Minnesota Scene: 'Big Three' all win as Gophers edge Oklahoma St. in wrestling

Dylan Ness, one of the Gophers' three senior wrestlers who are rated No. 1, knew his team needed a win, and he got it.

Ness defeated Anthony Collica 6-0 at 157 pounds in the second-to-last match to clinch top-ranked Minnesota's 19-15 victory over No. 8 Oklahoma State on Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion.

The Gophers (5-0) built a 9-0 lead on decisions in the first three matches. Logan Storley and Scott Schiller, the team's other No. 1-ranked wrestlers, won 8-1 at 174 and 11-4 at 197, respectively. In between those matches, Brett Pfarr won 5-1 at 184.

But Oklahoma State (2-1) tied the match 9-9 going into the break. Austin Marsden won 6-2 at heavyweight for the Cowboys, and Eddie Klimara pinned Sam Brancale at 125 in 4:58.

Brothers Chris and Nick Dardanes of the Gophers won the next two matches, Chris on a 20-8 major decision at 133 pounds, to put Minnesota ahead 16-9.

At 149, though, the Cowboys had one of their best wrestlers, No. 5-rated Josh Kindig. He edged Jake Short 4-1, getting a last-second takedown against an aggressive Short.

That made the score 16-12. Ness, up next, ended the suspense.

This was the Gophers' fourth win in the past five meetings.

The 2014 Big Ten volleyball regular season concluded Saturday, and the 64-team for the NCAA tournament will be announced at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.

One team especially anxious to see the at-large selections will be the Gophers, who finished their conference schedule with a sweep over Indiana on Friday.

Coach Hugh McCutcheon's team is on the bubble with a 19-12 record overall and a 9-11 mark in the Big Ten, one of the nation's strongest conferences.