Since they last met in Stillwater, Oklahoma, many things have changed for both Iowa and Oklahoma State wrestling.

Oklahoma State was ranked second in the nation last year at this time, boasting a 15-0 record after blanking the Hawkeyes, 27-12. Iowa only won three out of the 10 bouts against the Cowboys in that Feb. 24, 2018, matchup.

“[The Cowboys] beat us up in Stillwater [last year],” Iowa wrestling head coach Tom Brands said. “[That match] is not [forgotten] by anybody [in the Hawkeye wrestling room].”

The tables have turned over the last year or so.

That was the last dual meet the Hawkeyes lost. Iowa is now the undefeated juggernaut wrestling at home, and the Cowboys will travel to Iowa City as underdogs.

No. 1 Iowa is 12-0 and No. 9 Oklahoma State is 13-2 this season. All 10 Iowa wrestlers expected to partake in the dual are ranked inside the top 10 in their weight class. The Cowboys lineup features nine ranked wrestlers, but only three are ranked in the top 10.

“I’d hope you’d improve after a year,” All-American Spencer Lee said. “I think I’ve gotten a lot better, and I hope that I’ve proven that this year a little bit. I hope to continue to prove that.”

Of all the wrestlers in the Hawkeyes’ lineup, Lee is likely the one that has come the farthest since Iowa last faced Oklahoma State.

Lee was pinned by Nick Piccininni after 4:55 of wrestling. Piccininni was ranked fourth, and Lee was ranked second at 125-pounds coming into that match.

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Since that moment, Lee’s career has taken off. Lee capped his 2018-19 campaign with a national title. That momentum has carried into 2019-20, as well. Lee is 14-0 with wins over three ranked wrestlers.

Most of Lee’s wins have come in dominant fashion. The junior has outscored his opponents 171-10, earning 54 team points. Lee has registered eight technical falls this season — six of which came in succession.

Lee has pinned three opponents this season. Two of the falls he produced came in under one minute of action. As a result of all the falls and technical falls, Lee has only wrestled into the third period twice on the year.

“I feel like every day I focus on improving and becoming the best wrestler and person that I can be,” Lee said. “The coaching staff and my teammates and my family — they’ve been helping me every single day. That’s pretty much it. It’s just improvement no matter what happens, win, loss, draw, injury. It doesn’t matter.”

Despite the rapid change of each program’s fortunes, Brands and the Hawkeyes aren’t taking their dual with the Cowboys lightly.

“We know that [the Cowboys] are coming in here to beat us,” Brands said. “They’re coming in here to fight. Their program is very relevant. They take [wrestling] very serious in [Stillwater]. This is a very relevant dual meet. We don’t look at rankings like maybe some pundits do. We got to be ready for 10 weight classes.”

The two teams have won a combined 57 NCAA Wrestling titles since the first champion was crowned 1928. Twenty-three of those titles belong to Iowa, the other 34 to Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys currently lead the all-time series with the Hawkeyes, 29-22-2.

“There are certain programs that garner your eternal respect,” Brands said. “Oklahoma State has been relevant for decades, and [head coach John Smith] has won five national championships [during his tenure]. I’m not trying to boost [the Cowboys] up to sell tickets.”