NCAA Tournament Previews: 184 Pounds
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John Fuller (TheMat.com)
03/15/2005
Greg Jones of West Virginia has now completed his third consecutive undefeated regular season. The first of those three ended in disaster, however, as he was trounced from the NCAA Tournament in just three matches one year after winning the title as a freshman. Last year, Jones rolled through the regular season and postseason to his second NCAA title, and he is now looking to wrap up his career with a third individual crown. It won't be easy, as there is a host of young and experienced wrestlers looking to take over the top spot. Kurt Backes of Iowa State and Travis Pascoe of Nebraska, Big XII rivals, will be seeded second and third. Backes has lost three matches this year - once to Pascoe and two others to All-American Paul Bradley of Iowa, who has since taken a bit of a nosedive this year. Backes did avenge his loss to Pascoe with a pin in the Big XII Tournament, but Pascoe has been more dominant this year, recording nine major decisions, two technical falls and two pins. Pascoe also has a 6-3 loss to Jones on his record, and the experience could help him if he gets to the finals. Penn State's Eric Bradley also has a match against Jones this year, a 6-2 loss. However, he has been very tough against the rest of his competition this year. As the fourth seed, Bradley will have to go through Big Ten rival Brian Glynn of Illinois, whom Bradley has defeated three times this year, and Jones before getting into the finals. One wrestler to watch may be Cornell's Tyler Baier. He has lost three tight matches this year, but only one of them since the new year, and that was 3-2 to Eric Bradley. Oregon's Shane Webster would have been a darkhorse, but as the ninth seed, he will have to first meet up with Paul Bradley before getting to Jones. In other words, that is not an easy road for someone who has been shifting around weight classes this season. Freshman Roger Kish of Minnesota is finally getting healthy again after missing much of the second semester. He was solid in the Big Ten Tournament, but it was clear that he was rusty. If this 10th seed can get his wind, he will be a dangerous draw for anyone. Top 4 Seeds: 1. Greg Jones (West Virginia), 2. Kurt Backes (Iowa State), 3. Travis Pascoe (Nebraska), 4. Eric Bradley (Penn State) Top Contenders: Backes, Jones, Pascoe The Others: Tyler Baier (Cornell), Brian Glynn (Illinois), Brady Reinke (Wisconsin) Darkhorse: Paul Bradley (Iowa) Top Freshmen: Roger Kish (Minnesota) Finals Prediction: Jones defeats Pascoe 34 Qualifiers 1st ACC - Frank Cornely (Duke) 2nd ACC - Steve Borja (Virginia Tech) 1st Big Ten - Eric Bradley (Penn State) 2nd Big Ten - Brian Glynn (Illinois) 3rd Big Ten - Brady Reinke (Wisconsin) 4th Big Ten - Paul Bradley (Iowa) 5th Big Ten - Ben Wissel (Purdue) 6th Big Ten - Roger Kish (Minnesota) 7th Big Ten - Joshua Weitzel (Michigan) 8th Big Ten - Andy Rios (Indiana) - ALTERNATE 1st Big XII - Kurt Backes (Iowa State) 2nd Big XII - Travis Pascoe (Nebraska) 3rd Big XII - Justin Dyer (Oklahoma) 4th Big XII - Matt Pell (Missouri) 1st CAA - Joe Rovelli (Hofstra) 2nd CAA - Adam Wright (Old Dominion) 3rd CAA - T.J. Morrison (Rider) 1st East Region - Charlie Pienaar (Slippery Rock) 2nd East Region - Mark Knock (Millersville) 1st EIWA - Tyler Baier (Cornell) 2nd EIWA - Josh Glenn (American) 3rd EIWA - Chris Ressa (Rutgers) 1st EWL - Greg Jones (West Virginia) 2nd EWL - Kevin Gavin (Pittsburgh) 3rd EWL - Ron Howard (Cleveland State) 1st MAC - Alex Lammers (Central Michigan) 2nd MAC - Ed Magrys (Eastern Michigan) 3rd MAC - Alex Camargo (Kent State) 1st PAC-10 - Shane Webster (Oregon) 2nd PAC-10 - C.B. Dollaway (Arizona State) 3rd PAC-10 - Brandon Bear (California-Davis) 4th PAC-10 - Ryan Halsey (Cal Poly) 1st Southern Conference - John David (Tennessee-Chattanooga) 1st West Region - Alex Dolly (Northern Iowa)