Rutgers Wrestling. Tonight. Pack the RAC. Be there!

Okay, this is how big Rutgers wrestling is getting.  The student radio station, WRSU-FM, broadcasting a wrestling match.  At least that's what the scarletknights.com preview says.

Wrestling....on the radio.

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

Rutgers comes off a third place finish at the prestigious Midlands Tournament at Northwestern.  Rutgers concluded the Midlands Championships in third place with 110 team points and a program record seven placewinners, not including one unattached competitor. RU posted three fourth-place finishers in Anthony Giraldo, Anthony Ashnault, and Richie Lewis.

MATCH DAY! No. 8 #RUWR hosts Michigan State tonight at 7 p.m. at the RAC. BTN Plus: https://t.co/tL6866773v pic.twitter.com/93aoAoG3wJ

— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) January 8, 2016

Rutgers opened the season at No. 18 in the USA Today/ NWCA Division 1 Coaches Poll. Today the Knights find themselves at No. 8.  The Knights have wins over five ranked teams, including the stunning 17-16 criteria win over conference foe Nebraska.  And the on-mat success has carried over to the classroom....or is that the other way around?

The correlation of success on the mat and in the classroom has shown itself this semester for the @RUWrestling team, 3.097 gpa #togetheR

— John Leonardis (@RUJLeo) January 7, 2016

Tonight's match - on paper - is no contest.  Six of the ten projected MSU starters are in their first or second year of competition. The Spartans (0-6) don't have any individual wrestlers in the rankings, while Rutgers has six, including InterMat's No. 4 Anthony Ashnault.  Along with the South Plainfield native, the Knights also have redshirt senior Anthony Perrotti at No. 10 at 165 pounds, Richie Lewis at No. 15 at 157 pounds, Anthony Giraldo at No. 19 at 133 pounds, Nicholas Gravina at No. 20 at 184 pounds, and Billy Smith at No. 16 at heavyweight.

For Lewis, a fourth-place finish at the Midlands Championships, including wins over then-No. 16 Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa) and then-No. 18 Tyler Berger (Nebraska), gives him his highest ranking ever.

Redshirt junior Phillip Bakuckas Bakuckas finished fifth at the Midlands and earned the No. 20 spot at 174 pounds this week, according to FloWrestling.

At 125 pounds, Sean McCabe earned the No. 20 ranking according to Amateur Wrestling News.

Tickets are in sale at the door beginning at 5:30; doors open at 6.

Big Ten Wrestling.  And your Scarlet Knights are in the thick of it.  Pack. The. Rack.