Is Rutgers wrestling ready to take the next step in the Big Ten? Shane Sparks weighs in
The best match-up of the college wrestling weekend might well be at Rutgers and Jersey Mike’s Arena on Friday night. With a top-10 team in Virginia Tech rolling into town, it is certainly a measuring stick moment for Rutgers.
No. 8 Virginia Tech comes into Friday night a bit battered following a loss last weekend at Ohio State. With Rutgers having two weeks rest after their 2-0 start to the season (wins over Duke and Cal Poly), it certainly makes for an intriguing early-season meeting.
A win would certainly show that Rutgers has the potential to break into a very tough Big Ten pecking order. Big Ten Network analyst Shane Sparks believes that Rutgers could be ready to take that proverbial next step starting with this weekend.
Rutgers has been consistently solid in the Big Ten in recent years, but their path upward is made more difficult by the fact that the conference is easily the toughest in the sport.
“The Big Ten is so tricky because the dual meet schedules are not balanced, so you can have that 3-5 season in the Big Ten because…I’m just looking at the rankings, right now. I’m gonna go to the to meet rankings but you got Penn State’s at one, you got four of the top seven, five of the top nine,” Sparks told Rutgers Wire about the current national rankings.
“I think for Rutgers. This year, if they can get in that top half – that’d be a huge step for them. Because the reality is that it’s tough. They’ll need to find a way to finish, say seventh at the Big Ten Tournament.
“I mean, the six teams ahead of them are basically all in the top 10 or close to it so if they can find a way to crack that top path, I would say it is a very successful season for them. That’s taking the next step because the bottom line is, you know, the Big Ten gives you nothing. I mean, you got to earn it. So a lot of good things potentially but they got to stay healthy because they don’t have that big point scorer.”
In this week’s NWCA poll, Penn State is the consensus top team in the nation followed by North Carolina State and Iowa.
