The National Duals, once again, provided plenty of drama this year.

As expected, No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Iowa State squared off in the finals.

A newspaper reporter asked me before the dual who I thought would win and I quickly responded, "Whoever wins the match at 125."

The 125 bout between Iowa's Matt McDonough and Iowa State's Andrew Long may have been the best match I have seen all year. It featured two stud freshmen who opened it up and wrestled an entertaining, high-scoring match.

Long cradled McDonough to his back for three points early on, but the hard-charging McDonough simply never quits. He pulled out a 9-8 win, holding off a Long takedown attempt in the closing seconds.

The sport could use more, a lot more, matches like this down the road.

Kudos to Iowa for pulling out the win despite missing three injured starters. Iowa State beat all three Hawkeye backups.

Iowa State was missing top-ranked Nick Gallick, and he may be done for the year with a hip injury. Gallick's loss will make it difficult for the Cyclones to win the team title in March, but don't count the Cyclones out.

New ISU coach Kevin Jackson has certainly brought plenty of fire and intensity to the rivalry.

I can't wait to see how everything turns out in late March in Omaha.