BIG 12's

[Jon Perkins]

The allocations are out for the BIG 12 conference tournament. Let's get some thoughts on the regular season and the upcoming post season.

125: Jett has had a good year and with 7 qualifying spots he should be safely in for the NCAA tournament.
133: Tommy Maddox will probably need a little help to qualify.
141: Jordan Titus has had a really disappointing season but is capable of pulling out a couple of big wins to qualify. With 7 qualifying spots I think he is on the bubble.
149: Sam Hillegas will need some help place in the top 6 to qualify.
157: Caleb Dowling has been out for a lot of the year but with 7 qualifying spots, I think Dowling will qualify.
165: Peyton Hall hopefully gets a little revenge to be avenge his loss to Terrell Baraclough.
174: Brody has soundly beat two guys this year that are ranked well above him, there are 6 qualifying spots here and I think he is safely in one of them.
184: Dennis Robin could easily qualify or could go 0-2. Hopefully his good version shows up and can qualify for his last NCAA tournament.
197: Ian Bush will have a steep hill to climb with only 4 qualifying spots available.
HWT: Wilson Spires is going to need to a lot of help to find a qualifying spot.

I think the Mountaineers will automatically qualify 5 to 6 guys. If they don't Brody Conley, Dennis Robin, and Ian Bush should be able to make it into the NCAA tournament with an At-Large bid.

[Bearhugger]

The allocations are out for the BIG 12 conference tournament. Let's get some thoughts on the regular season and the upcoming post season.

125: Jett has had a good year and with 7 qualifying spots he should be safely in for the NCAA tournament.
133: Tommy Maddox will probably need a little help to qualify.
141: Jordan Titus has had a really disappointing season but is capable of pulling out a couple of big wins to qualify. With 7 qualifying spots I think he is on the bubble.
149: Sam Hillegas will need some help place in the top 6 to qualify.
157: Caleb Dowling has been out for a lot of the year but with 7 qualifying spots, I think Dowling will qualify.
165: Peyton Hall hopefully gets a little revenge to be avenge his loss to Terrell Baraclough.
174: Brody has soundly beat two guys this year that are ranked well above him, there are 6 qualifying spots here and I think he is safely in one of them.
184: Dennis Robin could easily qualify or could go 0-2. Hopefully his good version shows up and can qualify for his last NCAA tournament.
197: Ian Bush will have a steep hill to climb with only 4 qualifying spots available.
HWT: Wilson Spires is going to need to a lot of help to find a qualifying spot.

I think the Mountaineers will automatically qualify 5 to 6 guys. If they don't Brody Conley, Dennis Robin, and Ian Bush should be able to make it into the NCAA tournament with an At-Large bid.

Why do some weight classes qualify only 4 wrestlers and then other weight classes qualify all the way up to 7?

[Jon Perkins]

Each conference has a different number of allocations for every weight class. The BIG 10 has the most allocations with a total number of 87, the BIG 12 has the second most with 61, and the SoCon has the fewest with 13. Each weight class is looked at and evaluated individually to see how competitive it is on the national scale. For example, the 157 pound weight class: 7 of the top 10 ranked wrestlers come from the BIG 10 and there zero ranked wrestlers in the top 30 from the SoCon. This results in the BIG 10 getting 8 automatic qualifiers and in order to qualify from the SoCon you have to win the tournament because they only get 1 spot.

The level of competition in each weight class determines the number of automatic qualifiers for each conference. Before the BIG 12 started adding members to the conference they did not get any automatic bids. There were only 4 teams in the conference and not enough competition to qualify for automatic qualifiers.

[Bearhugger]

Each conference has a different number of allocations for every weight class. The BIG 10 has the most allocations with a total number of 87, the BIG 12 has the second most with 61, and the SoCon has the fewest with 13. Each weight class is looked at and evaluated individually to see how competitive it is on the national scale. For example, the 157 pound weight class: 7 of the top 10 ranked wrestlers come from the BIG 10 and there zero ranked wrestlers in the top 30 from the SoCon. This results in the BIG 10 getting 8 automatic qualifiers and in order to qualify from the SoCon you have to win the tournament because they only get 1 spot.

The level of competition in each weight class determines the number of automatic qualifiers for each conference. Before the BIG 12 started adding members to the conference they did not get any automatic bids. There were only 4 teams in the conference and not enough competition to qualify for automatic qualifiers.

It sounds to me that rankings matter based on what you explained.

[Jon Perkins]

It may seem like the rankings matter, and maybe they do to an extent, but to say that is the rankings are the only factor or even the biggest determining factor is not a true statement. Strength of schedule, and RPI, play a big part as well.

[Bearhugger]

It may seem like the rankings matter, and maybe they do to an extent, but to say that is the rankings are the only factor or even the biggest determining factor is not a true statement. Strength of schedule, and RPI, play a big part as well.

I never stated that rankings were the biggest or only factors involved. I like strength of schedule coming into play. In WV high school, we have wrestlers that qualified for the state tournament with less than 10 matches and their team was nowhere to be found all season long.

[NJwvu12]

The allocations are out for the BIG 12 conference tournament. Let's get some thoughts on the regular season and the upcoming post season.

125: Jett has had a good year and with 7 qualifying spots he should be safely in for the NCAA tournament.
133: Tommy Maddox will probably need a little help to qualify.
141: Jordan Titus has had a really disappointing season but is capable of pulling out a couple of big wins to qualify. With 7 qualifying spots I think he is on the bubble.
149: Sam Hillegas will need some help place in the top 6 to qualify.
157: Caleb Dowling has been out for a lot of the year but with 7 qualifying spots, I think Dowling will qualify.
165: Peyton Hall hopefully gets a little revenge to be avenge his loss to Terrell Baraclough.
174: Brody has soundly beat two guys this year that are ranked well above him, there are 6 qualifying spots here and I think he is safely in one of them.
184: Dennis Robin could easily qualify or could go 0-2. Hopefully his good version shows up and can qualify for his last NCAA tournament.
197: Ian Bush will have a steep hill to climb with only 4 qualifying spots available.
HWT: Wilson Spires is going to need to a lot of help to find a qualifying spot.

I think the Mountaineers will automatically qualify 5 to 6 guys. If they don't Brody Conley, Dennis Robin, and Ian Bush should be able to make it into the NCAA tournament with an At-Large bid.

It’s going to be tough for Maddox , spires and Dowling ..157 is pretty deep and Dowling would need to have his best day of his career so far to medal

I like Titus chance even with the down year , hopefully he can get his confidence up and make the ncaas , I also like Hillegas chances after 1-4 the weight is anyone’s ball game I think he’s good enough to grab one of those 2 spots

After the robbery last year I wouldn’t trust Robin or Bush getting a wildcard hopefully they get in with automatics , bush is in a tough spot but I thought he’s looked really good this year let’s hope he gets it done

[mscoach4]

Not that matters much but Finnerty is wrestling at 285 for WVU
https://big12sports.com/documents/2025/3/3//2025_Big_12_Wrestling_Brackets.pdf

[NJwvu12]

Not a great day, Robin looked awful , idk if he gets a wildcard, conley will need a wildcard as well no guarantee he gets one. Bush doesn’t have enough matches at 197 to qualify for a wildcard so he needs to win his next 3 the last being the #2 Novak/#3 Voelker semi to get a bid ..133 and 285 0-2 and done

Titus has looked good and is one win away from an autobid, has to beat brooks from Wyoming tonight or win the 7th place match tomorrow against Schwartz/tagg loser (Schwartz beat Titus first round) , he has a losing record so I don’t think he gets a wildcard

Hillegas looks great but needs to beat #3 seed McDougald from Oklahoma to get an auto bid

Dowling needs to win one of his next 2 to get an autobid either tonight against #5 seed hill from Wyoming or the 7th place match tomorrow against the #3 Downey/7 Conway loser ..tough task but he’s given himself a chance

On the positive side Hall and Jett to the finals and both should be favored, Jett beat Spratley and hall beat Steed earlier this season

[NJwvu12]

Real disappointing tournament

Jett Titus and Hall are the only guys to earn autobids day 1

Dowling will wrestle for an auto bid against Conway from Missouri tomorrow in the 7th place match if he loses a wildcard is unlikely

Bush is still alive and looks great won back to back wrestlebacks 15-0 but needs to beat Novak from Wyoming whom he lost to 9-6 OT in the dual for an autobid ,if he loses I don’t think he’s eligible for a wildcard

Hillegas lost in OT with an autobid on the line , he won’t get a wildcard , he wraps up his career in the 7th place match against Willochell

Conley on the bubble for a wildcard

Robin chances on the bubble after going 0-2

[Jon Perkins]

I understand your disappointment, but I have a mixed reaction to yesterday's results of the BIG 12 tournament. To me the only disappointments was Conley and Robin. Conley is obviously injured so that is understandable even though I really like watching him compete. Hopefully he gets one of the at large bids and can get healed up in the next two weeks. Robin definitely laid an egg yesterday but watching him and Peyton Hall wrestle, I honestly believe that these two cats were/are sick. Both looked slower than normal and looked to get fatigued early in the match. Robin looked like he could barely move his second match he had zero defense. To be fair he barely moves in any match, but this one seemed worse than usual to me.

On the bright side of things: Jett made the finals, which I thought he could. His size is going to give guys fits at the national tournament. Jordan finally had the breakout day he has been looking for with a few good wins. After he lost his first match I had my doubts he would qualify but he toughed it out and made it happen. Even though Sam Hillegas isn't going to qualify, he was never supposed to anyway, he is still going to get a top eight finish. If you haven't seen his match of him choking his Mizzou opponent out with his famous merkle, you need to check it out. In the words of Tommy Boy, "That was awesome!!!" Dowling had the day I figured he would have. I wish he would have had his foot on the gas a little more in his last match because I think Caleb can beat that guy. He still has one match to win and he can qualify. And finally, I think Ian Bush is part robot because he just goes out there and is constantly moving forward. I think he could have the most solid basics of anyone on the team. Stays in great position all the time and he just never quits. Hopefully he can pull off a major upset to get inside the top 4 to qualify.

[NJwvu12]

I understand your disappointment, but I have a mixed reaction to yesterday's results of the BIG 12 tournament. To me the only disappointments was Conley and Robin. Conley is obviously injured so that is understandable even though I really like watching him compete. Hopefully he gets one of the at large bids and can get healed up in the next two weeks. Robin definitely laid an egg yesterday but watching him and Peyton Hall wrestle, I honestly believe that these two cats were/are sick. Both looked slower than normal and looked to get fatigued early in the match. Robin looked like he could barely move his second match he had zero defense. To be fair he barely moves in any match, but this one seemed worse than usual to me.

On the bright side of things: Jett made the finals, which I thought he could. His size is going to give guys fits at the national tournament. Jordan finally had the breakout day he has been looking for with a few good wins. After he lost his first match I had my doubts he would qualify but he toughed it out and made it happen. Even though Sam Hillegas isn't going to qualify, he was never supposed to anyway, he is still going to get a top eight finish. If you haven't seen his match of him choking his Mizzou opponent out with his famous merkle, you need to check it out. In the words of Tommy Boy, "That was awesome!!!" Dowling had the day I figured he would have. I wish he would have had his foot on the gas a little more in his last match because I think Caleb can beat that guy. He still has one match to win and he can qualify. And finally, I think Ian Bush is part robot because he just goes out there and is constantly moving forward. I think he could have the most solid basics of anyone on the team. Stays in great position all the time and he just never quits. Hopefully he can pull off a major upset to get inside the top 4 to qualify.

I was disappointed because Hillegas was wrestling better then he had in a long time and let it skip away , didn’t realize 157 had lost a bid so Dowling lose last night was effectively the end of his season , definitely expected more from Robin especially in year 4 now he’s going to be sweating it out …I understand Conley wanting to get healthy but a lot of good guys need wildcard bids at 174 , Norman from Stanford been at top 10 guy all year he’s a lock for one , Incontrera from Penn is 21-6 and has a lot of good wins , Turley from Rutgers is a past AA and beaten Incontrera and a has few other ranked wins , Myles Takatis from bucknell has been ranked high all year and will likely get a WC, it’s not looking good for Conley..174 only gets 4 wildcards and all those guys wrestled in their conference tournament

On the positive side Titus is finally wrestling with some confidence which seemed to missing all year , Ian Bush looks great and really wrestled his heart out to get an autobid ,he can definitely pull an upset or 2 at ncaas. Peyton became the all time wins leader in WVU history and Jett pinned a really good guy . Being favored in 2 finals in a year we lost Watters to injury isn’t something to overlook