Kinser enters Friday’s match with a 13-match win streak to go along with 17 pins, which ties him for the most in Division-1 wrestling. \nOther Hoosiers to keep an eye on this weekend are sophomores Angel Escobedo and Nathan Everhart. Escobedo, ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 125-pound weight class, will attempt to extend his perfect season. Everhart, who was previously projected to miss the rest of the season with a foot injury, returned to IU’s lineup Jan. 25 against Wisconsin.