Eighty NCAA automatic qualifying spots are up for grabs at the Big Ten Championships in East Lansing, Michigan, this weekend. That's almost as many tickets to the big dance as the next two conferences combined. Read on for everything you need to know to follow the toughest wrestling conference in the country as the Big Ten Conference holds its annual tournament.

First, you need to know how to watch. Which is simple; just click the big, bold, underlined words below!

WATCH THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE!

DATE: March 3-4  | TIME: 10 AM ET | WHERE: Michigan State University

The Big Ten pre-seeds have already been released, and when the brackets are finalized you'll be able to find them on FloArena.

You can see how all the NCAA tournament automatic qualifying (AQ) allocations were distributed here. The exact process by which a committee determines how many qualifying spots each conference gets at each weight class is arcane and impenetrable but effective.

After said impenetrable but good process, the committee decides that between 27 and 29 wrestlers in each weight class have "earned" AQs, and those AQs are then allocated to the appropriate conference. If a conference does not have a wrestler who earned an AQ, it will still a receive a minimum of one AQ per weight.

Those AQs now have to be secured in the tournaments; they are not guaranteed for the wrestlers who "earned" them. For instance, if a conference has three AQs, whoever finishes in the top three in that conference's championship tournament will get an invite to the NCAA Championships whether or not any of those top three wrestlers "earned" that AQ for the conference. This is what's referred to as "stealing" a bid to the NCAAs. 

At the end of all the conference tournaments, the final "at-large" wrestlers will be selected until each weight class has 33 competitors. If a wrestler who earned an AQ does not participate in his conference tournament for any reason, the conference losses that AQ and another at-large selection will be made at that weight class. 

Finding out which wrestlers earned those AQs is beyond my powers. Luckily, friendly sorcerer Britt Malinky has does the computational wizardry and shared the results on his blog here. Thanks, Britt! 

Now for the good stuff. Below is a breakdown of all Big Ten entries by weight class. An "X" will precede each wrestler's name if he earned an AQ for the B1G tournament. We've also included their pre-seeds and top 20 rankings for context. For weights without enough pre-seeds — the Big Ten will only seed past eight competitors if more than eight AQs were earned — we've substituted our Big Ten rankings. 

125 Pounds (10 AQs)

Ten AQs for just 14 schools is a lot, but only one of those AQ earners isn't in the top 20, so it's still going to be a dog fight for an NCAA bid. 

133 Pounds (7 AQs)

J-Rent poses a problem for 133. He soundly beat DelVecchio right after coming off a redshirt, but because of his limited action this season he did not earn an AQ for the B1G. Either Renteria or some other earner will be left without an AQ — although still with at-large hopes — after this tourney. 

141 Pounds (8 AQs)

Profaci, Diehl, and Gasca all qualified for the NCAA tournament in the past but failed to earn an AQ for the conference this year. It is going to be a brutal Big Ten tournament for a few 141-pounders.

149 Pounds (9 AQs)

Every ranked wrestler plus last year's NCAA qualifier, Baby J Bannister, earned an AQ.

157 Pounds (8 AQs)

If Nolf weighs in and takes the mat and then immediately injury defaults, then the conference keeps the AQ, opening up a spot for someone else and forcing Nolf to rely on an at-large big, which he will definitely get. If Nolf doesn't weigh in then the AQs are reduced to seven. Langenderfer and talented freshmen in Parriott and Tucker are strong contenders for at-large bids even if they don't qualify through the tournament. 

165 Pounds (10 AQs)

In an absolute buzz saw of a weight class, the Big Ten boasts 10 ranked wrestlers, all whom earned AQs. The chance of someone stealing a bid here is slim.

174 Pounds (7 AQs)

The top four contenders are all ranked and should have no trouble qualifying. After that it gets interesting, as very little separates the next six wrestlers with only three remaining AQs.

184 Pounds (8 AQs)

The top eight contenders are all ranked and look relatively secure in their bids, although Bowman will have little margin for error, and no one should take anything for granted in one of the NCAA's most volatile weights. 

197 Pounds (6 AQs)

Buckle up for 197 and expect a lot of turbulence. Six AQs for only four top 20 wrestlers mitigates some of the suspense, but this weight class is not known for following the script, especially not in the Big Ten.

285 Pounds (7 AQs)

Although all eyes will be on the expected finals rematch of Coon vs. Snyder, there will be plenty of battles in the wrestle-backs worth tuning in for this weekend.

As with the rest of conference tournaments, when an AQ is secured and a ticket to the NCAAs is punched, we'll record the result here. 

Enjoy this marvelous weekend of wrestling!