Wrestling: Important Big 12 duals this weekend

The No. 18 Sooners (12-3, 0-2 in Big 12) resume Big 12 competition this weekend in two road duals versus No. 12 Missouri on Friday and No. 2 Nebraska on Sunday.

The matchup against the Tigers (7-3-1, 0-1-1 in Big 12) is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and the dual versus the Cornhuskers (11-2, 2-0 in Big 12) will begin at 2 p.m.

“We are headed back into the battlefield,” head coach Jack Spates said. “The Big 12 is the toughest conference in the nation and we are going to have to be hitting on all cylinders this weekend.”

Oklahoma is coming off an impressive beating of the Sun Devils of Arizona State last Friday night in Norman by a 31-9 final. After losing the first two matches, OU reeled off eight straight victories and 31 unanswered points to take the win. The 12 wins on the season surpass the overall win total of last year’s campaign (11 wins).

The Sooners boast a season-high seven wrestlers ranked in the Top 20 this week, led by seniors Joshua Weitzel at 184 pounds (No. 6) and Joel Flaggert at 197 pounds (No. 5). Zack Bailey is ranked No. 15 at 141 pounds and Brian Shelton and Will Rowe are No. 13 at 133 and 149 pounds, respectively. Chad Terry at 157 pounds and Max Dean at 165 pounds are both ranked 20th.