Nebraska Wrestling
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Xmas32
All-Conference
Big day today folks! Mat Madness kicks off at 11am CST
https://www.ncaa.com/championships/wrestling/d1/broadcast-info
I'm partial to ESPN+ as I love the ability to watch individual mats.
https://www.cornnation.com/2024/3/18/24103868/wrestling-nebraska-in-the-trophy-hunt-going-into-ncaa-championships?_gl=1*8vgpg0*
As for the Skers, every draw is tough of course. 125 and 133 both tough go's there. If either guy can get to the blood round, that would be pretty solid.
141--Hardy's draw for the first couple matches is manageable. He's got Pucino of IL now as the Cornell kid is out injured and then Hardy should catch Lemley of Michigan. Those 2 have split on the year but to me Hardy has the edge and if not for some poor mat awareness, would be 2-0 against Lemley. I'll give Hardy the benefit of the doubt that he gets his mind right and gets to the QF and most likely faces Mendez of OHST where I think he loses. He should have a winnable match in the blood round and secures AA honors.
149--Ridge should cruise to the QFs where he'll most likely bump into Chittum of Iowa State who is a tough customer and will try and bully it up against Lovett. From there he's onto the SF and probably gets another date with Henson of VT in a rematch from the Cliff Keens. It'll be another tough one but I think Ridge comes out on top. From there, it just feels like we're going to get Ridge/Gomez III although the bottom part of the bracket is loaded up with some tough dudes. Parco from ASU, Gomez and Arrington from NCST are no slouches and the part of the bracket is going to be a knife fight. I think Ridge gets it done and brings home the gold!
157--Robb gets Chumbley of NW who he's beaten a few times and then gets Lewan of Michigan most likely. Robb has had good success against Lewan so I'll give him the edge but then he runs into Haines of PSU where he'll most likely lose. In the blood round he'll have a winnable match and I think Robb secures not only another AA finish but also gets over the 100 career match win hump. I'm really rooting for him.
165-Taylor has been a great story this year. I think he wins his first match against PITT but drops his next one to Hall from WVU who is a tough cat. 165 in the Big XII is a murderers row this year. On the back side, I think Taylor can scrape together another couple wins but ultimately falls in the blood round. The experience should be huge for Taylor in what has been a really terrific freshman campaign.
184--It's AA or bust for Pinto this year. He gets a rematch against CAMP in what was a tight match in November before most likely getting a rematch with Bullock of UM who he's looked comfortable against. If the seeds hold he'll catch Munoz of Oregon State whom Pinto beat at CKLV last year. Let's give Big Len the benefit of the doubt and the AA status. He'll lose to Keckeseien of UNI in the SF as I believe Keckeseien is on a manifest destiny campaign to win the title this year after being so close for so long. I don't know how it happens but Pinto is going to match up with Truax again haha.
197--Allred has got a tough draw man. I think he gets by Geog of Ohio State but then he gets Glazier of IA who hammered him in the dual. Now, this was when Allred was looking terrible so I'm not sure how much of it was Glazier being a cut above versus Allred being hurt/sick. Still, while I think the match is closer, I'll give Glazier the edge. I think Silas can make the bloodround but he's most likely going to have to beat either Cardenas of COR or Beard from LEIGH and both those dudes are studs. Cardenas TF'd Allred at CKLV. I think Allred unfortunately falls short again.
HWT--Anything Nash gives the team is basically gravy IMO. He has a tough opener against Schultz of ASU but should be able to peel off a win or two in the consis. If Nash can go something like 2-2, that would be tremendous.
So, that gives NU 1 champ and 4 total AAs. I'm not sure if that's going to be enough to secure a top 4 finish. They might need one more AA out of either Allred or Taylor. Now, if Taylor AND Allred make the podium in addition to everything else? That's a path to finishing 2nd (nobody is going to come within 30+ points of PSU).
https://www.ncaa.com/championships/wrestling/d1/broadcast-info
I'm partial to ESPN+ as I love the ability to watch individual mats.
https://www.cornnation.com/2024/3/18/24103868/wrestling-nebraska-in-the-trophy-hunt-going-into-ncaa-championships?_gl=1*8vgpg0*
As for the Skers, every draw is tough of course. 125 and 133 both tough go's there. If either guy can get to the blood round, that would be pretty solid.
141--Hardy's draw for the first couple matches is manageable. He's got Pucino of IL now as the Cornell kid is out injured and then Hardy should catch Lemley of Michigan. Those 2 have split on the year but to me Hardy has the edge and if not for some poor mat awareness, would be 2-0 against Lemley. I'll give Hardy the benefit of the doubt that he gets his mind right and gets to the QF and most likely faces Mendez of OHST where I think he loses. He should have a winnable match in the blood round and secures AA honors.
149--Ridge should cruise to the QFs where he'll most likely bump into Chittum of Iowa State who is a tough customer and will try and bully it up against Lovett. From there he's onto the SF and probably gets another date with Henson of VT in a rematch from the Cliff Keens. It'll be another tough one but I think Ridge comes out on top. From there, it just feels like we're going to get Ridge/Gomez III although the bottom part of the bracket is loaded up with some tough dudes. Parco from ASU, Gomez and Arrington from NCST are no slouches and the part of the bracket is going to be a knife fight. I think Ridge gets it done and brings home the gold!
157--Robb gets Chumbley of NW who he's beaten a few times and then gets Lewan of Michigan most likely. Robb has had good success against Lewan so I'll give him the edge but then he runs into Haines of PSU where he'll most likely lose. In the blood round he'll have a winnable match and I think Robb secures not only another AA finish but also gets over the 100 career match win hump. I'm really rooting for him.
165-Taylor has been a great story this year. I think he wins his first match against PITT but drops his next one to Hall from WVU who is a tough cat. 165 in the Big XII is a murderers row this year. On the back side, I think Taylor can scrape together another couple wins but ultimately falls in the blood round. The experience should be huge for Taylor in what has been a really terrific freshman campaign.
184--It's AA or bust for Pinto this year. He gets a rematch against CAMP in what was a tight match in November before most likely getting a rematch with Bullock of UM who he's looked comfortable against. If the seeds hold he'll catch Munoz of Oregon State whom Pinto beat at CKLV last year. Let's give Big Len the benefit of the doubt and the AA status. He'll lose to Keckeseien of UNI in the SF as I believe Keckeseien is on a manifest destiny campaign to win the title this year after being so close for so long. I don't know how it happens but Pinto is going to match up with Truax again haha.
197--Allred has got a tough draw man. I think he gets by Geog of Ohio State but then he gets Glazier of IA who hammered him in the dual. Now, this was when Allred was looking terrible so I'm not sure how much of it was Glazier being a cut above versus Allred being hurt/sick. Still, while I think the match is closer, I'll give Glazier the edge. I think Silas can make the bloodround but he's most likely going to have to beat either Cardenas of COR or Beard from LEIGH and both those dudes are studs. Cardenas TF'd Allred at CKLV. I think Allred unfortunately falls short again.
HWT--Anything Nash gives the team is basically gravy IMO. He has a tough opener against Schultz of ASU but should be able to peel off a win or two in the consis. If Nash can go something like 2-2, that would be tremendous.
So, that gives NU 1 champ and 4 total AAs. I'm not sure if that's going to be enough to secure a top 4 finish. They might need one more AA out of either Allred or Taylor. Now, if Taylor AND Allred make the podium in addition to everything else? That's a path to finishing 2nd (nobody is going to come within 30+ points of PSU).
Xmas32
All-Conference
I thought the same thing but also figured Robb was thinking, "Just don't give up the big move". On no planet did he probably think he was going to land a 7 point move on Lewan haha.
Xmas32
All-Conference
Alright boys it's moving day! Nebraska had a pretty darn terrific Day 1 but today is where the big points are because if you win this morning in the QFs, you lock up AA status. Let's jump in. As always, shout out Dylan from Corn Nation who does a great job covering the club:
https://www.cornnation.com/
125: Man, Smith has been electric so far this tournament. He gets another crack at Barnett who he's 0-2 against this year. Smith dropped a close decision to Barnett in the dual and if my memory serves, had Barnett in real trouble a couple times but Barnett funked out. Smith admittedly got hammered at Big Tens but that sometimes happens as Barnett is really tough on top. I'm not exactly going out on a limb here but if Smith can get the first TD and avoid needing to go underneath, that would be huge. Both guys have looked great so far in this tournament. Barnett is rightly the favorite but we're homers here, so let's say Smith gets it done. Now, if Smith drops his match he falls into a pretty favorable pod in the consi as the 4 wrestlers in there are all seeded lower than Smith. That being said, 125 is completely nuts so nothing would surprise me.
133: Van Dee had a nice win avenging a loss versus UNI in the first round before he just went up against a little better guy in Orine from NCST. I do think Van Dee got a little hosed in the 2nd period as I thought he did enough to warrant an escape but even if he gets the 1, Orine had racked up enough RT to get a point so Van Dee would've needed a TD either way. Van Dee has a tough road to hoe in the consis. I think he beats Wells from Minnesota but then he probably has to get by Latona of VT who is a 2x AA who is a tough cat. If we go full homer and say Van Dee beats Latona he'll have to beat either Frost of ISU the 8 seed or Daton Fix of Okie Lite who is the #1. Van Dee has had a great campaign, I just don't think he gets to the podium this year.
141: Hardy looked awesome yesterday. The funk was in full display and he handled Lemley nicely. He's got the 1 seed, Mendez of Ohio State who already owns a 11-3 win over Hardy at the CKLV. Mendez has looked tremendous this year and it will take a really special effort from Hardy to get past him. I don't think Hardy has the firepower to do it and will drop to the backside. The good news is, he, too gets a favorable pod. 2 of the 4 guys in there--Navy and Arizona State have already lost to Hardy by 4 and and 5 points respectively. Also, Cushing the NU backup beat the Purdue guy so you'd feel good about Hardy's chances. I'll stick with my original prediction of Hardy getting AA status.
149: Ridge did Ridge stuff. I didn't love him giving up the TD at the very end to Rooks but at this stage of the game, it's survive and advance. He's going to have a fist fight this morning with Swiderski of ISU, nothing out of the ordinary but ISU is going to try and ugly this thing up. Ultimately, I think Ridge gets it done and moves on like we thought.
157: Robb looked great and really blew it open versus Lewan which changed who the whole trajectory of the match. He's got Haines this morning from Penn State who has handled Robb previously and I think it just a level above right now. As with the other NU guys, he'll be favored in the blood round and should lock up AA status again.
165: Oh mama Taylor! He looked awesome in the 1st round and hung on for dear life against a really tough WVU guy. Taylor showed some great upper body work to go up 5-0 and did jusssssstttt enough to earn the win. His reward? Congratulations you get Keegan O'Toole from Mizzou, a 2x national champ who is arguably the best P4P guy in the tournament. On the backside, he isn't going to face anyone that is highly seeded. He's split with the AF guy and owns a win over Fish from MSU. He'll have to wrestle tough but he's got the skills to secure an AA finish.
184: The refs tried to cheat our boy Lenny with a terrible stall call but he overcame and now is in the QFs against Munoz. I predicted he'd beat Munoz to lock up AA but should he drop the match, he falls into a pod and if it breaks a certain way, will get a rematch with fellow beefcake Rogotztke of Ohio State who is strong like bull. Even if Pinto loses this morning I think he should have enough gas in the tank to secure an AA finish.
197: Allred was the beneficiary of a nice little upset and had a couple nice wins and finds himself in the QFs against Hidlay of NCST who is on a vision quest right now to wrestle Brooks of PSU. Allred beating Hidlay would be a massive upset which I don't see happening. In the blood round, I think he ends up catching either Smith of MD (yes please) or Cardenas of Cornell (no thank you). That being said, Cardenas looked terrible against Elam of Mizzou so maybe he's dinged up? If Allred gets Smith, he AAs, if it's Cardenas, total coin flip.
HWT: Nash was outgunned in his first match like we thought. In the consis, he came within a whisker of getting a TD in SV to advance but unfortunately he had a little lapse on the edge of the mat and ended up giving up the TD and losing. Nash was understandably frustrated coming off the mat but he can hold his head high. Going from basically off the street and making the NCAAs in basically a semester is incredible.
I'm revising my predictions from yesterday, I think Nebraska gets 6 AAs and if the cards break right, they can get 7 which would be a truly massive haul.
GBR!
https://www.cornnation.com/
125: Man, Smith has been electric so far this tournament. He gets another crack at Barnett who he's 0-2 against this year. Smith dropped a close decision to Barnett in the dual and if my memory serves, had Barnett in real trouble a couple times but Barnett funked out. Smith admittedly got hammered at Big Tens but that sometimes happens as Barnett is really tough on top. I'm not exactly going out on a limb here but if Smith can get the first TD and avoid needing to go underneath, that would be huge. Both guys have looked great so far in this tournament. Barnett is rightly the favorite but we're homers here, so let's say Smith gets it done. Now, if Smith drops his match he falls into a pretty favorable pod in the consi as the 4 wrestlers in there are all seeded lower than Smith. That being said, 125 is completely nuts so nothing would surprise me.
133: Van Dee had a nice win avenging a loss versus UNI in the first round before he just went up against a little better guy in Orine from NCST. I do think Van Dee got a little hosed in the 2nd period as I thought he did enough to warrant an escape but even if he gets the 1, Orine had racked up enough RT to get a point so Van Dee would've needed a TD either way. Van Dee has a tough road to hoe in the consis. I think he beats Wells from Minnesota but then he probably has to get by Latona of VT who is a 2x AA who is a tough cat. If we go full homer and say Van Dee beats Latona he'll have to beat either Frost of ISU the 8 seed or Daton Fix of Okie Lite who is the #1. Van Dee has had a great campaign, I just don't think he gets to the podium this year.
141: Hardy looked awesome yesterday. The funk was in full display and he handled Lemley nicely. He's got the 1 seed, Mendez of Ohio State who already owns a 11-3 win over Hardy at the CKLV. Mendez has looked tremendous this year and it will take a really special effort from Hardy to get past him. I don't think Hardy has the firepower to do it and will drop to the backside. The good news is, he, too gets a favorable pod. 2 of the 4 guys in there--Navy and Arizona State have already lost to Hardy by 4 and and 5 points respectively. Also, Cushing the NU backup beat the Purdue guy so you'd feel good about Hardy's chances. I'll stick with my original prediction of Hardy getting AA status.
149: Ridge did Ridge stuff. I didn't love him giving up the TD at the very end to Rooks but at this stage of the game, it's survive and advance. He's going to have a fist fight this morning with Swiderski of ISU, nothing out of the ordinary but ISU is going to try and ugly this thing up. Ultimately, I think Ridge gets it done and moves on like we thought.
157: Robb looked great and really blew it open versus Lewan which changed who the whole trajectory of the match. He's got Haines this morning from Penn State who has handled Robb previously and I think it just a level above right now. As with the other NU guys, he'll be favored in the blood round and should lock up AA status again.
165: Oh mama Taylor! He looked awesome in the 1st round and hung on for dear life against a really tough WVU guy. Taylor showed some great upper body work to go up 5-0 and did jusssssstttt enough to earn the win. His reward? Congratulations you get Keegan O'Toole from Mizzou, a 2x national champ who is arguably the best P4P guy in the tournament. On the backside, he isn't going to face anyone that is highly seeded. He's split with the AF guy and owns a win over Fish from MSU. He'll have to wrestle tough but he's got the skills to secure an AA finish.
184: The refs tried to cheat our boy Lenny with a terrible stall call but he overcame and now is in the QFs against Munoz. I predicted he'd beat Munoz to lock up AA but should he drop the match, he falls into a pod and if it breaks a certain way, will get a rematch with fellow beefcake Rogotztke of Ohio State who is strong like bull. Even if Pinto loses this morning I think he should have enough gas in the tank to secure an AA finish.
197: Allred was the beneficiary of a nice little upset and had a couple nice wins and finds himself in the QFs against Hidlay of NCST who is on a vision quest right now to wrestle Brooks of PSU. Allred beating Hidlay would be a massive upset which I don't see happening. In the blood round, I think he ends up catching either Smith of MD (yes please) or Cardenas of Cornell (no thank you). That being said, Cardenas looked terrible against Elam of Mizzou so maybe he's dinged up? If Allred gets Smith, he AAs, if it's Cardenas, total coin flip.
HWT: Nash was outgunned in his first match like we thought. In the consis, he came within a whisker of getting a TD in SV to advance but unfortunately he had a little lapse on the edge of the mat and ended up giving up the TD and losing. Nash was understandably frustrated coming off the mat but he can hold his head high. Going from basically off the street and making the NCAAs in basically a semester is incredible.
I'm revising my predictions from yesterday, I think Nebraska gets 6 AAs and if the cards break right, they can get 7 which would be a truly massive haul.
GBR!
Xmas32
All-Conference
Agreed. We knew it was going to be tough sledding in most of the matches but was hoping maybe Smith or Pinto would be able to get over the hump
