Big 10 Tournament Preview & Predictions - The Middleweights
Big 10 Tournament Preview & Predictions - The Middleweights
A preview and predictions for 149-174 at the 2022 Big 10 Tournament.
The premier conference in college wrestling is without a doubt the Big Ten. Too many returning NCAA champs and All-Americans to count will take the mats in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday and Sunday to try and win a coveted Big Ten title. The middleweights will feature some of the most intriguing matches, especially at 165 and 174 lbs.
Take a look below at a break brown and predictions for 149-174 at the 2022 Big 10 Tournament.
149: Will Sasso Go Back-To-Back?
The Favorite
Sammy Sasso breezed to his first Big Ten title last year with a 5-2 win over Ridge Lovett and went into the NCAA Championships undefeated on the year. Once again undefeated against Big Ten competition and with the likely #1 seed, Sasso is almost a lock to make it to his third-straight final and a heavy favorite to repeat as champion.
Other Contenders
There is a chance we could see a repeat of last year’s final in Lovett vs Sasso as Lovett is the likely three seed. Lovett will most likely have to reverse a result from the regular season when he lost to Austin Gomez 4-2. The one contender Sasso has yet to face in his career at this weight is Gomez. Sasso is solid defensively, but Gomez’s upper body prowess can propose issues for anyone, especially if they haven’t felt it before.
Likely coming in at the four and five seeds will be Max Murin and Yahya Thomas. Both of these wrestlers had rough Big Ten Tournaments last season, which I don’t see happening again. Murin got the better of Thomas in the regular season, but that is still a toss-up match, imo.
Sleepers And Landmines
Currently ranked #14 and #15 in the country, I’m not sure if you can call Mike Van Brill and/or Beau Bartlett sleepers, but it would take an upset for one of these two to make the finals. Van Brill’s style possibly presents him with a better chance than Bartlett’s slow and defensive style.
A true sleeper at this weight is Michigan’s Kanen Storr. The sixth-year senior is coming in unranked with just a 8-5 record. Storr hasn’t looked himself since getting injured at the CKLV, has twice made the round of 16 at NCAAs in his career. If he can turn things around and wrestle his best, he’ll be looking to steal an allocation spot to qualify for the national tournament.
Prediction: 1) Sammy Sasso 2) Austin Gomez 3) Ridge Lovett 4) Max Murin
Number of Allocations: 7
157: Can Anyone Come Close To Deakin?
The Favorite
While Sasso is trying to go back-to-back, Ryan Deakin is trying to go back-to-back-to-back up at 157. The two-time Big Ten champ is as big a favorite as almost anyone at the tournament. Although we haven’t seen the sixth-year senior much this season, he did win a CKLV title rather easily and went 5-0 in duals. The real question is will he look good enough to possibly take out David Carr at NCAAs?
Watch Ryan Deakin pin Kendall Coleman at this season's CKLV tournament below.
Other Contenders
Kaleb Young should get the two seed here. He did famously beat Deakin twice at NCAAs in 2019, but Deakin has since separated himself and beat Young 6-0 at Big Ten’s last year.
Peyton Robb gave Deakin a close match on paper in the dual this year with a final score of 4-2. However, Deakin scored the only takedown and one of Robb’s points came on an illegal hold from Deakin.
Sleepers And Landmines
Having only wrestled six matches this year and just two at 157 lbs, Penn State’s Brady Berge won’t get a good seed, but is a guy who can compete with anyone in this bracket outside of Deakin. Berge beat Young last year at NCAAs 3-2. The only question is how good his conditioning is.
Prediction: 1) Ryan Deakin 2) Kaleb Young 3) Peyton Robb 4) Brady Berge
Number of Allocations: 7
165: The Young Guns vs The Bull
The Favorite
Freshman Carson Kharchla got the better of 3X Big Ten champion Alex Marinelli during the regular season. Just a 3-2 victory leaves a lot of hope Hawkeye fans and a lot of nerves for Buckeye fans. Marinelli lead the entire match until Kharchla was able to hit his signature sucker drag for a takedown with 20 seconds left.
Other Contenders
Obiously Marinelli still has a great shot at winning this, but in order to get back to the finals, he’ll have to beat another tough freshman in DJ Hamiti for the second time this season. In match #1, Marinelli won the takedown battle three to nothing, but just a one-point match in the third period, Hamiti was still in it.
Watch Mike Mal break down a potential Hamiti vs Kharchla match below.
Sleepers And Landmines
Bubba Wilson proved he is capable of the occasional big win when he defeated probable four seed Cam Amine a couple of weeks ago. At 10-10, he’s taken his fair share of losses as well. I’m definitely not predicting a finals run out of Wilson, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls of at least one higher seeded upset.
Predictions: 1) Marinelli 2) Kharchla 3) Hamiti 4) Amine
Number of Allocations: 7
174: The Big Four
The Favorite
There are four big names in this bracket, but returning NCAA champion Carter Starocci has very slightly separated himself as a slight favorite above the rest. When I say very, I mean very. After losing to Michael Kemerer in the Big Ten finals last year, Starocci is 2-0 against Kemerer. Both of those wins came in overtime, however, and the dual this year came down to tiebreakers with Starocci getting a full 30 second rideout. And with Kemerer losing to Mikey Labriola in his last regular season match, Starocci will probably have the Kemerer rematch in the semifinals. If Starocci wins, it won’t be easy.
Watch the highlights from Starocci and Kemerer's NCAA final below.
Other Contenders
Obviously Kem Dawg could win his second-straight Big Ten title, and considering Labiorla just beat Kem, Labs has a shot as well. The fourth guy who could win this weight is Logan Massa. Massa has looked great in his last hurrah for the Wolverines, going 14-1 with the lone loss coming by one point to Starocci. Two weeks after suffering the loss, Massa bounced back by beating Labriola.
Sleepers And Landmines
Probable five-seed Ethan Smith is definitely on the outside looking in on the big four mentioned above. However, currently ranked #7 in the country, it’s not justifiable to call him a sleeper or landmine.
Fifth-year senior Bailee O’Reilly of Minnesota might fit the mold for “sleeper” a little better. He has yet to notch that signature big win of his career, but wrestles everybody tough and beats everyone he is supposed to. I think has improved since his last Big Tens in 2020.On the other end of the spectrum, Gerrit Nijenhuis is just a sophomore but beat Labriola early in the second semester this season.
Prediction: 1) Michael Kemerer 2) Logan Massa 3) Carter Starocci 4) Mikey Labriola
Number of Allocations: 8