No. 2 Iowa wrestling defeated No. 10 Illinois at home 28-6. The Hawkeyes stayed in control over the Fighting Illini despite many close matches between the two programs.

Tom Brands just wanted Iowa to score more points against Illinois Friday night. Despite a 28-6 win for the No. 2 Hawkeyes over the No. 9 Fighting Illini, it wasn’t enough to be satisfied. Sure, Iowa won eight of 10 bouts,

The 2nd-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes kick off a big Friday night of wrestling on BTN with a top-10 Big Ten battle with the No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Plenty of numbers could tell the tale of #2 Iowa wrestling’s beatdown of #9 Illinois on Friday night. The final score? Iowa – 28, Illinois – 6. Total match points? Iowa – 69, Illinois, 21. Or how about the most basic premise in all of wrestling – takedowns scored?

Heading into No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling’s Friday dual meet against No. 9 Illinois, 133-pound Hawkeye grappler Drake Ayala was ranked as the No. 3 wrestler in the country at his weight. On Friday, though,

Ranked as Intermat's No. 10 dual team in college wrestling (No. 13 as a tournament team), the Fighting Illini present a worthy challenge for the No. 2 Hawkeyes with nine-ranked wrestlers, eight of whom are ranked 20th or higher.