Here are the potential line-ups and match-ups:
125- #3 Matt McDonough (Iowa) vs #10 Jon Morrison (OSU)
133- #2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs #1 Jordan Oliver (OSU)
141- #1 Montell Marion (Iowa) vs #13 Josh Kindig (OSU)
149- Mark Ballewg (Iowa) vs #2 Jamal Parks (OSU)
157- #2 Derek St. John (Iowa) vs #18 Albert White (OSU)
165- #14 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs #19 Dallas Bailey (OSU)
174- #8 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) vs Chris McNeil (OSU)
184- Vinnie Wagner (Iowa) vs #2 Chris Perry (OSU)
197- #8 Grant Gambrall/Tomas Lira (Iowa) vs #5 Cayle Byers (OSU)
285- #9 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs #2 Alan Gelogaev (OSU)
I just read the small story on flo with the same title as this post and i thought it might be interesting to put some thought into this upcoming matchup as well as hear the views of other knowledgeable, intelligent fans. The idiots weed themselves out/ show their lack of objectivity and bias either way by their inability to admit fault or except the opinion of others. So, that being said, here we go.
125 - obviously Iowa is favored here, the only question is how badly can McDonough beat Morrison. I just thought, and I wonder if others suffer the same way, the last time I saw McDonough,he was getting schooled by Robles. I only bring that up because sometimes, when the last time we see someone wrestle, we base future performance on most recent results. I could see how someone might remember that match and say that Morrison could pull of an upset. I guess he could, but only if McDonough doesn't show up. Morrison, in my opinion, is good enough to keep a score close with almost anyone on a good night. I dont think he is necessarily a top 10 guy on a consistent basis. He needs to have a good night and at the very least, wrestle good enough to avoid giving up bonus points.
133 - I said in a earlier post that people have used Oliver’s close match at all stars as a basis for an opinion that the other guys are close to him. I think this match will be a real eye opener to find out how good Ramos is and how big the gap is, if any, between Oliver and everyone else. If I were on the Iowa staff, I would recommend that Ramos keep a frantic pace, stay in good position, make Oliver make a mistake and attack out of position. I have a feeling what is going to happen is Oliver is going to take him down a few times and pin him. A pin is huge for osu here, any bonus points for that matter.
141 - I said in another topic I thought Kindig was a good, tough wrestler in a weight class full of really good, really tough wrestlers. When I think about how Maple destroyed Kindig, then think, "Marion is better than Maple", I feel like Osu is in real damager of giving up big bonus here. Osu's most realistic shot here is either Marion doesn’t wrestle or gets hurt.
149 - parks should get bonus points here, but what is more likely to happen is he either wins a close one or losses a close one.
157 - I haven't seen Iowa wrestle here, but based on what ive seen of white, I give Iowa the advantage. I do think that white wrestles to his level of competition, so if he won a close one it would be a pleasant surprise.
165 - flip a coin...I haven’t seen Iowa here, so this isn't based on fact, only fear as someone who hates this type of match, but I just hope this isn’t two guys trying not to lose.
174 - A good test for OSU here, lofthouse is favored to me, although I couldn’t say by how much. I like McNeil, he’s a good kid, good student, never gets in trouble, etc. If he were to win here it would be huge based on the fact that he hasn’t presented as a top 10 wrestler.
184 - If Perry continues to improve as much as he already has this season, OSU could score bonus points here. I think Iowa needs a big match to avoid bonus.
197 - I think Byers is top 5 in the country, and he could win the NCAA tournament this year. I think Iowa is in danger of giving up bonus here.
Hwt - Z has wrestled really well so far. I know he just lost to Hanke, and Im sorry if its going to come across as me making excuses for the loss, because in a way, it is. He didn’t look very good offensively, Hanke neutralized his upper body stuff and he had several failed/ near miss attacks. My hang up on the loss is the stall calls despite the fact that both guys seemed to wrestle the same way the entire match. I dont understand the two calls in the last minute to tie the score. This all being said, z destroyed nelson and cooper, who are both ranked higher than Telford. I dont think z will get a pin, but bonus points would not surprise me.
I see this dual split 5 matches to 5, bonus and upsets will decide this one. I think OSU has more potential for bonus in their 5 matches than Iowa has in theirs. I’m picking OSU.
