Five things to know: Wisconsin competes at Big Ten Championships

Saturday, March 7

Piscataway, NJ

Wisconsin Badgers

Big Ten Championships

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Five things to know: Wisconsin competes at Big Ten Championships

March 04, 2020 | Wrestling

Badgers looking to improve on last season’s conference championships

Live Results | Watch on FloWrestling ($)
Brackets (PDF)

MADISON, Wis. – The No. 4 Wisconsin wrestling team is gearing up to compete in the Big Ten Conference championships this Saturday-Sunday hosted by Rutgers. All events will take place in the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

All 14 conference schools will participate in the championships, which begins Saturday with the preliminary, quarterfinal, semifinal and wrestle-back matches taking place during Sessions I (9 a.m. CT) and II (5:30 p.m. CT). Action continues Sunday with consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches getting underway during Session III (11 a.m. CT) and the first-, third- and fifth-place matches highlighting Session IV at 2:30 p.m. CT. The first three sessions of the championships will be streamed live on BTN+, with the championship rounds televised live on BTN and the FOX Sports app.

Pre-seeds announced: On Monday, the Big Ten announced the pre-seedings for the conference championship. Seth Gross leads the pack at 133 pounds with a No. 1 ranking. Evan Wick earned the No. 3 seed at 165 and Trent Hillger got the fourth slot at heavyweight. Tristan Moran is the fifth seed at 141 pounds, while Cole Martin took the sixth seed at 149 pounds. Eric Barnett and Johnny Sebastian each got the ninth slot in their respective weight classes. In a tough 174-pound bracket, Jared Krattiger nabbed the 11^th seed, Garrett Model is the 12^th seed at 157 pounds and Taylor Watkins has the 13^th seed at 197 pounds.
Last year at the B1G: Wisconsin is looking to improve on their seventh-place team finish last season. FloWrestling has them ranked as the seventh-best team in the conference but the Badgers are looking for more with their starting 10. Last year in Minnesota, Evan Wick and Cole Martin, who entered the tournament as a fifth seed, both earned a fourth-place finishes along with Trent Hillger. Tristan Moran took sixth place at 149 pounds in his first year with Wisconsin.
Midlands 2.0: The 133-pound weight class will be the most fun to watch this weekend. With No. 1 Seth Gross leading the weight class, it will surely be a battle much like the Midlands Championships. In December, Gross defeated No. 3 Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern and No. 1 Austin DeSanto from Iowa on his way to his second Midlands title. Gross also has No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young in his bracket, who he beat in a 6-5 decision in February.
NCAA Allocations: Earlier this week, the NCAA announced conference allocations for each weight class. In order to qualify for the national championships, Barnett (125), Moran (141), and Wick (165) need to get at least eighth place in order to move on. Gross (133) and Hillger (285) need to get seventh or better. Model (157) and Watkins (197) need to place sixth or higher this weekend. Krattiger (174) can get into the NCAA tournament with ninth place or better. While Martin (149) and Sebastian (184) need to get 10^th place or higher.
Battle at 165: Evan Wick will be looking for his first conference title of his collegiate career. Going into the tournament as the No. 3 seed, Wick will face Indiana's Diego Lemley. The two faced off earlier in the season, resulting in a Wick pin at the end of the first period. The 165-pound bracket is intense featuring No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State and No. 2 Alex Marinelli from Iowa. Wick is looking for redemption after facing both previously this season.