OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling returns on the road this week with a pair of Big 12 duals starting with No. 11 South Dakota State on Friday, Jan. 31 at 6:00 p.m. MT and will air on Midco Sports Plus (subscription required). The Wolverines will also face North Dakota State on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 6:00 p.m. MT in Fargo. The dual will be streamed on GoBison.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines were defeated by Wyoming last Friday in Laramie, 25-10. Utah Valley got off to a fast start with wins at 125 by Bridger Ricks and 133 with Kase Mauger, but the Cowboys responded by winning all but the 165-pound tilt with No. 4 Terrell Barraclough having a dominant performance, earning a technical fall over Cooper Voorhees.
 
ABOUT THE NO. 11 JACKRABBITS
South Dakota State is 10-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 action this year. They have eight of their ten projected starters ranked. They have one of the most experienced lineups that UVU will face this season, with four who are in their sixth year of collegiate wrestling. No. 6 Bennett Berge,  No. 9 Cade DeVos, and No. 14 Tanner Jordan are returning NCAA All-Americans. Derrick Cardinal at 133, qualified last year at No. 25, and Cobe Siebrecht comes in at No. 18 after qualifying for NCAA power Iowa.
 
ABOUT THE BISON
This season, North Dakota State is 3-6 and 2 2 in Big 12 duals. They currently have four nationally ranked, starting with 133-pounder Kyle Burwick, who is a two-time NCAA qualifier at Wisconsin and also spent time at Nebraska. Gavin Drexler and Maxwell Petersen both competed for NDSU at last year's Big 12 Championships, with Petersen placing eighth.
 
UVU IN THE RANKINGS
The Wolverines are receiving votes in this week's NWCA Poll for the fourth straight poll and continue to stay close to the Top 25 in other polls. Redshirt senior Barraclough enters this week at No. 4 in the InterMat and Flo polls, with Drury being ranked No. 19 by InterMat and No. 23 by FloWrestling.
 
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will have their final three duals of the regular season in Utah, starting with No. 21 West Virginia on Thursday, Feb. 6 at Layton High School. They will host Air Force on Friday, Feb. 7, before the season wraps up with Northern Colorado on Friday, Feb. 14.