Fair’s fair. Always thought it was proper for a guy going out of his way to make (far too) detailed and bold predictions on sporting events to man up afterward for a public evaluation, and even shaming, if appropriate. As usual, I got a little bit right…and a good bit wrong (as always, it seems, some spectacularly so). So here I am. Fire away!
Team Scoring
Predicted: 1. PSU-142.5; 2. tOSU-103.5; 3. IOWA-101; 4. OKST-100.5; 5. MICH-57; 6. (tie) COR-55.5; MINN-55.5; 8. MIZZ-53.5
Actual: 1. PSU-137.5; 2. tOSU-96.5; 3. OKST-84; 4. IOWA-76; 5. MICH-62.5; 6. MIZZ-62; 7. COR-59.5; 8. MINN-53.5
So…got 8 for 8 on the top teams, dead on with #’s 1, 2 and 5, flipped 3 and 4, and mixed up the last three (though I suppose I could point out that with COR, a tie for 6th is also a tie for 7th). Basically, Marinelli was the difference in having the first 5 correct in order, and I admitted somewhere in the original treatise that I have trouble slotting MIZZ. Looks like I undersold them to a degree. Not too bad, though.
Individual Competition
Last year, 60 of the 80 seeds (75%) gained A-A status. I correctly picked 60 A-A’s, a net gain (loss) of zero for my trouble. This year, 64 of the 80 seeds (80%) gained A-A status. I correctly picked 64 A-A’s, a net gain (loss) of zero. Umm…why do I bother? Small sample size…not statistically relevant, but I’ll speculate that the higher number of seeds making the top 8 is directly related to the new procedure of seeding to 33 in each weight class; hence, a lesser chance of upsets. I picked 6 of 10 champions…not great: Lee, Suriano, Diakomihalis, Nolf, Valencia, and Nickal. Missing Ashnault was stupid.
125-The good: Lee (IOWA) ftw. The bad: Had finalist Mueller (UVA) losing to Bresser (OREST) in the quarters, then falling out of the money on the backside. Mueller won in TB-2, 4-1 over Bresser, but never seemed in danger of losing. Of course, he then advanced to the finals. Mueller’s good. Brutal misjudgment.
133-The (spectacularly?) good: Not only called Suriano (RUT) over Fix (OKST) in the finals, but gave a (regrettably) darn fine, nearly 100% accurate (save for the lack of interminable challenges) preview, if I do say so myself. I freely admit I’m no expert, but for Pete’s sake…what does it take to get a stalling call (on Fix) around here? Semi-proud of guessing right on Micic (MICH) in that the injury would keep him from beating Suriano, but that he would compete all the way through to gain A-A status. Suriano and Fix should never be allowed in the same state at the same time again. The bad: missed on RBY. Otherwise, pretty much OK.
141-The good: Diakomihalis (COR) with the win. Had a 9 seed, Demas (OKLA) and a 16 seed, Red (NEB) as A-A’s, top 3 in order, top 6 correct, with only 4 and 5 flipped. The bad: Yianni was challenged way more than I thought he’d be. Not sure the takedown at the end of regulation wasn’t a make-up call for the earlier takedown/possible back points he appeared to have earned. That McKenna (tOSU) is nails.
149-The good: Good? What good? The (spectacularly) bad: Ignoring a career’s worth of Micah Jordan’s (tOSU) bottom work (that didn’t sound good, did it?), as well as two prior meetings this year between him and Ashnault (RUT), I still picked Jordan to win, for no discernible reason. I might as well have said a donkey would be a duck, as Ashnault once again rode Jordan like a rented mule, and did just fine in neutral, as well. Just like before. Sheesh. What was I thinking? Ashnault is legit. Duh. Had Gfeller (OKST) third. He might have been on a bus to Stillwater Friday morning. Oh, and Kolodzik (PRIN) out of the money. Off topic…Rutgers, who had never won an individual championship between the beginning of time and yesterday afternoon, won two. That’s double the total of Ohio State, Iowa, Oklahoma State and Michigan combined. Maybe a donkey IS a duck!
157: The good: Nolf (PSU), though not without an anxious moment or two with Hidlay (NCST). Top 6 correct, though 3 and 4 were flipped, and so were 5 and 6. No big deal there, as the top 6 seeds took the top 6 places. The bad: Seeds 9 and 7 took 7th and 8th, respectively. I missed on both.
165: The good: Got 7 of 8 A-A’s, I guess, but 7 of 8 seeds got there. Oh…not really going out on a limb, I picked the winner of 165 to be named OW. The bad: Yeah, but I never thought it would be Lewis (VT). Didn’t realize the guy was that good. Having Marinelli (IOWA) at #1 was wrong here, and if I had put him any lower, my top 5 teams would have been right on.
174: The good: Valencia (ASU) to win. The bad: McFadden (VT) wrestled back to 5th, but his going down in the second round screwed up the backside. Missed Labriola (NEB) over Smith (OKST) too.
184: The good: It’s over. The (spectacularly) bad: Where do I start? How about this: In comparing the depth of the field at 165 to other weight classes, I said: “Not all #5-8 seeds are built alike. #5 Dean (COR). Outstanding wrestler. Ain’t winning 184.” OK…he didn’t. But….let’s be honest. My point was that he “ain’t beating Martin (tOSU).” So out of a possible 36 5-8 seeds from the other 9 weight classes, I chose the ONLY one who would conclusively prove me wrong. Dean darn near did win 184. And even if he hadn’t prevailed over Martin, the outcome came down to the last five seconds either way. So I was wrong, wrong, double dead wrong. My whole bracket was a mess. Had the clearly injured Rasheed (PSU) in the finals…ah, let’s just move on.
197: The good: Went way out on a limb and picked Nickal (PSU) to win. Yay! The bad: Once again ignoring history, I had Weigel (OKST) over Moore (tOSU) in the semis, despite Moore’s clear superiority on his feet, which negated Weigel’s advantage on top.
285: The good: Little things. Had Stoll (IOWA) actually losing ground moving from a first round match with #4 Wood (LEH) to one with #5 Parris (MICH), picking him to win two, then lose in R12. Had him kicking Parris to the consis and losing in R12 also. All that happened. Had a #10, Hemida (MD) to A-A. The bad: Had the winner of Steveson (MINN)-Cassar (PSU) to win the whole thing, but picked the wrong guy to do it.
Overall…fair, at best. SJP80 said “I can’t say I agree on a few.” He was right. uncle jim 62 guessed I’d be 70% on A-A’s (actual-80%) and 70% on champs (actual-60%). jschrantz said he couldn’t see 4 teams each scoring over 100. He was right. Basically, everyone who commented was more right than I was. Sorry about that.
Random comments:
In response to “lunger bricks” thrown onto the mat by coaches at inopportune moments, I believe referees should be given actual bricks to throw back at them, as they immediately deny the protests.
Berger (NEB) certainly left an imprint on the tournament: that of his nose, on the mat, from the final with Nolf. How do you not love Nolf? And Nickal?
I watched the match from Georgia. I believe I was slightly closer to Bo Nickal than Kollin Moore ever got during their match.
I watched much of the tournament, on purpose, in a public setting with no sound (well…the sound was from one of the many basketball games on the other 258 TV’s in the place), which I thought would spare me from the inanity of Billy Baldwin and Quint Kessenich. But you know, during the parts I did hear…and I really hate to say this…Quint in particular was not as unbearable as he has been in the past. Not EVERY question began with “How do you best describe….” for starters. Many of his questions were intelligent, displaying a knowledge of the sport and attentiveness to the mat. And the interview with Matt Millen lacked the typical obnoxious Kessenich smugness I have come to detest, displaying a human side I didn’t know he had. (I feel so dirty right now). And sorry about what I said about hoping Spencer Lee would throw him into a moat to be eaten by crocodiles. I’ll walk that back to wishing Spencer had thrown him into a chicken coop to be victimized for some pesky pecking. That's progress!
Gotta run. Thanks for listening.
SR/BHF
Team Scoring
Predicted: 1. PSU-142.5; 2. tOSU-103.5; 3. IOWA-101; 4. OKST-100.5; 5. MICH-57; 6. (tie) COR-55.5; MINN-55.5; 8. MIZZ-53.5
Actual: 1. PSU-137.5; 2. tOSU-96.5; 3. OKST-84; 4. IOWA-76; 5. MICH-62.5; 6. MIZZ-62; 7. COR-59.5; 8. MINN-53.5
So…got 8 for 8 on the top teams, dead on with #’s 1, 2 and 5, flipped 3 and 4, and mixed up the last three (though I suppose I could point out that with COR, a tie for 6th is also a tie for 7th). Basically, Marinelli was the difference in having the first 5 correct in order, and I admitted somewhere in the original treatise that I have trouble slotting MIZZ. Looks like I undersold them to a degree. Not too bad, though.
Individual Competition
Last year, 60 of the 80 seeds (75%) gained A-A status. I correctly picked 60 A-A’s, a net gain (loss) of zero for my trouble. This year, 64 of the 80 seeds (80%) gained A-A status. I correctly picked 64 A-A’s, a net gain (loss) of zero. Umm…why do I bother? Small sample size…not statistically relevant, but I’ll speculate that the higher number of seeds making the top 8 is directly related to the new procedure of seeding to 33 in each weight class; hence, a lesser chance of upsets. I picked 6 of 10 champions…not great: Lee, Suriano, Diakomihalis, Nolf, Valencia, and Nickal. Missing Ashnault was stupid.
125-The good: Lee (IOWA) ftw. The bad: Had finalist Mueller (UVA) losing to Bresser (OREST) in the quarters, then falling out of the money on the backside. Mueller won in TB-2, 4-1 over Bresser, but never seemed in danger of losing. Of course, he then advanced to the finals. Mueller’s good. Brutal misjudgment.
133-The (spectacularly?) good: Not only called Suriano (RUT) over Fix (OKST) in the finals, but gave a (regrettably) darn fine, nearly 100% accurate (save for the lack of interminable challenges) preview, if I do say so myself. I freely admit I’m no expert, but for Pete’s sake…what does it take to get a stalling call (on Fix) around here? Semi-proud of guessing right on Micic (MICH) in that the injury would keep him from beating Suriano, but that he would compete all the way through to gain A-A status. Suriano and Fix should never be allowed in the same state at the same time again. The bad: missed on RBY. Otherwise, pretty much OK.
141-The good: Diakomihalis (COR) with the win. Had a 9 seed, Demas (OKLA) and a 16 seed, Red (NEB) as A-A’s, top 3 in order, top 6 correct, with only 4 and 5 flipped. The bad: Yianni was challenged way more than I thought he’d be. Not sure the takedown at the end of regulation wasn’t a make-up call for the earlier takedown/possible back points he appeared to have earned. That McKenna (tOSU) is nails.
149-The good: Good? What good? The (spectacularly) bad: Ignoring a career’s worth of Micah Jordan’s (tOSU) bottom work (that didn’t sound good, did it?), as well as two prior meetings this year between him and Ashnault (RUT), I still picked Jordan to win, for no discernible reason. I might as well have said a donkey would be a duck, as Ashnault once again rode Jordan like a rented mule, and did just fine in neutral, as well. Just like before. Sheesh. What was I thinking? Ashnault is legit. Duh. Had Gfeller (OKST) third. He might have been on a bus to Stillwater Friday morning. Oh, and Kolodzik (PRIN) out of the money. Off topic…Rutgers, who had never won an individual championship between the beginning of time and yesterday afternoon, won two. That’s double the total of Ohio State, Iowa, Oklahoma State and Michigan combined. Maybe a donkey IS a duck!
157: The good: Nolf (PSU), though not without an anxious moment or two with Hidlay (NCST). Top 6 correct, though 3 and 4 were flipped, and so were 5 and 6. No big deal there, as the top 6 seeds took the top 6 places. The bad: Seeds 9 and 7 took 7th and 8th, respectively. I missed on both.
165: The good: Got 7 of 8 A-A’s, I guess, but 7 of 8 seeds got there. Oh…not really going out on a limb, I picked the winner of 165 to be named OW. The bad: Yeah, but I never thought it would be Lewis (VT). Didn’t realize the guy was that good. Having Marinelli (IOWA) at #1 was wrong here, and if I had put him any lower, my top 5 teams would have been right on.
174: The good: Valencia (ASU) to win. The bad: McFadden (VT) wrestled back to 5th, but his going down in the second round screwed up the backside. Missed Labriola (NEB) over Smith (OKST) too.
184: The good: It’s over. The (spectacularly) bad: Where do I start? How about this: In comparing the depth of the field at 165 to other weight classes, I said: “Not all #5-8 seeds are built alike. #5 Dean (COR). Outstanding wrestler. Ain’t winning 184.” OK…he didn’t. But….let’s be honest. My point was that he “ain’t beating Martin (tOSU).” So out of a possible 36 5-8 seeds from the other 9 weight classes, I chose the ONLY one who would conclusively prove me wrong. Dean darn near did win 184. And even if he hadn’t prevailed over Martin, the outcome came down to the last five seconds either way. So I was wrong, wrong, double dead wrong. My whole bracket was a mess. Had the clearly injured Rasheed (PSU) in the finals…ah, let’s just move on.
197: The good: Went way out on a limb and picked Nickal (PSU) to win. Yay! The bad: Once again ignoring history, I had Weigel (OKST) over Moore (tOSU) in the semis, despite Moore’s clear superiority on his feet, which negated Weigel’s advantage on top.
285: The good: Little things. Had Stoll (IOWA) actually losing ground moving from a first round match with #4 Wood (LEH) to one with #5 Parris (MICH), picking him to win two, then lose in R12. Had him kicking Parris to the consis and losing in R12 also. All that happened. Had a #10, Hemida (MD) to A-A. The bad: Had the winner of Steveson (MINN)-Cassar (PSU) to win the whole thing, but picked the wrong guy to do it.
Overall…fair, at best. SJP80 said “I can’t say I agree on a few.” He was right. uncle jim 62 guessed I’d be 70% on A-A’s (actual-80%) and 70% on champs (actual-60%). jschrantz said he couldn’t see 4 teams each scoring over 100. He was right. Basically, everyone who commented was more right than I was. Sorry about that.
Random comments:
In response to “lunger bricks” thrown onto the mat by coaches at inopportune moments, I believe referees should be given actual bricks to throw back at them, as they immediately deny the protests.
Berger (NEB) certainly left an imprint on the tournament: that of his nose, on the mat, from the final with Nolf. How do you not love Nolf? And Nickal?
I watched the match from Georgia. I believe I was slightly closer to Bo Nickal than Kollin Moore ever got during their match.
I watched much of the tournament, on purpose, in a public setting with no sound (well…the sound was from one of the many basketball games on the other 258 TV’s in the place), which I thought would spare me from the inanity of Billy Baldwin and Quint Kessenich. But you know, during the parts I did hear…and I really hate to say this…Quint in particular was not as unbearable as he has been in the past. Not EVERY question began with “How do you best describe….” for starters. Many of his questions were intelligent, displaying a knowledge of the sport and attentiveness to the mat. And the interview with Matt Millen lacked the typical obnoxious Kessenich smugness I have come to detest, displaying a human side I didn’t know he had. (I feel so dirty right now). And sorry about what I said about hoping Spencer Lee would throw him into a moat to be eaten by crocodiles. I’ll walk that back to wishing Spencer had thrown him into a chicken coop to be victimized for some pesky pecking. That's progress!
Gotta run. Thanks for listening.
SR/BHF
