Penn State at the Big Ten wrestling tournament: Previewing the weekend ahead as the postseason begins

Penn State wrestling is ready to compete at the Big Ten tournament.

Ten Nittany Lions head to Lincoln, Neb., this weekend with hopes of punching their ticket to the NCAA tournament. Four of the program’s grapplers are top seeds in their respective weight classes. All rank inside the top-10, according to the conference preseeds.

“You’re not going to win the NCAA tournament if you can’t wrestle well at the Big Tens and qualify and get there, but the ultimate goal is the national tournament,” Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson said earlier this week.

“That’s our goal and that’s the way we design our training, but you still have to be able to wrestle well at the conference meet.”

Here’s everything you need to know to get ready for the weekend.

When is the Big Ten tournament, and how can I watch it?

Big Ten Network and its streaming sister BTN+ are yet again the home for this year’s tournament.

The action begins at 11 a.m. ET Saturday. Big Ten Network will bounce between mats — think of it like the NFL RedZone setup — while BTN+ will have a camera focused on each mat. Longtime Penn State radio voice Jeff Byers will also call the action on-site, as well. Live links can be found here on the Penn State website.

Session two starts with consolation bracket matches at 6:30 p.m. Those will be exclusively found on BTN+. Then, at 8 p.m., Big Ten Network comes back on the air for the semifinals.

Moving on to Sunday, BTN+ will have the consolation bracket semifinals starting at Noon ET. At 4:30 p.m., the finals start on BTN while third- and fifth-place matches will air on BTN+.

One question for each Penn State wrestler entering the weekend, 125-157

All seed numbers referenced are courtesy of the Big Ten pre-seeds list and are not overall rankings from Intermat.

125 pounds: Will No. 2 Drew Hildebrandt be able to top No. 1 Nick Suriano? The Wolverine beat the Penn State wrestler 2-1 during the regular season.

133: Assuming things go as planned, how tight will No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young’s finals bout be with No. 2 Austin DeSanto? The Penn State star beat the Iowa Hawkeye 3-2 back in January. But, the pair have had plenty of close matches over the years.

141: It’s a similar story here: No. 1 Nick Lee figures to face No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Iowa yet again in the championship match. Is another thriller on deck?

149: Will No. 7 Beau Bartlett finally put it all together during this postseason? Penn State needs him to qualify for the national tournament. But it’s also about scoring points both here and there, too. Seven wrestlers advance from Big Tens to NCAA. Bartlett needs to hold serve, at minimum, to qualify without needing a wildcard berth.

157: Is No. 10 Brady Berge ready to wrestle at this weight? He came back to Penn State in January and dropped from 165 in February. He must finish in the top seven to earn a spot at NCAAs. If he wins the opener, he’ll face two-seed Kaleb Young of Iowa in Round 2.

One question for each Penn State wrestler entering the weekend, 165-285

165: This is the first postseason experience for No. 10 Creighton Edsell. His work is certainly cut out for him to earn one of seven auto-qualifier spots. But, Penn State has confidence in him. He needs to have it in himself to make it to Sunday’s sessions. Will he be able to do it? If a round one win is secured, No. 2 Alex Marinelli of Iowa awaits.

174: No. 1 Carter Starocci is on a collision course for a tricky semifinal matchup with No. 4 Michael Kemerer of Iowa before presumably seeing No. 2 Logan Massa of Michigan in the finals. The question is this: How many bonus points can Starocci secure for the team race during the first two rounds?

184: Penn State needs No. 1 Aaron Brooks to rack up as many bonus points as possible. How many can he secure? Those would go a long way toward helping the Lions win their first conference crown since 2019.

197: No. 2 Max Dean and top-seeded Eric Schultz of Nebraska didn’t meet during the regular season, as Dean missed the Penn State match with the Cornhuskers. Who will win the likely finals battle between two outstanding wrestlers?

285: Can No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet navigate his way through the bottom half of the bracket to test his skills against No. 1 seed Gable Steveson of Minnesota? No one figures to be a match for the Gopher, but it would be interesting to see how the Lion stacks up before nationals.

Predictions

It’s been said that the Big Ten tournament might just be tougher than the national tournament. There is no argument from this corner.

Penn State wants to win both, of course. But the goal is always to peak at the national tournament.

That said, our predictions for this weekend are that the Lions exit Nebraska with champions at 133, 141, 174, 184, and 197. That’ll net them a team title, but only nine will earn automatic spots for NCAAs, leaving either Beau Bartlett or Creighton Edsell waiting to see if they receive a wildcard berth. However, here’s a path for all 10 to qualify. Time will tell.

Where can I find the brackets?

They can all be found by clicking here.