Five things to know: NCAA Championships

Thursday, March 21

Pittsburgh, PA

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Wisconsin Badgers

NCAA Championships Day 1

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Five things to know: NCAA Championships

March 18, 2019 | Wrestling

Wisconsin set to wrestle on the biggest stage

NCAA Championships

Mar. 21-23 | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, Penn.

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PITTSBURGH, Penn. – The wrestling season will culminate in one final showcase of the nation's greatest talent this weekend at the NCAA Championships on Mar. 21-23, and the Wisconsin wrestling team will look to make its own imprint on the competition in Pittsburgh.

1. WISCONSIN'S SIX: Six Badgers qualified for the NCAA tournament this year: Junior Tristan Moran at 141 pounds, junior Cole Martin at 149 pounds, sophomore Evan Wick at 165 pounds, senior Ryan Christensen at 174 pounds, junior Mason Reinhardt at 184 pounds, and freshman Trent Hillger at heavyweight.

2. SEEDS FOR EVERYONE: For the first time this year, every wrestler in each weight class is seeded, giving teams and wrestlers an exact idea of where they stand in the bracket. For Wisconsin, Wick is the highest seed at No. 4 (165), followed by Hillger at No. 7 (HWT), Moran at No. 11 (141), Christensen at No. 15 (174), Martin at No. 19 (149) and Reinhardt at No. 22 (184).

3. POTENTIAL REMATCHES FOR WICK: Evan Wick has the best shot at an NCAA title amongst any Badger, but his road to the finals will likely involve some former foes. If the 165-pound bracket plays out with the highest seed winning, Wick will have a quarterfinal match against Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven, who Wick beat by pin in the third place match last year but will surely be a worthy opponent this year. If Wick defeats Marsteller, he will likely have a semifinal match against Alex Marinelli of Iowa, who has defeated Wick three times this season by a combined total of four points.

4. PODIUM FINISHERS: Anything can happen at the NCAA Tournament, which is why the Badgers could easily have more than one All-American this year. Based off seeding, Hillger is already expected to land on the podium in his freshman season, and Moran and Christensen are just on the outside looking in. When the dust settles on Sunday, Wisconsin could have multiple All-Americans for the first time since 2017.

5. FOLLOW ALONG: The entire NCAA Championships will be covered by ESPN. All mats will be streamed on ESPN3, while ESPNU and ESPN will alternate covering each session. The first session of the tournament will start at 11 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU. Follow along on Twitter with @BadgerWrestling to find which mat Wisconsin wrestlers will be on and for live updates. Live stats and brackets can also be found on TrackWrestling.