photo courtesy of Richard Immel; RImmelPics.com
The 2021 NCAA Championships are rapidly approaching and since brackets have been released, we now know everyone’s path to an NCAA title. Before the action gets underway from St. Louis, we will break down each bracket in detail. We’ll start with some historical facts for reference, break down who can win each weight class, who will contend for All-American honors, who are scary matchups for potential upsets, and how this bracket will affect the team race. Let’s move on to the 133 lbers!
Conference Champions
ACC: Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech)
Big 12: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
Big Ten: Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
EIWA: Malyke Hines (Lehigh)
MAC: Matt Schmitt (Missouri)
Pac-12: Devan Turner (Oregon State)
SoCon: Sean Carter (Appalachian State)
Other Automatic Qualifiers:
ACC: Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh), Louie Hayes (Virginia), Jarrett Trombley (NC State)
Big 12: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), Anthony Madrigal (Oklahoma), Zach Redding (Iowa State), Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado), Zach Price (South Dakota State)
Big Ten: Austin DeSanto (Iowa), Lucas Byrd (Illinois), Chris Cannon (Northwestern), Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin), Jake Rundell (Purdue), Jordan Hamdan (Michigan State), Boo Dryden (Minnesota)
EIWA: Jacob Allen (Navy), Darren Miller (Bucknell)
MAC: Matt Schmitt (Missouri), Richie Koehler (Rider), Mario Guillen (Ohio), Cole Rhone (Bloomsburg), Bryce West (Northern Illinois)
Pac-12:
SoCon:
At-Large Berths:
Big 12: Ty Smith (Utah Valley), Ryan Sullivan (West Virginia), Jared Van Vleet (Air Force)
Pac-12: Paul Bianchi (Little Rock), Michael McGee (Arizona State), Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield)
Performance by Seed; Last 10 Years (13-16 seed started in 2014--2020 excluded)
1: 10 AA’s, 7 finalists, 5 champions
2: 10 AA’s, 7 finalists, 1 champion
3: 10 AA’s, 3 finalists, 2 champions
4: 7 AA’s, 1 finalist, 1 champion
5: 7 AA’s, 1 finalist
6: 6 AA’s
7: 6 AA’s
8: 9 AA’s
9: 3 AA’s
10: 3 AA’s
11: 2 AA’s
12: 1 AA
13: 2 AA’s, 1 finalist, 1 champion
14: 1 AA
15: 0 AA’s
16: 0 AA’s
US: 3 AA’s
Returning All-Americans
Roman Bravo-Young 2020 1st Team, 2019 8th Place
Austin DeSanto 2020 1st Team, 2019 5th Place
Micky Phillipi 2020 1st Team
Devan Turner 2020 2nd Team
Daton Fix 2019 2nd Place
Who Can Win?
While top-seeded Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) is the favorite, a handful of wrestlers are capable of winning it all on their best day. Fix was also the number one seed in 2019 as a freshman and made it all the way to finals before losing on a controversial headgear pull call. He has largely been dominant in 2021, with bonus-point wins in eight of his nine wins. One of the title threats on his side of the bracket, Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh), is responsible for the only “non-headgear pull” loss of Fix’s career. Phillipi was the fourth seed in 2020 and fifth this year. He is capable of nullifying even the most aggressive wrestlers in the weight class. One of them is slated to meet Phillipi in the quarterfinals in fourth-seeded Austin DeSanto (Iowa). DeSanto seemed to be slowed by an injury at the Big Ten tournament. If healthy, he can threaten anyone in this bracket.
The bottom half of the bracket has, Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), the opponent that prevented Phillipi from claiming his third consecutive ACC title. Myers has improved from an outside All-American threat, as a junior, to a legitimate national title contender in 2021. He tallied major decision wins over a pair of national qualifiers during the regular season. Anchoring this side of the bracket is Big Ten champion Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State). The Nittany Lion has also taken the next step this season and is one of the national championship favorites. He is the most dynamic wrestler of this bunch on his feet and is a matchup nightmare for everyone.
Upset Special
Was anyone hotter than #11 Anthony Madrigal (Oklahoma) at the Big 12 Championships? Madrigal entered the tournament with a 3-7 record and a resume that indicated he would not receive an at-large berth in a super-deep weight class. The Sooner left nothing to chance, knocked off a pair of eventual qualifiers to make the finals opposite Fix. There Anthony became the only wrestler this season to hold Fix to a regular decision. He could certainly throw a wrench into this weight as he could face #6 Matt Schmitt (Missouri) in the second round.
Also on the bottom half of the bracket is #23 Boo Dryden (Minnesota). Dryden’s height makes him a bad matchup for any 133 lber he faces. In a tournament setting, against unfamiliar competition, Dryden could be prime upset material. He drew #10 Louie Hayes (Virginia) in the opening round. In this abbreviated season, Boo saw five of his seven wins come over past or eventual national qualifiers.
The race for the top-eight
The top-five at this weight have seemingly separated themselves from the rest of the field. Leading the second tier of contenders is a pair of freshmen from the Big Ten, Lucas Byrd (Illinois) and Chris Cannon (Northwestern). Byrd gave DeSanto a run for his money in the conference semifinals, which was a stark contrast from the Hawkeye All-American’s 18-6 win during dual meet competition. No one else at the Big Ten meet, including Cannon, fell within six points of Byrd. Cannon suffered his first two losses of the year in State College last weekend, but he proved he could hang with Bravo-Young during an 8-3 loss. A trio of veterans that will contend for All-American status is Schmitt, Hayes, and #9 Michael McGee (Arizona State). Both Hayes and McGee made the bloodround at 125 in the past. Schmitt is riding a ten-match winning streak after rolling through the MAC Championships. McGee looked like he could challenge for a top-five seed, but suffered his lone loss of the year in the Pac-12 finals. Hayes’ record isn’t flashy, but he does have a combined three losses to the third and fifth seeds.
Team Race Implications
A handful of prime title contenders are expected to get high-finishers at this weight. Before the Big 12 Championships, we penciled in Oklahoma State as a strong NCAA team trophy candidate. They scuffled a bit in Tulsa and might be a year away from challenging the Iowa’s and Penn State’s. However, a win from Fix would be extremely helpful. A possible quarterfinal between Schmitt and Myers could provide the winner with some all-important All-American team points, while the loser has to go through the bloodround. Any slim title hope for Penn State would get a shot in the arm with a Bravo-Young title.
Round of 12: Louie Hayes (Virginia), Jarrett Trombley (NC State), Zach Redding (Iowa State), Matt Schmitt (Missouri)
Semifinals: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh); Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) vs. Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
Predictions
1st - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
2nd - Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
3rd - Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh)
4th - Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
5th - Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech)
6th - Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
7th - Chris Cannon (Northwestern)
8th - Michael McGee (Arizona State)
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