History suggests the team that emerges from Bloomington this weekend with the Big Ten team championship in tow will win the bigger trophy at the NCAA Championships later this month.
After all, the only Big Ten championship team that didn’t go on to capture the NCAA team title was Iowa two years ago. Ohio State, who tied with the Hawkeyes for the conference title that season, won the national championship and kept the Big Ten’s decade of dominance going.
Penn State continued it last season and both the No. 1 Nittany Lions and No. 3 Buckeyes will send three No. 1 seeds to the mats where 77 qualifying spots for the NCAA tournament will be up for grabs on Saturday.
“We’re very focused on our guys and getting them ready, but the Big Ten is very strong,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “Iowa’s good and Ohio State’s good and all the teams have great individuals. Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota all have some great kids. Rutgers is tough. Indiana has some tough kids. The Big Ten’s very strong, there’s no doubt about that.”
But could the much smaller conference bracket be tougher than the expanded field wrestlers have to go through to win a national title?
In terms of volume, probably not. But consider the immediate tests for top seeds in the smaller Big Ten bracket.
“Individually, you have to be ready right away,” Ohio State associate head coach J Jaggers said in Columbus earlier this week. “It’s a little different than the NCAA tournament. If you’re a top 6, 8 seed at the NCAA tournament, first two rounds you can run into somebody not as highly ranked whereas in the Big Ten, there are some weights where in your quarterfinals right off the first session, you have somebody who’s Top 10 nationally.”
Seven of the 10 weight classes feature at least four Big Ten wrestlers currently ranked in the Top 10 of their respective divisions.
Five Top 10 wrestlers garnered preseeds at 133 and heavyweight while four are seeded at 125, 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds.
Penn State’s Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal are top seeds at 149, 157 and 184 pounds respectively. Ohio State’s Nathan Tomasello (133), Bo Jordan (174) and heavyweight Kyle Snyder are the top seeds at their weights.
“Those guys have kind of been our staples the last couple of years,” Jaggers said. “We know what to expect from them.”
Iowa’s Thomas Gilman (125), Rutgers’ Anthony Ashnault (141), Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez (165) and Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr (197) are the other top seeds.
LIGHTWEIGHT QUESTIONS
The defending champs have a few questions dogging them as they look to win their sixth conference title in seven years.
Penn State’s No. 2-seeded Nick Suriano was not present for the team’s media availability with reporters on Monday and is working to rehab a sprained ankle suffered against Oklahoma State.
Sanderson didn’t offer any specific update on Suriano’s condition other than to say “he’s just a monster, he’s recovering quickly.”
By rule, Suriano wouldn’t have to wrestle to possibly qualify for NCAAs. He could step on the mat, take a medical forfeit and still likely earn a wild card bid.
The Nittany Lions will need more at 133 if they want to qualify youngster Tristan Law for the championships.
“We haven’t won a match in the Big Ten, so that weight’s a challenge,” Sanderson said. “We’re optimistic too. We’re hoping to get 10 through. The more important part is getting guys through who are gonna score the big points. You don’t necessarily need 10 guys to win.”
PERFECTION ON THE LINE
Eight Big Ten wrestlers are perfect thus far on the season.
Gilman, Tomasello, Retherford, Nolf, Martinez, Nickal, Snyder and Wisconsin heavyweight Connor Medbery are all unblemished and none are seeded lower than second in their weight classes.
DARKHORSES
While all the top seeds have established resumes and have earned the right to be considered favorites, a handful of wrestlers have plenty going for them that could propel them deeper into this tournament set them up for a better NCAA start.
Michigan’s Steven Micic has had a really good season, albeit quietly. Now is the time for the fifth-seeded 133-pounder to make some noise.
Micic has won 14 of his last 16 bouts and has six wins over wrestlers who’ve been ranked in the Top 25 at some point this season. Meanwhile, Micic has been close against top wrestlers.
Two of his four losses have come by two points or less to Tomasello and Clark. He dropped a 7-4 loss to Richards on 1:20 and was caught and pinned by Ohio State’s Brendan Fitzgerald on Nov. 5.
Maryland’s Alfred Bannister was trending upward until he was injured in mid-January.
Terrapins coach Kerry McCoy revealed in February that the sophomore 149-pounder had been battling nagging injuries all year. He’s 19-3 and expected to return for his first bout since Jan. 15.
Indiana’s Nate Jackson was always a threat at 174 pounds. He’s even more dangerous up a weight where he hasn’t had to cut nearly as much weight this season.
Meanwhile, Jackson is as motivated as ever to improve on his first All-America finish last season by getting to the top of the podium in St. Louis. A Big Ten title would only help. Keep in mind — Jackson beat top seeded Nickal last season and nearly knocked him off in in the NCAA Tournament last season. He’s quite capable.
At 125, Michigan’s Conor Youtsey’s wrestling career was over just a few months ago, but as injuries mounted for the Wolverines, Youtsey was talked into coming back. Don’t think a chance at an NCAA title, something that’s eluded him, wasn’t enticing enough.
Youtsey has a few things going for him. The Michigan senior is a three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time All-American. He’s wrestled with elite talent plenty and he’s got just seven matches in his comeback which would seem to indicate he’s much fresher than the rest of the field. That could work against him, though. He’s 3-4 and his lack of time in the room has been evident at times in his losses.
(Photo: Iowa's Cory Clark and Illinois' Zane Richards, who met in the Big Ten finals last year at 133, are two of the top stars in one of the league's best weights this season/John Sachs)