Wisconsin's Andrew Howe wins the NCAA title in 2010 in Omaha. Larry Slater photo.

PHILADELPHIA – Wisconsin's Andrew Howe came into the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships as everybody’s favorite at 165 pounds.

Howe dominated the field in winning his first national title last year in Omaha.

A year later, Howe is a guy most people aren’t picking to repeat as champion. He started the season ranked No. 1, but lost a close 10-7 match to 2009 157-pound NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska in the finals of the Midlands Championships.

Burroughs moved up to No. 1 in the rankings. A short time later, Howe suffered a serious hamstring injury and it was initially thought he may be sidelined for the rest of the season.

But Howe fought back and returned to the mat to win the Big Ten Championships 10 days ago. He is the No. 2 seed, behind Burroughs, for the NCAAs which start Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Being somewhat of an underdog at 165 doesn't seem to faze Howe.

“I don’t really care what people say,” Howe said following a workout Wednesday morning at the Wells Fargo Center. “A lot of people don’t have any information on what’s going on with me and they don’t really know what they are talking about. That’s fine. It doesn’t affect me at all. I know what I can do.”

In a poll of 10 top wrestling journalists, all 10 picked Burroughs to win the NCAA title. But Howe is a tough, physical, hard-charging wrestler who likes proving people wrong. Howe, a junior, placed second in this event as a true freshman in 2009.

“I approach this the same way I do any other tournament,” said Howe, who is a junior. “It’s obviously the biggest tournament of the year, but I just have to take it match by match and try to put out my best performance every round.”

Wisconsin associate head coach Donny Pritzlaff, Howe’s mentor and a two-time NCAA champion for the Badgers, said his star pupil looks primed to contend for a title this weekend in Philadelphia.

“Andrew is as close to 100 percent as anybody would be this time of year,” said Pritzlaff, a 2006 World bronze medalist. “Mentally, he’s so tough. His mind is so strong.  Initially, he thought he was done after his injury. But then our doctors looked at it and thought he would be able to come back. Andrew believed everything they told him. He’s so mentally tough the way he’s come back.”

Howe had a superb season in freestyle this past season. He won the U.S. Open at 74 kg/163 lbs. before finishing second behind Travis Paulson in the U.S. World Team Trials.

“Thinking back on those matches, there were a few things I needed to work on,” Howe said. “I need to finish my single legs. I can’t give up a pushout with a short amount of time left. I need to wrestle better with a lead.”

Howe will be a top contender for the U.S. World and Olympic teams the next two years.

“It’s real exciting to think about the Olympics,” Howe said. “It’s a long way away still, but I definitely think about it a lot.”

Howe is on a tough side of the bracket that includes returning All-American Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma. The third-seeded Caldwell lost 2-1 to Burroughs in the Big 12 finals. Howe is 2-0 against Caldwell.

“He’s a tough wrestler,” Howe said of Caldwell. “He’s hard to score on. It makes for a tight match.”

Howe said the hamstring is healthy again.

“I’m feeling great,” Howe said. “I’ve made good progress and I feel a lot better even since Big Tens. The leg feels better every day. I’m ready to go.”

Howe looked strong in winning the Big Ten title on March 6 in Evanston, Ill.

“I was able to get some of the rust knocked off,” Howe said. “Being able to get back out there and compete again was great. Those four matches I had at Big Tens will help me a lot in this tournament.”

Wisconsin brings a strong team into Philly. All-Americans Tyler Graff (133) and Trevor Brandvold (197) also return along with a top contender in Travis Rutt (184).

Graff and Rutt are seeded fourth, Brandvold is seeded third and heavyweight Eric Bugenhagen is 12th. The Badgers brought home a team trophy last year after placing fourth overall in Omaha.

“It’s really wide open for the team race,” Howe said. “We have seven guys here and if we perform how we are capable there is no reason why we can’t win.”

Howe will compete in an arena in Philly that will hold 18,000 fans for the finals.

“It’s the best environment and the most exciting tournament to wrestle in,” Howe said. “Everything kind of goes away when you go out there on the mat. The size of the crowd doesn’t really affect me. I don’t let it get to me. I have tunnel vision when I go out there.”

Pritzlaff sees a bright future for Howe after college.

“I think he can be an Olympic champion,” Pritzlaff said. “There is no doubt in my mind. He works so hard and he really improves every day. A lot of people say that, but Andrew actually gets better every single day. He really does.”

If Burroughs and Howe meet in the finals, it may not be the last time they see each other this year. They both are expected to be in contention to win titles at the U.S. Open and U.S. World Team Trials in freestyle.

“I would love to wrestle him again,” Howe said. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot since Midlands. It would be really good. I don’t know what his plans are for the spring, but mine are to wrestle in the U.S. Open and the World Team Trials. I will probably see him there.”

Howe was asked to reflect back on when he won his first NCAA title last year.

“It has been a goal of mine for a long time to win an NCAA title,” he said. “It was an amazing feeling. I would love to repeat and do it a couple more times.”