Below are the ten best matchups from these winter classics, along with point spreads by Brian Muir. (It'll help you make bets your friends will want to take.) I'm trusting you won't gamble anything more than a few dollars, or one very large bar tab.
No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri)
Weight Class: 125
Event: Southern Scuffle
Nico Megaludis (Photo/Bill Ennis)Megaludis is the favorite against Waters coming off an NCAA runner-up performance in 2012. His flexibility has allowed him to defend shots in a totally unique way, and increasingly he's finding ways to score from his own offense in addition to his counter offense. As he develops and keeps opponents from getting off good shots, that flexibility will play an even more crucial role in his success by becoming a secondary line of defense, as opposed to a primary.
Waters is undefeated on the season with wins over No. 12 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) (twice) and 2011 All-American Nikko Triggas (Ohio State). However, Waters has yet to face off against a top ten opponent and his side of the bracket could include as many as three top ten wrestlers, like Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech), David Thorn (Minnesota), Matt Snyder (Virginia), and Nick Soto (Chattanooga) spread across both sides of the bracket. Waters needs the best tournament of his life to make it past the early opposition with enough gumption left to give Megaludis a run in the finals.
Line: Megaludis -1
No. 2 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) vs. No. 4 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro)
Weight Class: 133
Event: Midlands
Analysis: Two-time All-American Scotti Sentes comes into his senior season only ranked behind returning NCAA champion Logan Stieber (Ohio State). Sentes hasn't seen much action this season having wrestled a paltry four times. However, you can expect that his top game and creative defense will be on display for all of Midlands and take him into the finals.
Schopp's closest match of the season came in the All-Star Classic when he won a hard fought 2-1 decision over Chris Dardanes (Minnesota). Outside of that decision and a 6-0 performance over Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), the Edinboro sophomore has won by either fall or major decision. Can he dominate Sentes? Will Schopp's top work neutralize Sentes' mat work? Great questions and we'll get answers in what is sure to be one of the week's most exciting matchups.
Line: Sentes -3
No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) vs. No. 3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois)
Weight Class: 141
Event: Midlands
Analysis: One of the two rematches on the list. The first meeting at the NWCA All-Star Classic was dominated by Maple who came away the 6-2 winner. Maple's attacks have stayed solid this season and without the pressure of the NCAA tournament he'll perform well and will likely come away with a result similar to the duo's first outing.
Futrell has been dominant this season, winning six of his 12 matches by fall. (He actually holds the all-time pin record for the Illini.) It will be interesting to see how the Illini coaching staff prepares for Maple. Will they be able to slow down his attacks, or create counter offense? If not it will be another lopsided affair. But if adjustments work, these two guys are evenly matched.
Line: Maple -4
No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
Weight Class: 149
Event: Southern Scuffle
Analysis: He's back! Dylan Ness is scheduled to wrestle at the Southern Scuffle, and should he make his way through the Scuffle field he'll face off with the bigger and better Jordan Oliver. The match will be a good measuring point for both wrestlers and help us answer where Ness stands after a long layoff from competition.
And yet he'll be facing Oliver, who might be the best wrestler in the country, winning eight matches by fall and another four by major decision. The Okie State senior has not been challenged, and though it's tough to imagine Ness will beat him, the Gophers' squirrelly style presents the stiffest competition for Oliver at this point in the season. It might also lead to some great viewing.
Line: Oliver -4.5
No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) vs. No. 4 Joey Napoli (Lehigh)
Weight Class: 157
Event: Midlands
Jason Welch enters the Midlands with 93 career wins (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Welch absolutely destroyed No. 3 James Fleming recently, winning by major decision, 10-1. Should he meet up with Napoli, the undefeated Welch and his funky defense and focus on point scoring should overpower Napoli's more reserved approach to offense. It will be a fun style matchup that we could very easily see again in March.
Line: Welch -2
No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State)
Weight Class: 165
Event: Southern Scuffle
Analysis: Yes, Kyle Dake won their first collegiate matchup, but for many it was not the type of decisive victory that would end the discussion of who is favored in their rematch. Dake's defensive scramble against Taylor in the All-Star Classic was vintage stuff, but could he do it again? Has Coach Cael and company now figured out some weaknesses in Dake's defense that could lead to a Taylor win? What about Dake, does he now understand which angles are open to attack? Does he feel supremely confident in his top game?
There are still lots of questions to answer, which means that the wrestling world will be watching.
Line: Dake -1.5
No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State)
Weight Class: 174
Event: Southern Scuffle
Analysis: Penn State's Matt Brown comes into the Scuffle undefeated. The sophomore has been one of the most talked about wrestlers since his freshman performance at the tournament the year before, where he bested Logan Storley (Minnesota) on his way to a finals appearance against teammate Ed Ruth. On the other side is Chris Perry who took third at 174 at the 2012 NCAAs and has been winning with ease this season.
Most wrestling fans want to see what the guy smashed between David Taylor and Ed Ruth can do with his workout room upper hand. Will he be able to produce in-season results as the starter and become the best in the country? To do that Brown will likely have to make it past Storley in the semifinals. Assuming he repeats his performance from last year, Penn State will either pick up another top-seeded wrestler for NCAAs, or Perry will eliminate doubts about his ability to hold the top spot at 174.
Line: Perry -1.5
No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell)
Weight Class: 184
Event: Southern Scuffle
Ed Ruth has been crushing opponents (Photo/Bill Ennis)Ed Ruth has been crushing opponents in 2012, looking every bit the type of wrestler that could win the Hodge Trophy in the spring and repeat as InterMat Wrestler of the Year. Last week, Bosak struggled to get past Okie State's Chris Chionuma in his return to action, winning a close 4-3 match. It's hard to imagine what Bosak will do to slow down Ruth, but seeing him try will be all many fans need in order to make this matchup one of the semester's best.
Line: Ruth -3.5
No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. No. 2 Matt Wilps (Pitt)
Weight Class: 197
Event: Midlands
Analysis: The much-anticipated matchup between undefeated and as yet unchallenged Kilgore and the on-fire Wilps, may never happen. That's because entering this year's Midlands is three-time Maryland All-American and current Columbia assistant wrestling coach Hudson Taylor. Though Taylor hasn't competed in a few years, he claims to be in good shape and ready to compete as a method of bringing attention to his non-profit Athlete Ally. Wilps will likely face Taylor in the semifinals.
As for the potential Kilgore-Wilps matchup, it's a battle of similar styles. Unlike Wilps versus Quentin Wright, which pitted opposing styles, Wilps the strict positional aggressor and Q the hip tossing and scramble producing counter wrestler. Kilgore and Wilps are much the same on the mat. It shouldn't be hard for the NCAA champion to find his edge and exploit it, but don't count out Wilps, who is as hard-nosed and tough as anyone in the country and is having an excellent season.
Line: Kilgore -4
No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri)
Weight Class: 285
Event: Southern Scuffle
Tony Nelson defeated Alan Gelogaev earlier this season (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Line: Nelson -1
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