Wrestling fans have high expectations for their teams heading into the NCAA tournament each year. How each team's wrestlers are seeded plays a major role in setting those lofty hopes.

For this series, we're analyzing the team performances of all the top contenders at the 2017 tournament to see who stepped up last month in St. Louis and who came up short.

Now Up: The Oklahoma State Cowboys

We tried to keep things as simple as possible. We ignored bonus points (but if an analysis of bonus points is what you're after, have no fear, we got you covered!). We also simplified the advancement points for ease of calculation. The actual advancement points may vary ever so slightly from the number we used depending on the round in which the wrestler entered the consolation bracket. We also ignored any projected advancement points for unseeded wrestlers, and, in order to balance that out, we also ignored any actual points form wrestlers that didn't advance passed the round of 24.

Also, if analysis isn't you're thing and you just want to stare at the team results, you can do that too!

But for those interested in the stats, here is a chart showing all of Oklahoma State's qualifiers, where they were seeded, and what their results were at the 2017 NCAA tournament.



It would seem bizarre for any team to call 10 qualifiers, eight All-Americans, and a third-place overall finish a disappointment, but that speaks to the incredibly high standards that head coach John Smith and the Cowboys faithful hold for their team.

But perhaps disappointment is still too strong a word. Smith himself mentioned how he had never had eight All-Americans before. Throw in a national champion with Dean Heil at 141 and Smith will have plenty of positive stories to tell at the year-end banquet.

So just how well did Oklahoma State do? We calculated the difference between the Cowboys' actual (simplified) scores to their projected scores to find out.

Oklahoma State's Seed vs. Reality Score: -14.5

That's kinda not a great number. It means the Cowboys scored 14.5 fewer points than expected based on their seeds. It's the second-worst score of any of the top contenders we analyzed.

So How'd They Do It?

The obvious culprit is senior Anthony Collica at 149 pounds, which I hate to point out since Collica is a bonafide warrior. The four-time qualifier is the epitome of a team player, wrestling at 141 and 157 (and making the bloodround) his freshman and sophomore years, respectively, before finally finding a spot in the starting lineup at his natural weight and earning All-American honors with a fourth place last year at 149 pounds.

Collica earned the No. 2 seed this year on the strength of an outstanding regular season but was stunned in the round of 16 by No. 15 seed Ken Theobold of Rutgers, losing in sudden victory 9-3. Collica was then eliminated from the tournament in his subsequent bout, ending an illustrious career on a bitter note and 16 full points shy of his expected total.

Fellow senior Austin Schafer also had a rough go in St. Louis. The heavyweight earned a No. 6 seed but was felled Thursday night in the round of 16 by unseeded upstart Conan Jennings of Northwestern. Schafer was likewise unable to bounce back in the consolation round, and his career ended on two straight losses and nine points short of his expected amount.

But it was not all doom and gloom for the Cowpokes. The aforementioned "Mean" Dean Heil went undefeated on the year and won his second consecutive national championship at 141 pounds. Kyle Crutchmer and Preston Weigel both managed to live up to their seeds as well, earning All-American honors in the process.

Nolan Boyd and Kaid Brock fell slightly short of the mark, earning 3.5 points less than expected but still finding a spot on the podium. Those points were more than made up for by Joseph Smith, Chandler Rogers, and Nick Piccininni, who all exceeded expectations. Rogers and Piccininni both notably finished four places higher than their seeds, earning eight and seven bonus points, respectively, on their way to the podium.

Conclusions

Far from "folding like tents," to use the derogatory parlance of the more vile recesses of the message boards, Oklahoma State had a mixed tournament, both good and bad. Four wrestlers failed to live up to their seeds, but six others either met or exceeded expectations.

Collica and Schafer suffered crushing blows, but Piccininni and Rogers had deep, inspiring runs.

Bringing 10 seeded wrestlers to the NCAA tournament, let alone merely qualifying 10, is an astounding accomplishment, regardless of how they finish. And while a lot of talent graduates, there is perhaps no better-stocked wrestling room than that of Smith's Oklahoma State Cowboys.

And it's worth pointing out that Heil is all too quietly on his way to becoming a four-time All-American and perhaps a three-time champion. Let's rewatch him earn that second title right now.


Man, 141 is going to be so ridiculously loaded next year. I can't wait!