First NCAA Coaches' Poll Projects Iowa As Massive Favorite
First NCAA Coaches' Poll Projects Iowa As Massive Favorite
The first NCAA coaches' poll is out and it projects Iowa to win the NCAA Championships by a large margin.
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The first NCAA coaches' poll is out and it projects Iowa to win the NCAA Championships by more than double the score of projected runner-up Penn State.
By assigning placement and advancement points, when can estimate the number of team points each wrestler will score at the NCAA using their coaches' poll rankings as a stand-in for their finish at the tournament. This doesn't take into account bonus points, but this will still give us a rough estimate of team placement, and is the same method we use to determine our team tournament rankings.
RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS |
1 | Iowa | 145.5 |
2 | Penn St. | 67 |
3 | Virginia Tech | 65.5 |
4 | NC State | 60.5 |
5 | Nebraska | 55 |
6 | Michigan | 48 |
7 | Arizona St. | 47.5 |
8 | Iowa St. | 44.5 |
9 | Missouri | 43 |
10 | Ohio St. | 42.5 |
11 | Oklahoma St. | 41 |
12 | Minnesota | 37 |
13 | Central Michigan | 30.5 |
14 | Rutgers | 28.5 |
15 | North Carolina | 28 |
16 | Illinois | 27 |
17 | Northern Iowa | 23.5 |
18 | Pittsburgh | 23 |
19 | Utah Valley | 19.5 |
20 | Stanford | 18 |
21 | Michigan St. | 17 |
22 | Rider | 15.5 |
23 | Purdue | 15 |
24 | West Virginia | 14 |
25 | Virginia | 13.5 |
25 | South Dakota St. | 13.5 |
27 | Binghamton | 12.5 |
28 | Oklahoma | 12 |
29 | Northwestern | 11 |
30 | Wisconsin | 10 |
31 | Lehigh | 7.5 |
32 | Wyoming | 7 |
32 | Bucknell | 7 |
34 | Navy | 6.5 |
34 | Indiana | 6.5 |
36 | Clarion | 5.5 |
37 | Appalachian St. | 5 |
38 | Campbell | 4 |
39 | Oregon St. | 3.5 |
39 | Northern Colorado | 3.5 |
41 | Northern Illinois | 2.5 |
41 | North Dakota St. | 2.5 |
41 | Kent St. | 2.5 |
41 | Drexel | 2.5 |
41 | Cal Poly | 2.5 |
41 | Army West Point | 2.5 |
47 | SIU Edwardsville | 2 |
47 | Fresno St. | 2 |
47 | Air Force | 2 |
50 | Hofstra | 1 |
50 | Buffalo | 1 |
52 | Gardner-Webb | 0.5 |
52 | Edinboro | 0.5 |
52 | Duke | 0.5 |
52 | Chattanooga | 0.5 |
56 | VMI | 0 |
56 | The Citadel | 0 |
56 | Ohio | 0 |
56 | Little Rock | 0 |
56 | CSU Bakersfield | 0 |
56 | Cleveland St. | 0 |
56 | Bloomsburg | 0 |
Here's how FloWrestling's team top 25 compares to the coaches' poll.
Flo Rank | School | Points | Coaches' Rank | School | Points |
1 | Iowa | 132.5 | 1 | Iowa | 145.5 |
2 | Michigan | 78.5 | 2 | Penn St. | 67 |
3 | NC State | 62.5 | 3 | Virginia Tech | 65.5 |
4 | OK State | 62 | 4 | NC State | 60.5 |
5 | Nebraska | 52.5 | 5 | Nebraska | 55 |
6 | Penn State | 52 | 6 | Michigan | 48 |
7 | Virginia Tech | 46.5 | 7 | Arizona St. | 47.5 |
8 | Ohio State | 43.5 | 8 | Iowa St. | 44.5 |
9 | Minnesota | 40.5 | 9 | Missouri | 43 |
10 | Missouri | 39 | 10 | Ohio St. | 42.5 |
11 | Arizona State | 33.5 | 11 | Oklahoma St. | 41 |
12 | Iowa State | 33 | 12 | Minnesota | 37 |
13 | Rutgers | 32 | 13 | Central Michigan | 30.5 |
14 | Northwestern | 31 | 14 | Rutgers | 28.5 |
15 | UNI | 28.5 | 15 | North Carolina | 28 |
16 | Central Michigan | 27.5 | 16 | Illinois | 27 |
17 | Illinois | 25.5 | 17 | Northern Iowa | 23.5 |
18 | North Carolina | 22.5 | 18 | Pittsburgh | 23 |
19 | Pittsburgh | 22 | 19 | Utah Valley | 19.5 |
20 | West Virginia | 20.5 | 20 | Stanford | 18 |
20 | Virginia | 20.5 | 21 | Michigan St. | 17 |
22 | Stanford | 20 | 22 | Rider | 15.5 |
22 | Purdue | 20 | 23 | Purdue | 15 |
24 | Rider | 13 | 24 | West Virginia | 14 |
24 | Lehigh | 13 | 25 | Virginia | 13.5 |
24 | Binghamton | 13 | 25 | South Dakota St. | 13.5 |
And here's a breakdown of the top ten schools by weight class.
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As the table shows, Iowa is projected to score more than double the points of Penn State. Should the NCAA finishes resemble the coaches' poll ranks, the Hawkeyes should comfortably cruise to their first team title since 2010.
The coaches have three Hawkeyes ranked number one, Spencer Lee at 125, Jaydin Eierman at 141, and Michael Kemerer at 174. The coaches also predict Iowa vs Penn State finals 133 and 141, with Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) and Austin DeSanto (Iowa) ranked #1 and #2 at 133-pounds and Eierman and Nick Lee #1 and #2 at 141.
If Virginia Tech and NC State finish in the top four, it will be the first time two ACC schools earned a trophy since *checks notes* not sure but probably a really long time, if ever!
Iowa is also one of three schools, the others being NC State and Missouri, that feature a ranked wrestler in all ten weight classes. Here are all the projected national qualifiers of every school with a wrestler that shows up in the coaches' poll.
SCHOOL | NQs |
Iowa | 10 |
Missouri | 10 |
NC State | 10 |
Virginia Tech | 9 |
Oklahoma St. | 9 |
Ohio St. | 9 |
North Carolina | 9 |
Minnesota | 9 |
Illinois | 9 |
Wyoming | 8 |
Virginia | 8 |
Rutgers | 8 |
Penn St. | 8 |
Oklahoma | 8 |
Nebraska | 8 |
Navy | 8 |
Arizona St. | 8 |
Purdue | 7 |
Northern Iowa | 7 |
Michigan | 7 |
Iowa St. | 7 |
Wisconsin | 6 |
Stanford | 6 |
South Dakota St. | 6 |
Pittsburgh | 6 |
Oregon St. | 6 |
Northern Illinois | 6 |
Michigan St. | 6 |
Hofstra | 6 |
Central Michigan | 6 |
Army West Point | 6 |
Air Force | 6 |
Rider | 5 |
Northern Colorado | 5 |
Lehigh | 5 |
Campbell | 5 |
Appalachian St. | 5 |
West Virginia | 4 |
Utah Valley | 4 |
Northwestern | 4 |
North Dakota St. | 4 |
Indiana | 4 |
Drexel | 4 |
Chattanooga | 4 |
Binghamton | 4 |
SIU Edwardsville | 3 |
Ohio | 3 |
Fresno St. | 3 |
Cal Poly | 3 |
The Citadel | 2 |
Kent St. | 2 |
Edinboro | 2 |
CSU Bakersfield | 2 |
Buffalo | 2 |
Bucknell | 2 |
VMI | 1 |
Little Rock | 1 |
Gardner-Webb | 1 |
Duke | 1 |
Cleveland St. | 1 |
Clarion | 1 |
Bloomsburg | 1 |