Prediction: No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) over No. 2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
133: Since Jordan Oliver's loss to Tony Ramos in early January, he has rattled off 14 straight victories of which eight were by a tech fall or pin. If he is back to his original form ... and it looks like he is ... he will be on top of the podium. Tony Ramos vs. Logan Stieber in the semifinals is going to be worth the price of admission.
Prediction: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa)
141: Kellen Russell's aggressiveness in the Big Ten finals was encouraging. After the event, he spoke about wanting to stay aggressive through the NCAAs. Unfortunately in his case, past performance is an indicator of future performance, and I don't think he can keep it up when the stakes are the highest. I am predicting that he reverts to his defensive style and is beaten by the talented and explosive Kendric Maple in the finals.
Prediction: No. 2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) over No. 1 Kellen Russell (Michigan)
149: Frank Molinaro and Jamal Parks have been the class of this weight the entire season, but this is still an extremely deep weight. Bracket busters are littered all over this chart like zits on a teenager's face. Upset alerts: Mario Mason over Jamal Parks in the round of 16, Corey Janzen over Cam Tessari in the first round, Eric Terrazas over Ian Miller in the first round.
Prediction: No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Penn State) over No. 2 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State)
157: The bottom half of this weight class looks suspect to me. Derek St. John had a fantastic Big Ten tournament where he continued his dominance over Welch. Unfortunately, in 20 years of breaking down NCAA bracket sheets, I have learned that you cannot count on wrestlers battling knee injuries with tape and pain killers. Dustin Schlatter was a more extreme but recent example of this. Expect James Fleming to win the crowd by successfully riding his boa constrictor headlock to the finals.
Prediction: Kyle Dake (Cornell) over No. 6 James Fleming (Clarion)
165: As I write this, David Taylor has been picked on 1,023 of the 1,039 InterMat Big Show Pick 'Em Contest tickets. The 16 contestants that didn't pick Taylor to win the event also happen to believe in fairy tales (including the one where all NCAA coaches agree to name two team national champions -- one for the dual tourney and one for the individual tourney).
Prediction: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) over No. 7 Josh Asper (Maryland)
174: In the age of online match viewing and televised NCAA matches on ESPN, I can't believe I was the only one that was able to catch the match last year where Nick Amuchastegui handled Ed Ruth over to the point that defaulting was the best option for him. And by the way ... when was the last time a guy went into the NCAAs with a crazy hairdo and it worked out? Ruth should have consulted Gregor Gillespie (2008, No. 1 seed, leopard print hair, finished fifth) before we went with his new "Black and Tan" style that he sported during the Big Tens.
Prediction: No. 3 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) over No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State)
184: In my opinion, 184 is the most balanced weight in the event and will provide the theater or the team race with Steve Bosak (Cornell), Quentin Wright (Penn State), Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), and Grant Gambrall (Iowa) all having similar chances to score big points for their teams. If you are interested in the team results, you are not going to want to grab your Dippin' Dots during the wrestlebacks for this weight.
Prediction: No. 2 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) over No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell)
197: Cam Simaz has had a fantastic year and has proven that he is the top wrestler in this weight. Expect him to wrestle close matches over tough opponents (like Matt Powless in the quarters!), but be in the finals against Chris Honeycutt. If you are looking for a bracket buster at this weight, Sonny Yohn is streaky, but should not be overlooked as the No. 10 seed in the lower half of the bracket.
Prediction: No. 1 Cam Simaz (Cornell) over No. 2 Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro)
285: I know better than to go against the retuning national champion on the big stage. Zack Rey is a gamer who will find his way to the finals. Others I am looking forward to watching at this weight: the intriguing and untested Odie Delaney, the streaky Peter Sturgeon, and the young Matt Gibson.
Prediction: No. 4 Zack Rey (Lehigh) over No. 3 Clayton Jack (Oregon State)
Team:
1. Penn State
2. Minnesota
3. Iowa
4. Cornell
5. Oklahoma State
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