NCAA Wrestling Brackets Live Blog

h/t to SWHA for getting me addicted to this video.

The Nittany Lions' 10 wrestlers all automatically qualified for the big tourney last weekend, and thus will learn their fate (or, draw, anyway) for the NCAAs today; the tournament itself takes place March 20-22, in Oklahoma City, and the NCAA is seeding the top 16 this year for the first time, instead of the top 12 as has been the case the previous years. I've embedded Penn State's Pat Donoghia's twitter feed below for news updates when the bracket is released, but for our guys, I've got my newcomer's take on where I think they'll be:

Nico Megaludis

current InterMat ranking: 3 (#2 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 1

Regardless of what happened at the B1Gs, Nico wasn't going to get the #1 seed at the NCAAs--that's all Nahshon Garrett. The refs' gift to Jesse Delgado, though, means that Nico will most likely be seeded 3rd, setting up a Big Ten showdown in the semifinals. Unlike at other weights, there's a clear separation of the top three from the rest of the pack, so there's no justification in seeding Nico fourth to keep a rematch for the finals.

Jimmy Gulibon

current InterMat ranking: 14 (#15 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 7

Jimmy did what he needed to do in order to get an automatic bid for the NCAAs.  That's the good news.  The marginally bad news is that his 7th place finish and #14 rankings leave him squarely on the bubble for a seed.  This weight is one dominated by non-Big Ten wrestlers (only two of the top five are from the B1G, in Iowa's Tony Ramos--the champion this year--and Wisconsin's Tyler Graff), and that's likely to bear out in the seedings.

Zain Retherford

current InterMat ranking: 3 (#2 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 1

If anyone was really, truly surprised that Logan Steiber beat Zain in their rematch, they haven't been paying attention. the match was pretty close, though, and Z-pain was able to reverse Steiber in the third. Look for the committee to seed the two away from each other; Edinboro's Mitchell Port is the only undefeated wrestler at this weight now that Zain lost (and he was the likely #1 either way), so he'll be the #1 seed. Steiber's a lock for #2, so look for Zain to be seeded #4--to keep a potential rematch between him and Steiber on deck as long as possible.

James English

current InterMat ranking: 17 (NR pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 7

The RS Senior needed to win some matches in the consis to guarantee his bid--and he did so, despite losing his first match in the regular bracket last weekend. This is a weight class that has a spate of wrestlers from non-traditional B1G powerhouse teams, led by Northwestern's B1G Freshman of the Year Jason Tsirtsis--whose win, including a revenge win over Minnesota's Nick Dardanes, puts him into the top four at this loaded weight. Ranked 17th, English is on the bubble for a seed, but probably doesn't get one at this weight.

Dylan Alton

current InterMat ranking: 13 (#7 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 5

So, um, yeah...what's up with Dylan Alton? He wrestled flat-out uninspired over the weekend, and was the disappointment of the conference tournament for PSUers. For someone who wrestled to third place as a freshman, his likely ninth or tenth seed (at best) has got to be a disappointment.

David Taylor

current InterMat ranking: 1 (#1 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 1

See above video. It's David freaking Taylor, the Magic Man. He'll be seeded #1 nationally, and it's not even close.

Matt Brown

current InterMat ranking: 5 (#4 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 2

Chris Perry surprisingly upended Andrew Howe at this weight this past weekend. What does that mean for Matt Brown? Not much, as they were going to be numbers one and two regardless. The only change for Matt is he was jumped by Mike Evans after the Hawkeye took him down in the semis at the Big Ten tourney. After last year's tournament, Matt should still be a favorite to do well.

Ed Ruth

current InterMat ranking: 2 (#2 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 1

Maryland's Jimmy Sheptock is undefeated. He'll likely be #1 here, but Ed Ruth will be favored as the #2 seed...which is strange. But it's SoFreshSoClean, so we'll take what we get, I guess (side note: this likely sets up a semifinal showdown with Cornell's Gabe Dean, the only one to beat Ruth since his RSFR year...and I, for one, can't wait to see how Ed comes out in that one).

Morgan McIntosh

current InterMat ranking: 4 (#3 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 1

This week's loss to now-#3 Nick Heflin means Morgan's likely going to face Iowa State's Kyven Gadsen (probably #1) in the semis, rather than Missou's J'Den Cox. Gadsen's only losses on the year, though, were to Minnesota's Scott Schiller, whom MM took down rather handily and was undefeated at the time (he's since had four total losses, including a third bout with Gadsen).

Jon Gingrich

current InterMat ranking: 12 (#14 pre-B1G tourney)

B1G Seed: 8

Jon bested Adam Coon, who didn't even place at the Big Tens--but rests on the bubble for a seed, based on his strength of season so far. Gingrich's placement at this past week's tournament bodes well, but his being pinned twice doesn't; he'll still probably be seeded around 11th or 16th--if he gets a seed.

Edit: get all your brackets here.

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