Blue White Illustrated

March 18 Newsletter

Penn State Sports Magazine

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/480817

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 1 of 11

M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 win the NCAA title. Then there's Mis- souri, which qualified all 10 starters and has at least three bona fide indi- vidual championship contenders. If any team has the firepower to dethrone the Big Ten in 2015, it is most likely the Tigers. So it appears that if Penn State is to make a run at a fi?h consecutive national title, it will need some things to go its way. If you ask Sanderson, that's not out of the question. "We'll see how it all ends," he said. "I've got to believe – and I do believe. Would it be a small miracle? Maybe. But I do be- lieve in miracles." Sure, as Sanderson said, it will be slightly miraculous if Penn State is still in the race by Saturday, but, really, it's not entirely out of the question. The NCAA tournament brackets are more than twice as large as in the Big Ten tourney, so the key to accumulating team points is to advance as many wrestlers as possible into the deeper rounds rather than having a full allotment of wrestlers spread throughout the consolation bracket. All of Penn State's seven qualifiers are seeded, so if they're able to wrestle to or above their seeds – the latter would be highly preferable – the Lions could find themselves in a position that is comparable to or perhaps even better than the one they were in at the Big Ten tourney in Columbus nearly two weeks ago. "The deeper you get into the tourna- ment, the bigger the points are," Sander- son said. "Winning the finals is worth four points. A win in the consolation round early is worth a half point. A pin is worth two points, so one pin is worth four consolation victories. It's just a matter of getting guys deep into the brackets at nationals. The conference, because it's a smaller tournament, it's more about having 10 guys who are all scoring points." Having 10 competitors helps at NCAAs, too, but it's unlikely that any team will have its full complement of wrestlers still alive in the winner's bracket later in the tournament. The Buckeyes, Hawkeyes and Tigers, all of whom qualified wrestlers at all 10 weight classes, could have a Penn State-sized contingent by the second or third day. If that's the case, PSU might have an op- portunity to make a serious run. And if the Lions are able to avenge a few of their losses at Big Tens, that will certainly help, too. "I think we're right there as a team," Sanderson said. "I'm excited. I don't want to talk big, but I think our guys have a chance to score a lot of points. Will it be easy? No. Can they do it? Yeah, ab- solutely." NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT A GLANCE* WHERE Scottrade Center (19,150 capacity) // St. Louis, Mo. WHEN March 19-21 // Day 1 First session is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. ET, with pig- tails and first-round action taking place on eight mats; second session begins at 7 p.m. and features the first round of wrestle-backs and the second round and consolations in the championship bracket Day 2 Quarterfinal action takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on four middle mats, with wrestle-back second- and third-round matches on the out- side mats; semifinals will take place on two middle mats beginning at 8 p.m. (one weight at a time), with fourth-round wrestle-backs on four outside mats and fifth- round wrestle-backs on all six mats following championship semifinals Day 3 Wrestle- back semifinals will be held on all four mats beginning at 11 a.m., followed by the third-, fifth- and seventh-place medal- round matches; the Grand March Parade of All-Ameri- cans will be from 7:35 to 7:50, followed by the championship finals from 8 to 11 p.m. TV ESPN3 will have live webcast coverage throughout the tournament. In addition, ESPNU will air portions of the tourney, and ESPN will broadcast the finals live begin- ning at 8 p.m. March 21. RADIO WRSC in State College (103.1 FM/1390 AM) will provide tournament coverage, with Jeff Byers handling the play-by-play call. WEB BlueWhiteIllustrated.com will provide live match updates and tournament news in the Lions Den message board. * All times Eastern

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Blue White Illustrated - March 18 Newsletter