Michigan State University
Buffalo
MSU Takes on Buffalo in a Dual Showdown
12/6/2023 11:54:00 AM | Wrestling
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State wrestling team travels to western New York for a head-to-head matchup against University at Buffalo on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at UB Center for the Arts. The dual will be streamed on ESPN+.
WATCHING THE FALLS
· The Spartans look to continue their run of falls on Thursday. On Dec. 3 the Green and White registered 11 falls throughout the three duals against Franklin & Marshall, Bloomsburg and Presbyterian.
· Eight different wrestlers recorded falls on MSU's big day, sophomore 125-pounder Nick Corday, junior 133-pounder Andy Hampton, 149-pound freshman Clayton Jones, 157-pound senior Chase Saldate, redshirt senior 174-pounder DJ Shannon, redshirt freshman 197-pounder Kael Wisler and 285-pound sophomore James Campbell.
IN THE RANKINGS
· Following his three-win day at Franklin & Marshall, 165-pound senior Caleb Fish is back in the top-10 in this week's Intermat rankings, moving up two spots to No. 10. Three other Spartans are ranked in the top-33 in their respected weight classes; 125-pound senior Tristan Lujan (No. 30), Saldate (No. 17) and 184-pound graduate Layne Malczewski (No. 11).
TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS
· This will be the third meeting between Michigan State and Buffalo. The previous two matchups went the Spartans way defeating the Bulls in the first-ever meeting in 2017, 18-17, then a year later 23-12. This will be the first time MSU travels to Buffalo.
· The Spartans look to start 4-0 for the third-straight season for the first time in program history.
HEAD COACH ROGER CHANDLER SAID
"We need to continue to improve every week we step on the mat and this week is another important step. Our guys did what they should have done last weekend, but we need to carry that over to this week. They were attacking, finishing and looking for bonus points which is always critical in dual competition. Buffalo is going to be ready to compete and I have no doubt they will compete hard as they always do. This will be a good test for our program as we move forward."
SCOUTING BUFFALO
· Buffalo is 6-5 overall and has one MAC win over Kent State on Dec. 2. The Bulls started the season 4-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season: defeating Brockport, Seton Hill, NCCC and Glenville State.
· Last weekend the Bulls traveled to Boiling Springs, N.C. where they left with a 2-1 record after a trio of dual matches. Buffalo started the trip off beating conference foe Kent State, 25-15, dropped to Chattanooga, 27-11, before rebounding and defeated Gardner-Webb, 20-17.
· The Bulls lost its lone NCAA National Qualifier from last season in 184-pounder Giuseppe Hoose. During the 2023-24 season Hoose had a career-high 21 hand raises with only nine defeats, he had 53 takedowns that was best for seventh in program history for a single season.
· 184-pounder Chase Kranitz leads Buffalo in victories (10) and dual victories (7).
· 149-pound sophomore Nick Stampoulos leads the Bulls in falls (2) and is third on the team in takedowns (13).
Players Mentioned
