Eleven Warriors

I am not going to jinx us and predict Ohio State going to the Final Four; rather, this is about teams playing in domes in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games having an advantage against teams that played their Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games in more traditional arenas.  This year Ohio State, Wichita State, Marquette and Syracuse all played in more traditional arenas whereas Louisville, Michigan, and the winners of Florida vs FGCU and MSU vs Duke play in large domes similar to Atlanta and this years Final Four. 

From last years NCAA Tournament USA Today reports:

Every one of the 10 teams that played in domed arenas in the tournament the past three weeks shot worse behind the line there than they did in earlier tournament games in non-domes. Eight of the 10 shot worse overall in domes than they did in both the regular season and in NCAA games in conventional arenas.

The numbers, analyzed by USA TODAY, parallel those in the previous two tournaments. While the higher caliber of competition also must be taken into account as teams reach regionals and the Final Four, conspicuous drops in shooting percentages in games played in made-for-football domes underscore questions about the impact of the more spacious settings and unconventional shooting sightlines.

In eight games in domes in this tournament – in Atlanta, St. Louis and now New Orleans – teams have hit a little less than 30% of their three-point attempts (down from a collective 35% during the regular season and 41% in non-dome tournament games). They've shot just 42% from the field overall (down from better than 46% in both the regular season and NCAA games in smaller facilities).

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2012/04/ncaa-...

They went on in another article to point out that over the 2011 and 2012 tournaments:

•Overall shooting: 37% in domes a year ago, down from a combined 46% for those same teams during the regular season and almost 47% in non-dome tournament games.

•Three-point shooting: 31% in domes, down from the teams' 37% during the regular season and 38%-plus in non-dome tournament games.

•Free throw shooting: down from 71% during the regular season and in non-dome tournament games to 67% in domes.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/story/2012-...

It would seem to me that the teams playing their Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games in a more traditional arena would be at a disadvantage to the teams that played their Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games in a dome similar to Atlanta.  The rationale being that the teams that played their two previos tournament games in a dome would be more familiar with the game time experience.  This year, our beloved Buckeyes would be one of those teams if they win against Wichita State.  I am sure their is data somewhere that gives the larger trend of dome play since it has been the norm since 1997, but I did not look any further than the info posted above.

While I do not like the poorer play in domes on TV, or watching it in person, it seems that if the NCAA- in all of its wisdom- deems it necessary to play the Final Four in domes because of ticket demand, then all teams should enter the Final Four on equal footing.  As it is, they have a rotation where locations get the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games to prepare for their upcoming turn at the Final Four.  

What are your thoughts?  Am I looking too much into this?  Does anyone else feel the quality/integrity of the games are diminished by dome play?

* (other than Jim Tressel, who technically "resigned")

There's been some good decisions when it comes to new coaches being hired & fired over the past ten years, and some bad decisions. I arrived at this list with 5 criteria: What was the state of the program before the coach arrived at the particular school? How successful was the coach had at the school? How was the team's competition? What was the aftermath of the decision/how did the school do after they fired him?, and lastly, how has the coach followed up with his new job(s) after he was fired?

1.) Ole Miss - David Cutcliffe:

Cutcliffe was fired in late 2004 after his only losing season in Oxford, a 4-7 campaign the first year after losing Eli Manning to the NFL. Cutcliffe was asked by the Ole Miss AD to make changes and fire assistants, a move Cutcliffe thought to be premised on panic.  In the years before that season, from '98-'03, Cutcliffe led Ole Miss to a 40-22 overall record.

Cutcliffe is the only coach in Ole Miss history to open his tenure with five straight winning seasons. In 2003, Cutcliffe's high-powered Ole Miss offense led the Rebels to their first New Year's bowl game since 1991 & their first 10-win season in over 30 years. They beat Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl and ended up being ranked #13 in the final poll, finishing the season 10-3 overall with a share of the SEC West title. Coming into the 2004 season, Ole Miss was the only school in the SEC West division to be bowl-eligible for 7 straight years.

Seven years after the firing, Ole Miss hired their third head coach (Huge Freeze) since Cutcliffe left. Although it appears Ole Miss is finally resurgent again, thanks to some seemingly-magical recruiting victories recently. It's now been over 9 years after Ole Miss canned Cutcliffe. In the first 3 years after they fired Cutcliffe, Ole Miss went 10-25, and has been 41-57 overall since he was ousted.

Cutcliffe is now the head coach of Duke, one of college football's worst team's over the past decade. But, Cutcliffe has renewed the program, and they just recently went to their first bowl game since 1994. With Cutcliffe's penchant for helping QBs develop into stars, look for Duke to sustain their success at a moderate level in the years to come. It has been, and will continue to be very difficult for Ole Miss to find sustained success in the ultra-competitive SEC West division. Cutcliffe's success at Ole Miss, the competition he faced, along with how poorly Ole Miss did after he left combined with Cutcliffe's amazing turn-around job at Duke, put him at the top of this list.

2.) Minnesota - Glen Mason:

Former Buckeye Linebacker Glen Mason is the like the hot girlfriend you break up with, because you think you can find a hotter girl. Then one day it sinks in that you screwed up royally, and didn't realize how good you had it until she's gone. You're left face down on a cold floor, borderline passed out, quasi-depressed, surrounded by empty bottles of Stroh's, with the Counting Crows August and Everything After  cd playing in he background...and she's gone for good. And you'd pay the devil to replace her. Or Tim Brewster.

Okay, maybe it's not that  bad. But, Mason was about as good as it's going to get for the Golden Gophers in this day and age, (see Tubby Smith). Mason was a solid coach who built a respected program. A program predicated on strong offensive line play, with an even stronger running game. This was the right approach for the Big Ten. Minnesota's rush offense was always highly-ranked under Mason. In 2003, for just the 30th time in college football history, the Gophers had 2 running backs with at least 1,000 yards each in the same season: Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney. Both RBs went on to the NFL. Mason led the Gophers to an overall 38-25 record his last 5 seasons at the helm. But on the last day of 2006, following an epic meltdown in the Insight Bowl against Texas Tech where the Gophers blew a 38-7 third-quarter league to lost the game 41-44 in overtime, Mason was fired. At the time I really thought this was an emotional, knee-jerk reaction by the Minnesota powers-that-be.

Minnesota has to swallow the pill that, for the time being at least, they have a ceiling. Mason and his success was about as good as it was going to get. With Ohio State, M*chigan, Penn State, and other B1G squads to battle with, Minnesota was never going to be a favorite to win the conference. They really haven't been in decades, (haven't won the conference since 1967), and don't seem to be anytime soon. It's hard to recruit out-of-state players to Minneapolis; especially when Ohio State, M*chigan, and now Nebraska, are in the same conference. With 3 different head coaches since 2007, Minnesota has struggled since firing Mason, going 26-46 since they let him go. It seems that the Gophers may have finally found a guy who can turn the corner though, in Jerry Kill. More important than coaching records is the health of the current Gophers head coach. Hopefully Coach Kill's health can improve, after he's battled various health problems, including a few seizures during games.

Glen Mason has managed to stay away from getting back on the coaching carousel, and continues his job as an analyst for the Big Ten Network. I've always thought he'd make a great Running Backs Coach for Ohio State, or perhaps an Offensive Coordinator or Head Coach somewhere in the BIG or MAC.

3.) Kansas - Mark Mangino:

Mark Mangino can trace his coaching roots back to one James Patrick Tressel, where he served as an assistant to Tressel from 1985-1987 at Youngstown State University. Mangino's path eventually took him to Norman, Oklahoma. Following the 2000 season, where Mark Mangino was Offensive Coordinator of a Sooners team that beat Florida State for the national championship, Mangino was rewarded with the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach. Shortly after, Mangino took over a downtrodden Kansas Jayhawks program, which hadn't seen success since, well, since a guy named Glen Mason was coach of the Jayhawks in the late-80s to mid-90s. Mason's success was minimal compared to what Mangino accomplished at Kansas. At the peak of his successful tenure at Kansas, Mark Mangino led the Kansas Jayhawks football, (not basketball) program to a #2 ranking in the polls in 2007! After his first season saw the Jayhawks go 2-10, Mangino went 48-38 the next seven seasons, compiling a 50-48 record overall in his eight seasons at Kansas. Just above .500 doesn't seem too impressive for a coach, but when you consider this program's football history, it's quite the feat. Mangino's 50 wins as head coach rank as the second-most in school history.

Following a monumentally successful 2007 season, the Jayhawks went to and won their only BCS Bowl in school history, defeating Virginia Tech in the 2008 Orange Bowl to finish the season 12-1. The #2 ranking during that season is the highest  ranking in school history. Kansas also set records under Mangino for consecutive weeks ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, the highest national offensive statistic rankings in school history, and largest home stadium attendance records in school history. Mangino went 3-1 in bowl games during his tenure; the 3 bowl victories are the same total the school had in it's 102-year history prior to hiring Mangino. Mangino also won numerous Coach of the Year Awards.

Following allegations of verbal abuse and "harsh mistreatment" of his players, Mangino "resigned"  was fired in 2009. With today's hyper-politically correct culture, who knows how bad these allegations actually were, but, it was enough for Kansas to part ways with the man. Mangino receives a lot of criticism for his disciplinarian style and weight problem/appearance, but it's hard to argue with his success. What he did at Kansas was remarkable and then some.

Since Mangino left the school, Kansas sucks. Sorry, there's no other way to describe it or sugarcoat it...they're just terrible. They Jayhawks are 6-30 the past three seasons. Turner Gill was let go after two seasons and a record of 5-19; while self-proclaimed schematic genius Charlie Weis went 1-11 in 2012. Meanwhile after a few years out of the coaching world, Mangino has returned to his roots in Youngstown, where is the YSU Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach. Don't be surprised to see Mangino get back into Division 1 coaching in the next few years, likely at a MAC school.

4.) Ralph Friedgen - Maryland:

In the year 2001, Ralph Friedgen took over a Maryland program which hadn't been to a bowl game since 1990. The former Terrapins OL and well-traveled coach came to Maryland with over 31 years of assistant coaching experience. It didn't take long for the new Head Coach to turn things around.

In his first game, Friedgen guided his Maryland team to a come-from-behind win over rival North Carolina. Hard to believe, but Friedgen was the first Maryland coach to win his opening game since 1959.  That first season in College Park, Maryland finished 10-2, had a top-10 ranking, and won the ACC. The Terps went to their first BCS Bowl game, losing to the Florida Gators in the Orange Bowl.

With a tough act to follow, Friedgen sustained his success, going 11-3 and 10-3 the next two seasons. In 2004 and 2005, Maryland regressed to 5-6 each year, but went 9-4 in 2006. In 2007 and 2008, Maryland combined to go 14-12. Then in 2009, the Terps dipped down to 2-10. After the 2009 season, rumblings began to surface about Friedgen being fired. But, he followed that disappointing '09 season up with a quick turnaround, and led the Terps to a 9-4 record in 2010. He was curiously fired after the 2010 season. The athletic department cited a "lack of fan support". They also hired Under Armour to design the world's ugliest football uniforms...I guess it's true what they say - any publicity, even bad publicity, is good. Hmmm.

During Friedgen's 10-year tenure Maryland would go 75-50. The Terrapins went to 7 bowl games in those 10 years, winning 5 of those 7 bowls...a remarkable accomplishment for a program that was drowning before Friedgen arrived. Friedgen led Maryland to an impressive three consecutive double digit-wins seasons. 

Maryland hired former Connecticut Head Coach Randy Edsall to take over the program. Edsall is 6-18 after two seasons, and many injuries.

After the 2010 season, in an interview with a Baltimore television station, Friedgen said that he was so angry with the firing that he burned his Maryland diploma and now roots mainly for Georgia Tech. Friedgen, though, would go on to later revoke that statement. Friedgen will be 66 next week, and it's unknown if he will step back into coaching.

5.) Pitt - Dave Wannstedt:

This may be a bit of a surprise choice, and he may even be the second-worst firing for Pitt's program the past ten years. But, it's because he followed Walt Harris and Pitt didn't learn their lesson, that it makes his firing even worse. Fool me once - shame on you...fool me twice - shame on me.
Though it didn't seem like it at times, especially after some frustrating losses, Pitt may have very well been on the cusp of something special with Wannstedt. I watch a lot of football, including most Pitt games; this was just a gut feeling I had. Wannstedt wasn't an elite coach, but I think he was a great fit for Pittsburgh, if they had the patience. The big picture was looking good.
Although their coaching styles couldn't have been more different, their closing of their tenures with Pitt were similar. What about the "What have you done for me lately?" clause. Harris was let go after the school's first BCS Bowl appearance, a loss to Utah in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. But let's be honest --- we know who the Utes coach was at the time...did Harris stand a fair chance? No. Pitt thought it was close to taking that next step to return to it's glory days. So, they decided that to get back there, they would do so by getting rid of the guy who resurrected the program. Walt Harris, who took the Panthers to 5 straight bowl games, was pushed out following the 2005 Fiesta Bowl loss to Utah. They replaced Harris with....
...Dave Wannstedt. I guess you can't blame Pitt for trying to get back to the days of their illustrious yesteryear, especially when you're playing in the Big East Conference. Wannstedt was also a Pittsburgh guy, having played OL for the Panthers in the early 70s. The "Wann-stache" had a pretty successful tenure as Pitt's head coach. But, it seems frustrating losses in close games to inferior teams are remembered more than his successes. Wannstedt went 42-31 in his six seasons at Pitt, which is pretty good. But, he actually had the Panthers on an overall upward trajectory. His finals three seasons went: 9-4, 10-3 and 7-5. The 7-5 was disappointing, but the team had a lot of talent returning the next season. Yet, Pitt again thought it could take that next step by firing a solid coach, parting ways with Wannstedt in December of 2010.
Which makes Wannstedt's ousting more frustrating for Panthers fans, is that they've had 4 head coaches since he was fired. That's right --- four coaches in just over about two years! Wannstedt's initial replacement, Miami Ohio's Mike Haywood, well - his short time at Pitt ended before it even began. Haywood was arrested for domestic violence against his wife, and subsequently was fired at Pitt. Phil Bennett took over as interim coach, guiding the Panthers to a bowl victory over Kentucky in early 2011. Then Todd Graham was hired as the new Head Coach for 2011, but he jumped ship after just one season. Last year, the Panthers hired Wisconsin Offensive Coordinator Paul Chryst. After a very slow start, Chryst righted the ship and turned the season around, leading the Panthers to a bowl game in his first season. It's too early to tell, but Chryst could turn out being the right hire. But, Pitt has a ways to go to get back to the promised land, or even on the way to it, which is at least where they appeared headed before 2011.
Wannstedt's pro-style/Fullback-included offense seemed to fit Pitt football pretty well. It's somewhat ironic that Pitt hired Chryst, who was calling the offensive shots at Wisconsin when the Badgers ran a very similar offense with success. Wannstedt has joined former Big East rival Greg Schiano's staff, and is now the Special Teams Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Schiano coached under Wannstedt when Wannstedt was Head Coach of the Chicago Bears in the 90s.
 

Honorable Mention:

• Boston College - Jeff Jagodzinski (thanks/assist to "Smith5568")
• Miami - Larry Coker
• Nebraska - Frank Solich (thanks/assist to "GlueFingers Lavelli")
• Pitt - Walt Harris
• Southern Miss - Jeff Bower
• Texas Tech - Mike Leach

I just wanted to apologize to everyone for today's Skull Session, and explain a bit about what happened. I already talked about it on twitter, but the short story is that I had not slept for a few days, ended up having to work a much longer workday than usual yesterday, and when I was finally able to start the Skull Session I simply passed out in the middle of writing it. I know mistakes happen, but I've been writing for 11W for almost three years now, written hundreds of posts, and this is the first time that I can remember doing something like this.

I hold both myself and 11W to a higher standard than that, and to be honest I think you guys deserve better than a half finished post written by a semi-lucid and exhausted dork. I will do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen again, and again, I'm really sorry for this morning.

Johnny

PS, the joke that I was going for with the intro is that I was so filled with rage over my bracket being awful that I couldn't even enjoy Aaron Craft being awesome. So maybe it's better that I didn't finish and spared you guys that.

Recap by Curt Heinrichs

The NCAA wrestling tournament has come to an end with a somewhat predictable outcome: the Penn State Nittany Lions ended up on top to win their 3rd consecutive national title. This time, Penn State was challenged a bit more closely by Oklahoma State. Quentin Wright’s victory sealed the Penn State championship, though Chris Perry’s title put the Cowboys temporarily in the lead.

The Buckeyes had a strong tournament and ended with 3 All-Americans in Logan Stieber (1st place at 133 lbs), Hunter Stieber (3rd at 141 lbs), and Nick Heflin (5th at 174 lbs). As a team, the Buckeyes finished in 6th place with 65 points.

125 lbs
 

The 125 lb weight class was full of upsets and surprises. Illinois’ Jesse Delgado not only won the Big Ten title this year, but managed to score a title on the biggest stage from the #2 seed over Penn State’s 2 time finalist Nico Megaludis. Delgado used a set of 3 backpoints from a cradle late in the 3rd period to earn the 7-4 victory and his first NCAA title.
 

Buckeye results: Redshirt senior Nikko Triggas ended his career for the scarlet and gray with his 4th trip to the NCAA tournament. Triggas entered the tournament seeded 11th, but stumbled in the opening round against Stanford’s Evan Silver, losing 5-2 in the 1st round. Nikko put a 10-0 beating on Eric Montoya of Campbell in the 1st consolation round before running into 12th seeded Tyler Cox of Wyoming. Cox defeated Triggas 9-4, thus ending Triggas’ career as a Buckeye. Nikko ends his career as one of the most prolific pinners in Buckeye history, finishing in the top 5 in career pins.

Surprises: I was not alone in being shocked when 3 time NCAA finalist and 2 time champion Matt McDonough of Iowa was not standing on the awards podium on Saturday night. McDonough was riding a 40+ match winning streak heading into the Big Ten tournament, but was derailed by Delgado in the Big Ten finals. Since losing to Delgado 2 weeks ago, McDonough didn’t look like his usual dominant self. He lost to Cornell freshman Nahshon Garrett in the quarterfinals 4-2 in a sudden victory match and looked sluggish throughout. North Dakota State’s Trent Sprenkle beat McDonough 3-1 in the match prior to placement, leaving Matt out of the medals for the first time in his career.

133 lbs
Stieber Fever: do you have it? I do, as did much of the Wells-Fargo Arena on Saturday when Ohio State’s Logan Stieber won his 2nd consecutive NCAA title. Stieber beat fierce rival Tony Ramos of Iowa for the 2nd consecutive tournament after winning the Big Ten title in dramatic fashion a few weeks ago. Stieber won a hotly contested match 7-4 over Ramos in a match that wasn’t free of controversy for the 2nd year in a row. Logan stormed out to a quick lead with a pair of takedowns early on, but Ramos was able to adjust to his pace and stymie Logan’s attack. Stieber was defending a takedown and went to his back momentarily. The Iowa faithful felt that Ramos should have been awarded 2 backpoints, but after video review, the referees determined that no points should be awarded. Stieber had previously defeated Jordan Oliver to earn the 2012 title with a controversial non-call on an Oliver takedown as time expired. Stieber is a tough top wrestler, and I believe he won the first ever Most Dominant Wrestler award for his efforts this season.

Buckeye results: Logan Stieber stayed undefeated and won his 2nd NCAA title.

Surprises: The top 8 seeds all earned All-American accolades, finishing in the top 8. Great job by the seed makers.

141 lbs
#2 seeded Kendric Maple kept his undefeated record in tact, winning his first national championship over Edinboro’s Mitchell Port. Maple won 4-3 in a fairly dominant performance.

Buckeye results: #1 seeded Hunter Stieber was unable to match his brother’s championship performance, but was able to improve on last year’s 4th place finish at the NCAA tournament with a 3rd place finish. Stieber’s first and only loss for the season came in the semifinals to Port, who won by a 7-6 score. Stieber nearly lost in the quarterfinals, eking out a narrow win over Franklin & Marshall’s Richard Durso 9-8 with a late takedown. Stieber scored a major decision in the consolation finals over The Citadel’s Undrakhbayar Khishignyam (commonly known as the easier to spell “Ugi”) by the score of 12-4.

Surprises: Iowa’s Mark Ballweg fell one match short of All-American status, losing to Maple in the quarters and then Cornell’s Mike Nevinger in the 4th consolation round. Ballweg wrestled well at the Big Ten championships and was seeded 7th at the NCAA tournament. Though Ballweg wasn’t one of the homerun hitters for Iowa, I was a bit surprised to see him fall short of the podium, especially after wrestling well in the Big Ten tournament.

149 lbs
After being spurned by the aforementioned non-call against Logan Stieber in last year’s finals, Oklahoma State’s Jordan Oliver earned his 2nd NCAA title with a win over Boise State’s Jason Chamberlain 3-2. Chamberlain was able to defend against most of Oliver’s attacks, but Oliver maintained a high volume of offense and was able to score a late takedown to win the match. Oliver finishes as a 4 time All-American with 3 finals appearances in his last 3 years and a 4th place finish as a freshman. Oliver is another Cowboy wrestler (following in the footsteps of Okie State’s Johny Hendricks, who is now one of my favorite MMA fighters because the dude brings a serious boom with his left hand) that I really don’t want to like, but I enjoy watching him because of his high-paced style.
 

Buckeye Results: Late replacement Ian Paddock replaced previous All-American Cam Tessari in the lineup at the Big Ten tournament, much to the surprise of many of the Buckeye faithful. Paddock is now a 3 time NCAA qualifier, but was unable to generate any momentum in this year’s tournament. Paddock competed in the pigtail of the 149 lb bracket against 3 seeded Donnie Vinson of Binghamton and then fell to Cleveland native David Habat, ending his run in the consis.

Surprises: Penn State’s Andrew Alton did not reach the podium, only winning 1 match in the consolation bracket. Alton was knocked off in the 1st round by Missouri’s Drake Houdashelt (more on him later), defeated Daniel Young of Army, and then was eliminated by TSUN’s Eric Grajales. Grajales was then knocked out by Donnie Vinson, thereby leaving Grajales off of the podium. Here was my reaction. Missouri’s Drake Houdashelt got hot at the right time despite not being seeded. Houdashelt bumped off the #11 and #6 seeded wrestlers en route to the semifinals. Houdashelt finished in 6th place, earning All-American credentials.

157 lbs
Derek St. John of Iowa improved on his runner up performance from a year ago and won his first national title with a 3-2 win over Northwestern’s Jason Welch. This was one of the most wide-open weight

classes heading into the tournament, but DSJ was able to stay perfect against the ever-funky Welch. St. John was (SPOILER ALERT) Iowa’s only champion in the 2013 NCAA tournament.
 

Buckeye Results: Columbus native Josh Demas knocked off the #10 seeded Roger Pena and former high school teammate #7 seeded Jesse Dong before falling to eventual champion DSJ in the quarterfinals. Demas fell to Clarion’s #5 seeded James Fleming, falling short of the medal round by 1 match.
 

Surprises: Nebraska’s James Green earned the 4th seed, but lost his first round match. In the consolation bracket, he rattled off 4 straight bonus point victories before a loss, earning 7th place for the tournament. Joseph Napoli of Lehigh lost his first 2 matches and didn’t win any matches, despite being the #3 seed.

165 lbs
This was the clash of the titans, with the tournament ending at this weight class. Cornell’s Kyle Dake won his 4th NCAA title, becoming only the 3rd wrestler to do so in Division I history and the first to do it at 4 different weight classes, defeating Penn State’s points machine David Taylor in the finals. Dake had a late takedown to seal the 5-4 victory in what may have been the most anticipated final in NCAA championship history.
 

Buckeye Results: Freshman Mark Martin had the unfortunate draw of starting his tournament against Kid Dynamite Kyle Dake. Martin slowed the bout down and only lost to Dake 3-0. Martin won 2 bouts in the consis before falling to Michael Moreno of Iowa State (but the Buckeyes would have the last laugh against Iowa State this weekend, right Aaron Craft?). A 2-2 record at his first NCAA championships will certainly give Martin something to build on next year.

Surprises: David Taylor of Penn State is an absolute freak. The kid scores points as easily as anyone I’ve ever seen. He gave Dake a great run, and will cruise to his 2nd NCAA title next year. Taylor earned 4 straight falls, including a 0:24 second fall against Conrad Polz in the quarters. Taylor is undoubtedly one of the best wrestlers in NCAA history, and should be commended for butting heads with Dake instead of going up or down in weight in order to win a title.

174 lbs
Oklahoma State’s Chris Perry proved that his #1 seed was justified when he won his first NCAA title over Penn State’s Matt Brown 2-1 in the tiebreaker round. Perry is the brother of former NCAA champion Mark Perry and is the nephew of his coach, the legendary John Smith. Like 157, this was a wide open weight class, but 174 had a number of wrestlers that could have won a title. Any of the top 8 seeds could have conceivably wrestled for a championship on Saturday night without turning any heads. 

Buckeye Results: Nick Heflin of the Buckeyes took eventual champion Perry to the brink of defeat in the quarterfinals, but was unable to escape from the bottom and lost 3-2. Heflin then won 2 matches in the consolation bracket before falling to rival Logan Storley of Minnesota in the consi semifinals. Heflin pinned mustachioed Iowa wrestler Mike Evans to finish 5th. Heflin has a long way to go if a mustache contest between he and Evans breaks out. There’s always next year.

Surprises: Perry went to extra wrestling in each of his last 3 bouts en route to winning the title. 6 of the All-Americans in this weight class were representing Big Ten schools.

184 lbs
Ed Ruth of Penn State did what Ed Ruth does and won his 2nd consecutive NCAA title with a 12-4 win over Robert Hamlin in the finals. Ruth put on a takedown clinic as he is prone to doing. Ruth will be back next year to likely win his 3rd title. The guy is on another level.
 

Buckeye Results: Senior 4 time NCAA qualifier Cody Magrum went 1-2 in his final run at the NCAA tournament. Magrum is a feel-good story, having been beaten out for the starting spot for most of the season by Kenny Courts. More important than his wresting achievements, Magrum was able to excel at a high level in the classroom, earning multiple Academic All-American awards throughout his career. While athletic achievements are important, Magrum has the opportunities to reap the benefits of his academic achievements for the rest of his life. Congratulations to Cody on an outstanding career both on the mat and in the classroom as well. 

Surprises: The top 4 seeds advanced to the semifinals. Great work seed makers!

197 lbs

Penn State’s Quentin Wright matched up with Dustin Kilgore of Kent State in a matchup of previous NCAA champions. In a matchup of opposing styles, Wright was able to change angles and take Kilgore down and he won 8-6. With Kilgore being a Berea, Ohio, native, I really wanted him to win and was disappointed when he lost. Wright is a funky wrestler, unique for the upper weights and gives opponents a hard time matchup-wise. Kilgore took an Olympic redshirt last year, and will likely have an excellent international career competing for the US.
 

Buckeye Results: After wrestling a great Big Ten tournament, I had high hopes for Andrew Campolattano. Camp lost to Micah Burak of Penn and then Jace Bennett of Cornell, cutting his run short. Campolattano is an explosive wrestler, and has many good matches ahead of him.
 

Surprises: I was pretty much in shock when Camp went 2 and out. Matt Wilps of Pitt is built like a G.I. Joe and wears a halo-style headgear. He really strongly resembles Schute from Vision Quest.

265 lbs

Minnesota’s tradition of fine heavyweights continues as Tony Nelson won his 2nd consecutive national title. Nelson defeated Northwestern’s Mike McMullan 6-2.
 

Buckeye results: 265 was the only weight that a Buckeye did not qualify for the tournament.
 

Surprises: The championship bout was surprisingly (to me) entertaining. I typically don’t enjoy the heavyweights unless they’re like Tommy Rowlands or J.D. Bergman and score lots of points. To me, most elite heavyweights are like dancing bears and 1-0 or 2-0 bouts bore me. Nelson and McMullan had a nice match and scored 8 combined points. As my favorite Twitter follow Mark Niemann said a time or 2 (@cruiser96), Alan Gelogaev of Oklahoma State wore his singlet backwards in the NCAA semifinals. If you check the hash tag #hissingletwasbackwards on Twitter, 90% of them are probably Coach Niemann’s.

With the conclusion of the NCAA tournament, that brings an end to the regular wrestling coverage for the year, but I’ll be periodically updating you with recruiting news and notes during the offseason. You can follow me on Twitter @CurtHeinrichs for college football, MMA, and Cleveland sports musings. I’d give me a follow if I were you. Also, thank you to the staff at Eleven Warriors for the opportunity to cover the Buckeyes and thank you to the readers. You guys are the best!

Go Bucks!

Great win by the Bucks yesterday!  Aaron - stellar.  DT - awesome.  Shannonator - beast mode.  Q - killin' it softly.  Here's my gripe:  why did Thad take Q out when he was clearly feeling it with the ball yesterday???  He was getting good looks and shooting out of his mind.  Part of the reason we finally took the lead.  Then all of the sudden I see him on the sidelines and he's being rotated in/out.  Was that a defensive thing?  I'm just trying to understand why he was on the side when we clearly needed offense when Iowa started storming back.  I love Aaron and his game, but yesterday I felt like he was pressing it and - I know - dare I say it - he was sort of a ball hog down the stretch.  He was reluctant to feed it to DT who was also stroking it well.  I don't mind any player taking over a game, but clearly Aaron was a bit gassed at the end and he should've been passing the rock to the shooters more (well, NOT Lenzelle... sorry, because I know you give it your all but you're in a bad slump this season... except for the one 3-pt. you put up when we needed it most).  Can 11W Nation explain this to me?

Yesterday was Alex's last day with Eleven Warriors. He's moving on to Bucknuts after receiving an offer that he'd be crazy to turn down.

Alex has been instrumental in building Eleven Warriors to the place it is today and he'll be sorely missed. If we could have cloned him, we would have. His four years of hard work on the recruiting front and dedication to making 11W a better place was a crucial part of our growth.

If there was a way to keep Alex, we would have done it. But as a small, independent site, we simply did not have the resources to match the offer.

While it's never easy to lose someone like Alex, we are well positioned for his departure. Derek moves into our Director of Recruiting/Scouting role and both he and Miles have built extensive networks with recruits and coaches in Ohio State's recruiting footprint (which is pretty much the entire country at this point). They're both excited to step into expanded roles and to build upon what Alex started at Eleven Warriors. We have some exciting things planned.

I also firmly believe that in an age of Twitter and instant information, our free model is sustainable and will keep us competitive on the recruiting front.

Alex becomes the fourth writer at Eleven Warriors to move into a salaried position, covering the team and topics that they love. We embrace that cradle of writers image, but at the same time, we'll continue to work to ensure Eleven Warriors grows to become a destination spot and not an elite AAA team for better funded operations. We're close.

Please join me in congratulating Alex and Derek on their new roles.

Alex has asked me to share this farewell message:

For over four years this place has been like a second family to me and I want to thank each and every one of you making it a special part of my life.

Special thanks go out to Jason and Chris (and Corey) for first giving me the opportunity to express my passion for Ohio State on this platform after finding me struggling to keep dottingthei.com afloat after starting the site with a few of my friends.

I also want to thank the other staff writers who have always been there for me and have helped me develop throughout my career. Big props to Derek and Miles for elevating our recruiting platform with me over the last year.

Finally, I want to thank all of you readers for actually caring about what I put on the interwebs and giving me feedback, both good and bad throughout the years, to help me grow and more importantly, help this site grow.

I hope you all will follow my content at Bucknuts, but also continue to come to 11W for all of your Buckeye needs.

This site is truly a special place and I really believe the ongoing success it has seen over the last couple of years will continue well into the future. I know I couldn't get to where I am today without 11W and I wish the staff all of the best. I'll definitely be sure to pop in from time to time to say hi and I know Derek and Miles will do a great job of keeping you in the loop for recruiting.

Once again, thank you all and feel free to reach me at any time at alexgleitman247@gmail.com.

Go Bucks,

Alex

 

Sunday

The official St. Patrick's Day colors were changed to scarlet and gray as Ohio State won the Big Ten tournament.

Despite Berggren their Brust efforts, Wisconsin Evansually found out Jackson threes all day wouldn't beat Ohio State.

Following OSU's victory, IU players rushed the court, cut down the nets, and then cried on the floor.

Ohio State was given the 2 seed in NCAA tournament's stacked West region.

And the roommate who got back first from spring break stole everything.

Monday

Students across campus joyously celebrated a return to classes and didn't complain at all.

Ohio State switched back to quarters until the end of the semester.

And Tansky Toyota began wondering when all those free balls thrown out at basketball games would pay off.

Tuesday

Westboro Baptist found a new following at university of michigan.

OSU Student Wellness began offering free "portable sex chambers."

Jim Foster was fired as women's basketball coach after university officials discovered he was not a woman.

University Dining added Mirror Lake water to its beverage options.

And campus Browns fans were in a state of depression after their best player signed with another team.

(Correction: Campus Browns fans were already in a state of depression.)

Wednesday

Spring "arrived."

An Oklahoma State student mistakenly claimed to attend OSU.

A PAD pizza wasn't technically a pizza this time, but was a good try though.

A survey found 100% of campus Cavs fans predicted a win against Miami, but also knew they would lose.

Aaron Carter was disappointed to find out he wasn't the hottest Aaron C. currently on campus following his concert.

And the University of Wisconsin thought it would be a good idea to reply to a parody Ohio State twitter account for some reason.

.@uwmadison You Up?

— The Fake Lantern (@TheFakeLantern) March 21, 2013

.@uwmadison Well, Not Always twitter.com/TheFakeLantern…

— The Fake Lantern (@TheFakeLantern) March 21, 2013

Thursday

Mirror Lake temporarily became "Amir Lake" for March Madness.

Campus laptops essentially all became TVs for the next few days.

PETA annouced its support for an intentional, thorough extermination of wolverines.

And of course the weird roommate had Harvard winning.

Friday

Ohio State's $45,000 jerseys.

Thad Matta's bracket reportedly had Iona winning.

Even the professor skipped class.

Big Ten began talks to get rid of Wisconsin.

Ohio State unveiled special $45,000 March Madness jerseys.

Aaron Craft stole all of Iona's halftime warm-up balls.

And following Ohio State's victory, Momo Jones still had no idea who Aaron Craft was.

Saturday

Campus police finally arrested serial traffic violator "Jaywalk Steve."

And the NCAA moved Ohio State to the East region so it's fair.

For more fake campus news, be sure to follow @TheFakeLantern on Twitter and check out TheFakeLantern.com.

On the eve of greatness.

Beewunngee.

Something has occurred to me that I have to believe has occurred to many other Buckeye fans throughout the year.  There doesn't seem to be all that "conference arrogance" during the current basketball season, like has been seen so recently demonstrated in the SEC in football.  Yes, the SEC has been the dominant conference of late in football, and everybody is plum wore out hearing about it. But every non-SEC fan still endured an endless barrage of "S-E-C, S-E-C" from fans whose personal "favorites" had had their crickets creamed that season.  Endless chest pounding and claims of speed, dressing one week like a tiger, the next all crimson...then imagine your Kentucky fan and good friend in your face constantly crooning about Alabama.  You would do him a favor by cascading him over the office desk into the fireplace.  In an effort to bring him to his senses, of course.  I don't condone wanton violence for no apparent reason.  But to help a friend in need...

But I digress.  And you get the picture.  We've been bombarded with "the SEC is the best all this and that" for half a decade now...but here's the question:

Have you seen any instances of Big Ten fans doing this? 

Simply because the Big Ten is the most dominant basketball dynasty in the history of the NCAA?  (with only a little tongue in cheek there)  Do you hear "Bee, One, Gee!, Bee One Geee!, BEEEE ONE GEEEEEEEEEE" slathered over the message and forum boards like this or from within the B1G media?

No, you don't.  And the reason? 

Nothing short of something called "class". 

The B1G.  It gets slashed for a lot of legitimate reasons.  But the class of its fans and media should never again be called into question (I'm not saying there won't be classless individual fans, everybody has em, lookin your way, Mr. Couch).  However, at the end of a brutal intra-conference season, and with the absolute agreement that the Big Ten was the true home of powerhouses this year...you didn't hear the conference smugness that has so poisoned the SEC fan base!  I certainly didn't.  We heard fierce loyalty to one's own team, and fans in mostly good natured hatred for one other...and certainly a sense of conference pride, that goes without saying...but you know, we didn't exploit our pride and go out and prance around before the world and say, "Look at me!  Look at me!  I'm the Bee One Gee!" [although Gordon would certainly appreciate that chant]

The Big Ten fans were admirable this year in that regard.  I applaud you. 

The Players.  The talent level in the Big Ten is amazingly stacked, and is the envy of the collective collegiate world.  Several are very likely to be facing off in the Final Four.  Yet the athletes themselves have mostly recognized and respected the abilities of their opponents, and this has created good matchups, entertaining storylines, and unrivaled competition.  This creates better players.  It helps recruiting.  The best players always want to come and compete with the best players.  The Big Ten reputation of strength isn't going anywhere soon.  And I'm proud to say my Buckeyes always seem to be in the thick of it nowadays.  It's fairly difficult to actually be a two sport Division I School, given the tiny list of schools that actually are.  Might be a good discussion question, but I do know this. 

Ohio State is increasingly exactly that.

The Haters.  It seems that the "haters" have narrowed their focus down to one guy, really.  Aaron Craft.  This is not a defense of Aaron Craft.  Others have done that marvelously on here already.  But Aaron Craft is simply the convenient target...and the funny thing is that he is just the opposite of what some of the bozos want to portray him as...the Overachiever.  And I do actually have a question for the framer of that "dig" on Craft.  Since when is overachieving a bad thing, sir?  Then I remember that Aaron Craft is the guy who had just LOST to Michigan, and the first thing he did was to hug Trey Burke, his M*chigan opponent!  Aaron Craft is a man among boys in one more area.  Character.  The few guys who dig on him do it against a veritable onslaught of praise from the "outside the conference world".  Some of these so called pundits with personal team loyalty they can't separate from their analysis of players on rival teams...are only punching holes in their own credibility bit by agonizing bit.  I want to reach out to some of these guys and slap them (but not in a wanton violent way), just as I would a good friend, to wake him up out of his pseudo-fame induced delusion.  But certainly, and rightfully so, Ohio State is a popular hate target within its own conference simply because of the years of consistent success in football.  Simple as that.  Simply no simpler.  Sorry, Aaron.  You just happened to be in the...uh...right place at the right time.  Just think about the Book of Esther, Aaron..."For such a time as this..."  Welcome to what you already know is the world of the Big Ten.  Oh, and while I'm at it...Big Ten, welcome to the world of Aaron Craft. 

Oh, sorry, I see you already know that world.

The Coming Maelstrom.  The college football sports world will soon see a fiery tempest tear across the landscape.  This particular storm had started the SEC Reign of Terror itself, only as a smaller overconfident "shit storm".  The Tempest though, will end it.  The last winged beast of the SEC will fail against its onslaught.  It will be relentless.  The Storm will be accused of grinding its foe into a place of humility...even shame.  "Play your backups!" the pundits will plead.  And it won't matter.  The backups will proceed to carry the same fire of those before.  And why will that be? It is because they have been allowed into The Chase.  

Welcome to the 2013 season!  Although operating with unknowns and young talent in key positions, these Buckeyes have been learning something increasingly rare in college team sports.  Team.   This group of guys is not going to wait for Braxton Miller to fully mature and return as a senior on Holly Four Barrels.  This group of players has the gel, and the attitude, to put a Crystal Football beside a Cut Down Net from an NCAA Champion.  Buckeye Nation...this is where we are.  We are the Caesars of our conference world.  And our eyes are on the larger prizes.  We are moving ahead with the plan of world domination, not as a conference, but as a TEAM.  Unless a horrible misalignment of the northern hemisphere of the star system were to happen...this Buckeye football team is going to break a lot of records, and turn a lot of heads.  Or even turn a lot of records and break a lot of heads...again with the wanton violence.  Pain is going to be a staple that opponents will be fed at the Buckeye Buffet.  Pain, misery, and loss.  Possibly as the year goes on, a degree of conference pride will arise in some of our opponent fan bases, as they grudgingly urge the Buckeyes on in the national championship to reclaim what they accuse us of losing in the first place (I maintain we lost it for us).  And restoring "pride" is totally ok with me, as long as the renewed conference pride comes because Ohio State made it so. 

And for those that value the concept of "conference pride"...they will feel better and stop kicking the dog as it was never the dog's fault.  But for me, well...it will simply be a reason to beam a great smile of...yes, PRIDE...in the Ohio State Bucekeyes.

And yes, Iona will be singing more softly tonight than they had anticipated.  I have spoken.

The Time Traveler

In today's Skull Session, Nicholas reported on Jim Delany's idle threat to move the entire Big Ten to Division III. I agree with Nicholas that it is a ridiculous proposition. He makes several points - bulleted, in fact...

Here are a few other problems with the supposed voluntary transition.

• Big-time college athletics improves a school's visibility and applicant test scores too. Without them, a school's academic reputation suffers.
• Schools with 100,000 seat stadiums are now stuck with them and whatever debt from them, with no way to make up the money.
• There would be just a few livid fans and donors if Ohio State administrators decided to deemphasize athletics. Ditto elsewhere.
• Even if the Big Ten Network isn't hamstrung by cable company charging changes, who's going to watch the equivalent of Oberlin vs. Wisconsin Whitewater each week?
• This would preclude any university that wants to stay Division I from joining the conference.

Four of those points make a lot of sense and generally shared by most college athletic fans. It creates a lot of troubling scenarios for large athletic departments like Ohio State's. These departments have debts to settle and leaving Division I would devastate AD budgets everywhere. Fans and donors would certainly be angry. It's just plain messy to imagine.

However, the first point misses a bit. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but improved visibility and academic reputations suggests a university would also take a big financial and academic hit due to lower admissions if they dropped out of D-I. I've heard this and similar arguments before in regards to Division I athletics - particularly football and men's basketball. These sports supposedly do so much for a university's reputation and income. The trouble is that this isn't true.

Before I continue to develop my thesis that will surely get me down-voted off the site or accused of trolling, you should know that I love Ohio State. I grew up in Ohio and lived for football season until it was over and I could cheer on the basketball Buckeyes. Since moving to Missouri for my wife's academic job, I have only grown into more of a die-hard Buckeye fan - even tattooing the great state of Ohio on my forearm. Although I don't comment as often on 11W these days, I still read it religiously. I'm a Buckeye, just like the rest of you.

Still, it is troubling how much major college athletics cost our beloved universities. In an age when education suffers financially at every turn, university athletic departments continue to grow at astronomical rates. Here in Missouri, the university is trying to keep up with the rest of the SEC and is struggling to find the funds. In the meantime, faculty salaries rank near the bottom of AAU universities while Gary Pinkel gets large raises for making second-rate bowl games and Frank Haith does the same for bowing out of the NCAA in the first round to a 15-seed. Missouri may not even be in the AAU in a year as they just aren't producing as much research or researchers as they used to. Still, the town, state, and university are wrapped up in SEC fever, talking expansion of the stadium instead of the academic programs.

Some will point to the millions of dollars that universities like Ohio State take in from TV deals or the fact that admissions are up everywhere. However, we are ignoring the cost to achieve these milestones and how disproportionate it is to the supposed profits.

Take the case of all those universities that lose money when they go to a bowl game. Consider the ever-increasing ticket prices. Why does tuition have to rise just to keep a university rolling in athletic profits from folding?

The fact is that big-time college athletics do very little for universities in regards to their primary function: educating the populace. 

I titled this post "I'll just leave this right here." because I wanted to leave a couple of studies we should all read. I'm not telling anyone how to think. I'm not suggesting we should quit being Ohio State fans. And I really don't want to get into an argument. I just think we should all be aware that there are different perspectives on collegiate athletics that don't match our own. The purpose is to have some dialog with people that actually care about collegiate athletics. I hang with a lot of academics who don't care about sports, particularly collegiate sports. I'd rather have this conversation with people who actually care.

• Academic Spending Versus Athletic Spending: Who Wins? http://chronicle.com/blogs/players/files/2013/01/deltacost.pdf
• What Does Intercollegiate Athletics Do To or For Colleges and Universities? http://www.accessecon.com/pubs/VUECON/vu10-w05.pdf
• College Sports 101 http://www.knightcommission.org/collegesports101/table-of-contents

The above are just a few reports and articles on the subject, but you can find many more articles within their references.

Again, I am not trying to start and argument. I just think we should be honest with what collegiate athletics means to universities and to our priorities as a country.

Preview by Curt Heinrichs

Impending fatherhood has kept me from doing a more complete (and prompt) recap of the Big Ten Championships, and here’s hoping I’ll get to recap this weekend’s NCAA tournament for those that are unable to watch it, but if my wife goes into labor anytime soon, you'll just have to deal without me.

Take a look at the brackets for yourself. 

The Wrestling Buckeyes finished in 4th place at the 2013 Big Ten Championships and finished with a pair of champions, the Brothers Stieber at 133 lbs and 141 lbs.
The NCAA is throwing a wrench in the works by having this year’s NCAA tournament start at 174 lbs, probably with the idea that the final match on Saturday night will be the legendary rematch (if they’ve met 2 times already this season, would it be a threematch?) between Cornell’s 3 time champion Kyle “Kid Dynamite” Dake and Penn State’s wunderkind David Taylor. Taylor has steamrolled nearly everyone he’s faced this season with the exception of Dake. Of Taylor’s 26 wins this season, 25 have been by bonus points, but he’s 0-2 against Dake, who is seeking to become just the 3rd wrestler in NCAA Division history with 4 individual NCAA titles. By comparison, Dake has not always been a points machine in his career, but he is known for his stifling style, completely shutting down his opponents. This season, Dake has gotten hot and rattled off 18 pins. Though it may be viewed by some as unfair to the rest of the competitors in the field, it is almost an inevitability that Taylor and Dake will cruise through the bracket en route to the championship on Saturday night. Although I tend to be a bit of a purist when it comes to wrestling, this shake up in format has me excited and I’m hoping that Taylor and Dake put on an incredible match.

Starting the tournament for the Buckeyes will be redshirt junior and returning All-American Nick Heflin. Heflin earned 5th place in the stacked 174 lb weight class at the Big Ten Tournament, which is probably one of the most stacked divisions in the country this year, especially coming out of the Big Ten. Heflin is peaking at the right time, knocking off then-#1Logan Storley in the consolation quarterfinals on his way to 5th place. Heflin drew the 8th seed at the NCAA tournament and will match up with Rutgers’ Greg Zanetti in the first round. If Heflin wrestles to his ability, he should meet Lehigh’s Nathaniel Brown (9 seed) and eventually #1 seeded Chris Perry of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals on Friday morning barring any upsets.

A feel-good story up to this point, redshirt senior CJ Magrum is once again back at the NCAA tournament despite some early season stumbles. Magrum was unable to crack the Buckeyes lineup for much of the season, unable to beat upstart Kenny Courts for the starting spot. Magrum has qualified for the NCAA tournament each of his previous 3 seasons, but was unable to compete in last year’s tournament due to injury. Magrum will start his tournament against Rutgers’ Daniel Rinaldi on Thursday. A win over Rinaldi would likely pit Magrum against #3 seeded Robert Hamlin of Lehigh, a 2 time NCAA All-American in his own right.

At 197 lbs, the Buckeyes will trot out sophomore Andrew Campolattano, who won 3 matches at last year’s NCAA tournament. Campolattano is returning from a minor injury, but was able to reach the Big Ten semifinals before eventually placing 5th. Campolattano is an opportunist, able to capitalize on an opponent’s mistake in a big way with a pin if possible. Camp will face off against the #8 seeded Micah Burak of Penn. With a minor upset over Burak, Camp would find himself within a win of meeting NCAA champ (and Berea, Ohio native) Dustin Kilgore for the 4th time this season. Kilgore has bowled over everyone he’s faced this season, but Campolattano has been able to keep close to Kilgore for much of his matches this season.
An injury sustained in the Penn State dual in February cost Peter Capone the chance to compete at the Big Ten tournament, so Kosta Karageorge filled in. Karageorge was unable to place at the Big Ten tournament, thereby ending his season.

At 125 lbs, Nikko Triggas will step onto the mat for the final time in a Buckeye singlet. Triggas has been able to make great use of his time at Ohio State, spending more time in college than Tommy Calahan or Van Wilder (Triggas’ first season for the Buckeyes was my last year at Ohio State back in the 2007-2008 season). This will be Nikko’s 4th trip to the NCAA tournament, and he’ll look to improve on his 8th place performance in the 2010 championships. Triggas finished 5th at the Big Ten tournament and earned the 11 seed in the NCAA tournament. Triggas will start his tournament run against Stanford’s Evan Silver and should find himself against Cornell’s Nahshon Garrett in the 2nd round if he defeats Silver. Fans of the Big Ten should closely watch this weight class as McDonough (Iowa’s former NCAA champion), Delgado (Illinois’ surprising Big Ten Champion from this season), and Megaludus (Penn State’s NCAA runner up from last year) are all serious contenders for the NCAA title. Triggas is capable of ending any match by pin as he entered the season 5th on the all-time Ohio State pins list with 37. If Triggas is able to slip in a double armbar, the referee should be ready to slap the mat in quick fashion. 

At 133 lbs, the Buckeyes will look to defending NCAA champion Logan Stieber to score big points in the team race while defending his crown. Stieber once again won the Big Ten tournament with an overtime takedown against nemesis Tony Ramos of Iowa. Stieber’s body lock takedown over Ramos earned him a 3-1 victory in what very well could be a preview of the NCAA finals as Stieber has the #1 seed and Ramos has the #2 seed. Ramos and Stieber entered the Big Ten championship with undefeated records and Ramos’ only real challenge in his half of the bracket looks to be Wisconsin’s Tyler Graff, who could play spoiler to the Ramos-Stieber rematch. Stieber ought to cruise to the semifinals, where he’ll likely meet Edinboro’s AJ Schopp. Stieber’s road to the finals runs through Duke’s Brandon Gambucci, who is a graduate of Lexington (Ohio) High School, located near Monroeville. Stieber should be able to rack up some bonus points in his quest for a repeat National Title, which should factor in the Buckeyes making a strong push for the podium as a team as they look to improve on last year’s 5th place performance.

At 141 lbs, younger brother Hunter Stieber turned some heads as he snagged the #1 seed away from Oklahoma’s Kendric Maple following Stieber’s Big Ten title. Stieber kept his perfect record intact with a win over Mark Ballweg of Iowa. Maple also stayed undefeated, defeating Luke Goetl of Iowa State, but the strength of the Big Twelve conference pales in comparison to the Big Ten and one can view Stieber’s #1 seed as advantage in strength of schedule. The younger Stieber was an NCAA semifinalist last year, falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Kellen Russell of U of M before finishing 6th. Hunter’s quarter of the bracket features Minnesota’s Nick Dardanes, whom Stieber beat 5-3 earlier in the season. Like his older brother, Hunter will be relied upon heavily to score points to keep the Buckeyes in the team race.

At 149 lbs, Ian Paddock is back in the Buckeye lineup and brings a great deal of experience to the team despite not competing for most of the season in the #1 role. That spot was primarily held by Cam Tessari, who was held out of the Big Tens as coach’s decision. Paddock has previously earned 2 trips to the NCAA tournament, and is making his 3rd trip in his redshirt junior year. Paddock is a valuable part of the team and has 3 previous wins at the NCAA tournament, so he is not exactly a novice when it comes to post-season wrestling. Paddock provided a big lift to the Buckeyes at the Big Ten tournament with a win over #1 seeded Eric Grajales of Michigan (What’s the opposite of a fan-favorite? That’s what Grajales is for me) 7-4. Paddock earned 6th place and a return trip to the NCAA tournament. Ian will face Donnie Vinson of Binghamton (the #3 seed) in a pigtail match, being the only Buckeye this season to earn the distinction of having to wrestle in the wrestle-in match. Paddock is capable of pulling off an upset with his experience and lack of exposure this season.

At 157 lbs, Westerville product Josh Demas will make his second appearance at the NCAA tournament after a 4th place finish at the Big Ten tournament. Demas earned his way to the Big Ten semis before falling to Jason Welch. Demas won 2 matches last year and will look to improve on that this year, beginning with a bout against last year’s opponent Roger Pena of Oregon State. If Demas wins his first match, he stands to wrestle his high school teammate, Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech in the 2nd round.

At 165 lbs, Mark Martin has the unfavorable draw of wrestling Kyle Dake of Cornell in the first round. Dake is, as previously mentioned, pursuing his 4th NCAA title in 4 different weight classes and Martin will likely be the 1st casualty en route to that. Martin earned a trip to the NCAA tournament after an 8th place finish at the Big Ten tournament. With exception to the highly-anticipated Dake-Taylor rematch, the field at 165 is an excellent one at that. The field features 5 wrestlers who prepped in Ohio prior to college, including Northwestern’s Pierce Harger (Cincinnati Moeller), Missouri’s Zach Toal (Troy Christian), Penn State’s David Taylor (St. Paris Graham),  Virginia’s Nick Sulzer and Mark Martin (both of Lakewood St. Edward). While Martin doesn’t have the most favorable draw wrestling one of the most accomplished wrestlers in NCAA history right off the bat, any points Martin is able to accumulate will greatly help the Buckeyes’ efforts as a team, though it appears to be tough sledding from the get-go.

The tournament begins (at 174 lbs of course) this Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. You can watch the action on Thursday on ESPN 3 beginning at noon EDT for Session 1 action and Session 2 begins at 7:30 PM on Thursday. For you non-ESPN3 users, you can watch the action starting on Friday at 11 EDT on ESPN U. The finals will be held on ESPN at 8 PM on Saturday. Don’t miss it as you won’t see wrestling on ESPN for a calendar year (though you’ll get all of the bowling, bass fishing, and intense poker action you can handle).

For updates, rants, and updates on my wife’s pregnancy, follow me on Twitter @CurtHeinrichs . For updates specific to the wrestling tournament and very few on my wife's pregnancy, follow @WrestlingBucks