Ohio State's NCAA chances

[Lumpy]

First off I'm a fan of all three teams. I think Iowa is the better tourney team than Missouri. Personally, I believe they're a better dual team as well. (Thats why they wrestle the matches)

Ohio State is poised to take a huge leap this year. They have a few big dogs who will be in the running. Those points matter. Its the question marks that will either bury OSU, or send them to the top.

Here is how I think OSU will do this year.

125 Nathan Tomasello He needs to wrestle one of his best tournaments here. Hes lucky Dylan Peters ended up one section higher in the brackets. I could see an upset in the Semi's if all goes well. Waters is very beatable. Tomasello does have one loss to him this year, 11-8. I could see Tomasello placing anywhere from 1st to 4th.

133 Johnni DiJulius JDJ is a tough guy to bet on. He loses some very dumb matches. DeShazar of Nebraska-Kearney, DelVecchio of Rutgers are his biggest ones. JDJ has a tough path to the semis. If all goes well he would have to wrestle the always dangerous Cody Brewer of OU and in the quarters possibly end up with Zane Richards of ILL. JDJ has to bring his A game. JDJ could go as high as 5th.

141 Logan Steiber I REALLY hope to see another Steiber/Port matchup. Thats worth the enterance fee in one match. He will place 1st or 2nd.

149 Hunter Steiber If hes 100% than it would change it all. After the interview with Logan about his injury I just don't see things going Steiber's way. Ruggirello is very beatable. After that match he would get the winner of Habat (Edinboro) and Kindig (OKST). I think Steiber goes 1 and 1 into the consolation where he enters early and will leave the tournament early. He will either place Low or Not at all.

157 Josh Demas He has some big name wins. A few bad loses too. I predict he will either lose to Mike Kelly (Iowa) right away (worst case for the team trophy) or go down to Brian Murphy (Mich) in round 2. Possible Low podium this year 6-8th

165 Bo Jordan I predict A BoJo and Dieringer semi match. Dieringer wins that one. If all goes well its a Dieringer and Zeke finals with BoJo placing as high as 3rd.

174 Mark Martin I see a win in his first match over Julson (NDSU) and will lose to Zach Epperly (VT) again. He has 2 loses to Epperly this year one by fall and one 3-2. He could upset but I'd take the safe bet. A long shot at placing this year

184 Kenny Courts Getting Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) in the first round sucks. I don't see Courts placing this year.

197 Kyle Snyder True Freshman Phenom. Snyder is poised for a big tournament coming off that loss to McIntosh. He will have Schiller, who he has a win over, in the quarters. Then it gets interesting. If Snyder wins he will have J'den Cox in the semis. These two haven't met since high school, where if I remember correctly Cox beat Snyder. I see Snyder placing 3rd or 4th this year.

285 Nick Tavanello Talk about an up and down year for this guy. Tav started out strong and just flopped. Hes got an opening round against the very tough Ty Walz (VT) who has a win on Tav earlier this year. I do not see Tav placing this year.

*All stats come from either d1collegewrestling.net or my memory.

[hammen]

Tomasello is a tough guy not to root for. He does the right things, competes hard, humble, and has crisp leg attacks. He's on the right side of the bracket and peaking at the right time to make a huge run and big impact for the Buckeyes.

JDJ is a wildcard guy. Could go 1-2 or take 3rd. There's a lot of variance in the way he wrestles. I believe he beat Brewer at NCAA's last year.

Logan - nuff said.

Hunter has a super tough draw. He needs to win that first one. I think he actually wins at least 2 here, but the amount of matches on Friday might catch up with him.

Demas is capable. See JDJ for a similar analysis. Lots of variance due to his great ability and small gas tank. The depth in this weight is at the top, and he is right in that next tier fighting for low AA.

Bo has the opportunity to make one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. To get there he will have to beat a St Eds foe who started the year #2. Hope everyone gets the opportunity to see Bo and Alex battled on ESPN Friday night.

Martin/Courts - similar opportunities for these guys. They are capable but don't seem to have improved since their freshman years. Lots of talent here and Martin is good enough on top to score big bonus points for the Buckeyes. These two are very critical for a national title run.

Excited for a Snyder and Cox match. Hope these guys let it fly. Should be some great technique and athleticism in this bout. Big win for wrestling fans if seeds hold for Friday night.

Tavanello was out of the lineup for a while and you can see it. He hasn't competed like he did last year when he beat Coon I believe. 285 is pretty tough but every point or half point will help.

[Huckfinn]

It's a shame Hunter Steiber didn't take a redshirt year this season.   What are the Buckeyes thinking?  He's got a redshirt available.     I suppose Logan Steiber took a redshirt year so he and his brother could wrestle together, and this was supposed to be "the year"  where both won National titles and a team championship together.

Steiber is not just injured, he's weak.   He's had elbow injuries in both arms all year, one severe, so you know he hasn't trained properly.   Even if his elbow magically healed, he's not the same.   He needs surgery and rehab, or at least that is what has been suggested by a OS announcer.

I just think its a shame to throw away a year of that kind of talent.   

[Micah]

Depends on Demas, Martin and Courts.  These guys win some matches and they will be in the hunt.

[stp]

 Nathan T. could very well be in the finals.   Very confident he AA's.  
Johnni D he needs to wrestle a darn good tourny to AA.  He's sneaky and picking up bonus points with a pin would be huge for the team title.
141 needs big points from tOSUs alpha dog.
Going to sound negative here- Hunter needs to find a magical pill/injection (whatever) or tOSU screwed up not replacing him in the lineup.  I don't care how much of a stud you are, if your arms don't work you can't wrestle.  
Demas can make the qtr's against Ness.
Both Bo and tOSU's national team title chances could end 2nd round when Jordan faces Dylan Palacio, who is dangerous.  Qtr's he looks to face a former St Edward Eagle, Ohio in Sulzer.  Hopefully Bo wrestles out of his mind in the semi's against Dieringer and we get a repeat of the B10 finals.  
Martin and Courts hopefully wins a match or two and score a couple points....meh'.
Snyder should AA and very well could be in the finals but the pessimistic part of me is concerned Kyle gets a "welcome to the NCAA's" and does not place.
Tav is along the lines as Martin and Courts.  Hopefully a few team points.

Only way Ohio State wins the national title is by picking up huge amounts of bonus points.  

[Jimmy]

According to Ohio state website hunter Steiber is a rs.jr.

[stp]

It's a shame Hunter Steiber didn't take a redshirt year this season.      

Hunter had a RS last year with Bo and Nathan.  Many believe this weekend will be the last time Hunter wrestles for tOSU while a few others mention a possible medical hardship RS to get a 6th year.

Tommy John surgery would take about 8 months to recover from how it sounds too. 

[Huckfinn]

It's a shame Hunter Steiber didn't take a redshirt year this season.      

Hunter had a RS last year with Bo and Nathan.  Many believe this weekend will be the last time  

I forgot about Hunter's RS last season,  I was focused on Logan's original RS that was said to be to synchronize with his little bro.   Guess that plan changed a bit.

I really doubt anybody would have the chutzpah to ask for medical RS this late in season.    Hunter coulda shoulda  requested a med RS earlier.    In any event, as Jimmy points out Hunter is just a junior, so he does have one more season.   The med redshirt would have bought him two years of the good college life.

[OldAbes72]

Nathan T. could very well be in the finals.   Very confident he AA's.  
Johnni D he needs to wrestle a darn good tourny to AA.  He's sneaky and picking up bonus points with a pin would be huge for the team title.
141 needs big points from tOSUs alpha dog.
Going to sound negative here- Hunter needs to find a magical pill/injection (whatever) or tOSU screwed up not replacing him in the lineup.  I don't care how much of a stud you are, if your arms don't work you can't wrestle.  
Demas can make the qtr's against Ness.
Both Bo and tOSU's national team title chances could end 2nd round when Jordan faces Dylan Palacio, who is dangerous.  Qtr's he looks to face a former St Edward Eagle, Ohio in Sulzer.  Hopefully Bo wrestles out of his mind in the semi's against Dieringer and we get a repeat of the B10 finals.  
Martin and Courts hopefully wins a match or two and score a couple points....meh'.
Snyder should AA and very well could be in the finals but the pessimistic part of me is concerned Kyle gets a "welcome to the NCAA's" and does not place.
Tav is along the lines as Martin and Courts.  Hopefully a few team points.

Only way Ohio State wins the national title is by picking up huge amounts of bonus points.  

Whatever is out of eligibility. He would probably love to get back out on the mat though.

[whatever]

Nathan T. could very well be in the finals.   Very confident he AA's.  
Johnni D he needs to wrestle a darn good tourny to AA.  He's sneaky and picking up bonus points with a pin would be huge for the team title.
141 needs big points from tOSUs alpha dog.
Going to sound negative here- Hunter needs to find a magical pill/injection (whatever) or tOSU screwed up not replacing him in the lineup.  I don't care how much of a stud you are, if your arms don't work you can't wrestle.  
Demas can make the qtr's against Ness.
Both Bo and tOSU's national team title chances could end 2nd round when Jordan faces Dylan Palacio, who is dangerous.  Qtr's he looks to face a former St Edward Eagle, Ohio in Sulzer.  Hopefully Bo wrestles out of his mind in the semi's against Dieringer and we get a repeat of the B10 finals.  
Martin and Courts hopefully wins a match or two and score a couple points....meh'.
Snyder should AA and very well could be in the finals but the pessimistic part of me is concerned Kyle gets a "welcome to the NCAA's" and does not place.
Tav is along the lines as Martin and Courts.  Hopefully a few team points.

Only way Ohio State wins the national title is by picking up huge amounts of bonus points.  

Whatever is out of eligibility. He would probably love to get back out on the mat though.

Darn right I'm out of eligibility!.....but get back on the mat?....uh, no.  In fact, HECK NO!  I'm not foolish enough to challenge Father Time's undefeated record.....