On the other hand, wrestling fans are only human and during the down time leading up to the postseason, one can't help but speculate on various possible matches. The temptation becomes even greater when you look at the successes of various wrestlers who, although competing in the same conference and in the same weight class, have yet to step on the mat against each other.
This is a big, big weekend for Division I college wrestling. A lot of important matches are going to take place. Here are the top-12 match-up that may or may not occur.
12 -- No. 7 Tyrone Byrd (Illinois) vs. No. 8 Phil Davis (Penn State) -- BIG TEN
CONFERENCE
Both Byrd and Davis have looked strong this season, but have yet to face each other. Last year, Davis was 2-1 against Byrd but lost to him in their only postseason bout. If they meet this weekend, it will most likely be for the 197-pound Big Ten title, which will obviously have an impact for both schools on the team race.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Negligible. It would probably be good to get on the bottom side of the bracket, but it would appear that the important thing would be to win in the placement rounds of wrestle-backs.
11 -- No. 3 Mark Perry (Iowa) vs. No. 5 R.J. Boudro (Michigan State) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Perry has been out for a while with an injury and it's difficult to tell if he'll be back at one-hundred percent. If he isn't, he will certainly have his hands full with Boudro, who's been wrestling very well, despite a recent loss to Gabriel Dretsch (Minnesota).
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: If Perry loses, his No. 3 seed would very much be at stake. With the inconsistency that No. 4 Jacob Klein (Nebraska) has shown, the No. 3 slot could possibly go to Boudro or No. 6 Mike Patrovich (Hofstra).
10 -- No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) vs. No. 2 Teyon Ware (Oklahoma) -- BIG 12 CONFERENCE
The winner of Nate Gallick vs. Teyon Ware at the Big 12 Championships will likely earn the top seed at the NCAA Championships.NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATION: Important, but only so much. These two are the class of the field and fans should expect to see them in the finals in Oklahoma City. Earning the No. 1 seed by winning the conference would be nice, but both know which bout really matters.
9 -- No. 3 Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 B. J. Padden (Nebraska) -- BIG 12 CONFERENCE
Can B.J. Padden remain perfect against Jake Rosholt this season?NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Obviously, you've got to throw No. 4 Joel Flaggert (Oklahoma) into the equation here. How these three finish will determine their seeds. If Rosholt wins the conference, he will hold his No. 3 seed. If he loses, he moves up to the top bracket, which is probably a more difficult road to the finals since it most likely will contain the impressive sophomore from Central Michigan -- Wynn Michalak.
8 -- No. 7 Mike Poeta (Illinois) vs. No. 8 Matt Nagel (Minnesota) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE
These two haven't faced each other this season, but have similarities on their records. Both have wins over Travis Paulson (Iowa State) and losses to Matt Pell (Missouri) and Nick Baima (Northern Iowa). Most people favor the more-offensive Poeta in this bout, but, as he's proven in the past, it's quite possible that Nagel can keep things close and steal a win at the end or in OT.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: More important than you may think. We're talking about No. 7 vs. No. 8 here, but the unclear status of No. 3 Troy Letters and No. 4 Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov creates some important potential outcomes in the NCAA consolation bracket. Let's say that whoever gets the No. 7 seed makes it to the quarterfinals and loses. If the injured Letters were to be upset by the powerful No. 6 Matt Pell, there could very well be an injury default to be had in the consys. Let's further hypothesize that No. 4 Abdurakhmanov loses in the semi's to No. 1 Ryan Churella (Michigan). For whatever reason, Abdurakhmanov doesn't have a good track record in the consolation bracket (see the 2004 Midlands and the 2005 NCAA's) so it's possible that he could be upset there. I know this is looking at permutations that are very difficult to predict, but it seems like No. 7 seed could possibly have an easier road to a top-four finish than a No. 8 seed.
7 -- No. 4 Matt Lebe (West Virginia) vs. No. 14 Seth Martin (Lock Haven) -- EWL CONFERENCE
Lebe is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in a weight class that is fairly wide open (at least after No. 1 Alex Tirapelle of Illinois). He beat Martin in a wild 10-9 bout on Feb 12, but then lost to Edinboro's Matt Hill (ranked No. 3 in the EWL's) a week later. On paper, the finals will see Lebe face Martin, but with a win in the books already over Lebe, you can't count out Hill.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Lebe needs to win the conference, if he wants to keep his No. 4 seed. If he doesn't, a number of Big Ten studs such as Brandon Becker (Indiana), Craig Henning (Wisconsin), or C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota) could leapfrog over him.
6 -- No. 7 Roger Kish (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Ben Wissel (Purdue) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Roger KishNCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: The Big Ten is so stacked at this weight that the NCAA seeding will be determined by a great number of matches outside of this bout. This match would appear to be a semi final but it's possible that it could occur in the consolation bracket. The final Big Ten placements will greatly affect who gets what seed.
5 -- No. 1 Wynn Michalak (Central Michigan) vs. No. 2 Kyle Cerminara -- MAC CONFERENCE
These two have met this season, with Michalak winning 3-2 in the dual meet. However, one can't help but get excited when two kids from non-powerhouse schools are ranked first and second in the nation.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Whoever wins should get the No. 1 seed. 197 is a tough weight class, so it probably would be nice to be on the top half of the bracket.
4 -- No. 4 Mack Reiter (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Chris Fleeger (Purdue) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Mack ReiterNCAA SEDDING IMPLICATIONS: Despite being seeded behind Reiter for the Big Tens, Fleeger is ranked No. 2 nationally. If Fleeger were to win, the rankings would probably remain as they are with Reiter staying at No. 4 and Clum staying at No. 5. If Reiter could win over Fleeger, he'd probably move up to the No. 3 seed and push Fleeger to No. 4 and the other side of the bracket.
3 -- No. 1 Josh Glenn (American) vs. No. 5 Joe Mazzurco (Cornell) -- EIWA CONFERENCE
These two highly-ranked wrestlers haven't met yet this year. It could be an exciting, close bout or Glenn could dominate in the way that he's been doing for most of the season.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: There's an argument that Josh Glenn should get the No. 1 seed at the NCAA's. He has only one loss (to Ben Wissel) and he's pinned or majored a good number of the top guys. If he were to lose, he could drop a few places, and be put him on the other side of the bracket. Another big win from him could solidify his No. 1 ranking, depending on what happens at this weight class at the Big Ten Championships.
2 -- No. 1 Joe Dubuque vs. No. 2 Nick Simmons -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE
These two split last year with Dubuque winning in the dual and Simmons
winning in the Big Ten semi's. However, the two haven't faced each other this
year.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: With Simmons recent win over at-the time No. 2 Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma), the winner of this bout will most likely get the No. 1 seed while the loser takes No. 2.
1 -- No. 3 Troy Letters (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American) -- EIWA CONFERENCE
Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: It looks like the winner of this bout will get the No. 3 seed and the loser will get No. 4. However, if a not completely healthy Letters decides to forfeit to save himself for the NCAA's, it's unclear if he'll keep his seed. Maybe, but it's tough to imagine Letters not going for his fourth straight league title.
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