Ohio State Leads Big Ten Team Race After Two Rounds: Nine Buckeyes Advance to the Semifinals

By Andy Vance on March 3, 2018 at 2:21 pm
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Ohio State matched Penn State pin for pin in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, and lead the Nittany Lions by 5.5 points through two rounds of competition.

Heading into postseason, Ohio State's advantage over Penn State is that it expects to advance more of its 10 wrestlers further into the tournament than Penn State will. Penn State, meanwhile, scores more bonus points than any team in the country.

Think of it as the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object, if you like a relevant cliché.

  Team Points
1 OHIO STATE 85.5
2 PENN STATE 81.5
3 MICHIGAN 64.5
4 IOWA 39.0
5 ILLINOIS 29.0

Three opening round pins from Ohio State wrestlers kept things even with their rivals to the East, as Joey McKenna, Bo Jordan and Myles Martin each scored victories by fall; Nathan Tomasello and Kyle Snyder each added tech falls.

Luke Pletcher won via a one-point decision (try to look surprised), and Te'Shan Campbell lost another match in which he failed to score an offensive point (try to look surprised). Micah Jordan and Kollin Moore each had opening-round byes.

Things were a little more measured in the second round, however, as the #PinChain stayed on the sidelines and only Martin managed a tech fall. Tomasello and Snyder each earned major decisions, while their teammates, save Campbell, each managed to win by decision.

That means nine of 10 Buckeyes advance to the Big Ten semifinals, versus eight for the Nittany Lions. Those additional advancement points matter, and Tom Ryan will count on Campbell to advance later in the day in the consolation bracket, though he has perhaps the toughest wrestleback match in the tournament, facing Iowa freshman (and St. Paris Graham alumnus) Alex "The Bull" Marinelli.

Through the quarterfinals and including placement points as they currently stand, Ohio State leads the team race 85.5 to 80.0. Even better, nine of 10 Buckeyes have earned their automatic bids to the NCAA tournament in Cleveland.

Match Results: Round One
Wt Result Team Points
125 No. 3 Nathan Tomasello, victory by tech fall over No. 14 Carson Kuhn (Penn State), 21-6 2.5
133 No. 2 Luke Pletcher, decision over Garrett Pepple (Indiana), 5-4 1.0
141 No. 1 Joey McKenna, victory by FALL over Javier Gasca III (Michigan State), 2:12 3.0
149 No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes, major decision over No. 12 Eric Barone (Illinois), 12-1 2.0
157 No. 4 Micah Jordan - BYE 1.0
165 No. 8 Isaiah White (Nebraska), decision over No. 9 Te'Shan Campbell, 6-1 0.0
174 No. 2 Bo Jordan, victory by FALL over Josh Ugalde (Maryland), 1:37 3.0
184 No. 2 Myles Martin, victory by FALL over Max Lyon (Purdue), 2:46 3.0
197 No. 1 Kollin Moore - BYE 1.0
HWT No. 2 Kyle Snyder, victory by tech fall over Fletcher Miller (Indiana), 24-9 2.5
Match Results: Round Two
Wt Result Team Points
125 No. 3 Nathan Tomasello, major decision over No. 6 Luke Welch (Purdue), 14-3 2.0
133 No. 2 Luke Pletcher, decision over No. 7 Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 4-3 1.0
141 No. 1 Joey McKenna, decision over Vince Turk (Iowa), 4-0 1.0
149 No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes, decision over No. 4 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska), 7-6 1.0
157 No. 4 Micah Jordan, decision over No. 5 Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 4-3 1.0
174 No. 2 Bo Jordan, decision over Joey Gunther (Iowa), 8-3 1.0
184 No. 2 Myles Martin, victory by tech fall over No. 7 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin), 23-8 2.5
197 No. 1 Kollin Moore, decision over No. 8 Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 10-6 1.0
HWT No. 2 Kyle Snyder, major decision over No. 7 Shawn Streck (Purdue), 17-6 2.0

Semifinal action kicks off at 6 p.m. on BTN Plus.

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