OU to Conclude Regular Season with Bedlam

^19/18Oklahoma

^6/6Oklahoma State

Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021 / 5 p.m. CT / Stillwater, Okla. / Gallagher-Iba Arena

Projected Starters (Rankings by NCAA Coaches)
	No. 19/18 Oklahoma
Weight	Wrestler	Record
125	Mason Naifeh	1-7
133	No. 30 Tony Madrigal	3-6
141	No. 7 Dom Demas	8-1
149	No. 15 Mitch Moore	7-2
157	No. 10 Justin Thomas	7-2
165	Troy Mantanona	2-1
174	No. 27 Anthony Mantanona	4-5
184	No. 28 Darrien Roberts	6-3
197	No. 15 Jake Woodley	5-4
HWT	No. 21 Josh Heindselman	6-3

No. 6/6 Oklahoma State
Weight	Wrestler	Record
125	No. 15 Trevor Mastrogiovanni	9-2
133	No. 1 Daton Fix	4-0
141	No. 24 Dusty Hone	7-4
149	No. 4 Boo Lewallen	11-1
157	No. 13 Wyatt Sheets	5-3
165	No. 4 Travis Wittlake	11-0
174	No. 11 Dustin Plott	10-1
184	No. 6 Dakota Geer	10-2
197	No. 13 A.J. Ferrari	11-1
HWT	No. 25 Austin Harris	8-3

NORMAN – No. 19/18 Oklahoma heads north to Stillwater to wrap up its regular season in a Bedlam dual with No. 6/6 Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Sooners won three matches (141, 157, 285) in the season's first edition of the rivalry on Feb. 7 in Norman but came up short in the team score, 24-10.

The two historic programs have met nearly every year since 1920 and were named the greatest (OSU) and fourth-greatest (OU) wrestling programs in history by the NCAA. The term "Bedlam" originated from the rowdy wrestling matches between the two schools and then grew to accompany all sports. Sunday's dual is the 182nd meeting between the programs. The two have produced a combined 743 All-America honors, 209 individual national champions, 61 Olympians and 41 team national championships - all marks are more than any other rivalry in the country.

SOONER SNIPPET

The Sooners (5-4, 2-3) are looking to bounce back from a Bedlam loss on Feb. 7 in Norman and for the team's first win over Oklahoma State since 2013. Sunday's dual will showcase eight ranked Oklahoma wrestlers, the most head coach Lou Rosselli has brought into a Bedlam contest since he arrived in Norman in 2016.

Rosselli's squad returns all but one wrestler who saw action in 2019-20, featuring a lineup that showcases six NCAA qualifiers, two All-Americans and a pair of UWW/U23 national champions. The Sooners added 2019 ACC Freshman of the Year Mitch Moore to the roster via transfer from Virginia Tech. Moore is a two-time NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds and competes for OU at 149 pounds.

LAST TIME OUT

Oklahoma dropped a 24-10 dual to in-state rival Oklahoma State at Lloyd Noble Center on Feb. 7.

The Sooners were victorious in the 141, 157 and 285 weight classes. Dom Demas used a second-period four-point near fall to earn an 11-3 major decision over Dusty Hone at 141 pounds. Justin Thomas followed his performances with an overtime win at 157 pounds. Thomas reversed late in the overtime tiebreaker to knock off then-No. 8 Wyatt Sheets via 4-3 decision. Oklahoma gained some momentum in the dual's final match when freshman heavyweight Josh Heindselman secured a double-leg takedown in overtime to beat Austin Harris 3-1 in sudden victory.

SOONERS IN THE RANKINGS

Oklahoma will enter the final week of the regular season ranked No. 19, marking the first time that the Sooners have appeared in every NWCA coaches poll across a regular season under Rosselli. The NWCA tabs OU as the No. 19 team in the country, Flo ranks the Sooners 18th and Intermat names Oklahoma 20th in their dual rankings.

The initial NCAA Coaches Panel rankings were released on Feb. 12 and tabbed eight Oklahoma wrestlers inside the top 33 in their weight class.

The three primary individual rankings selected a host of Sooners to place inside the top 25. Flo Wrestling tabs six Oklahoma starters as top-25 wrestlers in their respective weight class, while The Open Mat selects eight Sooners inside the top 33.

NCAA/Flo Wrestling/Open Mat

   125: Mason Naifeh - NR/NR/NR
   133: Tony Madrigal - 30/25/26
   141: Dom Demas - 7/7/8
   149: Mitch Moore - 15/14/14
   157: Justin Thomas - 10/15/11
   165: Troy Mantanona - NR/NR/NR
   174: Anthony Mantanona - 27/NR/25
   184: Darrien Roberts - 28/NR/32
   197: Jake Woodley - 15/15/16
   HWT: Josh Heindselman - 21/18/23

NCAA PRE-ALLOCATIONS RELEASED

The NCAA announced that the Big 12 Conference earned 45 pre-allocations to the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. The allocations are spread amongst all 10 weight classes, with six classes earning five spots (125, 133, 149, 165, 197 and 285). The 141, 174 and 184 earned four allocations, while 157 collected three.

In recent years, pre-allocations have been determined by a formula measuring Division I winning percentage, ratings percentage index and coaches' ranking. A decrease in overall matches, and in particular non-conference matches, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, led the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee to transition to using the five-year historical average to determine pre-allocations for 2021.

#CHAMPU

Since the inception of collegiate wrestling in 1928, Oklahoma has been one of the most dominant wrestling programs in the country. The Sooners have seven team national titles, 23 conference championships, 67 individual national champs, 185 individual conference champions and 276 All-Americans.

In addition to the Sooners seven national championships, Oklahoma has finished as runner-up 12 times, tied for second most in the country. The Sooners' 40 finishes inside the top four are the fourth-most nationally and OU has grabbed a top-10 spot at NCAAs 64 times (third most) out of 88 NCAA championships held.

The NCAA named Oklahoma the fourth-greatest wrestling dynasty in the country in the summer of 2020. As a state, Oklahoma has produced more national champions (153) than any other state in the country, with 36 more than Pennsylvania.

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS AND SERIES HISTORY

Oklahoma State (9-0, 4-0 Big 12) enters Sunday afternoon ranked sixth by the NWCA and Flo Wrestling. Their starting lineup has a ranked wrestler at each weight class, highlighted by consensus No. 1 Daton Fix at 133 pounds. OSU is led by Hall of Famer John Smith who has amassed over 400 wins in his HOF career. The Cowboys are the defending Big 12 champions.

Sunday's dual marks the 182nd edition of Bedlam and first of two matches this season.