Michigan State at Illinois
  Feb. 23, 2003  Huff Hall  Champaign, Ill.   
  With Bedlam going on in Oklahoma this weekend, the Big Ten's marquee matchup is Michigan State vs. Illinois. The Spartans are one of the hottest teams in the country, if not the hottest, with six straight wins, including defeats of Oklahoma (24-14), Iowa (19-19 on criteria), Michigan (16-15) and Penn State (19-18). In every dual, the Spartans have had at least one upset victory.    Illinois has won four consecutive dual meets, including a 21-15 upset over Ohio State. The Illini have proved themselves to be one of the best young teams in the nation this year with five freshmen and three sophomores currently in the lineup. This dual features experience against youth, but the Illini youth have performed like veterans over recent weeks.    Rankings based on the Feb. 19 TheMat.com Division I Coaches Individual Poll    125: #7 Nick Simmons (Michigan State) vs. Twan Pham (Illinois)  Simmons body and strength give him the opportunity to be dominant at this weight class one day. He has the height to wrestle at 141 lbs., but he does not cut much weight, which is why he remains at 125 lbs. Simmons receives a lot of criticism about using a choke hold during matches, but officials have been watching for this choke since he was 15 years old. By this point, officials know to look for it, and they do stop the match when they suspect he is using one. But Simmons is only using his body to his advantage. He is taller than his opponents, and if he can get a front headlock on them, it is the opponent's problem, not his. Pham is in the lineup for the injured Kyle Ott. This senior is a formidable replacement in the lineup, but he may be hurt in this match by his defense. Pham is quick and can score on his opponents. He is tough on his feet, but at the same time, gives up a lot of takedowns against tough competition. Simmons usually does not look for takedowns, but instead, looks for the fall. Pham's main objective should be to avoid the front headlock. His second should be to make Simmons take shots. If he can do that, he could frustrate Simmons into making some costly mistakes.  TheMat.com Prediction: Simmons    133: Shane Martin (Michigan State) vs. #15 Mark Jayne (Illinois)  Martin is in a major drought. He has lost seven consecutive matches, but six of those opponents are ranked in the top 10 in the nation. The sophomore has shown signs of improvement in those matches, including with his defense. A problem for him is that he is always falling behind in matches, so he has no way to work on a good offense in his matches. For the most part, Jayne has been on top of his game this season. He is another reason that the Illini program is looking bright for the future. Jayne is good on his feet, but he has made great improvements this season from the top position. His only flaw right now is his counter defense. It mostly happens against top opponents, but he is able to stop the initial shot, but has trouble stopping the re-shot. In this match, look for Jayne to get on top and work a series of tilts. He can score against Martin from the top position, and it could earn bonus points for the Illini.  TheMat.com Prediction: Jayne    141: Ryan L'Amoreaux (Michigan State) vs. Cal Ferry (Illinois)  L'Amoreaux struggles defensively, which is where he loses most of his matches. He is tough from the top position, but it is hard to get there when he is always on the bottom. He has posted some moderate wins this season, including one over Luke Moffitt of Iowa, but in the long run, this 133-pound defect is not much of a threat on the national level. The new weight class does seem to be much improved and stronger at 141 lbs. Ferry started the season on a good run, but since the dual season has begun, he has only won six matches. The freshman has hit a wall offensively, and it is setting him back defensively as well. L'Amoreaux will want to attack Ferry and get him on the run. Ferry has struggled from the bottom lately, and L'Amoreaux should look to take advantage of that. If Ferry can get an early takedown, it may give him the confidence to win this match.  TheMat.com Prediction: L'Amoreaux    149: #14 Karl Nadolsky (Michigan State) vs. Tony Pedrosa (Illinois)  This will be an opportunity for Nadolsky to get his third solid win of the season. The first two were against Justin Giovinco of Pittsburgh and Nathan Galloway of Penn State. Nadolsky has a shorter build than most 149-pounders, which is why he has struggled this season against ranked opponents. He is a grinder on the mat, and is solid in every aspect of wrestling, but he is not the most talented wrestler in the country, which sometimes sets him back. He has gotten better recently and his confidence level seems to be higher as the post-season nears. Pedrosa is only a freshman, but he has been an up-and-down wrestler all season long. For a freshman, he does not make many mental mistakes. He gives up points mostly on experience. He has been learning all season long on the fly. He has yet to defeat a ranked wrestler, though he gets closer with each match. This would be a good chance for Pedrosa to break into the rankings and establish himself for the postseason. Pay no attention to the rankings, Pedrosa will keep this match close, especially at home. Both of these wrestlers like to score from their feet, so expect this to be a takedown battle.  TheMat.com Prediction: Nadolsky    157: #5 Gray Maynard (Michigan State) vs. #8 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois)  Maynard is a grinding wrestler. He loves to physically punish his opponents, which has been his trademark. He could be a top seed heading into the NCAA Tournament this year, but in both of his losses to Keaton Anderson of Ohio State, he was winning the match in the third period before giving up a cradle. He needs to not get himself caught in bad positions, which is the only thing setting him back from being one of the top four wrestlers in the nation. Maynard is relentless on his feet in his offensive attack, but he has a good series of tilts that he uses from the top as well. Tirapelle is the type of wrestler who does not make the same mistake twice. This freshman has lived up to every expectation he has had so far. He likes to wrestle from his feet, but he has long arms that helps him from the top position. Tirapelle is going to have to outwit and outlast Maynard to win this match. Maynard does not take many risks during a match, but if Tirapelle can catch him when he does, then he needs to score on those opportunities. This may not be a high-scoring match, but it will certainly not lack action and excitement.  TheMat.com Prediction: Maynard    165: Arsen Aleksanyan (Michigan State) vs. #1 Matt Lackey (Illinois)  Aleksanyan has struggled as of late. He is having trouble scoring points and struggling to stop his opponents shots. That is a bad mix for a college wrestler. He has only won three dual matches the entire season, and against ranked wrestlers, he is rarely in the match. Lackey has improved tremendously from last year, which is a scary though. Offensively, he seems more confident, and opponents are having trouble stopping him from scoring on tilts. This match could be over quick if Aleksanyan is not careful. The Illini could use some bonus points, and Lackey is good at turning a double-leg into either nearfall points or a pin. Rest assured he will be looking to end this match as early as possible.  TheMat.com Prediction: Lackey    174: Ras