Circa Sports may be new to Iowa’s sports betting landscape, but by offering Iowa vs. Penn State college wrestling odds, they clearly understand the terrain.
The showdown between the defending national champions and the current No. 1 team happens tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Circa sees the top-ranked Nittany Lions as a favorite over the No. 2 Hawkeyes.
Circa Sports is a mobile-only sportsbook in Iowa for the moment. Iowa desktop and laptop bettors should download and use the Circa Sports app instead.
College wrestling odds are pretty scarce but the sportbook offers a straightforward moneyline wager for tonight. Lines can still move between now and the start of the meet, but here’s what the Iowa vs. Penn State wrestling bet at Circa should look like:
How to watch Iowa vs. Penn State college wrestling
- What: No. 1 Penn State (13-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) at No. 2 Iowa (11-0, 5-0)
- When: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28
- Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City
- TV: BTN
Results at 10 weights will decide tonight’s final score and the outcome of your bet. Here’s how a duel wrestling meet is scored:
- Decision (3 team points) — The team gets three points for a wrestler’s typical win.
- Major decision (4 points) — For a wrester’s win by 8-14 points.
- Technical fall (5 points) — A win by 15 points or more. Once a wrestler reaches a 15-point lead, the match ends.
- Disqualification (5 points) — Referees can end a match for unsportsmanlike conduct or a buildup of too many violations. Five stall violations will case a disqualification, for example.
- Forfeit and medical forfeit (6 points) — If a wrestler can’t make weight or can’t wrestle due to injury, the opposing wrestler’s team gets six points.
- Injury default (6 points) — If a wrestler starts but can’t finish a match.
- Pin or fall (6 points) — Iowa would love these bonus points in the match with Penn State.
Some college wrestling bets are off-limits
No. 7 Drew Hildebrant of Penn State might face No. 11 Drake Ayala of Iowa in a match that could swing the meet’s outcome at 125. But, individual matches aren’t a betting option at Circa Sports or any of the other sportsbooks in Iowa.
Iowa law prohibits bets on the performance of individual athletes in Iowa. That means you can bet on the team score, but you can’t bet on a college athlete to win a match.
Expected Iowa vs. Penn State lineup
| Weight | Iowa | Penn State |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | (11) Drake Ayala, Fr. (13-4) or Jesse Ybarra, Fr. (2-2) | (7) Drew Hildebrandt, Sr. (4-1) |
| 133 | (3) Austin DeSanto, Sr. (12-0) or Cullan Schriever, Fr. (15-5) | (1) Roman Bravo-Young, Jr. (10-0) |
| 141 | (2) Jaydin Eierman, Sr. (12-0) | (1) Nick Lee, Sr. (10-0) |
| 149 | (10) Max Murin, Sr. (6-2) | (19) Beau Bartlett, So. (10-3) |
| 157 | (12) Kaleb Young, Sr. (10-5) | Terrell Barraclough, So. (6-6) or Tony Negron, Jr. (1-5) |
| 165 | (5) Alex Marinelli, Sr. (14-1) | (11) Brady Berge, Sr. (3-0) or Creighton Edsell, Jr. (7-3) |
| 174 | (2) Michael Kemerer, Sr. (5-0) | (1) Carter Starocci, So. (13-0) |
| 184 | (17) Abe Assad, So. (9-3) | (1) Aaron Brooks, Jr. (11-0) |
| 197 | (4) Jacob Warner, Sr. (11-1) | (2) Max Dean, Jr. (12-1) |
| 285 | (5) Tony Cassioppi, Jr. (10-2) | (3) Greg Kerkvliet, So. (11-0) |
The Hawkeyes were No. 1 for much of the season, but the team lost nearly-automatic team points when Spencer Lee’s season came to an end due to injury. Lee routinely posted five-point tech falls and six-point pinfalls for Iowa. The first poll with Penn State on top ended a streak of 28 weeks at No. 1 for the Hawkeyes.
Other match notes:
- Iowa has a 15-6 record vs. Penn State in Iowa City and a 28-10-2 series edge overall. That includes Iowa’s 19-17 win over the Nittany Lions in the 2019-20 season.
- Tonight marks the third 1 vs. 2 matchup between the Hawkeyes and Penn State. Iowa won 35-5 in the 1985-86 season. Iowa’s win from two seasons ago was the second.
- Iowa’s 29-match winning streak, 28-match conference winning streak and 22-match home winning streak are at stake.
Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens recently told PlayIA his sportsbook wants to have a strong focus in Iowa:
“We’ve had such a great initial welcome. We hope our product and our service is embraced by Iowans. And we believe that’s what’s going to happen.”
