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Big Ten By the Weights

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Using Intermat's final regular season rankings, here is how the Big Ten looks. Seeds will come out next week, but due to my excitement I can't wait to see how the brackets are shaping up for the tournament in Iowa City. Hope to see you there!

125- If the team race turns out to be close, the semis and finals at 125 become huge as the top teams have the top guys. What a weight to look forward to. In a poll I put on Twitter 62% picked Tomasello, 23% picked Megaludis, and just 15% for Gilman. As a Michigan homer website in particular (we try to be somewhat nationally neutral but your true colors show), that's strong for Tomasello. I would have thought it would be more even as Megaludis is a 2-time NCAA finalist and Gilman hasn't lost this year. Gilman has the home mat advantage at Big Tens and Cael always seems to have some magic come tournament time. I think it's a 3-way coin flip (even though that is a poor analogy). 

1)  Tomasello (Ohio State)
2) Gilman (Iowa)
4) Megaludis (Penn State)
10) Lambert (Nebraska)
19) Oliver (Indiana)
20) Youtsey (Michigan)

133- I don't understand how DiJulius can still be ranked top 10. He can still be considered a wild card to put together a tournament to finish 3rd or 9th. You can say the same with (due to odd results from) Taylor, Bruno, and Alexander. All signs point to Richards & Clark in the finals, but this is one of those great Big Ten brackets that's even a lot of fun to watch in the consolations.

2) Richards (Illinois)
3) Clark (Iowa)
5) Conaway (Penn State)
9) DiJulius (Ohio State)
10) Taylor (Wisconsin)
12) Alexander (Maryland)
13) Montoya (Nebraska)
18) Bruno (Michigan)
19) Malone (Northwestern)

141- What a weird weight here for the Big Ten. It's almost more of a story on who isn't on this list. There was a time Gulibon (Penn State) was ranked #1, and Grothus (Iowa) was supposed to be the Hawkeye savior for the weight after disciplinary issues kicked the rest of the contenders off the campus. Also, Gasca III (Michigan State) has a 8-2 record since the Scuffle. I have expected all year for Ashnault to take the reins here, but it's tough to know as this weight has been anything but predictable. Also, included in the madness is the struggle for Abidin. He looked great last year as a JUCO transfer and I was expecting him to be a top 5 contender. Remember the points for first here count the same for the points for first at 125. A team can get a nice boost by someone stealing a Big Ten title here. 

4) Jordan (Ohio State)
5) Ashnault (Rutgers)
7) Thorn (Minnesota)
19) Abidin (Nebraska)

149- If Hunter Steiber was anything near as good as he was back in 2013, this would be a legendary conference bracket. Still 5 of the top 6 guys in the land will be in Iowa City, and a dangerous Jake Short also looms. Zain has been dominant, Sorensen hasn't lost this year, Sueflohn is looking to get the monkey off his back, Tsirtsis is an enigma (but don't forget he's a former National Champ and 2 for 2 at Big Tens) 

1) Retherford (Penn State)
2) Sorensen (Iowa)
3) Sueflohn (Nebraska)
5) Tsirtsis (Northwestern)
6) Pantaleo (Michigan)
16) Short (Minnesota)

157- Nolf/Imar II seems like it should happen. I'm a huge Brian Murphy fan, but injuries have prevented him from ever getting on track this season. He looked really good for a period and a half against Brascetta Sunday, but who knows. Ryan has done a great job this year not having any "Google" losses, but doesn't really have any signature wins either. I have been impressed with Richie Lewis who has split matches with Edwin Cooper. 

1) Nolf (Penn State)
2) Martinez (Illinois)
10) Ryan (Ohio State)
12) Lewis (Rutgers)
13) Murphy (Michigan)
18) Cooper (Iowa)

19) Berger (Nebraska)

165- They moved Bo Jordan back down to 165 so the Buckeyes could try to win a national title. His cousin seems to have his number though. Rodrigues has two losses on the season, and it's to the Jordan's. Iowa and Penn State would love to get some 4th or 5th place points here so maybe the consolation bracket will be more exciting than how the championship bracket appears to be chalk. 

2) Jordan (Wisconsin)
4) Jordan (Ohio State)
5) Rodrigues (Illinois)
7) Perrotti (Rutgers)
13) Wilson (Nebraska) 
17) Rasheed (Penn State)

174- After years of 174 domination, this weight class opened up and Cael had the perfect guy for it. How the rest of this bracket plays out is incredibly interesting, and it's too bad Mahomes isn't in the mix. 

1) Nickal (Penn State)
6) Brunson (Illinois)
10) Meyer (Iowa)
11) Jackson (Indiana)
13) Martin (Ohio State)
16) Barnes (Nebraska)
20) Wanzek (Minnesota)

184- Abounader has one loss on the season and that's to #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell). The healthy version of Abounader is proving very tough to top as he tries to defend his Big Ten title. Dudley is dangerous and everyone keeps waiting for Sammy Brooks to take that next step. I'm not sold on McCutcheon and I'm certainly not sold on a hobbled one who defaulted out of another match on Sunday. Iowa/Carver-Hawkeye magic could loom here if Brooks can take advantage of the injured Nitany Lion if there's a team score total 

2) Abounader (Michigan)
7) McCutcheon (Penn State)
11) Dudley (Nebraska)
13) Brooks (Iowa)
17) Courts (Ohio State)
20) Gravina (Rutgers)

197- McIntosh is on a mission to defend his Big Ten title and get that illusive NCAA title. He's been prone to upsets over his career so it's interesting to watch as the favorite with a series of dangerous guys in the bracket. 

1) McIntosh (Penn State)
3) Pfarr (Minnesota)
4) Burak (Iowa)
7) Huntley (Michigan)
11) Studebaker (Nebraska)

285- Back in December this weight lacked interest. Coon was a large favorite. World Champion Kyle Snyder signed up for some "classes" to help his team's title hopes setting up one of the most interesting matches in memory. Snyder just wrestled overseas weighing in at 213 lbs last week. That's a significant size difference with Coon. Question marks about the health of Stoll & Nevills add to more intrigue to another year of interesting heavyweight wrestling in the Big Ten. 

2) Snyder (Ohio State)
4) Coon (Michigan)
7) Stoll (Iowa)
9) Kroells (Minnesota)
13) Smith (Rutgers)
16) Nevills (Penn State)

and....

19 Collin Jensen (Nebraska)

Penn State will be tough to beat. That's a "no shit" statement, but in the conference tournament they seem especially unstoppable. Incredible things would have to happen for them to not pack the semis and finals. I think Iowa, along with the home mats advantage, has the best chance to make this interesting. Although it would be a great string of wins, they could conceivably put finalists in 6 weights (125, 133, 149, 174, 184, & 197). Ohio State, Illinois, & Michigan are more dangerous at the NCAA tournament than they would be here. I'd be surprised to see anyone but the Hawkeyes be close in the team score. 

Team
1) Penn State
4) Ohio State
5) Iowa
9) Illinois
10) Michigan
12) Nebraska
13) Minnesota
16) Rutgers
18) Wisconsin