Let's take a quick look at the MAC shall we? Go through weight by weight and see what sticks out to me.
125 lbs
The NCAA has allotted the top three spots for NCAA qualification here and no doubt about it, in order #1 Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan, #2 Connor Brown of Missouri & #3 Jake Ferri of Kent State have all earned their spot.
BUT!!!! #4 Luke Werner of Lock Haven who has yet to wrestle a match this season could more than throw the whole seeding thing out the window. He was 3rd in the MAC last season, and the last he and HIldebrandt met it was a tight 3-2 decision for the Chippewa. I also wouldn't look past #5 Jonathan Tropea for one second either. He's been tough in the past and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him show up here. Lastly it may be nothing more than hope talking at this point, but if for some reason Willy Girard is entered at this tournament and he's 100%, that could be the talk of the tournament.
133 lbs
The NCAA is going to take the top six here and rightly so. Not 100% positive they'll finish in the order they're seeded, but I think the six slotted to go will be the ones who do. Slight chance #7 Justin Patrick of Cleveland State steals a spot.
141 lbs
#1 Allan Hart of Missouri, #2 Dresdon Simon of Central Michigan & #3 Saul Ervin of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville are all allotted spots to the NCAA tournament. This doesn't bode well for #4 Derek Spann of Buffalo, who was pinned by Simon at 2:18 and who dropped a 7-0 decision to Ervin. With that noted, I don't see him stealing a spot, but I do see him finishing in fourth place as predicted and with all of the at large bids left, I do believe he'll be awarded one.
149 lbs
I think things will go pretty much on the mat as they're written on paper. Missouri's Brock Mauller ought to cake walk through this bracket. #2 Anthony Cheloni of Northern Illinois and #3 Tyler Vath of Edinboro should prove to be a good semi-final. It ended in a 2-0 decision in Cheloni's favor the last the two met. Look for #4 Kody Komara of Kent State to perhaps receive an at large bid when it is all said and done. Like Spann at 141 lbs, unlikely he'll steal a spot, but as long as he finishes in fourth place, he has a good shot at an at large.
157 lbs
#1 Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider defeated #2 Jarrett Jacques of Missouri 4-0 in last year's MAC finals, but I'm not sold that Jacques necessarily gets past #3 Justin Ruffin of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the semi-finals. Although Jacques has won every meeting between the two, they have always been close. 3-1, 6-4 sudden victory and their last match a 4-3 squeaker. It's hard to beat someone in close matches four times in a row. It'll be an exciting match.
165 lbs
This is an interesting weight class. Freshman Keegan O'Toole of Missouri has looked solid all season. Looked real good in a 5-1 victory over #2 Izzak Olejnik of Northern Illinois. Do I think O'Toole wins the title and the sole allotment to the NCAA tournament? I think he has a good chance. In fact, a great one. It's the rest of the weight that I'm anxious to see how it turns out.
#7 Kolby Ho of Clarion is who interest me here the most. 8-3 thus far on the season and in his three losses, he hasn't always looked pretty. Yet the guy has a gas tank on him and he can "Get Dangerous" as Darkwing Duck would say, at times.
174 lbs
This may be where I raise the most eyebrows, but hear me out before you totally dismiss me as a lunatic. You have #1 Andrew McNally of Kent State and #2 Peyton Mocco of Missouri. Both fine candidates for the 2021 MAC title. Yet you know who I think has a good shot at winning the MAC title this season? #6 Jacob Oliver of Edinboro. Make no mistake, I have no problem with him being seeded sixth. With a 5-3 loss to #3 Mason Kauffman of Northern Illinois and a 5-3 loss to #5 Paul Pierce of George Mason, it is about the only place you could have put him. Yet keep in mind he took McNally to the wire earlier this season in a barnburner 7-6 loss. He stuck McNally last year at the 3:15 mark. Oliver is a tough wrestler. He wrestles like he's capable he'll far out do his #6 seed.
184 lbs
#1 seed Britt Wilson of Northern Illinois makes his third MAC finals appearance in route to his second MAC championship. I have no doubt about that. It's whether it's against #2 Jeremiah Kent of Missouri (wouldn't that be ironic if he wrestled for Kent State?) or #3 George Walton of Rider. I think Kent Vs Walton, will make for an interesting Semi-final.
197 lbs
#1 Greg Bulsack of Clarion & #2 Rocky Elam of Missouri, I believe this is the exact MAC finals we'll get. I do believe that #3 Collin McCracken of Kent State should live up to his seed, which should place him in a decent position for an at large bid. However, this weight like 165, at least in my opinion could be fairly wide open.
You want to know who to keep an eye on here? Unseeded Matt Correnti of Rider. He hasn't wrestled worth a hoot this year. I'm not debating that. However, he CAN. Is he going to come up and steal a spot from Bulsack or Elam? No, he isn't. I don't see him coming up and taking third place here either. However, a spot in the top eight? Shocking the MAC by making his way onto the award stand? You read it here first.
HWT
The NCAA only allotting two at this weight class is a crime against humanity and all I have to say about it is, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!! As far as I'm concerned the top seven deserve to NCAA qualifications. I think #1 Matt Stencel of Central Michigan is not only the top guy in the MAC, I think while everyone overlooks him and dismisses him from the discussion, I do believe if anyone can make the NCAA finals anything other than a Gable Steveson Vs Mason Parris, it is Matt Stencel. Ethan Laird of Rider has looked exceptionally good this season as well and that should be our final.
As to the rest of the MAC? #3 Zach Elam of Missouri, #4 Sam Schuyler of Buffalo, #5 Jon Spaulding of Edinboro, #6 Colton McKiernan of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and #7 Max Ihry of Northern Illinois as I said, are all NCAA qualification material in my opinion. With that said, I can't see all five of them being allotted at large bids. Maybe, just maybe if everything goes according to plan and their are no major upsets, but even then, it's not a give me. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment