Oklahoma State wrestling: 5 things to watch for No. 9 Cowboys vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh

The No. 9-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team look to sweep back-to-back duals this weekend when they face No. 10 Pittsburgh on Saturday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) picked up their first win of the weekend Friday with a 37-9 victory against conference foe West Virginia. OSU won the first eight bouts of the dual, including seven by bonus points.

Pittsburgh (5-1, 0-0 ACC) hasn’t competed since taking fourth at the Southern Scuffle, the tournament OSU won. Five Panthers placed at the Scuffle, with redshirt junior Gregg Harvey, who is ranked No. 17, earning the highest finish as runner-up at 174 pounds to Penn State’s Carter Starocci. Sixth-ranked Micky Phillippi (133), No. 7 Nino Bonaccorsi (184) and No. 8 Demetrius Thomas (285) took third, while No. 11 Jake Wentzel (165) placed sixth.

5 things to watch

100-win milestone

Nick Piccininni, who is ranked No. 4 at 125, scored a takedown and four turns for a 18-0 first-period technical fall against WVU’s Joey Thomas. The win puts the redshirt senior Cowboy one win away from 100 for his career. He’s a heavy favorite against Pitt’s Louis Newell and should score his 13th bonus-point victory of the season in the match. Only 43 wrestlers have reached the milestone in OSU history.

Southern Scuffle rematches

There will be two rematches from the Scuffle at 133 and 165. Reece Witcraft lost 4-3 to Phillippi at 133, while No. 9 Travis Wittlake defeated Wentzel 7-3. Wittlake lost his next match, 4-1 to No. 7 Shane Griffith of Stanford but has been on a tear ever since with four straight wins with his last two by technical fall and major decision.

184: Antony Montalvo vs. Bonaccorsi

Montalvo had a dominant showing with a first-period fall against WVU’s Jackson Moomau. Montalvo was quick on his fireman’s throw takedown in the opening 20 seconds then readjusted his armbar for the pin. He’ll have a good matchup against a top-10 opponent in Bonaccorsi, who only has two losses this season.

How well does Dakota Geer bounce back?

Geer suffered a stunning loss by fall in 1:07 against No. 2 Noah Adams of WVU on Friday. Geer will have a good opportunity for a bounce-back victory against Pitt’s Kellan Stout, but how dominate Geer will be after such a quick loss will be telling on how he’ll set the stage for the upcoming Big 12 Iowa road trip.

Series history

OSU is 5-1 in the all-time series against Pitt, including a 3-0 mark at GIA. The Cowboys’ lone loss to the Panthers was 19-18 on criteria on Jan. 19, 2014 in Pittsburgh. OSU claimed a 33-9 victory at Pitt last season.

Lineups

125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (15-1) vs. Louis Newell (7-6)

133: Reece Witcraft (11-4) vs. No. 6 Micky Phillippi (15-1)

141: No. 10 Kaden Gfeller (5-1) - OR - Dusty Hone (13-4) vs. Cole Matthews (10-4)

149: No. 3 Boo Lewallen (11-0) vs. Luke Kemerer (6-5) - OR - Dallas Bulsak (3-5)

157: Wyatt Sheets (11-4) vs. Taleb Rahmani (9-5)

165: No. 9 Travis Wittlake (17-1) vs. No. 11 Jake Wentzel (13-3)

174: No. 11 Joe Smith (2-1) - OR - Andrew Shomers (10-7) vs. No. 17 Gregg Harvey (11-5)

184: Anthony Montalvo (12-4) vs. No. 7 Nino Bonaccorsi (14-2)

197: No. 11 Dakota Geer (13-4) vs. Kellan Stout (4-6)

285: Austin Harris (4-5) - OR - Cornelius Putnam (0-1) vs. No. 8 Demetrius Thomas (13-3)

How to watch

What: No. 10 Pittsburgh (5-1, 0-0 ACC) at No. 9 Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-0 Big 12)

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena; Stillwater, Oklahoma

Live stream: ESPN+

Live stats: TrackWrestling.com

Radio: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM