Agreed! Very happy with Joey's Saturday being vs. A. McKenna and McKee, before wrestling Nick who will have only faced Murin.
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“Pull it off”? They are prohibitive favorites and if the tourney is even close it will be an upset.
Can't tell if you are kidding or not.
Sure, anything can happen. Highly, highly unlikely this year, by the numbers. Far more likely would be Michigan or Iowa overtaking Ohio State.
If you are McKenna, how do you approach the match with Lee? If McKenna is aggressive early & has to work for hard for a takedown or 2 will he again fatigue by the end? If he wrestles conservative can he avoid being taken down & still have enough in the end given that you know Lee will be constantly on the attack?
The "pull it off" was intended with a wink--my point is simply that this tourney tends to to be tougher for us because it minimizes the impact our bonus machines can have. Also, these draws mean a few of our guys will have a tough semi, but it is a tough tourney, after all. I'm still very confident in a win though--so sorry for the confusion.
Honestly - I think Joey rewatches his tape at Rec Hall last year. Strong defensive positioning/less but crisper shots and strong riding. Nick did conceded that super dumb takedown at the end of 2 but Joey almost got a 2 count early 2nd as well.
Honestly - they're very very evenly matched wrestlers for the most part. I thought it was hilarious that some OSU fans predicted he was going to major Nick this year. Albeit, Joey seemingly jumped levels after beating Nick last year.
Random question though, I know Tommy Thorn is notoriously McKenna's kryptonite. I know one of his wins was a SV pin but he almo tilted Joey like no other in the dual meet. I wonder because Thorn is probably a fringe Top 15-20 wrestler usually (with one 8th place finish) who has taken some pretty bad Ls as well. I wonder if there is something he does that just gets to Joey.
Honestly - they're very very evenly matched wrestlers for the most part. I thought it was hilarious that some OSU fans predicted he was going to major Nick this year. Albeit, Joey seemingly jumped levels after beating Nick last year.
Random question though, I know Tommy Thorn is notoriously McKenna's kryptonite. I know one of his wins was a SV pin but he almo tilted Joey like no other in the dual meet. I wonder because Thorn is probably a fringe Top 15-20 wrestler usually (with one 8th place finish) who has taken some pretty bad Ls as well. I wonder if there is something he does that just gets to Joey.
Probably depends on how his tank is feeling. Assuming he's at 100%, I expect a more tactical match this time around. He came out very aggressive in the dual, but I think that was because he had concerns with holding a tight lead late. Wish this was set up to be the final, but if Lee gets through, would love to see the rematch w/ Carr.
THANKS!!
Not worried about bonus this year. Placement is the key. The compression of the weight classes, as compared to NCAA's, brings in big points for the Big Ten placers that don't get those points at NCAA's. (PSU) Can't go anywhere when four guys are seeded one, and very little opportunity with a couple guys at two, but other teams can. This year is different...two many Placement Points to overcome, assuming good effort from the Blue and White.
McKenna on Sunday with 7 hours re-coup is going to be MUCH tougher to beat. Do you want to see Nick beat him at his best,(just for piece of mind,which I would totally understand)or what is your reasoning for wishing they meet in finals?
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Just because I “feel” like they are the class of the bracket (in spite of Nick’s loss to Carr). If I’m thinking tactically like you are, I’d concur.
Same reason a lot of people want Mark to wrestle Zahid on Friday night instead of Saturday night. He'll be a lot bigger and more energized by then.
I always wondered if NATO's cut is why he always struggled Friday nights against the Hawkeyes and if he survives it, I would not pick anyone but him on Saturday night.
Nick lost to Moran
If this was any ole joe blow tourney, then yeah Id love to see both of thm at their best, but the loser of their semi will prolly drop to 6-7 seed for nats (especially if it’s a 3 loss McKenna)This match is huge. IMO the goal is to get opposite of Yanni, and shouldnt Lee get 2 or 3 seed if he wins B10s?
IMO, if Lee takes 3rd and Carr 2nd, Lee will still get the higher seed at NCAAs.
The NCAA committee will be looking at more than just Big Ten matches and Carr's overall record of 13-3 won't compare favorably to Lee's.
On a side note: Carr hasn't wrestled since 2/8/19. There is always a chance he might step on the mat and default in round 1.
I was at the Yianni/McKenna match and while Yianni looked considerably better than the final score indicated, Joey’s tank looked fine. That said, if weight is the issue then a rematch with Lee Saturday could prove to be a problem. I hope so
much tougher at the end of a two-day tournament, then on a Friday night after a week between duals?
I think Yianni is a level above Nick Lee overall, but I think Nick Lee might test an opponent's endurance more than Yianni.
I think Max Murin will be a lot better matchup for Nick than Chad Red but I honestly would like to have seen Nick wrestle Chad Red again cause I imagine he was disappointed in his results against him last year (even though it was a W)
Albeit, Red isn't a slouch regardless of his record. Pinned Dean Heil R12 last year and took Jack to TBs. Obviously him and Nick have some familiarity.
Fun fact, there are 4 wrestlers that have pinned Dean Heil and 2 of them are Penn Staters:
-Jaydin Eierman
-Chad Red
-Kade Moss (for real!)
-Jimmy Gulibon
Albeit, Red isn't a slouch regardless of his record. Pinned Dean Heil R12 last year and took Jack to TBs. Obviously him and Nick have some familiarity.
Fun fact, there are 4 wrestlers that have pinned Dean Heil and 2 of them are Penn Staters:
-Jaydin Eierman
-Chad Red
-Kade Moss (for real!)
-Jimmy Gulibon
