The Best and Worst of the Iowa Hawkeyes at the 2016 NCAA Tournament

So the NCAA Tournament did not exactly work out how Hawkeye fans had hoped it would. Penn State was expected to win, and they went out and dominated. It seems as if there is nobody better than Cael Sanderson in prepping his team for the NCAA Tournament, and this year was no different. Even though there were some disappointments for the Hawkeyes, there were also things to celebrate. Let's break it down in chronological order to get through the muck early, so we can celebrate late.

141 - Brody Grothus - N/A
Iowa didn't qualify anybody for the tournament, and there was no Vince McMahon to bring in a brand new Iowa wrestler, Grody Brothus, to liven things up at the Nationals. So, yeah, nothing to note here.

165 - Patrick Rhoads - 0-2
Rhoads was unseeded, and he lived up to that in the tournament. He lost both of his matches. He just didn't have the necessary skills to generate any offense. He wrestled hard; it just wasn't enough.

Heavyweight - Sam Stoll - 0-1
I knew this was a possibility. Sam Stoll's injured knee just couldn't hold up. If he was healthy, I think he would have become an All-American as a freshman, which would have been an incredible accomplishment. Only his knee did give out, and it's a what if as opposed to what actually happened. Wrestling is a hard sport, and it always sucks to see a talented guy not be able to showcase what he has worked so hard for because his body simply can't perform (Brian Realbuto was another example from this year). I'm guessing he'll still struggle early in the season next year, but he will hopefully be back to 100% by the time the matches get meaningful.

157 - Edwin Cooper - 1-2
We knew Cooper was going to need some good matchups to do much damage in this tournament, and unfortunately, he did not get those matchups. He got to his offense early in his first round matchup and took care of business with an 8-3 win. After that, he got matched up with Ian Miller, who nearly beat Isaiah Martinez in the semifinals, and Miller just ran right through Cooper. After that, he was in a match against Austin Matthews from Edinboro, and he started off really well as he got into a shot immediately, but he couldn't finish his shots. After that, he lost some scrambles, ended up on his back repeatedly, and finally got pinned as he knew it was basically the end for him. Obviously, it would have been preferable for him to win another match or two, but he beat the guy he should have, lost to a guy he should have, and didn't find the breaks in his the match that was pretty even going into it. It happens.

174 - Alex Meyer - 4-3 - All American (8th)
Alex Meyer came much closer to having a bigger impact in the tournament. Unfortunately, he got off to a slow start where he was in a match that was seven minutes long, and about six minutes of that were scrambles. He lost 10-9 to Gordon Wolf in a match that he would definitely win the next time around, but that's what makes winning the NCAAs so tough. You face a mystery opponent and one slip up and you've lost your shot at a national title. After that, Meyer really started wrestling great. In the consolation round, he took out the 4, 6, 9, and 14 seeds on his route to become an All-American, and I think he may have trailed in each of those matches. He finally lost to Zach Epperly who took third place in the tournament. Even that was on Friday night after Meyer had a match while Epperly advanced by medical forfeit. On Saturday morning, he lost a hard fought match against Cody Walters from Ohio who pulled out the victory in the final seconds. It was disappointing to end with a couple losses, but considering how he battled back after his first match, it was a really strong performance for Meyer and gives Hawkeyes a reason for excitement for his senior year.

184 - Sammy Brooks - 3-3 - All-American (8th)
Where Alex Meyer bounced back to become a happy surprise as an 8th place finisher, it seems that 8th place is what happened for Sammy Brooks because everything went wrong. He won his first two matches, and then had his third match with TJ Dudley of Nebraska. It was an issue of falling behind early and then not having enough time to catch up. He did make it interesting though as he continually went for upper body throws and actually put Dudley on his back for a second, but he couldn't hold the position, and Dudley held on to win and eventually make it to the finals. That easily could have been Brooks going up against Gabe Dean, but alas, it was not meant to be. On the back half, things continued to get screwy. Brooks faced Dominic Abounader from Michigan and put him on his back in the first period. Right before he is about to complete the pin, the second ref stops the match because he thought there may be an illegal hold. There wasn't, but Brooks lost the position and an extra two points. On top of that, Iowa lost another team point because Assistant Coach, Ryan Morningstar, would not stop screaming at the officials. Iowa would have made the podium as a team with those points, but fourth place isn't really all that important to the Hawkeyes despite what the announcers were saying on Saturday night. Back to Brooks, instead of having a two minute match, he had to go seven hard minutes and then wrestle again later that night against Mat Miller who did get a two minute pin and got up early on Brooks. Sammy went for a big move but got put on his back and pinned. The next morning it was more of the same where Brooks got down and never came close to coming back against Nathaniel Brown from Lehigh. It was a disappointing end to what had been a very good season for Brooks. Still, I think he's a top competitor at 184 next year.

197 - Nathan Burak - 4-2 - All-American (4th)
Burak did exactly what he was supposed to do. He was seeded fourth and he finished fourth. Really, there's nothing to complain about. He won his first three matches, went up against Morgan McIntosh and lost his sixth match to McIntosh. He couldn't generate any offense, and that's the way it has always gone against McIntosh. In what was the only match between Iowa and Iowa State wrestlers, Burak bounced back to beat Patrick Downey in sudden victory. He then lost to Brett Pfarr, a guy he had split with in their previous two matches. Burak was an incredibly solid wrestler for all four years, but he just never had the athleticism to take out the top guys. Iowa would be lucky to get anything close to Nathan Burak for their next starter at 197.

149 - Brandon Sorensen - 4-1 - All-American (2nd)
Brandon Sorensen came in as the #2 seed, and he lived up to that seed. Ultimately, it was a really good performance from Sorensen. The guy is not a point scoring machine, but he is solid everywhere, and he finds ways to win. After a major decision in the first round, he won by two points in his next three matches, one of which went to the second sudden victory period against Jake Sueflohn. It's not flashy, but it gets the job done, and it got him into the finals. That earned him a second match against Zain Retherford, and Retherford is just on another level right now. I think he deserves the Hodge Trophy for best wrestler at any weight class, and he completely overwhelmed Sorensen in the finals. Still, Sorensen did the best of any of his opponents as he was the only one to last all seven minutes. Retherford won by tech fall, pin, pin, and pin before the finals. I feel like second place was his ceiling, and he reached it. Unfortunately, Zain is only a sophomore, so I don't really see that ceiling changing in the next two years.

133 - Cory Clark - 4-1 - All-American (2nd)
Clark wrestled a smart tournament. And by smart, I am implying safe. He got a major decision in his first match and then just plugged along with enough offense to win each match. It got him to the finals where he met Nahshon Garrett, and Garrett is a different sort of wrestler. Technique wise, Clark can hang with anyone, but Garrett's athleticism gave him a lot of problems. Garrett did an excellent job of finding open spots to take his shots, and he was very successful in doing so. The match ended up 7-6, but it really wasn't that close, as Garrett took a large lead and played it safe to hang on to win in the end. Next year, this weight class opens up as the guys who have beat him the last two years (Garrett and Cody Brewer) both graduate. There's a good chance he opens the year as the top ranked wrestler in the 133 pound weight class.

125 - Thomas Gilman - 4-1 - All-American (2nd)
Although he was one of three Hawkeyes to be runner-up in his weight class, Gilman had the best performance of any Hawkeye in the tournament. He absolutely steamrolled his way into the semifinals with a tech fall and two major decisions. He then faced top-ranked Nathan Tomasello and battled for seven minutes. Tomasello almost got a takedown at the end, but Gilman managed to hold him off. Then in overtime, Tomasello looked pretty gassed, and Gilman was not only able to get a takedown, but he got the pin as well to give Iowa even more bonus points. Tomasello was the only top-seeded wrestler to not make the finals, so it was a great job by Gilman. As for the finals, Gilman had a good shot early on, but Megaludis was able to reverse the advantage and get two himself. It changed the whole dynamic of the match, and Gilman wasn't able to make up the deficit. Still, Gilman had a great tournament, and he'll be a co-favorite with Tomasello to win the National Title next year.

This was a disappointing season in many ways for Iowa. Not winning the National Title was not one of them, as Penn State was absolutely stacked, and it was going to take not only Iowa performing well but Penn State to perform poorly to rise to that standard. Still, fifth place is about as low as this team could have finished. The most disappointing part were all those even numbers in the All-American finishes. Every single Iowa wrestler ended his season with a loss. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth, but maybe it's just what they need to take a big step forward for 2017.

Do the Iowa Hawkeyes Have a Shot at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championship?

Does Iowa have a shot at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championship? Well, the short answer is yes. They have a shot, but they are going to need some help to pull it off. Iowa failed to qualify all ten weight classes this season, in fact; they barely qualified nine. That puts them in a slight hole, although tournament favorite, Penn State, has just as many wrestlers competing this weekend. I touched on which guys had the best shot of winning a National Title a couple weeks ago, so I'd definitely check that out, but now that the brackets are out, I wanted to quickly thoroughly look at how things shaped up for each Iowa wrestler before addressing their chances of winning the team title.

125 - Thomas Gilman - #4 Seed
After losing to Nico Megaludis of Penn State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, this was as good of a seed as can be expected for Gilman There are four elite talents at this wegiht, so Gilman was going to have to go through two of them either way. I don't see any real chance of Gilman not making it into the semifinals (obviously, anything could happen, like Gilman getting caught in a cradle in the semifinals last year, but it's very doubtful). He has beaten #1 seed Nathan Tomasello before, and he has the skills to do it again. Joey Dance beat Megaludis earlier in the year, and that match could go either way. I had Gilman as having the best chance of winning a National Title, and I'd say that he has probably become 1B in my current rankings, but that is mostly because of how things shook out for Iowa's next wrestler.

133 - Cory Clark - #2 Seed
Cory Clark moves into that 1A spot based on him winning the Big Ten Tournament but also because he got a great draw for the tournament. The biggest benefit that despite Cory Clark beating Zane Richards in the finals of the B1G Tournament, Richards stayed at the 3 seed which means that the gy who beat Clark in last year's NCAA Tournament, the defending National Champion, Cody Brewer, is at the 4 seed on the same side as Nahshon Garrett, whom Brewer lost to earlier this season. The biggest dark horse in this weight, Ryan Taylor, from Wisconsin, got a 12 seed which also puts him on the opposite side as Clark. The biggest threat up until the semifinals is probably 10 seed, Johnni DiJulius, who has beaten Clark previously, but it seems like Clark has his funk figured out, and I expect him to cruise into the semifinals. This was a great draw, and that's why I'm even more excited about Clark's chances of getting an asterisk next to his name.

141 - Brody Grothus - Did Not Qualify
Brody Grothus got a tough draw in the B1G Tournament. He drew the top seed in his first match and lost a close match. Then the #3 seed got upset and met him in his first consolation match, and he lost another close match. Had things broken a little more favorably for him, he could have shown he has the talent to compete at the NCAAs, but it's an unfortunate end to an up and down career for Grothus.

149 - Brandon Sorensen - #2 Seed
Sorensen lost in the finals to Penn State's Zain Retherford, who has run through everyone this year. Sorensen maintained a #2 seed which is good, but his side of the bracket is no joke. He should cruise in his first two matchups, but that likely sets up another matchup against Jake Sueflohn, who Sorensen handled in the B1G Tourney but who is a very tough out. His side of the bracket also includes Lavion Mayes from Missouri, Anthony Collica from Oklahoma State, and former National Champion Jason Tsirtsis, who appears to be struggling with injuries this year but is still a guy who can make a match against anybody. Sorensen has the skills to make it to the finals; there's a reason he's ranked #2, but he never really threatened Retherford when they wrestled, so it's really hard to see a National Title coming his way.

157 - Edwin Cooper - #13 Seed
Edwin Cooper has made tremendous strides this year, and it's a great accomplishment to get seeded at this weight. That being said, it's going to be tough to rise up and become an All-American, because this weight class is DEEP. As long as he wins in the first, he takes on Ian Miller, who is a returning All-American whose only loss was due to a concussion suffered in his conference tournament last weekend where he was forced to injury default in his match. This weight class is stacked on paper, but that's the beauty of this tournament, in that anything can happen in seven minutes of wrestling.

165 - Patrick Rhoads - Unseeded
Well, I'll be damned. Patrick Rhoads made the tournament. He is unseeded, but got a favorable draw in that he goes up against the #13 seed. Rhoads wrestled really well in the B1G tournament outside of taking a beating from the top seed, Isaac Jordan. He has the skills to make matches tight against all but the top level of competition, so maybe a couple matches will go his way. He's not making the podium, but he has the potential to score some points, and Iowa needs all of the points they can get in their efforts for a team title.\

174 - Alex Meyer - #13 Seed
More than any wrestler on Iowa's roster, Meyer has put Hawkeye fans through an emotional rollercoaster this year. He has raised expectations, only to dash them later on. When he is aggressive early on, he can take out anybody, but sometimes he digs himself large holes early and doesn't have enough time to make up the deficits. Predicting what he is going to do is a fool's errand. He's just had so many close matches this year. Since I'm an eternal optimist, I think the aggressive Meyer will show up and put points on the board and cause major issues for anybody he goes up against. He has the skills to be an All-American, but he could just as easily play with fire and burn out before the Round of 12.

184 - Sammy Brooks - #2 Seed
Sammy Brooks receiving the #2 seed seems...generous. I'm not complaining, but I do believe this seeding was only partly from him winning the B1G Tournament; a lot of the credit has to go to the power of his mullet.

Outside of Gabe Dean at #1, 184 is a wide open but very deep division, and that is why Brooks got the 2 seed for the NCAAs despite only being the 3 seed for the B1G Tournament. Full disclosure: Sammy Brooks is my favorite current Iowa wrestler, and so I am even more blinded by my own bias when it comes to predicting his results. He can beat anybody at this weight class. He wrestled Gabe Dean last year and only lost 3-2. All of his losses to college wrestlers this season have come to guys that he has also beaten this year. I'd say he cruises through his first two matches before meeting 10 seed, Nate Brown in the quarters. I'm then favoring Blake Stauffer (6) to make it to the semifinals. He was the guy who eliminated Brooks in the Round of 12 last year, but I'm hoping Sammy can reverse his fortune this year. I'm not guaranteeing a National Title, but I just want to let everybody know that it is in your best interest to not doubt the power of the mullet.

197 - Nathan Burak - #4 Seed
The one inexplicably bad seed for Iowa, as it makes no sense that Pfarr from Minnesota would be ranked ahead of Burak considering he lost to him in the B1G Tournament. He did beat him earlier in the season, but even that was controversial, and the NCAA valued tournament performance very highly when coming up with seeds. One spot may not seem like much, but it puts him on the side of Morgan McIntosh, who he is 0-5 against, and the 5 seed is Conner Hartmann who is 26-1 this year and appears to be a much tougher matchup than the 6 seed, Jared Haught. Burak has taken care of business this year, but with his previous history against McIntosh, it's tough to see him doing any better than a third place match when it's all said and done.

HWT - Sam Stoll - #11 Seed
I think this is about as good as we could have expected for Sam Stoll after crapping out at the B1G Tournament. What happened? A significant knee injury, possibly a torn ACL, so the fact that he won any match is pretty impressive. But if it is as significant as it sounds, this is an awful way for Stoll to end his year as before this injury, his only losses were to the #1 seed, Nick Gwiazdowski and the #4 seed, Austin Marsden, who, between the two, have one loss this season. A healthy Stoll is an All-American, but if this version of Stoll can gut out 1-2 victories, it'd be a great performance.

So what does this all mean? Does Iowa have a legitimate shot at an NCAA Title? Yes, but they're going to need some breaks. Both Clark and Gilman have legitimate shots at National Titles this year, and if they can both pull it off, that is a huge boost to their chances. Even with that, Penn State is the clear favorite, and they're going to need some of their wrestlers to falter.

Zain Retherford isn't going to lose, and he's probably putting up a ton of bonus points. Morgan McIntosh is the second most likely to win a title, so you've got to hope that J'Den Cox can prevent that from happening. Bo Nickal doesn't have a single guy who looks most likely to take him out, but there's a reason Freshman don't win a lot of National Titles, so maybe he gets caught in a bad spot like he did against Nate Jackson and takes a loss well before he should. I think Nolf is their second best wrestler, but Isaiah Martinez beat him the B1G Finals, and he is set to face off against an undefeated Thomas Gantt before he even makes it there, but I have trouble seeing him not making the finals. Even Nico Megaludis, who is ranked 3, is somebody I could only see dropping to fourth place in this tournament. That's a lot of points in the worst case scenario, especially with how many bonus points those guys have put up this season.

As I said, Iowa needs those first two guys to take home titles for a legitimate shot at the overall title. After that, it's about having guys peak at the right time. Penn State has had their guys peak at the NCAAs for the last five years; Iowa has pretty much done the opposite. Those fortunes need to reverse this year. Iowa's always in the title hunt; hopefully this is the year they get number 24.

Which Iowa Wrestler Is Going to Win a National Title in 2016?

Last week, I looked at each weight class's #1 ranked wrestler to show how crazy this NCAA Tournament could be. There are a lot of questions remaining, and things are wide open in some of those weight classes. Now it's time to determine which Iowa wrestler is going to rise above their seed and win a National Title in 2016. We'll start from the least likely and move our way on up to the Hawkeye that is most likely to be standing on top of the podium at the end of March Matness.

10. Patrick Rhoads - 165
Is it legitimate analysis to just write, "Haha, nope," and call it a day? I will be excited if Rhoads finds a way to make the tournament. If he got a win once he got there, that would be incredible. But Rhoads simply hasn't shown enough for me to even dream beyond that point.

9. Brody Grothus - 141
This is the only other Iowa wrestler who is a question mark to make the tournament. He's going to need a strong performance at the Big Ten Tournament to qualify, but I think he can do it. Outside of that, it's tough to say what he will do considering he's only had a handful of matches. He can definitely compete with guys, and I think he could be a viable contributor of some points if he gets in the tournament, especially with how weak 141 is as a weight class overall, but he's still got work to do, so I can't put him any higher than this right now.

8. Edwin Cooper - 157
This weight class has two absolute studs in Isaiah Martinez and Jason Nolf, so the chances of a National Title, well, it ain't happening. The key for Cooper in his matches is to start quickly. He's shown to be really dynamic on his feet, but if he gets down, it can get ugly. He really hasn't done much in the world of mat wrestling, from top or bottom, so it is going to be tough for him to find a way to win close matches in the tournament. Still, he's got a few solid wins, and he's taken care of business against guys he should beat. The only time he was really overmatched was against Gantt from NC State, so he has the skills to make an impact. It would take an incredible run for him to even reach AA status, but he has enough potential to put up a few wins and get points for the team battle.

7. Sam Stoll - HWT
This is when we stop looking at straight talent and start looking at the obstacles standing in their way to a National Championship. Sam Stoll has had a hell of a Freshman year, as he has exceeded everyone's expectations for him. Since his first varsity match, he has lost just one time, while racking up nine pins. Oh, and that one loss? That came to the top-ranked Nick Gwiazdowski (which I spelled right on the first try). That's the problem. Nick Gwiazdowski is in this weight class, and although Stoll has beaten good competition, he hasn't beaten great competition. I think he can become an All-American, but his chances of a National Title are minuscule.

6. Alex Meyer - 174
I was very excited about Meyer taking over the starting spot this season, as he showed a ton of promise when filling in last year. If you just looked at his record, you would probably still be excited. He only has two losses, and went undefeated in the Big Ten. That's good, but watching it all play out tells a different story. Meyer has rarely been the attacking wrestler that he was last season. He just hasn't wrestled much top competition this year, and he hasn't blown out guys that aren't on his level. He only had one match where he looked overwhelmed, and that seemed to just be a bad matchup, but wrestling close matches all the time and expecting to always come out on top is not a recipe for success. This is a winnable weight class, as I'm not sold on Nickal being an elite talent (yet, dude is great for a freshman), but Meyer just has too many question marks to pick him any higher than this. Still, All-American status is well within reach, but with a guy who has so many close matches, I could see anything from 3rd place to a 1-2 finish.

5. Nathan Burak - 197
Burak could very easily be undefeated this year, and I still can't put him any higher than this. Burak is the most solid wrestler that Iowa has, as he's not going to make any big mistakes, and he'll wrestle a smart match. But there just isn't enough high-end talent to see him having a great shot at a National Title. Morgan McIntosh and J'Den Cox are elite talents, and I see Burak just below that level. I see him as having a very high floor as I would be shocked if he wasn't an All-American, but I see him peaking around third place, which would be a great finish, but I just can't see that National Title.

4. Sammy Brooks - 184
Sammy Brooks is my favorite current Hawkeye wrestler. He's not the best, but the dude always goes for it whether it works or not. He's wrestled incredibly well this year, as he split a pair of matches with Hayden Zillmer, who is ranked fourth, and he got caught in a pin by TJ Dudley. Outside of that, he lost to David Taylor who is not only ridiculously good, but also graduated two years ago. He can compete with anybody, and I think he has the firepower to win the Big Tens. If he does that, it gets him a top-5 seed, and although beating Gabe Dean won't be easy, he wrestled him tough last year, and if he is aggressive, anything is possible. The chance of him winning a National Title is definitely small, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't an All-American.

3. Brandon Sorensen - 149
Sorensen is ranked as high as any Hawkeye at #2 at his weight class, and had you asked me about this weight class earlier in the year, I may have put him at the top of this list. But since a torrid start, he has slowed down, and Zain Retherford has sped up, as he has absolutely plowed through everyone that has stood in his way. Sorensen, meanwhile, has wrestled closely with guys that he should be blowing out, and it's tough to believe he can come out on top. I don't think Retherford is unbeatable, but Sorensen has to wrestle with reckless abandon if he is going to do enough to come out on top. It's tough for me to predict that when I haven't seen it for months. Still, he's got a great shot of making it to the raised stage on Saturday night.

2. Cory Clark - 133
Last year, I said Cory Clark had the best chance of anybody to win a National Title at his lowest point in the season. I knew how dangerous he could be when he was wrestling well, and he almost proved me right by making the finals before losing to Cody Brewer who was on an absolute tear throughout that tournament. I don't think his chances have gotten any worse, but the guy at the top's chances have gotten better. Clark has only lost one match this year, in Sudden Victory to the guy currently ranked #2, and he did that less than two weeks after suffering an injury that made him pull out of the Midlands. Cody Brewer is still there, and Nahshon Garrett is ranked #1, but Clark is the first guy that I've listed that I wouldn't be surprised if he was a National Champion this year. Everyone up to this point needs some luck, but Clark is legit, and he could definitely take the title at 133.

1. Thomas Gilman - 125
Thomas Gilman, back with a vengeance this year. After he got upset in the semifinals by Zeke Moisey last year, he has come out this year and simply dominated all of his competition. The only reason he is still only ranked second is that the defending national champion, Nathan Tomasello has done just as well this year. They will likely get another match at the Big Ten Tournament, and that will decide who goes in at #1, but the real deal will be who is peaking at the NCAAs. There is some other tough competition in Joey Dance and Nico Megaludis, but Gilman has the firepower and the intensity to overwhelm anyone that he faces. I think this is the year he gets his asterisk.

As for the team side of things, well, it's going to be tough. Penn State is loaded, but some of their top ranked guys are susceptible to upsets. Cael Sanderson has done a phenomenal job of getting his guys to peak at the right time, and Iowa's results have been rather pedestrian in the tournament. They're going to have to outperform their seeds and get contributions from the entire team (minus 165). It's not likely, but it is possible. The Big Tens will be interesting, but the NCAAs will be epic.

I can't wait.

One Iowa Fan's Journey Through March Mad/Matness

I had been looking forward to this past weekend for a long time. Obviously, I knew Iowa's wrestling team was going to be in contention for a National Title since forever, because they are always in contention for a national title. But this was finally the year when Iowa basketball would make its triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament and wreak havoc on all those that got in their way. In hindsight, things did not quite turned out how I planned. Let's start from the beginning.

Basketball
Last Sunday, Iowa officially got their spot in the tournament, kind of. They had a play-in game for an 11-seed against Tennessee (for these purposes, the weekend started Wednesday night). As KenPom taught me, Tennessee was even more underrated than Iowa, so it was not only a tough matchup, but it was a tough matchup to get into the regular matchup. Ugh was about the only thought I could come up with.

But, I am wildly optimistic about Iowa sports. Since just about anything could happen in sports, I always assume the most positive outcome will happen. I saw the Tennesse matchup as tough, but the SEC barely knows what basketball is, so Iowa should win that one. Then UMass was a ridiculously weak 6-seed, and I haven't been very impressed with Duke all year. That puts Iowa in the Sweet-16 against Michigan, who are dangerous when hot, but Iowa destroyed them the last time they played, so, yes, I did have Iowa making it to the Elite-8 before losing to Louisville (Side note: None of these things are outlandish, especially Tennessee beating Michigan as they have very tough perimeter defense that could give the Wolverines fits). Going into Wednesday night, I had convinced myself that good things were about to happen for the Hawkeyes.

Then Wednesday night started, and Iowa looked great to start off the game. They moved the ball well and Tennessee's shaky shooting was as shaky as advertised. I was ready to start talking trash to both UMass and Duke. But Tennessee crawled back and somehow were only down by three points going into halftime. Still, Iowa was up three points despite getting nothing from Roy Devyn Marble. Once he gets going, Iowa should be able to extend their lead. Also, Tennessee can't shoot, so that's another point in Iowa's favor.

Unfortunately, Marble showed flashes but never really got going, and Tennessee started hitting threes like they were Doug McDermott. And still, Iowa stayed right in the game. Adam Woodbury was amazing; Peter Jok was ridiculous, and even Zach McCabe played really well. They hung close enough for Marble to hit a clutch shot and send the game into overtime. There was still hope.

But that hope quickly disappeared. Iowa just couldn't get things together, and Tennessee had everything going for them. Iowa got outscored 14-1 in overtime to give them their largest margin of defeat through the entire season. After this entire season where Iowa showed they could hang with anyone, but could never pull it out, they hung with Tennessee and just couldn't pull it out. I felt empty, but then I remembered something. The real NCAA Tournament starts tomorrow, and Iowa's wrestling team had a legitimate shot at a national title.

Wrestling:
There was good news and bad news to that, though. I already had plans to go to an Astros Spring Training game in Kissimmee on Thursday, as she had an early flight on Friday morning in Tampa. That meant no wrestling for me on Thursday. I avoided all social media and wouldn't even watch ESPN, as the scroll at hte bottom may spoil a result for me. The good news was that by me avoiding everything on Thursday, I would have 13 straight hours of wrestling to watch on Friday. This had me very excited.

So I end up getting back to my place at around 9:30 after five straight hours of driving and very little sleep. Still, this was the NCAA Wrestling Tournament; there was way too much excitement for me to feel tired. Session I started off well. Cory Clark came out like a man on a mission. Ramos had a close match, but I'll allow that from Ramos, because he's proven himself pretty well these past four years. Iowa suffered their first loss when Dziewa lost, but he was the one guy expected to lose in the first round, so it was not that big of a deal. He wrestled better against Dutton than he did in their previous match, so it was a step forward. After that, both Grothus and St. John looked good in taking care of their opponents.

And then things fell apart. In two of Iowa's next three matches, Iowa suffered huge losses. Nick Moore and Ethen Lofthouse, both 5-seeds in the tournament, suffered first round upsets. The other three remaining Hawkeyes did take care of business, but that was rough. Nick Moore had been wrestling great, and I honestly thought he might be the second best guy at 165 (it was a distant second, but still), and Lofthouse looked healthy with a bracket that lined up perfectly for him to make the finals since both Ed Ruth and Gabe Dean were on the other side. Looking at how the tournament played out, I think he would have had a hell of a time beating Sheptock, but a semifinals appearance would have been a whole lot better than how things turned out.

Even my optimism began to wane.

I'm just now watching Session I of the tournament, and through eight weight classes, I have already given up on Iowa's championship hopes.
— Hott Joe (@HottJoe) March 21, 2014

I then ate a quick lunch and got into Session II. Clark took care of business, and Ramos nearly gave me a heart attack, as he had his second close matchup, this one even closer than the last, as he managed to beat Zane Richards in Sudden Victory. Still, a win is a win. Grothus got beat by Maple, but I expected that. But, everybody else took care of business. St. John, Evans, Burak, and Telford all wrestled well and advanced to the quarterfinals. Iowa had six guys in the winner's bracket.

And that was all it took for me to get my optimism back. When other teams go to the consolations, I assume they will quickly lose again, but when Iowa guys lose, I just assume that they are going to wrestle tough and grind their way back to an All-American finish. By now, you should already know that my optimism was not well placed.

Dziewa got one win before losing to the #2 seed at his weight in sudden victory who just happened to be from Minnesota which put a knife in my chest. Grothus lost his first consolation match against a guy he had already beaten twice this season, which dug that knife a little deeper. Nick Moore won two consolation matches before being on the receiving end of another 5-point move to get eliminated from the tournament and twist that knife a bit. Finally, Lofthouse topped it off by only winning one match in the consolations before getting shut out in his next match. I don't know what else knives can do, so I guess it just did another 360 twist again.

But I still had six wrestlers to look forward to in the championship bracket of Session III. Iowa had two favorites, one underdog, and three tossups. This tweet sums up my emotions well.

I'm about to watch Session III, and I'm excited at what Iowa could do, yet still terrified. Sports are illogical, and I'm a mess. #Hawkeyes
— Hott Joe (@HottJoe) March 21, 2014

Here's how Session III went:

Bad: It started off how I expected as Cory Clark just didn't have enough to beat eventual National Champion, Jesse Delgado.
Good: After that, Ramos kept Iowa fans terrified but got a late takedown in the third to advance to the semifinals.
Bad: Derek St. John wrestled his lackadaisical style but was unable to create scrambles and instead just got repeatedly taken down to lose his match 11-4.
Good: Mike Evans won in a tiebreaker over Matt Brown in an excellent match to advance to the semifinals. This was probably the match that had me most excited as it was not only a tough win, but it was a tough win over Penn State which makes it twice as nice.
Bad: Nathan Burak lost to Chris Penny, who he had beaten earlier this season.
Good: Bobby Telford finally got over the hump and beat Adam Coon in a tiebreaker.

Overall, 3-3, and it was a total rollercoaster of emotions. At this point, I had watched 10 straight hours of wrestling. I was mentally drained but physically anxious. I also had three dogs being pests, so we went for a quick two-mile run to get the bad vibes out. In the biggest shocker of the day, I actually took a shower between my 13 hours of wrestling.

At that point, I had finally caught up to the live viewing on ESPN for Session IV, the semifinals. The good news, although I was not watching, was that the three guys who lost in the quarterfinals all won their first consolation match to guarantee their spots as All-Americans. Six All-Americans, things could be worse.

For the semis, we'll start at Heavyweight, Tony Nelson is just a better version of Bobby Telford. Telford managed a win at the dual, but Nelson was wrestling great in this tournament, and Telford just didn't have enough to beat him. This was a bummer, but it was the easiest match for me to take.

Tony Ramos again tried to give all Iowa fans a heart attack in his rematch against AJ Schopp. Ramos just did not get to his offense at all in the first period. Then Schopp rode out Ramos in the second period and then got a quick escape to ensure that he would get a riding time point. Things were not looking good when Tony Ramos did Tony Ramos things and not only got a takedown but took him to his back for a five-point move to secure the victory and move onto the championship. At least Iowa would have one guy in the finals.

And god damn, it should have been two. I can't imagine how Mike Evans feels about his match against Chris Perry, because even days later, it's tough for me, who has no connection to Mike Evans outside of the fact that we attended the same university years apart, to write about it. No scoring happened in the first and Perry was able to get an escape in the second period, but as time was ticking down, Evans pulled off a takedown to lead 2-1 going into the third period. Evans had the decision and chose down. At the time, it seemed questionable, and it turned out to be an awful decision. Perry rode him out and Evans never came close to getting the escape. They were going into overtime. They got in a scramble, and this happened.

Yep. That's what looks to be a pin. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that this is definitely a pin. There have been lesser pins in the WWE, but the ref, despite looking right at it, refused to call the defensive pin. Chris Villalonga, from Cornell, suffered his first loss of the tournament on way less than this, but the ref didn't want to make the call. In the end, they went to ride-outs, and Evans got ridden out, and Perry escaped and avoided Evans enough to avoid the last-ditch attempt at a takedown. John Smith, coach of Oklahoma State, then got interviewed and didn't understand why Iowa fans were booing. I yelled a lot of expletives at my television. Evans should have made the finals, and it really sucks that he didn't. There's nothing more I can say.

After 13 hours of wrestling and standing for every Iowa match that they showed (because I'm a very pathetic individual), I was pretty tired, so I watched a few dribbles of basketball and went to bed.

Saturday morning was the medal round, and it was not a good showing for the Hawkeyes. I'll rank it from my favorite to most disappointing performance.
1. Cory Clark - He lost his first match to Megaludis, but he wrestled really hard. Megaludis was just a little more solid, and the new takedown rules (which I completely agree with) benefited Nico. Still, Clark was going for it, and that's what really matters. On top of that, he dominated his 5th place match with an 8-1 win over Dylan Peters.
2. Bobby Telford - He was the only person to make it into a third place match, and he ended up taking fourth. A win over Mike McClure is always impressive, but it was 1-0, so that is a classic Telford there. He didn't get to his offense in the third place match and lost Mike McMullan 3-1. Nothing too exciting, but he's a heavyweight, so that's never really expected.
3. Nathan Burak - He took eight place, yet still finishes this high as he wrestled hard but lost to Morgan McIntosh.
4. Mike Evans - He just didn't have it after getting screwed in the semis. I don't blame him. He lost two matches that weren't particularly close to take 6th place.
5. Derek St. John - He finished in 5th place, but he got beaten badly by Ian Miller of Kent State, and then he never got a chance to redeem himself as Brian Realbuto injury defaulted out of their 5th place match. For a guy that grinded out every second of every match during his four years at Iowa, it's disappointing to see him take a beating and never get one last shot at another match. Still, it was a great career for DSJ.

Finally, I made it to Saturday night. ESPN was going to make me wait for the Ramos match as they were starting at 174. This was extra depressing as I had to start the night off by watching Chris Perry win a National Title despite getting pinned in the semifinals. That meant Tony's match was going to be seventh. I make it through the matches, realize that once Tony Nelson lost, Penn State had basically secured their fourth straight National Title. But this night was not about the team race for me anymore. Iowa was stuck in fourth, so it was time to see the culmination of Tony Ramos's four hard years at Iowa where he would take on Tyler Graff, a guy who always wrestled him extremely close. This match would be no different.

If you were trying to sell people on watching wrestling, I would not rely on this match. It was a deliberate match. Neither guy wanted to make a mistake, and neither guy did. No scoring in the first. Graff got an escape in the second. Ramos got an escape in the third. Sudden victory, and not a score was to be had. Tony went down and could not escape from Graff. My heart sank. Tony needed to get a ride out to force it to another sudden victory period. The period started and Graff was close to squirming his way out. He did everything that he could to get away from Tony. He twisted and turned, and that would be his downfall. He turned over to his back, and Ramos planted him there for the two back points before riding him out for the rest of the period to win the National Title at 133 pounds. Ramos took his time to flex, get his hand raised, and sprint over and jump into the stands with his family and friends. After 5 years in the program, and four as a starter, Tony Ramos finally got the asterisk that he so richly deserved next to his name in the Iowa wrestling room.

Overall, this was a terrible weekend to be an Iowa fan. The basketball team got a bad seed and couldn't even make it to the round of 64, and everything is lining up for the team that beat them. On top of that, the most hated man in Iowa guided his team into the Sweet 16.

On top of that, the wrestling team had disappointing loss after disappointing loss and never came close to sniffing the overall title. Despite all that, the lasting image from this weekend will still be Tony Ramos jumping into those stands to celebrate five years of hard work. Sports are stupid. They are cruel, and they will make you feel miserable. I felt terrible way more than I felt good this weekend, but that one moment of a Hawkeye's dream coming true made it all worthwhile.

What The NCAA Wrestling Brackets Mean For Iowa

It's time for all of you amateur bracketologists to take a break, as the real brackets are here for March Matness. Yes, I realize that most people care about the hoopyball more than the grind at Takedown Town, but college wrestling is seriously awesome and you are dumb if you think otherwise. Here are my thoughts on each weight and how things stack up for the Hawkeyes.

125 - Cory Clark gets the 8 seed, which is not ideal. I definitely did not want him on the same side of the bracket as Jesse Delgado, as that guy has been a monster and really raises his game in important matches. Cory Clark still has the talent to beat anybody, but the consistency is his issue. Consistency is key in the NCAA Tournament, and my hope is that he bounces back from a loss against Delgado to become an All-American. And hey, if he beats Delgado, he's got a great shot at making the finals.

On the other side, it is likely to come down to Garrett and Megaludis, and if you're a Hawkeye fan, cheer for Garrett.

133 - Tony Ramos gets the 3 seed, and it really couldn't have worked out much better for him. AJ Schopp did beat him earlier in the year, but this is a loss that I see Tony redeeming himself from. Ramos was heavily favored to win the title before this season began, and I still have confidence in him doing so. Beckman is no pushover, but I don't see him beating Ramos. Quiroga wrestled very well against Ramos at the conference tournament, so he may be able to give Schopp a run for his money.

The other side of the bracket has a lot of tough wrestlers. Joe Colon is the 1 seed, and he absolutely hossed Ramos earlier this season. But he has a tough road. There is a good chance that he faces Thorn who is likely to slow down the match and could take advantage of a mistake. After that, he has the winner of Morrison or Graff, both of which are tough guys to score on and will not be pushovers. I think it is far more likely that Colon trips up than Ramos does before the finals.

141 - Josh Dziewa is unranked and takes on the 13 seed, Stephen Dutton. Dutton really took it to him at the Big Ten Tournament, but only lost 3-2 at the dual meet. Still, his only losses have come to Retherford, Steiber, and a tiebreaker loss to Dardanes, so it's going to be a tough matchup. Unfortunately, I see him doing most of his work in the consolation bracket. The good news is that the consolation bracket sets up nicely for him as long as Devin Carter and Zain Retherford take care of business.

149 - Brody Grothus got the 13 seed? What does that mean? Haha, nice try. It means nothing. Brody Grothus could do anything at this tournament, and I wouldn't be surprised. He has beaten ranked guys like Tsirtsis, Kindig, and Habat and also managed to lose to Caleb Ervin who had only one other win against Big Ten competition this year. In fact, 149 has been insane all year, but I feel like things have calmed a little at the end of the season. Still, Grothus could do anything; seed doesn't matter.

157 - Derek St. John got the 2 seed, and things seriously could not have worked out better for him. The 3 seed is Alex Dieringer who always pushes St. John but can never seem to get the better of him. DSJ is going to have close matches, but the people that have given him trouble this year are all on the other side of the bracket.

And man, I would not be happy if I were a Nebraska fan. James Green has his work cut out for him as the 1 seed. The big dogs from the Big Ten are all on that side, and he could have to deal with the funk of Dylan Ness who is capable of beating anybody (and is also possibly the most exciting wrestler in the tournament, because anything could happen in his matches), and then have to deal with the one guy who beat him, Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin. This side could have a lot of upsets.

165 - Nick Moore got the 5 seed, which is not great. First it means that he is on the same side of the bracket as David Taylor, so he has no chance of making the finals. He also has Steven Monk as the 4 seed, who did beat Moore earlier in the year. I think Moore has actually progressed a lot through this season, so I do like him to make the semis against Taylor, but it'll be tough.

174 - Mike Evans got the 4 seed, and it's a nice spot for him. His big threat in the quarters is Matt Brown who beat him earlier in the year but lost at the Big Ten Tournament. That match, like all matches among the top six seeds could. If he gets past him, he likely faces Chris Perry, the 1 seed who Evans lost 5-4 to earlier in the year. Again, close matches, anything could happen.

On the other side of the bracket, is Howe at 2, Kokesh at 3, and Storley at 6. Howe is definitely the favorite as he beat Kokesh 3-2 earlier this year, but Kokesh has really been wrestling well at the end of this season. Don't count out Storley either who isn't always consistent but is capable of competing with anybody.

184 - Ethen Lofthouse got the 5 seed, and this is probably the second most favorable draw for a Hawkeye after DSJ's. The 4 seed is Thomusseit from Pittsburgh, who I will admit to not knowing much about, but he did lose twice to Sheptock and didn't really face any other top level guys. Sheptock is the 1 seed, and he beat Lofthouse in sudden victory in their only meeting this season. That is a match that could go either way, and it is not hard to see a situation where Lofthouse makes it to the finals.

Ed Ruth is on the other side of the bracket, which is a little surprising. I know Sheptock went undefeated, but Ruth is clearly the best wrestler at this weight. He did lose to Gabe Dean who is at the 3 spot, so maybe Dean can pull off a little more Cornell magic. Although I don't think Steinhaus is going to beat Ruth, it is nice that he is on the opposite side from Lofthouse.

197 - Nathan Burak received the 11 seed. He wrestled really well at the Big Tens, so he may start wrestling to his potential. He should get past his first round opponent from Wyoming. After that, he faces the 6 seed from Bloomsburg, Richard Perry. Perry's only loss came to 7 seed Travis Rutt, who he managed to pin later in the year. Outside of that, he didn't face a lot of top competition. Out of any of the top 7 seeds to wrestle into, this is probably my pick as he may be overrated because of his lack of competition. He also may be underrated, but that wouldn't really matter, because I can't see Burak getting by any of the other top guys.

HWT - Bobby Telford is a 5 seed, which is totally fine. The heavyweight division is insane. There isn't a guy in the top-8 that couldn't win this whole thing. Tony Nelson at 1 is still the favorite, because he always seems to turn it on when it matters, but Telford finally got a win over him this year, so anything is possible. He'll have to get through super freshman Adam Coon to get to Nelson, and their first match was a close loss for Telford but could certainly go the other way this time.

I would have rather seen Telford on the other side of the bracket, but that is just because I am very afraid of Tony Nelson. Anyone can beat anyone. Everything means nothing; nothing means everything.

Overall - I would say things worked out fine for the Hawkeyes. St. John is their top ranked guy at 2, but Ramos is their best chance at a national title at 3. Although I projected out a few rounds, anything can happen in wrestling, and they could lose to guys they are projected to beat and beat guys they are projected to lose to. Penn State's still the favorite to win it, but if Iowa or Minnesota get a couple upsets, either team could win the championship. I am so pumped.