2020 NCAA Wrestling Qualifier Allocations for Conference Tournaments Released

Hell yeah. March is almost here. And that means the postseason. It’s a fresh start and what has happened since the first whistle blew in November only counts for seeding purposes. Yesterday afternoon the NCAA kicked the postseason off by releasing the allocations that conference tournaments will have at each of their ten weights once the wrestling starts next weekend.

A Quick Refresher on Allocations

As with years past, there are 33 spots available in the brackets at NCAAs and 29 of them have been allocated out to the various conference tournaments taking place next weekend. Allocations are earned by individual wrestlers based on the criteria discussed below, but given to the conference tournament. That means that regardless of whether a certain wrestler earned an allocation, they have to place at or above the number of Big 12 allocations available at their weight in order to punch their ticket to NCAAs in Minneapolis. For example, at 157 there are five allocations available. So even though David Carr was one of the wrestlers who earned an allocation for the Big 12, he has to finish in the top five on the podium in order to get his ticket punched. If they finish sixth or lower they’ll have to sweat it out for one of the at large spots announced later on this week. But on the flipside of that Chase Straw was not one of the four wrestlers to earn an allocation at 165, but he could wrestle his way in to the brackets in Minneapolis by finishing in the top four in Tulsa.

The criteria to earn an allocation is detailed in this NCAA Selection Criteria Grid PDF. Briefly, the requirement is to meet two of these three criteria

1. A top 30 Coaches Panel Ranking (The 2-27-20 Coaches Panel Ranking is available here)
2. A top 30 RPI (The 2-27-20 RPI is available here)
3. A win percentage against other Division 1 wrestlers greater that 0.700

In the event that cutoffs capture more than 29 they can move it up (to say, 28/28/0.800) in order to get to only 29 wrestlers. The numbers move in concert up or down until they get to 29 allocations. Sometimes this means fewer than 29 allocations will be awarded if not enough wrestlers make the 30/30/0.700 cutoff. This year that happened at 125, 157, and 184 pounds, which only have 28 spots pre-allocated, and also at 165 and 197, which only have 27.

If something about this doesn’t make sense or you want some clarification leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to explain further.

Allocations By Conference

The full release by the NCAA can be found here. But here’s the important part.

What Does This Mean For The Cyclones Lineup

Guys Who Are Wrestling To Improve their NCAA Seed

• 125: Alex Mackall
• 133: Todd Small
• 141: Ian Parker
• 149: Jarrett Degen
• 157: David Carr
• 174: Sam Colbray
• HWT: Gannon Gremmel

All seven of these guys, short of complete disaster, are going to Minneapolis. There’s no reason to expect that any will fail to autoqualify based on their Big 12 finish. But even if they do stumble and have a terrible performance in Tulsa their high rankings assure that they’ll be at the front of the line for an at large spot. The Big 12 Tournament for this group is all about getting some good wins to improve their resume for the seeding committee.

It’s worth noting though that Small, Degen, and Carr are all nursing injuries so it’s possible that one or more of those three will step on the mat for one match and then default out of the tournament. The downside of this strategy is that they’ll be giving up a chance to pick up wins that would really help improve their seeding. But the upside is not risking further injury and getting another two weeks to heal up.

Guys Who Are Wrestling To Make Sure Their Spot Is Secure

• 184: Marcus Coleman

Thanks to some clever bracketing last weekend, Marcus Coleman was able to hit the 15 match minimum for an RPI despite his mid season weight change. And his ranking of 28th in the coaches panel gave him the second leg he needed to earn an allocation for the conference tournament. However, that ranking means that he isn’t a complete shoe in for an at large spot like the group discussed above. In order to be sure of going to NCAAs Coleman needs to make sure he finishes within the top five in Tulsa. He’ll still be competitive for an at large selection if he falls short, but if there are lots of upsets elsewhere in the country he would run the risk of being left out.

Guys Who Are Going To Have To Steal A Spot

• 165: Chase Straw
• 197: Joel Shapiro

For these two, it’s a strong performance at Big 12s or bust. For Straw this will likely mean hoping that #8 Wittlake of OSU or #17 Fogarty of NDSU don’t get upset and knocked in to the consolation bracket against him and that he can pull an upset in the consolation semifinals against either #24 Cook of SDSU or #26 Meneweather of Air Force. For Shapiro it will likely mean needing to knock off one of the six wrestlers in the brackets that are ranked between 14th and 22nd. Exactly which one will depend on how the brackets are assembled next week. These two guys have no choice but to leave it all on the mat in Tulsa.

Next Up

The Cyclones will be in action at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, OK on Saturday March 7th and Sunday, March 8th. We’ll have a preview up for the tournament once seeding and brackets are released.