Penn State’s Quentin Wright won Big Ten and NCAA titles in 2011. Tony Rotundo photo.

It equaled the closest team race in the 98-year history of the Big Ten Championships.

The 2011 Big Ten Championships were one of the most exciting and dramatic in league history with Penn State pulling out a 139-138 win over second-place Iowa in Evanston, Ill.

So what will the Big Ten do for an encore?

The conference is loaded once again with five teams ranked in the top seven nationally.

Returning Big Ten and NCAA tournament champion Penn State is ranked No. 1 nationally by Intermat, closely followed by No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Iowa, No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Ohio State. League newcomer Nebraska is 14th, Illinois is 17th and Northwestern 19th.

So you can expect another close battle when the 12-team Big Ten Championships take place on Saturday and Sunday at Purdue University’s Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Big Ten has secured 74 automatic qualifying spots for the NCAA Championships, set for March 15-17 in St. Louis. An additional 40 at-large spots will be awarded from all conferences on Wednesday for the NCAA tournament.

The Nittany Lions, based on pre-seeds, are the favorite to repeat as league champions. Penn State is led by returning Big Ten champions Frank Molinaro (149 pounds), David Taylor (165), Ed Ruth (174) and Quentin Wright (184).

“Winning the Big Ten tournament last year, that was one of the thrills of my coaching career for sure,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said during his team’s media day on Tuesday. “But overall the Big Ten tournament is very competitive. It’s something that you’ve got to visualize yourself winning, and if you’re doing that not smiling, you’re probably in the wrong business. Next to the national tournament, it’s probably the biggest thing in college wrestling.”

Wright went on to win an NCAA title last year while Molinaro and Taylor, the 2011 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, placed second at the NCAAs. Wright is ranked second in the country.

Molinaro is ranked No. 1 nationally. Ruth is a returning All-American who is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Taylor, a talented sophomore and past Junior World Team member in freestyle, is unbeaten and ranked No. 1 nationally at 165 after competing at 157 last year.

Eight Penn State wrestlers are pre-seeded in the top three.

“They know what to do,” said Sanderson. "They are competitors and they’ve been down this road many times. The pressure is a compliment. If they feel pressure then that means that they’ve done something that should warrant that pressure, and that’s a blessing."

Michigan’s Kellen Russell (141) is shooting for his fourth Big Ten title while Iowa’s Matt McDonough (125) is seeking his second league crown. Russell won an NCAA title last year. McDonough won it all in 2010 before placing second in the nation in 2011.

Minnesota is hitting its peak after winning the NWCA National Duals, an event Penn State did not compete in. The Gophers beat the Nittany Lions in a Big Ten dual meet early in the season.

Minnesota is led by senior and three-time All-American Zach Sanders (125). Teammates Kevin Steinhaus (184) and Tony Nelson (heavyweight) placed second at Big Tens last year. The Gophers were third in this event last year. Steinhaus and Nelson are No. 1 in the pre-seeds. Minnesota’s Sonny Yohn (197) also is a No. 1 pre-seed.

Freshman twins Chris and Nick Dardanes are both ranked in the top 10 nationally for the Gophers. Chris is ranked seventh at 133 and Nick is eighth at 141. Freshman Dylan Ness is ranked ninth at 149.

“Our kids are wrestling hard at the right time,” Minnesota coach J Robinson said. “We have a little bit of momentum going right now. We are trying to keep everybody healthy and everybody focused. The kids are excited about this tournament.”

Iowa has traditionally peaked when it counts most and the Hawkeyes are capable of wrestling above their pre-seeds in a number of weight classes.

Iowa started off strong before dropping Big Ten dual meets to Ohio State and Penn State on the road. The Hawkeyes finished third at the National Duals after falling to Minnesota in the semifinals.

Iowa is led by McDonough, a two-time NCAA finalist and two-time Big Ten finalist. McDonough is ranked No. 1 nationally and is capable of scoring his share of bonus points with his wide-open, attacking style.

Hawkeye senior Montell Marion (141) is a past NCAA runner-up. Iowa’s Derek St. John (157) and Grant Gambrall (184) are returning All-Americans, but both have been slowed by injuries this season. St. John was second in the 2011 Big Ten tournament.

Hawkeye sophomore Tony Ramos, who knocked off returning national champion Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State this season, is the No. 2 pre-seed at 133. Ramos has wrestled well all season and is ranked third in the nation.

Iowa has won 34 Big Ten tournament titles, including three straight from 2008-10 before Penn State won the tournament last year.

Iowa coach Tom Brands was asked during his meeting with reporters on Wednesday if his team was an underdog in the tournament.

"It doesn’t matter,” Brands said. “I know what they expect and I know what we expect. We’ve been in some wars and we’ve come out on both ends of those wars.

“We're going into another war. It’s going to be up to individual performances to see where we fall.”

A young Ohio State team has enjoyed a strong season. The Buckeyes are led by No. 1 pre-seed Logan Stieber (133), a 2011 Junior World silver medalist in freestyle wrestling. Stieber’s brother, Hunter, is the No. 2 pre-seed at 141. Hunter Stieber owns a win over the top-ranked Russell this season. Logan Stieber is ranked second in the country and Hunter Stieber is third.

Ohio State’s Nick Heflin placed second in the 2011 Big Ten tournament at 174.

Illinois also is wrestling well after making the final four of the NWCA National Duals. Illini freshman Jesse Delgado handed McDonough his only loss of the season. McDonough came back to beat Delgado at the National Duals. B.J. Futrell is the No. 3 pre-seed at 133. Delgado is ranked sixth nationally and Futrell is fourth. Past All-American Jordan Blanton is ranked ninth in the country at 174.

In addition to Russell, Michigan’s Eric Grajales is the No. 2 pre-seed at 149. Grajales was second in last year’s Big Ten tournament, falling to Molinaro in the finals. Grajales is ranked seventh nationally. Justin Zeerip is ranked eighth in the country at 174 for the Wolverines.

Northwestern’s Jason Welch is the No. 1 pre-seed at 157. Welch is ranked No. 2 in the country. Teammate Levi Mele is ranked 10th nationally at 125.

Nebraska is led by past NCAA qualifiers Josh Ihnen (184) and Tucker Lane (heavyweight). Both wrestlers have reached the Round of 12 at the NCAA tournament. Ihnen is ranked seventh nationally and Lane eighth. 

The Huskers have three freshmen ranked in the top nine nationally. Robert Kokesh is ranked seventh at 165, James Green is eighth at 157 and Jake Sueflohn is ninth at 141.

Indiana’s Matt Powless is ranked third nationally at 197. Purdue’s Cashe Quiroga, a past All-American, is ranked No. 8 in the country at 133. Michigan State’s Anthony Jones is ranked ninth in the nation at 157. Wisconsin’s Ben Jordan is ranked No. 11 nationally at 165.

BIG TEN PRE-SEEDS

125 POUNDS
1. Matt McDonough (Iowa)
2. Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
3. Nico Megaludis (Penn State)
4. Jesse Delgado (Illinois)
5. Levi Mele (Northwestern)
6. Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State)
7. Camden Eppert (Purdue)
8. Brenan Lyon (Michigan State)

133 POUNDS
1. Logan Stieber (Ohio State)
2. Tony Ramos (Iowa)
3. B.J. Futrell (Illinois)
4. Chris Dardanes (Minnesota)
5. Cashé Quiroga (Purdue)
6. Zac Stevens (Michigan)
7. Ridge Kiley (Nebraska)
8. Frank Martelotti (Penn State)

141 POUNDS
1. Kellen Russell (Michigan)
2. Hunter Stieber (Ohio State)
3. Montell Marion (Iowa)
4. Nick Dardanes (Minnesota)
5. Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska)
6. Daryl Thomas (Illinois)
7. Matt Ortega (Indiana)
8. Bryan Pearsall (Penn State)

149 POUNDS
1. Frank Molinaro (Penn State)
2. Eric Grajales (Michigan)
3. Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
4. Ivan Lopouchanski (Purdue)
5. Cam Tessari (Ohio State)
6. Taylor Walsh (Indiana)
7. Eric Terrazas (Illinois)
8. Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern)
9. Dan Osterman (Michigan State)
10. Mike Kelly (Iowa)
11. Skylar Galloway (Nebraska)
12. Frank Baer (Wisconsin)

157 POUNDS
1. Jason Welch (Northwestern)
2. Dylan Alton (Penn State)
3. James Green (Nebraska)
4. Anthony Jones (Michigan State)
5. Josh Demas (Ohio State)
6. Derek St. John (Iowa)
7. Tommy Churchard (Purdue)
8. Jackson Morse (Illinois)

165 POUNDS
1. David Taylor (Penn State)
2. Mike Evans (Iowa)
3. Robert Kokesh (Nebraska)
4. Ben Jordan (Wisconsin)
5. Conrad Polz (Illinois)
6. Dan Yates (Michigan)
7. Cody Yohn (Minnesota)
8. Derek Garcia (Ohio State)

174 POUNDS
1. Ed Ruth (Penn State)
2. Logan Storley (Minnesota)
3. Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa)
4. Justin Zeerip (Michigan)
5. Nick Heflin (Ohio State)
6. Curran Jacobs (Michigan State)
7. Tyler Koehn (Nebraska)
8. Jordan Blanton (Illinois)
9. Lee Munster (Northwestern)
10. Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana)
11. Drake Stein (Purdue)
12. Frank Cousins (Wisconsin)

184 POUNDS
1. Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
2. Quentin Wright (Penn State)
3. Josh Ihnen (Nebraska)
4. Grant Gambrall (Iowa)
5. C.J. Magrum (Ohio State)
6. Braden Atwood (Purdue)
7. Tony Dallago (Illinois)
8. Ian Hinton (Michigan State)

197 POUNDS
1. Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
2. Matt Powless (Indiana)
3. Morgan McIntosh (Penn State)
4. Max Huntley (Michigan)
5. Mario Gonzalez (Illinois)
6. Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State)
7. James Nakashima (Nebraska)
8. A.J. Kissel (Purdue)

285 POUNDS
1. Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
2. Cameron Wade (Penn State)
3. Ben Apland (Michigan)
4. Tucker Lane (Nebraska)
5. Mike McMullan (Northwestern)
6. Bobby Telford (Iowa)
7. Adam Chalfant (Indiana)
8. Roger Vukobratovich (Purdue)
9. Peter Capone (Ohio State)
10. Steve Andrus (Michigan State)
11. Pat Walker (Illinois)
12. Cole Tobin (Wisconsin)