“There are a lot of teams that are even, and we’ve only won the Illinois dual (on Jan. 30) so far,” No. 20 sophomore 149-pounder Dan Osterman said. “I feel like if we can get two wins this weekend, that’s going to do a lot for us going into Big Tens.”

After suffering road losses to Indiana and then-No. 23 Purdue last weekend — both with 22-9 scores — the Spartans re-evaluated themselves and made a commitment to be more disciplined and aggressive in closing out the season, head coach Tom Minkel said.

In being the aggressor, the Spartans hope to take risks and create more pressure against the ranked opponents.

Erring on the side of caution, Minkel said sometimes his wrestlers hesitate. To come out with as many wins as possible against the Wolverines (10-5, 5-3) and the Badgers (10-5-1, 1-4-1), the team will have to find a balance between being aggressive and becoming careless.

“The problem with being aggressive, of course, is that your risk goes up, so there’s a tendency for a lot of wrestlers to be conservative because it reduces risk,” Minkel said. “But it also reduces your chance of winning, so you’ve got to manage both.”

Junior 197-pounder Tyler Dickenson will wrestle No. 11 Anthony Biondo in a rematch from the Eastern Michigan Open in November. When the two first saw each other this season, Dickenson put up a good fight before falling, 4-2, to Biondo in overtime.

“He’s a real tough guy, but I’m just going to try and bring the fight,” Dickenson said.

Regardless of Friday’s result, Dickenson will have his work cut out for him again on Sunday, wrestling Badger No. 2 Trevor Brandvold.Osterman will see a fellow ranked wrestler in his match against No. 10 Cole Schmitt.

Standing strong for Wisconsin in the upper weight classes, No. 14 174-pounder Ben Jordan and No. 3 184-pounder Travis Rutt will challenge juniors Curran Jacobs and Ian Hinton, respectively.

With MSU winning, 17-15, in last season’s matchup against the Wolverines, the Spartans know U-M will be gunning for a win. Although the volume of the crowd might intimidate some, the Spartans said they thrive on the excitement it brings and will feed off it.

“As soon as you get there and see the energy and excitement, you’re ready to go,” Osterman said. “I feel like a big crowd like that is huge, and it helps out.”