Honestly have no pre-tournament dreams/wishes/hope-to-see's/whatever, except that every Nittany Lion is in the finals
.
The tournament thrill for me is certainly, and primarily, to watch our guys wrestle, and have success on the mat. After that, it's the spontaneous storylines that appear and become the lore of each NCAA Championship. Even the Star Spangled Banner was beyond exciting in St. Louis, and included J'den Cox's mom singing one morning, and a sax soloist another. Loved it.
Then there's the wrestling. With 17% (1 in 6) of the contested bouts in the Championship Bracket alone ending in an upset (by seeding), I can't begin to explain the emotion of bracket busting results that cause, at one moment exhilaration, the next disappointment, in many fans.
Upsets will happen in 2018, and they will be plentiful. I get the OP's question, even though, imo, most of the bouts picked won't happen. Here's one man's thoughts...
Thursday Morning - Everyone goes, and wants that 1st win. Except pigtails, it's a seeded guy vs an unseeded guy. For PSU, it's win with bonus!!
Thursday Night - Everybody goes. Lose in consi's, and your tourney is over, so 90 guys will end their dreams here. Win in championships, where most bouts will be between seeded guys, and the dream continues. For PSU, it's win with bonus!!
Friday Morning - I love wrestle-backs, and there will be two rounds. 120 more wrestlers will be knocked out. Most years, a Team Championship is decided by the 3rd through 8th guys...so fans focusing only on the Championship Bracket is misinformed. A win in Session 3, in the Championship Bracket, and you're an AA, and can't finish lower than 6th. Both brackets are exciting...staying alive and earning AA. For PSU, it's win with bonus!!
Friday Night - Ahhh, the semifinals in Championships...doesn't get much better, winner earns a trip to the finals. Two more rounds of wrestle-backs, with the R12 winners earning AA. These are the bouts where wrestlers fight for, or fight to prevent every point, as it could be the difference between going home or earning AA. For PSU, it's win with bonus!!
Saturday Morning - I LOVE SATURDAY MORNING!! It is the least-attended session, yet is the session where significant Placement Points are scored. A team with many wrestlers in wrestle-backs can earn 3.5 Points, plus Bonus, for each wrestler going Saturday Morning. A team can get back into the thick of it on Saturday Morning.
Saturday Night - The Finals -- Speaks for itself. The pageantry, the history, and oh yeah, great wrestling. For PSU, it's win with bonus!!
