Conference play in the Big Ten this season has been highly competitive, with 11 out of 14 teams ranked in the top 25 for dual meets, including No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 Minnesota.

Nebraska brought a highly talented roster to the dual, including senior James Green, who is No. 4 in the 157 pound weight class, and senior Robert Kokesh, who is No. 1 in the 174 pound weight class. 

Senior Nick Proctor battled Kokesh for the Spartans. Kokesh defeated Proctor 14-1 to win the match. 

“He rode me real tough on top. Whenever I felt a little gap between him and I-boom he’d just tighten that up on top,” Proctor said. “I was content with how I did in neutral, (I) tried to keep as good of a position as possible, I got in, I think, one or two shots.” 

Head coach Tom Minkel had an optimistic outlook on his Spartans’ performance.

"(Nebraska) is a very good team and they have some great wrestlers, and they’re well coached," he said. "With that said I thought we wrestled pretty well in some matches. We fought hard, we wrestled hard, and we’re not at that level yet but we’re not too far away.” 

The only match won for MSU came in the ninth bout, in the 197 pound weight class, on an unconventional defensive pin down from senior Nick McDiarmid over Sophomore Aaron Studebaker, who is ranked 15th in that weight class. 

The Spartans will travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana this Friday, in a dual meet that should be very . 

Indiana stands dead last in the Big Ten with an 0-7 conference record, and 2-8 overall. 

Despite the tough loss to the Cornhuskers, Coach Minkel expressed his pride for the team's effort and resiliency with their difficult schedule lately. 

Looking forward to the dual meet with the Hoosiers, he said, " I’m looking forward to wrestling some teams that aren’t in the top ten. With that said, the Big Ten teams are all good, and they all have good wrestlers. The important thing for us is to not let the wind out of our sails, but stay positive, stay focused, stay improving. If we do that we’ll be fine.” 

The dual Friday is a crucial one for MSU, as the Spartans have a good opportunity to earn their first conference win of the season.