Big Ten Wrestling Standings 1/20/15

A few years ago, most wrestling news outlets published team tournament rankings, but not dual rankings.  BSD thought, 'hey, let's do some dual rankings in order to help wrestling newcomers make sense of this most awesome sport in the world'.  And that's what we did for (parts of) the last three seasons.

Today, several outlets publish team dual rankings.  And, you know, they're more consistent with the week-to-week thing than, ahem, I.  Plus, Intermat's hooked up with TrackWrestling, and now you can click once and get a fully chronological listing of all the dual and tournament results, which is simply brilliant.  So, I concede, and will instead direct you to Intermat, or the NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll for dual rankings, and key results.  The sport of wrestling is now fully/over funded in the rankings department, in every conceivable fashion - individual, team tournament, and team dual.

//lightbulb appears over BSD's head

But, how is Penn State stacking up for Big Tens, now that we're only six (or so) weeks away from the huge showdown in Columbus?  Well, well, well...I think this column has discovered a niche, friends.  Let's take a look at each weight class in the mighty Big Ten conference, and project some seeds based on current results.

125 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Delgado	Illinois	2-0	0-0	100%
2	5	Gilman	Iowa	18-1	7-0	74%
3	7	Tomasello	Ohio State	17-4	5-1	57%
4	11	Lambert	Nebraska	12-5	5-0	24%
5	8	Conaway	Penn State	19-3	3-2	45%
6	NR	Youtsey	Michigan	13-8	3-4	14%
7	NR	McCabe	Rutgers	12-5	3-2	16%
8	NR	Rogaliner	Sparty	11-8	3-3	21%
9	NR	Micic	jNW	17-3	2-3	50%
10	NR	Brancale	Minnesota	8-5	0-0	38%
11	NR	Assad	Purdue	9-12	1-4	14%
12	NR	Jimenez	Wisconsin	5-4	0-2	33%
13	NR	Polacek	Maryland	6-8	0-2	7%
14	NR	Forfeit	Indiana	NA	NA	NA

Our Guy: Jordan's beaten Polacek, Assad, and McCabe.  He's lost to Tomasello (by major), and Lambert (at the Scuffle).

Next 3 Opponents: Brancale (or sub); Youtsey; Rogaliner

Projection: 3-0, which would put Jordan at 6-2 in conference, and probably bumps him to the 4-seed.

133 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Dardanes	Minnesota	16-0	4-0	63%
2	4	Richards	Illinois	18-2	7-2	34%
3	5	Clark	Iowa	15-2	4-2	53%
4	9	Gulibon	Penn State	13-3	5-1	25%
5	7	DiJulius	Ohio State	17-1	2-1	44%
6	10	Taylor	Wisconsin	8-1	1-0	30%
7	14	Sabatello	Purdue	20-6	5-3	33%
8	8	Bruno	Michigan	14-5	2-3	21%
9	17	Alexander	Maryland	12-4	3-3	25%
10	20	DelVecchio	Rutgers	15-4	3-2	26%
11	NR	Malone	jNW	15-10	2-3	28%
12	NR	Esquivel	Sparty	11-9	2-3	20%
13	NR	Montoya	Nebraska	7-8	0-4	20%
14	NR	Sheppard	Indiana	2-11	0-4	8%

Our Guy: This weight's kinda crowded, with 10 of the national top 20, according to the good fellas at Intermat.  Consequently, Jimmy's loss to Sabatello, which ruined his spotless conference record, dropped him from a 2-seed to a (more likely) 4-seed.

Next 3 Opponents: Dardanes, Bruno, Esquivel (if healthy)

Projection: that's two top-8 opponents, but there's no reason Jimmy can't go 3-0.  Here's hoping Jimmy knocks off Dardanes, so that the Big Ten seeding commitee's heads explode in a few weeks trying to untangle this pile of spaghetti.

141 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Stieber	Ohio State	15-0	4-0	93%
2	4	Dardanes	Minnesota	15-1	5-0	44%
3	10	Abidin	Nebraska	14-2	4-0	41%
4	5	Ashnault	Rutgers	17-3	4-3	35%
5	6	Dziewa	Iowa	17-4	4-3	48%
6	12	Rodrigues	Illinois	9-6	3-2	33%
7	17	Dutton	Michigan	1-1	0-0	0%
8	NR	Brown	Maryland	17-7	5-3	33%
9	NR	Oster	jNW	14-7	2-2	43%
10	NR	Gasca	Sparty	12-3	1-3	47%
11	NR	Lawrence	Purdue	17-11	2-3	21%
12	NR	Moss	Penn State	14-10	1-4	30%
13	NR	Graheck	Wisconsin	5-3	0-0	12%
14	NR	Duca	Indiana	1-5	0-1	14%

Our Guy: one win and four losses leaves you towards the bottom of the pack in any conference, but especially the Big Ten.  More than likely, the Big Ten will only seed the top 8 here.  And that means Kade stands a good shot of getting a winnable first match at Big Tens, no matter how these last few weeks play out.

Next 3 Opponents: Dardanes, Dutton (if healthy), Gasca (if healthy)

Projection: 2-1.  I'm on the Kade Moss bandwagon.  Maybe not as far up there as Ironhead Byers, who mentioned he thinks Moss can make the podium during the Friday night match with Ashnault.  But, I'm still up there.

149 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Tsirtsis	jNW	22-0	4-0	32%
2	3	Sorensen	Iowa	23-2	7-0	52%
3	9	Pantaleo	Michigan	13-3	3-0	25%
4	6	Stieber	Ohio State	1-2	1-1	0%
5	17	Theobold	Rutgers	17-4	6-2	24%
6	18	Beitz	Penn State	10-6	3-3	29%
7	NR	Langenderfer	Illinois	14-6	3-3	40%
8	NR	Lubeck	Wisconsin	5-5	2-3	0%
9	NR	Arthur	Nebraska	10-6	2-2	12%
10	NR	Nelsen	Purdue	17-10	3-6	37%
11	NR	Trimble	Sparty	7-9	1-3	12%
12	NR	Short	Minnesota	10-6	0-3	12%
13	NR	Moody	Indiana	6-10	0-3	6%
14	NR	Dorsay	Maryland	2-5	0-2	14%

Our Guy: The loss to Theobold stings, but it's still early.

Next 3 Opponents: Short, Pantaleo, Trimble.

Projection: That's 3 tough bouts.  We're fixin' to find out about Zack's 2015 chances.  Three wins reignites hopes for the postseason.

157 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Ness	Minnesota	20-0	4-0	62%
2	4	Martinez	Illinois	19-0	6-0	75%
3	14	Welch	Purdue	22-5	8-2	13%
4	3	Green	Nebraska	14-2	3-2	56%
5	9	Alton	Penn State	7-3	3-1	20%
6	10	Demas	Ohio State	9-2	4-2	0%
7	15	Murphy	Michigan	15-9	5-2	8%
8	17	Kelly	Iowa	16-3	5-3	21%
9	20	Perrotti	Rutgers	12-5	0-3	44%
10	NR	Mascola	Maryland	11-9	4-3	30%
11	NR	Liegel	Wisconsin	4-7	2-1	9%
12	NR	Pasqualini	Sparty	9-8	0-3	28%
13	NR	Sullivan	jNW	5-8	0-3	31%
14	NR	Gregory	Indiana	3-8	0-2	9%

Our Guy: Nine of the national top 20.  That's not the easiest weight class to nurse what's rumored to be another shoulder injury, sustained in the overtime loss to Purdue's Welch on Sunday.  Fingers crossed.

Next 3 Opponents: Ness, Murphy, Pasqualini

Projection: the dinged shoulder comes at a pretty awful time.  A winning record keeps Dylan on track.

165 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	3	Jordan	Wisconsin	12-0	5-0	83%
2	5	Jordan	Ohio State	9-0	5-0	56%
3	7	Walsh	Indiana	26-2	9-1	71%
4	8	Morse	Illinois	20-2	4-2	50%
5	6	Harger	jNW	18-4	3-3	41%
6	9	Moore	Iowa	14-4	4-3	55%
7	NR	Hammond	Penn State	17-7	4-2	48%
8	10	Massa	Michigan	10-3	2-2	40%
9	17	Wanzek	Minnesota	14-7	1-3	33%
10	NR	Wilson	Nebraska	8-7	2-1	27%
11	NR	Gravina	Rutgers	7-4	0-3	45%
12	NR	Robinson	Purdue	10-11	0-4	14%
13	NR	Wildmo	Sparty	10-9	0-5	37%
14	NR	Mannion	Maryland	3-11	0-5	14%

Our Guy: Garett's 4-2 in conference, but we might have him seeded a little too high at 7th.

Next 3 Opponents: Wanzek, Massa, Wildmo

Projection: like teammate Zack, the rubber's about to meet the road here for Garett.  There's a world of difference between 2-1 and 1-2 moving forward.  Here's something good to know, though - Garett's bonusing at a better rate than all of his teammates, except Hulk Hands and Morg.  So he's got that going for him, which is nice.

174 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Kokesh	Nebraska	17-0	5-0	47%
2	2	Storley	Minnesota	21-1	5-0	57%
3	3	Evans	Iowa	17-0	5-0	59%
4	4	Brown	Penn State	18-2	5-1	70%
5	12	Martin	Ohio State	12-6	5-2	21%
6	9	Brunson	Illinois	17-3	5-3	43%
7	NR	Nash	Sparty	10-5	3-4	22%
8	NR	Mahomes	Michigan	13-3	1-1	24%
9	NR	Welch	Purdue	17-10	3-5	15%
10	NR	Cousins	Wisconsin	12-7	3-5	5%
11	NR	Snook	Maryland	9-10	2-4	20%
12	19	Bakuckas	Rutgers	16-7	1-6	48%
13	15	Jackson	Indiana	15-8	0-4	32%
14	NR	Swets	jNW	0-1	0-0	0%

Our Guy: the top 4 are the top 4, even if we're not yet sure of the final order.  Right now, by virtue of Hulk Hands' Scuffle final loss to Kokesh, Matt's 4th and Bob's 1st.

Next 3 Opponents: Storley, Mahomes, Nash

Projection: flip a coin with Storley.  The two have split matches with each other for two years now, and, I expect it will soon be three years.

184 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	8	Brooks	Iowa	16-2	4-0	63%
2	11	Pfarr	Minnesota	18-5	6-1	39%
3	16	McCutcheon	Penn State	18-7	6-1	35%
4	NR	Robertson	Wisconsin	13-3	5-0	16%
5	10	Abounader	Michigan	11-5	3-1	12%
6	12	Courts	Ohio State	9-4	2-3	28%
7	20	Reyes	Illinois	9-6	2-2	30%
8	NR	Parfumi	Rutgers	14-9	2-2	33%
9	NR	Kissel	Purdue	13-8	3-3	18%
10	NR	Sliga	jNW	8-11	2-3	5%
11	NR	Rizqallah	Sparty	11-5	1-4	17%
12	18	Dudley	Nebraska	11-6	1-4	28%
13	NR	Masengale	Indiana	8-11	0-2	15%
14	NR	Gardner	Maryland	0-9	0-4	0%

Our Guy: Mouse's great run at the Scuffle is paying dividends, with an awfully nice 6-1 conference record.

Next 3 Opponents:  Pfarr, Abounader, Rizqallah

Projection: a winning record, though it won't come easily.  I really like Mouse.  And here's a fun fact - this is the only weight class in the conference that doesn't feature at least two of the national top 5 (it, ah, features 0).

197 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Schiller	Minnesota	16-1	5-0	67%
2	4	Burak	Iowa	12-0	4-0	33%
3	5	Snyder	Ohio State	17-2	6-1	47%
4	6	McIntosh	Penn State	17-2	6-1	50%
5	9	McCall	Wisconsin	16-4	5-2	5%
6	NR	Studebaker	Nebraska	16-5	4-2	38%
7	13	Polizzi	jNW	18-5	3-2	46%
8	8	Huntley	Michigan	12-3	1-3	53%
9	12	Atwood	Purdue	10-4	1-2	35%
10	NR	Koepke	Illinois	14-8	2-4	14%
11	NR	McDiarmid	Sparty	6-8	1-4	7%
12	NR	Campolattano	Rutgers	1-4	1-4	0%
13	NR	Fitzgerald	Maryland	10-10	1-4	25%
14	NR	Sheridan	Indiana	17-10	0-4	41%

Our Guy: Morg's gonna be fine.

Next 3 Opponents: Schiller, Huntley, McDiarmid

Projection: Three-and-oh, baby, and headed towards the 1-seed.

285 LBS

Seed	Natl Rank	Wrestler	Skool	Overall	Conference	Bonus%
1	1	Telford	Iowa	17-0	6-0	56%
2	7	Coon	Michigan	18-2	9-0	48%
3	3	Medbery	Wisconsin	17-1	7-1	72%
4	4	McMullan	jNW	14-2	2-2	53%
5	6	Gingrich	Penn State	12-1	2-1	37%
6	8	Myers	Maryland	3-0	1-0	0%
7	11	Kroells	Minnesota	17-8	5-3	20%
8	10	Tavanello	Ohio State	13-7	0-3	45%
9	NR	Goldman	Indiana	6-8	4-4	0%
10	17	Jensen	Nebraska	8-6	3-3	29%
11	12	Smith	Rutgers	10-4	1-4	36%
12	NR	Black	Illinois	11-9	2-5	20%
13	NR	Nash	Sparty	10-4	1-2	50%
14	NR	Kral	Purdue	9-16	0-7	11%

Our Guy: it's January 20th at 10pmET.  Do you know who your heavyweight is?

Next 3 Opponents: Kroells, Coon, Nash

Projection: I think we keep the split action thru next weekend (Michigan road trip).  I'd like to see what Lawson does with Coon.  I imagine Cael would as well, but I'm stupid like that.

Projected Advancement and Placement Points

	Penn State	Ohio State	Iowa	Minnesota
125	10	13.5	16	0
133	12.5	10	13.5	20
141	0	20	10	16
149	9	12.5	16	0
157	10	9	5.5	20
165	6.5	16	9	0
174	12.5	10	13.5	16
184	13.5	9	20	16
197	12.5	13.5	16	20
285	10	5.5	20	6.5
Total	96.5	119	139.5	114.5

(That's using JP's NCAA advancement and placement points, which might be a bit high, since Big Tens isn't working with a 32 man bracket. 1st=20, 2nd=16, 3rd=13.5, 4th=12.5, 5th=10, 6th=9, 7th=6.5, 8th=5.5)