2021 NCAA Tournament

[Big Bird]

NDSU has three automatic qualifiers in Franek, Weber, and Metz.

New rankings are out today and in the Trackwrestling rankings, Franek is up to #8 in the country. I think that will wind up being slightly higher than he actually gets seeded. I could see him seeded anywhere from 8-12, putting him with a very winnable first match and then squaring off with a Jacori Teemer, Kendall Coleman, Jarret Jacques, Brady Berge, or Justin Thomas type to get to the quarterfinals. He has lost very close matches to Teemer and Coleman last year, lost to Jacques in an early match this year, and has beaten Thomas 3 times. I'm hoping he has Thomas or Teemer to get to the quarterfinals.

Weber is all the way up to 15th in the country. He has a great record, has a great top win, and has a really long winning streak. If they take only this year into consideration, Weber could be seeded as high as ~10. There are only 2 guys I'm hoping he avoids, and they are #1 Marinelli and #4 Griffith. Early on, I would prefer he doesn't get matched up with Purdue's Nijenhuis and Missouri's O'Toole.

Metz is up to #22, which seems about right. Christian Lance, Tate Orndorff, Luke Luffman, and Deonte Wilson are matchups I'd love for him to get in round 1.

As far as NDSU's possible at large selections, most wrestling media outlets aren't predicting NDSU to get any at large selections, but Kellyn March and Owen Pentz deserve to get in.

March is up to #22 in the rankings and that also seems fair (although Rich being ahead of him doesn't make sense with Turner beating Rich at P12s and March beating Turner). Michael McGee is a lock to get a WC, which leaves 5 spots available. Drury will get one over March by beating him and placing higher at B12s. That leaves 4 spots for March, Heilman (NC), Medley (Mich), Sullivan (WV), Smith (UVU), Van Vleet (AFA), Greenwood (Wyo), Marten (CMU), Bianchi (formerly NDSU, now ARLR), Miranda (Stan), and Rich (CSUB). Rich beat McGee and has a good record, so he will likely get in. For the final three, March placed higher than Smith, Van Vleet, Sullivan, and Greenwood (although Sullivan injury defaulted out). My at large choices would go to: McGee, Rich, Drury, Sullivan, March, and Van Vleet. March's winning percentage hurts him, but his 7th place finish, and wins over Turner, Van Vleet, Skudlarczyk, and Smith are more impressive than most.

Pentz is up to #28 and I'd argue he should be a couple spots higher. He's behind some pretty decently large B1G and ACC names, who haven't had great results this year. They're higher than Pentz based on name and school alone. Pentz is helped by the weight having 7 wildcards. Tommy Penola and Tanner Sloan are locks, which leaves 5 spots available. Reenan, Pellham, Pentz, Hoffman, and Janzer make the most sense to me for the final 5. Wroblewski could get in, but the B1G doesn't deserve 3. Pentz' win percentage, 7th place finish, and wins over Hutchinson and Seely help a lot.

The only two other possible considerations are Dylan Droegemueller and Austin Brenner, who are both long shots.

Dylan is up to #30 in the rankings. Had Dylan gotten 5th, he'd have a pretty strong case, but he didn't. He's only lost to NCAA qualifiers, and Zollman from Wyo, who may wind up a qualifier as a WC. Dylan's winning percentage is below .500, but that's because he's had a tough schedule.

Brenner joins the rankings at #32. His only significant win is over Cade King, which I don't think will be enough to get in. Brenner is aided by his winning percentage (against largely backups) and by his 7th place B12 tournament.

[PaBizon]

Just a feeling but I think a matchup between Weber and Robb from his old school Nebraska is in the cards.

[PaBizon]

Flo Wrestling has March up to 17 in its rankings released today. Wrestlestat’s formula actually has March jumping up 25 spots all the way to 10. Seems a bit much but I’m thinking he sneaks into that last spot based on his schedule. Pentz is not in Flos top 25 which I think is wrong. Wrestlestat has Pentz at 22. When he’s wrestled some of the ranked people he’s been beaten badly which I think hurts him.

[Big Bird]

I'm watching Willie Saylor's At Large predictions live feed, and it is making me nervous. They're talking about the B1G bias and how some weights have inordinately large B1G bias at some weights. They're using 165 as a reference, but I sure that isn't the case at 197.

Free to watch/listen https://rokfin.com/stream/4354/NCAA-At-Large-Predictions

[Big Bird]

Rokfin predictions for at large selections at weights NDSU has a chance:

133- they did not have March in.
141- Droegemueller was not in, but Zollman, who beat Dylan for 5th was in.
174- Brenner was not among their picks.
197- Pentz was not among their picks.

[PaBizon]

Flo doesn’t have any of the at large Bison making it

[Big Bird]

Pentz gets in and March doesn't.

Absolute BS that March didn't make it. He beat Ty Smith in the 7th place match and Smith gets in. Van Vleet gets in, despite not placing at the B12 tournament, and having lost to March (even if it was an injury default, still counts). Sullivan got in as well, despite not placing at B12s

[AKBison]

Dang it, really thought March deserved a spot!

[Big Bird]

The coaches did a terrible job at a couple weights, with 133 being especially egregious.

To further the March point. He beat the Pac 12 champion, Devan Turner. Turner gets an automatic qualifier, while Chance Rich (lost to Turner), Michael McGee (3rd in Pac 12), and Paul Bianchi (4th in Path 12) all got in. He has a better case than all 6 that were selected.

In the B12, he beat Van Vleet, Van Vleet didn't place at B12s. He beat Smith at B12s. Sullivan injury defaulted out of B12s and didn't place. I can live with Sullivan, McGee, and rich getting, but the rest are BS

[PaBizon]

After a quick glance at The Open Mats 330 ncaa qualifiers list and what states all the wrestlers are from I noticed there were 3 from ND. Decided to see how that compared with the states around us in the Midwest. I never realized that Illinois was as prominent of a wrestling state as it seems to be. Note: I very easily could have miscounted or missed some

Illinois 28
Iowa 14
Minnesota 11
Wisconsin 7
North Dakota 3
Montana 3
Nebraska 1
South Dakota 0 (would have been nice to see March as one here)

I know population plays a part but I never would have guessed that many for Illinois and I would have thought Minnesota would have more than they do.

[PaBizon]

Franek with the 8 seed. Will have to go thru #1 seed Deakin of Northwestern in the quarters. Would love to see him wrestle to his seed and make All American. I think he does.

[PaBizon]

Weber gets the 9 seed and faces Andrew sparks from the gophers in round one.

[AKBison]

The dreaded 8 or 9 seed.

[PaBizon]

Pentz seeded #31 faces #2 seed Schultz from Nebraska

[PaBizon]

Metz gets the 22nd seed and faces Elam from Mizzou who pinned Metz earlier this year

[Big Bird]

Just got a chance to look at the brackets and I have mixed opinions on the spots the NDSU guys are in.

At 157, Franek has a verrrrrrrry real chance to AA. His match against Kendall Coleman from Purdue will be absolutely huge. If he wins that, he'd lose to Deakin in the quarters, but then likely have Jacori Teemer to AA. That is as good as it gets. Teemer and Coleman are both super talented, and both beat Franek last year in super close matches, but both have flaws in their repertoire. If Franek loses to Coleman in round 2, I still think he makes the blood round, but then would have Brayton Lee out of MN. I just can't see him winning that one.

At 165, I absolutely hate Weber's draw, even though he is the 9 seed. If Andrew Sparks is healthy (which is a big if after he tweaked his knee at B1Gs), he is the favorite vs Weber. The kid is insanely talented and only getting better as a true freshman. Just a reminder, NDSU was a finalist for Sparks, but he chose MN. If he wins that, he would get Shane Griffith of Stanford. Griffith is great and dominated Fogarty a couple of times, but hasn't looked like his usual self this year. Like pretty much the whole Stanford team this year, Griffith has limited mat time, but I still can't see Weber winning that one. He has to win the first one vs Sparks to AA. Losing that one gives him Tucker from Michigan State and then either Ethan Smith or Travis Wittlake. Both those guys are great. If he wins vs Sparks and loses vs Griffith, he would likely have Joe Lee of Penn State. He would have a number of options for the next match, all winnable, which would get him to the blood round. There, he could face any of 6 guys who are very good, but not unbeatable. Moral of the story, win the first match vs Sparks, and he has a workable path to AA.

At 197, I was hoping Pentz would be in a pigtail match, but he got seeded just above that. I don't like his first round draw as Schultz can match his physicality and strength. In the wrestlebacks, I would pick Pentz over Jacob Koser. If Pentz were to win that, he would have another winnable match vs probably Jake Jacobsen. Should he get by that one, he would have one of Adams, Buchanon, Woodley, or Elam. Honestly, after watching him face Buchanon, I could see him winning that one and the smaller Elam is a paper tiger IMO. If he somehow pulled off 3 upsets in a row, he would likely have Bonacorsi or Norfleet to AA. Pentz will be an underdog in every match, but I actually think he is set up as well as possible to make a run in the wrestlebacks. Will that happen? Probably not. Could it happen? Sure

Metz has a rematch vs Elam. He forced a throw vs Elam the first time in a tight match. If Metz wrestles like he did at B12s, he can win this. If he did win, he would have Gremmel from ISU. The staff knows that if this matchup happens, Brandon cannot be on bottom at any point and he has to win this from neutral. A loss in round 1 would give him a very winnable match vs Schuyler. After that, he would probably have Christian Lance, which is winnable. After that, he would likely have Brian Andrews, who he had on the ropes at B12s. Win that, and he's in the bloodround vs Laird or Wilson...and he has beaten Wilson twice. All of Metz' matches will be tough, but he has a shot in all of them. Even with a first round loss, his likely path to AA would be as good as you could possibly hope for.

[Big Bird]

Franek up 2-0 after a quick takedown

[Big Bird]

2-0 lead and 2:25 of riding time after 1 period. Franek starts the 2nd period on bottom

Great start.

[Big Bird]

Quick escape extends the lead to 3-0

[Big Bird]

Franek in control with a 3-0 lead heading to the third, riding time point nearly locked as well.

They start neutral in the third

[Big Bird]

Franek in deep on a shot, gets outscrambled and gives up 2, then gets released. Leads 4-2, rt point locked, so effectively a 5-2 lead

[Big Bird]

Franek wins 5-2.

Not a great match, but he advances. Need to finish shots better moving forward to get on the podium

[Big Bird]

Kendall Coleman looked fantastic and racked up 6 takedowns to win his first round match. He will be Franek's opponent next round.

They met last year, with Franek storming back to force overtime, before Coleman got the takedown early in OT to win.

If Franek can pick his spots with his shots, and wear Coleman down, he's got a chance.

[Big Bird]

Luke Weber will be up on Mat 6 at 1pm. Huge match for him. Sparks is an outstanding freshman out of California who chose MN over NDSU last year. He has had a great year but got injured at the Big Ten tournament. If he's healthy, I would pick him to beat Weber.

Franek's match tonight is huge. Win, and you're in the quarterfinals and will have 2 chances to earn All American honors. If he loses, he'd have either the 7 (who beat Franek this year) or 10 seed, who were both upset in rd 1 just to stay alive. Huge match forthcoming.

[1998braves64]

Where are they showing on TV if at all yet? Or is it all ESPN+ or trackwrestling?

[Big Bird]

ESPN networks. I'm watching on ESPN+

[Big Bird]

Weber vs Sparks up now. Sparks is only in his 4th year of wrestling and is an NCAA qualifier. I really like the kid a lot (top 5 favorite non Bison), but I hope he gets demolished here

[Big Bird]

Sparks with a huge brace on his left knee. Moving around fine early though

[Big Bird]

Man, Weber very nearly had two, failed to anticipate the roll, and gave up 2. Trails 2-1

[Big Bird]

Weber needs to have heavy hands, control the ties, and up the pace. Make Sparks move side to side on the bad knee and see how his endurance is.

Another TD for Sparks. 4-2

[Big Bird]

Stalling on Sparks. It looks like Weber can score on some of these takedowns and he's getting away easy.

Trails 4-2 after 1. Starts on bottom

[Big Bird]

4-3 Sparks leads early in the 2nd

[Big Bird]

Great single leg by Weber, but he can't finish

[Big Bird]

Great whizzer from Weber staves off a td late in the 2nd.

Sparks leads 4-3 heading to the third and will start on bottom.

Weber has been so close several times, just hasn't connected.

[Big Bird]

Big lift, turk step, and 4 NF!!!! Weber leads 7-4

[Big Bird]

Sparks now limping too.

1:15 to go. Finish strong

[Big Bird]

Escape Sparks, but Weber hangs on for the 8-5 win!!!

[Big Bird]

That is a fantastic win, and a fun match. Sparks wasn't quite 100% but that kid is a future multiple time all american. Great job by Weber. Shane Griffith is Weber's next opponent

[AKBison]

Keep the updates coming!

[Big Bird]

Owen Pentz taking on the #2 seed, Erik Schultz of Nebraska

[Big Bird]

Pentz with a great first period. He's in a scoreless battle with the 2 seed after 1. Really controlling the ties

[Big Bird]

Pentz gives up a reversal right after he had Schultz on his back. They didn't award 2NF, but it was verrrrrrrrrrrrry close. Pentz is giving him everything he can handle and then some

[Big Bird]

Pentz reverses him to his back!!! And the fall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Big Bird]

That is HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!!!!!! Biggest upset of the tournament by far!

[RadioBison]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Big Bird]

NDSU now 3-0 in the opening round, and Metz still to wrestle.

[Big Bird]

The crazy thing about the Pentz match, is that he was physically manhandling the #2 seed. Controlling the ties, put him to his back twice, and just grinding on him. He likely couldn't pin him again, but he was right in that match even without the reversal to his back.

Metz up now. Rematch vs Elam from earlier in the year. Wrestle smart, and get some revenge

[Big Bird]

Metz on his back right away. Down 6-0

[Big Bird]

Down 6-0 after 1 and giving up almost 3 min of riding time. Going to need a throw and pin

[Big Bird]

Pentz pin: https://twitter.com/ncaawrestling/status/1372633597673308163

[Big Bird]

Metz loses 11-0. Hopefully he can win one in the wrestlebacks

[PaBizon]

Well at least Weber held the title for biggest upset ever for a couple weeks :)

[Big Bird]

All in all, a great first session. 3-1 with the upset of the tournament.

Pentz has Penn State youngster Michael Beard next. Hopefully Pentz' physicality presents a problem for Beard.

Weber has Shane Griffith of Stanford. Griffith was #2 in the country until losing in the Pac12 championship. Griffith beat Andrew Fogarty mulitple times in controlling fashion.

Franek has Kendall Coleman of Purdue. He lost to him in overtime last year. This match is absolutely massive in his quest to become an All American.

Metz has Zachary Knighton Ward of Hofstra in the consolation bracket. Ward is very athletic but sometimes shoots himself into really bad positions.

[Hansel]

Pentz pin: https://twitter.com/ncaawrestling/status/1372633597673308163

When I started to google "Owen" "Owen Pentz versus Schultz" was a google suggestion

[Big Bird]

Franek is up next on mat 6

[Big Bird]

Man, do not get in a close match, especially against a big name or big school, because the refs will take it from you. Some of the worst officiating I've ever seen.

Franek in on a shot early, coleman able to scramble out and get a stalemate

[Big Bird]

Franek gives up a takedown.

I like him using the underhook, but he's gotta create some better angles to shoot

[Big Bird]

Franek escapes, down 2-1. 1 min left in the 1st

[Big Bird]

If Coleman is going to stay on all fours from neutral, Franek needs to attack the head hard and get him moving.

[Big Bird]

Quickly away and we're tied at 2 early in the 2nd. Franek will very likely need a takedown at some point. Last time they wrestled Franek wore him down and stormed back late. All of these blood stoppages make that more unlikely to happen today

[Big Bird]

Franek doing a great job of holding center, but having trouble getting to the legs after that early attack. Have to find a way through the head and hands to get to the legs

[Big Bird]

Tied at 2 heading to the third. Coleman on bottom, and quickly escapes. Franek down 3-2

[Big Bird]

Need to up the pace, get him moving, and hope he gets tired or makes a mistake

[Big Bird]

1 min to go. Down 1

[Big Bird]

Franek takedown and 2 NF but Coleman is now injured

[PaBizon]

Franek can go down now if he wants

[Hansel]

Nice td with back points for Franek

[PaBizon]

Victory!!!!

[Big Bird]

That's really unfortunate. Coleman is going to injury default. Jared Franek is a quarterfinalist though!

It was a beautiful misdirection attack, and he was going to score, and as he worked up, Coleman hurt his knee.

[Big Bird]

Honestly, this has been a better NDSU performance than anyone could have imagined. Franek into the quarter finals, one win away from becoming an All American, Weber with an opening win over Sparks, and Pentz beating the 2 seed. It's really been a very good day.

[Big Bird]

NDSU up to 16th in the team standings

[PaBizon]

I thought it was interesting that kish wasn’t Mat side for franeks match

[AKBison]

Franek can go down now if he wants

Elaborate a bit on this please

[PaBizon]

If there’s an injury to a wrestler (not blood time) the other wrestler gets their choice of where to start. In that case had they continued franek coukd have taken bottom where he’s less likely to give up points and probably gets another escape.

[AKBison]

If there’s an injury to a wrestler (not blood time) the other wrestler gets their choice of where to start. In that case had they continued franek coukd have taken bottom where he’s less likely to give up points and probably gets another escape.

Thanks, next session starts at 8:00?

[PaBizon]

Yes sir !!

[Big Bird]

Weber will be up right away on mat 7.

Griffith is super talented but not in peak form, which gives Weber a chance.

When Stanford announced they were cutting a bunch of sports, including wrestling, he and some of his teammates elected to do as many classes as possible and try to graduate ASAP (Stanford degree is pretty sweet, and last I heard Griffith will graduate from Stanford this spring or summer, before transferring). That's limited their time on the mat a bit, which has contributed to some losses to their high end kids like Woods and Griffith. That being said, he was recently ranked 2nd in the country and is the PAC12 runner up. He was undefeated and the #2 seed at last year's cancelled NCAA tournament.

Here's to hoping Weber wrestles well and catches lightning in a bottle. Would love to see him in the quarter finals vs Marinelli from Iowa.

[Big Bird]

2 TD and 2 NF!!!!!

[PaBizon]

People are not prepared for his throws

[Hansel]

Nice start for weber

[Big Bird]

Great start! Got to a body lock on the edge and he puts Griffith to his back.

Griffith escapes. 4-1 Weber

[Big Bird]

Stalling of Griffith.

Stalling on Weber.

[Big Bird]

Takedown Griffith. He's getting to his ankle pick with ease. Weber needs to control the ties better.

Weber leads 4-3 after the first period.

[Big Bird]

Griffith is so long, it's going to continue to cause issues. Weber needs to keep scoring.

Stanford coaches are yelling "no body lock" they know Weber is dangerous there

[Big Bird]

Escape Griffith. All tied at 4. Need to control the ties better. Let's go Luke

[Big Bird]

Great defense by Weber to stave off a td, but he got in trouble because Griffith got to a 2 on 1 tie.

Weber starts on bottom in the third. Score tied at 4. Griffith is verrrrrrry good on top

[Big Bird]

Weber escapes. 1 minute to go. Weber leads 5-4

[Big Bird]

Takedown Griffith. He leads 6-5. 40 seconds to get away

[PaBizon]

Looks gassed

[Big Bird]

Weber loses 7-5. Ran out of gas and didn't control the ties well enough. Damn, he had a great chance

[PaBizon]

Tough loss against a pretty good wrestler

[Big Bird]

Weber has two very winnable matches coming up tomorrow. If he wins them, he'll have a shot to become an All American. He'll have Andrew Nicholson of Chattanooga first and then likely Bullard from NcSt. Those are both very winnable. He would then have either Keegan O'Toole or Jake Wentzel, who are polar opposites.

Pentz will be on Mat 6

[Big Bird]

Pentz time. Beard was an uber recruit but in his first year as a starter for Penn State

[Big Bird]

Beard and his quickness dominating early. Two quick takedowns and Beard leads Pentz 4-2

[PaBizon]

Beard is a big 197. Strong and quick

[Big Bird]

Ugly first period. Beard shot 4 times and converted all 4 into takedowns. 8-4 lead for Beard after 1

[Big Bird]

Pentz needs to control the ties. Beard has converted every shot and Pentz doesn't have the quickness to convert a shot from space vs Beard.

12-6 after 2 periods, and Beard chooses neutral. Pentz is limping a little and pointing to his right knee

[Big Bird]

Pentz loses 17-8

[PaBizon]

Metz for the throw. Misses. Gets pinned

[Big Bird]

Metz gets tossed and pinned and his season is over. Couldn't keep any of the positive momentum from the B12 going

[RadioBison]

I think it's time for that lateral drop to come out of the repertoire.

All in all, four wins on day one isn't bad. I wish Franek's last match wouldn't have come down to an injury default, but what can you do. It was great to see Weber put a scare into a very high level guy like Griffith, and of course to see Pentz pull off the upset of the tournament.

Here is hoping for four more wins today.

[AKBison]

Biggest bummer of Day is Weber not advancing. A couple more back points on that throw may have done it.

[Portlandbison]

Really wish March would have got a wildcard just to have some representation at the start of these sessions. The wait to 157 in an anticipated match today is killing me.

[Big Bird]

Franek up now vs top rated Deakin

[Big Bird]

Beautiful firemans and Franek leads 2-0

[PaBizon]

Beautiful fireman’s

[PaBizon]

Got in pretty deep but deakins so strong

[Big Bird]

Franek leads 2-1 after 1. This is stunning so far. Getting in on Deakin's legs and showing good defense

[PaBizon]

Franek has greatly improved his scrambling.

[Big Bird]

Franek with another one!!!! 4-3

[PaBizon]

Big take down!!!

[Big Bird]

Franek living on Deakin's legs. Need to pick neutral in the third.

This is absolutely stunning. Deakin manhandled him the last time they met

[PaBizon]

Not sure if this blood time helps or hurts. I think it hurts him

[Big Bird]

Franek leads 4-3 heading to the third. He picks neutral (right call)

[PaBizon]

I’d love to see another tight fireman’s carry

[Big Bird]

More blood time. Deakin has arguably been the 3-4 best guy in the entire country this year, regardless of weight

[Big Bird]

20 secs to go

[Big Bird]

Deakin takedown with 10 seconds left to win.

Great match, but poor late match execution

[PaBizon]

Damn. He had it

[Big Bird]

Man, he could've just run away and won. That's frustrating.

[PaBizon]

A disappointment for him for sure but he should feel very confident in the rest of his matches. All American would be big for the program

[AKBison]

Frustrating, he out wrestled him down to the last 10 seconds.

[PaBizon]

Man, he could've just run away and won. That's frustrating.

Agree. Had stalls to give

[Big Bird]

Also, picking neutral was 100% the right call in the third. He was living on Deakin's legs and had multiple chances to put the match away.

Great match by Franek, but that is the most heartbreaking NDSU loss I can recall. The magnitude of the possible upset, the stakes (win and you're an AA), and the way the loss happened just hurt

[RadioBison]

Ooooh that was close. I just hope he can duplicate the overall performance tonight.

[Big Bird]

Ooooh that was close. I just hope he can duplicate the overall performance tonight.

Jacori Teemer looked fantastic in his match. Franek is going to have to wrestle just as well to AA. The frustrating thing is Wyatt Sheets is probably going to AA off an injury default

[Big Bird]

Franek vs Teemer tonight with AA status on the line

[Big Bird]

Weber will be on deck on mat 7

[Big Bird]

Shane Griffith beats the 1 seed Alex Marinelli. And Weber was right there with him. Wild

[Big Bird]

Weber scoreless after 1. Nicholson a lot more active and got in on Weber's legs a bunch

[Big Bird]

Nicholson called for stalling and Weber gets a reversal. 2-0

[Big Bird]

2-0 lead after 2, Weber has riding time and Nicholson has been warned for stalling

[Big Bird]

Weber puts him on his back. Up 6-0, riding time locked

[Big Bird]

Weber wins 7-0. He has Bullard from NC St next

[AKBison]

Nice grind out by Weber. How does he match up with Bullard?

[Portlandbison]

Wrestlestat has Bullard beating weber 7-6 for what it's worth.

[Big Bird]

Bullard doesn't do much

[Big Bird]

Pentzup 8-1 after 1!

[Hansel]

Pentz up 8-1 after 1

[Hansel]

Pentzup 8-1 after 1!

I thought he was going to get another pin with that cradle

[Big Bird]

Pentz may have a fall! Reviewing to see if time was out

[Big Bird]

They say time ran out, but he leads 10-1 after 2

[Hansel]

Woodley from OK is beating Beard from PSU in the Quarters at 197. We might have a #26 seed in the semifinals tonight

[Big Bird]

A dominating 11-1 win with over 5 minutes of riding time for Pentz!

[RadioBison]

It sucks the Fresno is shutting down, but it is awesome that we got Pentz out if that deal.

[Portlandbison]

It sucks the Fresno is shutting down, but it is awesome that we got Pentz out if that deal.

Northern colorado got a qualifier hemauer from fresno too. Feel horrible for how good that team could have been

[Portlandbison]

Pentz will face #10 seed Caffey from Michigan state. Caffey beat Beard this month but lost to Schultz so who the hell knows how this will play out

[Big Bird]

Northern colorado got a qualifier hemauer from fresno too. Feel horrible for how good that team could have been

https://twitter.com/hemiwrestle/status/1372907600149426176

And that doesn't include NCAA qualifier Nevills, who is at SDSU and taking the year off

[Big Bird]

Weber up next on 6

[Big Bird]

Weber down 1-0 early in the 2nd

[Big Bird]

INCREDIBLE scramble by Weber for a td. He leads 2-1 heading to the third.

He starts neutral

[Big Bird]

Stalling on Weber. 30 seconds to go.

[Big Bird]

Weber hangs on for a 2-1 win. He needs one more win to be an All American

[Big Bird]

Pentz gets pinned, and his season ends. Great tournament by him

[AKBison]

Pentz gets pinned, and his season ends. Great tournament by him

Pentz was in deep multiple times but couldn't finish. Great tournament and high expectations for next year.

[Big Bird]

NDSU will have Franek and Weber in the blood round tonight. If they win, they are All Americans. If they lose their season is over.

Franek has Jacori Teemer from Arizona State.

Weber has star freshman Keegen O'Toole of Mizzou

[RadioBison]

I was getting nervous for Weber. Bullard smoked Fogarty last year with danger zone takedowns.

[AKBison]

NDSU will have Franek and Weber in the blood round tonight. If they win, they are All Americans. If they lose their season is over.

Franek has Jacori Teemer from Arizona State.

Weber has star freshman Keegen O'Toole of Mizzou

Ya, were gonna need a better big bird breakdown than that. ;)

[RadioBison]

Askren was talking the other day about guys that get depressed after losing in the quarters and stop trying. It would be a shame if that happened to his guy O'Toole.

[Big Bird]

Ya, were gonna need a better big bird breakdown than that. ;)

Franek vs Teemer
Teemer is supremely talented and has beaten Franek before. The big question for me is how will Franek respond after an absolute heartbreaker vs Deakin. If he wrestles as well as he did in that one, he wins. If he doesn't and Teemer wrestles as well as he has been this tournament, he wins.
Teemer is incredibly quick and gets to legs with ease. Franek's scrambling vs Deakin was far and away the best I've ever seen from him. He'll likely need to do the same against Teemer, who wins with quick leg attacks.
Franek badly needs to be on the attack and to control the ties. If he can control the ties and make Teemer shoot through his head and hands to get to his legs, he'll be able to effectively shut Teemer down, frustrate him, and tire him out. When Franek attacks and doesn't get all the way to the legs, he needs to be able to back out a bit, control the arms, and prevent Teemer from using his quickness to get a go behind.

Weber vs O'Toole
O'Toole is super funky. As RadioBison mentioned, he's been trained by Ben Askren and those guys generally are unconventional. That is both good and bad for Weber.
The good: I don't think O'Toole will be afraid to go upper body with Weber, and that is where Weber is strong. He also doesn't have an elite, go-to shot. He generally scores by controlling the ties and outscrambling guys. Weber has great hips and great senses and generally does very well in scrambles. If O'Toole does go upper body vs Weber, I think that's a mistake by O'Toole.
The bad: Everywhere Weber is strong, O'Toole is as well. While Weber's hips might be better, O'Toole is a better scrambler and really great at controlling ties. While O'Toole doesn't have an elite shot, he can gets to the legs, and when he does, he usually finishes.
It's a very interesting matchup and one I'm very much looking forward to. As basic as it is, I thin it'll come down to who controls the ties from neutral. Griffith was able to control the ties in the 2nd half of the match vs Weber, and that allowed him to come back and win.

Since Teemer beat Franek the last time they met, both Franek and Weber are probably both underdogs in these. With that said, we've seen that anything can happen and both guys are wrestling well right now. Franek had the #1 guy in the country beat for 6 min and 50 seconds. Weber had Griffith, who just beat the #1 guy, beat for 6 minutes. Both of these guys have come to NCAAs ready to battle and I hope both end the night as All Americans.

[PaBizon]

https://twitter.com/hemiwrestle/status/1372907600149426176

And that doesn't include NCAA qualifier Nevills, who is at SDSU and taking the year off

157 pounder Jacob Wright from Wyoming (who’s still alive in the consolation bracket) is also a Fresno transfer. They had some decent kids recruited for sure.

[RadioBison]

This multicast is nice once it gets going, but it always fights me at first.

[Hansel]

This multicast is nice once it gets going, but it always fights me at first.

You would think that they could figure out a better way to do the multi view when only 6 mats are active .... a lot of unused space with the ESPN logos

[Big Bird]

Franek will be on mat 2

[Big Bird]

Go time. Let's go Jared!

Weber up on 8 too. Let's go Luke!

[Big Bird]

Great job by Weber to fight off what looked like a sure td

[Big Bird]

O'Toole getting to Weber's legs too easily. TD for O'Toole. He leads 2-0 after 1. Luke looks kind of sluggish

[Big Bird]

O'Toole getting to the legs too easy

[Big Bird]

Weber needs to get busy. Down 3-0 heading to the third and will start down

[Big Bird]

Weber escapes. 3-1.

Franek looking good early vs Teemer

[Big Bird]

Weber tries a desperation attempt and gives one up. He loses 5-1

[Big Bird]

Franek escapes immediately. Up 1-0.

He looks fresher and more active than Teemer. Just need to connect on one

[Big Bird]

He's got Teemer backing up constantly. Fire a few more shots off an he'll get a stall call.

1-0 as we head to third. Teemer starts on bottom

[Big Bird]

Tied at 1. Franek in deep, but Teemer dives under. That was a huge missed opportunity

[Big Bird]

Franek in deep, can't finish and gives up 2 in a scramble.

16 seconds left and he needs a reversal or a miracle escape and takedown

[Big Bird]

2nd match in a row where Franek outwrestled his opponent and lost on a late takedown. Loses 3-2
What a frustrating ending

[PaBizon]

Another tough loss. IMO franek showed a lot of progress from the beginning of the season until now. His scrambling ability has come along way. He closed the gap against Carr (who’s in the finals) , Deakin and Teemer. Looking forward to this showing Jared what he is capable of and fully expect him to be a monster next year.

[Big Bird]

Weber had the lead all match vs Griffith, until the very end, and Griffith is now in the NCAA finals. Franek and Weber were both soooooooooooooooo close

[RadioBison]

Hopefully we'll get to see Franek continue to develop for three more years.

It's too bad we didn't get Weber a little sooner, and get him in the lineup more. With a full year at 157 and another full year at 174, I think he would have made the tournament twice more. He's been fun to watch. I'd love to have him back, but if he was as senior day, then I doubt it will happen.

[PaBizon]

I would beg him to come back if I was Kish

[Big Bird]

O'Toole just won by tech, so Weber's two losses are to a guy in the finals and a guy who will get top 6. That's a tough path.

Teemer won by major too, so Franek's two losses will be to a pair of guys who got top 6.

[PaBizon]

Teemer is up 14-3 on Trent Hidlay in the first period

[PaBizon]

Teemer wins 18-12 over #2 seed Hidlay. Deakins beats Lee from Minnesota. Franeks losses were to the 3rd and 4th place wrestlers.

[RadioBison]

The worst loss by either guy will be 4th place. Very tough to top that.

[RadioBison]

Meanwhile, at the same two weights, both OSU guys win by medical forfeit in the blood round.

[AKBison]

I know Franek has to be disappointed but he has closed the gap and should be considered a major threat to AA next year. It will be fun to finally have a horse in the room to follow again.

[bisoningrandforks]

anybody...forecast for next year..other then franek, pentz and metz...who's going to big a jump?

[Portlandbison]

March at 133, Dylan at 141 and Nelson at 184 hopefully will be ncaa qualifiers next year. Feel very optimistic after the big 12 and ncaa tourneys this year.

[Big Bird]

Owen Pentz gets a shoutout during the NCAA finals

[PaBizon]

March at 133, Dylan at 141 and Nelson at 184 hopefully will be ncaa qualifiers next year. Feel very optimistic after the big 12 and ncaa tourneys this year.

I definitely see March making the jump and being a National Qualifier. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Nelson to have to drop a weight during the season. If he can successfully adjust to that weight from the start of season I see him qualifying too. Seeing Carlson from SDSU be an All American should give Droegemueller the confidence to make it next year too. I’m hoping there’s a freshman that can step in and make some noise too. Maybe Negrete

[PaBizon]

Franek had 5 losses this year

Jacques Mizzou national qualifier
Teemer 4th place
Deakin 3rd place
Carr (twice) National Champion

[Big Bird]

Shane Griffith wins the title at 165. Luke Weber led him until the final minute of the match in his 2nd match

[Portlandbison]

I definitely see March making the jump and being a National Qualifier. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Nelson to have to drop a weight during the season. If he can successfully adjust to that weight from the start of season I see him qualifying too. Seeing Carlson from SDSU be an All American should give Droegemueller the confidence to make it next year too. I’m hoping there’s a freshman that can step in and make some noise too. Maybe Negrete

Preaching to the choir my man. Really hope we get 125 figured out, if March improves from the bottom I think he makes a jump. Nelson and Dylan will be the wildcards whether ndsu makes a jump from 6th in the big 12 to 3/4

[RadioBison]

Preaching to the choir my man. Really hope we get 125 figured out, if March improves from the bottom I think he makes a jump. Nelson and Dylan will be the wildcards whether ndsu makes a jump from 6th in the big 12 to 3/4

I'm probably crazy, but it seems possible for everybody on the team to be a NQ. I think we all agree on Franek, Weber, Pentz, Metz, March, Droegemueller, and the potential we see in Nelson. Midkiff was on pace to be qualify last year before he got hurt, so I hope he can get back to that. JVM has been just outside of the top 33 ever since he was a freshmen. He's basically stayed there since then, but it wouldn't take too much of a jump for him. For me, the last piece of the puzzle is Brenner stepping into the line-up, after being behind Fogarty and Weber the last couple years.

[PaBizon]

I'm probably crazy, but it seems possible for everybody on the team to be a NQ. I think we all agree on Franek, Weber, Pentz, Metz, March, Droegemueller, and the potential we see in Nelson. Midkiff was on pace to be qualify last year before he got hurt, so I hope he can get back to that. JVM has been just outside of the top 33 ever since he was a freshmen. He's basically stayed there since then, but it wouldn't take too much of a jump for him. For me, the last piece of the puzzle is Brenner stepping into the line-up, after being behind Fogarty and Weber the last couple years.

I think Weber comes back. If so Fogerty and Habisch battle for 174.

[Portlandbison]

I think Weber comes back. If so Fogerty and Habisch battle for 174.

I hope so too, but I think I remember somebody mentioning to me he has a job lined up. But I like to drink so maybe I'm remembering incorrectly (for my selfish reasons as a fan I hope I am).

[Big Bird]

I don't think you guys are far off. Every guy has shown the ability to qualify next year.

Midkiff needs to be healthy and to improve significantly from this year. 2020 Midkiff was really good, but he didn't look the same this year. We won a total of 1 match between duals and the B12 tourney at 125.
March was good enough to qualify this year. Where I want to see him improve most is from neutral. He takes too many straight on shots without a setup. If he were to improve from neutral, he'd be able to get to work on top more, where he is already good.
Dylan is right with the guys in the 10-30 range, he just needs to improve in a couple areas. If he can get quicker at finishing his shots, that'd be the best thing for him. While he's a good scrambler, quick, clean finishes are what he needs to beat Carlson and his ilk.
Jaden has all of the physical tools, just needs to be more aggressive. He sits back and lets others dictate pace and action too often. A few years back he was letting it fly in freestyle, and really racking up the points and quality wins. He also needs to get better/more active on bottom.
If Franek can wrestle like he did against Coleman, Deakin, and Teemer consistently, he's an AA next year. The thing that could take his game to a new level would be improvement from top. He got his first career pin this year, but he doesn't turn guys often.
Brenner seems to be our best option here. He's a potential national qualifier here and is solid all around. Would like to see him improve on top.
Habisch has a great motor, but an unrefined approach. Needs to develop some setups and avoid straight on attacks. Solid rider, but didn't see him turn guys much. IMO, he just needs to wrestle a ton of matches. He has only wrestled 9 matches in his two years on the roster.
I think Nelson has the potential to take a major leap next year. He will have an offseason to prepare his body for 184, which should be a big plus. I love his pace and activity level, he just needs some refinement. Better setups, fewer shots straight on from space, and he'll make a jump. Needs to work on scrambling too.
Pentz is the pretty obvious guy most likely to make a major jump next year. Has to be brimming with confidence after NCAAs, and will have a whole offseason to train and get his mind and body right. He had been off the mat for years and had to lose 30+ lbs very quickly to get in the lineup. More mat time and getting used to 197 will be big for him. Would like to see him develop a good hi-c, ankle pick, or swing single. He's so long and strong that he should be able to get to guys legs and finish.
Metz need to be able to get to a quick snatch single or blow through a double every match. He has the quickness and power to do it, just needs to commit to it. Improvement on top would be a very welcome development.