Many fans were upset to see their favorite stars left out of the tournament. Others were perplexed by what seems to be illogical seeding, or at least a seeding process that lacked consistency. The NCAA again proved to be an inept body of bureaucrats exceptional at manipulating their participants for organizational gains, by sucker-dragging their fan base in wielding information as power. Their social media experiment failed, making fans wait five hours for brackets they'd already made. Instead of creating buzz they created heartache, instead of endearing themselves to the fan base, they once again alienated them.
But hey, they'll probably put on a great show in St. Louis, and we'll forget about their insolence once we start waving for the cameras!
The NCAA tournament is nothing without the courageous studs who walk in front of 17k fans and square off in a battle of control. Their failures and triumphs are all their own, and we‘ll be watching with zeal. We know the seeded guys, but who are the ten wrestlers in the bracket that can extinguish your dreams of winning your bracket contest? Who are the guys who shed their regular season clothes to show fans the "S" on their chest?
It's impossible to know, but here are 10 wrestlers -- one per weight class -- to keep an eye on in the first rounds, when the bureaucrats retreat back into their brick castle in Indianapolis and the doers start to scrap.
125: Joe Roth (Central Michigan)
I never liking betting against a Tom Borrelli-coached talent, and Roth seems to be coming on at the right time of the season. Should he get past Camden Eppert of Purdue again -- the first match was 4-2 in sudden victory -- he will likely face No. 4 Jesse Delgado of Illinois. Delgado, who beat top-seeded Matt McDonough of Iowa earlier in the season, is one of the best, but Roth is a dangerous talent and if he can slow down Delgado, he will get a quarterfinal match against No. 5 Nic Bedelyon of Kent State, a wrestler he bested 9-6 at the MAC tournament.
133: Nick Soto (Chattanooga)
Fourth-seeded B.J. Futrell of Illinois could not have been pleased to see the brackets. One of Futrell's losses this season came at the hands of Soto, a lopsided 8-2 decision in December. Should Soto repeat that performance, he will face a second round match of either Scott Festejo of Old Dominion or Zach Zehner of Wyoming -- both wrestlers pinned him this season. That's not a good sign for a longer run, but with that first round upset, Soto could carry momentum and better those decisions. His quarterfinals match would be against top-proficient Joe Colon, the Northern Iowa wrestler who dismantled then-No. 1 Devin Carter of Virginia Tech. Soto has the talent to turn the top side of the bracket upside down.
141: Joshua Kindig (Oklahoma State)
Kindig has been inconsistent this year, but as one of the most talented athletes in the weight with a legendary coach, allows more cushion for his chances at nationals. Though he was briefly suspended from the team for violating unspecified team rules, it's likely that head coach John Smith will have him ready to compete in his true sophomore campaign. First up is Mike Mangrum, the fourth-seeded Oregon State wrestler. He's a stud, but if Kindig comes to wrestle nothing that happened or didn't happen in the regular season will matter. He's that talented It's just a matter of cobbling it together into one tournament.
Eric Terrazs defeated Iowa's Mike Kelly at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals (Photo/Austin Bernard, Tech-Fall.com)Illinois' junior middleweight has been on the cusp for several seasons. He's beaten All-Americans and been in contention for All-American honors the past two seasons, falling short each time. His draw seems to be as good as it gets. Up first is a very dangerous Ian Miller of Kent State, who earned the fifth seed, but who beat Terrazas by one point earlier this season. Should E.T. get the upset, he will likely face Ivan Lopouchanski of Purdue, who he beat by six points in January. From there it could be a matchup with Dake-killer Donnie Vinson of Binghamton in the quarters.
157: Matt Lester (Oklahoma)
Lester's chances all come down to his ability to knock off the funky-free Jason Welch of Northwestern, who comes in as the No. 3 seed. Welch, who lost on a last second takedown to arch nemesis Derek St. John of Iowa in the Big Ten finals, is talented, but only beat Lester 7-3 in their early season matchup. Should Lester upset the California native, he will likely face Tommy Churchard of Purdue, who he has beaten twice this season, including a major decision victory at Midlands. The quarterfinals would be James Green of Nebraska or James Fleming of Clarion, wrestlers he has not yet faced this season.
165: Scott Winston (Rutgers)
Maybe it's because my roommate is from Toms River, N.J., or because I like the Rutgers coaching staff, but I'm pulling for Scott Winston. The All-World recruit had been the centerpiece of head coach Scott Goodale's Rutgers team, but three years later Rutgers is without an All-American. Winston hopes to change his team's fortunes, and is looking primed to do so after a strong runner-up finish at the EIWA tournament. Winston lost 2-0 earlier this season to returning All-American P.J. Gillespie and defaulted to Mike Evans of Iowa, but should he beat those two, he will be facing Bekzod Abdurakhmonov of Clarion in the quarterfinals.
Dorian Henderson is potential bracket buster at 174 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Henderson opens his tournament against Minnesota's Logan Storley, a wrestler who defeated him 2-0 in February. Henderson does have wins over several other wrestlers in the weight class, including No. 6 Ryan DesRoches of Cal Poly. Should Henderson slip past Storley, he will likely face Kyle Detmer of Oklahoma, who he defeated by major decision earlier in the season. His quarterfinal match would then be again Ethan Lofthouse of Iowa, a wrestler he has not faced this season.
Please note: The bracket at 174 pounds has since been redrawn. Henderson will now open his tournament with Kyle Czarnecki of Boston University. If he wins that match, he will face top-seeded Ed Ruth of Penn State.
184: Grant Gambrall (Iowa)
Gambrall placed third at the NCAAs last season. He wrestled at 197 pounds for a portion of the season. If you bet money in an NCAA wrestling pool, I'd recommend not betting against Gambrall placing. If you're looking for offline action, please feel free to email me.
197: Bagna Tovuujav (George Mason)
One of three Mongolians in this year's NCAA tournament, Bagna has an exceptional 20-3 record on the season, with his last loss coming in January. Should he wrestle past third-seeded Matt Wilps of Pitt (who is coming off an upset win over Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro in the EWL finals), he will likely face A.J. Kissel, who is a deceptive 6-5 on the season. Complete those upsets and Bagna will be in the quarterfinals with Brent Haynes of Missouri.
285: Odie Delaney (The Citadel)
I'd take Odie Delaney on first name alone. However, he's proven to be a more than just serviceable heavyweight. The Citadel junior is 27-2 with a remarkable 14 falls on the season. Those might not materialize at the NCAA tournament, but he's aggressive, strong and very used to winning. His only two losses came back-to-back earlier in the season -- and both to wrestlers from Ohio. He will face returning All-American Spencer Myers of Maryland in the first round. He won't be the favorite, but could match up well and pulling an upset in the first round would put him in position to wrestle Levi Cooper of Arizona State in the second round, followed by a likely matchup with fellow pinner, top-seeded Ryan Flores of American.
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