2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships Conference Allocations Announced

With the Pac-12 Tournament ready to kick off in just a few days, this afternoon the NCAA released the qualifier allocations that have been earned for each conference. They are listed below:

These wrestlers earned an allocation by meeting two of the three following criteria

• A top 27(ish) spot in the last Coaches Panel. The "ish" is because the exact number can slide up or down a bit in order to reach 29 allocations. 27 is generally the cutoff to be absolutely sure of reaching this leg.
• A top 27(ish) RPI. Again, this can slide up or down a little bit in order to reach 29 allocations. As with the Coaches Panel, 27 is generally the cutoff to be absolutely sure of reaching this leg.
• A 0.700 win percentage against D-1 opponents. Just like the other criteria, this can slide up or down slightly in order to reach the allotted 29 spots.

You’ll remember from our earlier articles that while there are 29 spots pre-allocated at each weight there will be 33 spots at each weight in the brackets in St. Louis. The remaining four are held in reserve for at large bids. These bids generally go to wrestlers who earned an allocation but got upset at their conference tournament. However, some years there will be few upsets at a given weight and wrestlers who failed to reach the Silver Standard and earn an allocation can sneak in to the tournament. We’ll go in to more detail about the at large process in an article after Big XIIs if there is anyone on the team that needs to get one of those bids.

There is one caveat to this whole process, however. If a wrestler who has earned an allocation does not weigh in and step on the mat at his respective conference tournament then his allocation is lost and the at large pool increases by one at that weight. Each year this generally happens to a handful of guys due to injury or being displaced in the lineup. So there’s always a couple of weights that end up with five or six at large spots instead of the original four.

What Does This Mean For Iowa State’s Wrestlers?

125

Number of Allocations: 4

It is going to be very tough for Kyle Larson to steal a spot to NCAAs like he was able to do last year. As all four spots were earned by guys in the top 20. Larson really needed Trey Andrews from Northern Colorado to slide in to a 5th allocation if he was going to have a legitimate shot at qualifying. We haven’t looked at seeding yet but Larson is probably going to be around the #6 spot. To get 4th Larson would need to win all the matches he is favored in and also achieve at least one win over a top 20 wrestler. Something he has not succeeded with so far this season.

Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images For IBSF

133

Number of Allocations: 4

Hall earned one of these allocations and would be near the front of the line for an at large bid if he slips at Big XIIs. Hall should have no trouble getting in to the third place match to punch his ticket and once there he just needs to avoid another slip up so he can ensure a seed in St. Louis.

Photo by Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images

141

Number of Allocations: 4

This one is probably going to depend heavily on how seeding works out. Meeks hasn’t faced #26 rated Timmy Box of Northern Colorado this season. But he has face #22 Mike Longo of Oklahoma - and lost 0-15. So the key to Meeks’ chances will be getting Box rather than Longo in the consolation semifinals for a shot at the 3rd place match. If he gets that, he’s got a decent shot. If he has Longo, or a Heil or Meredith that has been upset, then he’s probably not going to St. Louis.

Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

149

Number of Allocations: 4

Not much to be said here. Moreno is going to be a bottom seed and have his best post-shoulder injury performance yet if he’s going to get himself in to the 3rd place match and punch his ticket.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

157

Number of Allocations: 3

Diblasi got unlucky here because Joe Smith of Oklahoma did not earn an allocation despite being ranked solidly in the top ten. So he’ll not only have to knock off one top 20 wrestler to make the 3rd place match, he’ll have to knock off a second top 20 wrestler and win it to punch his ticket. This isn’t totally out of the question, Diblasi beat #18 Archie Colgan 5-3 earlier this season and he lost a close 4-5 match against Clark Glass last month. But it’ll require him to perform at a high level for multiple matches in a row with no room for error.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

165

Number of Allocations: 6

The Breitenbach Horror Tour is finally over. Despite his record Logan actually has a decent shot at stealing a spot due to the high number available. Though #20 Andrew Fogarty of NDSU not earning an allocation does make that a little tougher than it otherwise would be. Logan needs to go 1-1 in his first two matches (the loss/win or win/loss order doesn’t matter). That’ll put him in a consolation match where the loser goes home and the winner is assured top six. With only one upset needed Logan has a puncher’s chance.

Update: The NCAA released updated allocations and the Big XII went from 6 spots to 5 at 165 pounds.  That's a big blow to Breitenbach's chances.

Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

174

Number of Allocations: 3

Like Hall, Lelund earned one of these allocations and would be at the front of the line for an at large if he slips up. All he’s worried about at Big XIIs is staying healthy and not damaging his seeding for NCAAs.

Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

184

Number of Allocations: 2

With only 2 spots available and Downey off the team Powell is getting a shot to taste the postseason before he graduates. But short of having the tournament of his life there’s not much chance he’ll make the finals and punch his ticket as that would require him to win three matches in a row while being the underdog in at least two of them.

Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images

197

Number of Allocations: 5

This weight would have been a lot easier for Harrington if McLaughlin of Air force (#32 in Coaches Panel, #31 in RPI) had been on the other side of the allocation bubble for a 6th spot. But even with five Harrington has a very decent shot at stealing an allocation as like Breitenbach he’ll need just one small upset to punch a ticket to St. Louis.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

HWT

Number of Allocations: 4

Smith is another guy who has a realistic shot based on the number of allocations. In fact, based on in season results he doesn’t even really need an upset to make it to the 3rd place match. As long as Quean doesn’t pin himself he should be able to get 3rd or 4th and add "NCAA Qualifier" to his resume along with "College Graduate"

What’s Next?

We’ll also have a preview up late next week for the Big XII Tournament.