I think six Iowa men’s wrestlers can win an individual Big Ten Championship in 2021: 133-pound Austin DeSanto, 141-pound Jaydin Eierman, 149-pound Max Murin, 165-pound Alex Marinelli, 174-pound Michael Kemerer, and 197-pound Jacob Warner.

In a perfect world for the Hawkeyes, all the aforementioned wrestlers would mow through their brackets and allow Iowa to cruise to a team conference title.

While that would be quite a fun spectacle for me to write about and report on, I don’t believe it’ll happen. Realistically, three Hawkeyes will win individual Big Ten titles in Lincoln, Nebraska: DeSanto, Eierman, and Marinelli.

Marinelli, Eierman, and DeSanto have two things in common: experience and win-loss records. All three wrestlers are seniors with one Big Ten regular season loss on their 2021-22 résumés.

DeSanto lost to Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young, 3-2, and Eierman fell to Nittany Lion senior Nick Lee, 6-4. Marinelli’s lone loss of the year came against Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla, 3-2.

Murin, Kemerer, and Warner are also seniors, but they’ve all lost twice each.

Marinelli is most likely to exorcize his regular season demons because he had never faced Kharchla before this year. With one bout against Kharchla now under his belt, Marinelli seems primed to nip Ohio State’s breakout star.

“The Bull” also wrestles his best in Big Ten Championships. He’s won three consecutive league titles, and this season, he’ll get a fourth.

Eierman is 2-2 all-time against Lee. The pair’s last three meetings have been decided by two points or fewer. Count on Eierman to take a series lead on Lee and claim a Big Ten title this year.

DeSanto is 2-4 all-time versus Bravo-Young. DeSanto won the pair’s first two matchups, and he’s since surrendered the last four.

The last two bouts DeSanto and Bravo-Young have wrestled have been decided by three points or fewer. I think DeSanto will finally flip the script in Lincoln, get one match closer to evening his all-time series against Bravo-Young, and claim a third individual Big Ten Championship for the Hawkeyes.

Five of the Iowa men’s wrestling team’s 10 starters have a legitimate shot at capturing an individual Big Ten title March 5-6 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Senior 133-pounder Austin DeSanto, 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman, 165-pounder Alex Marinelli, 174-pounder Michael Kemerer, and 197-pounder Jacob Warner are all ranked in the top five nationally in their respective weight classes.

Iowa heavyweight Tony Cassioppi also fits that bill, but I feel safe saying that Minnesota’s Gable Steveson has a 99.9 percent chance to win his third straight Big Ten Championship at that weight. I’m confident saying that the defending Hodge Trophy Winner is in a league of his own at heavyweight.

Of those five Iowa wrestlers with a real shot at a conference crown, I think four of them will get the job done.

At 133, 141, 174, and 197 pounds, respectively, the Big Ten finals will likely come down to a Hawkeye versus a Nittany Lion. When Iowa and Penn State met earlier this season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, DeSanto, Eierman, Kemerer, and Warner each lost their matches via decision. I believe Eierman, Kemerer, and Warner will avenge their losses at the conference championships.

I think Marinelli will capture a Big Ten individual title too. He’s rated fifth in the country at his weight. The only guy he’s lost to this season is Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla, who is ranked fourth in the nation at 165 pounds.

As for Eierman, I think he’ll avenge his two most recent losses to Nick Lee to claim his second individual Big Ten Championship. “The Riddler” is currently 2-2 all-time against Lee.

Warner will most likely meet Penn State’s Max Dean in the conference’s 197-pound final. Warner led Dean, 3-0, through six minutes of wrestling in their regular season matchup — though a flurry of moves ultimately propelled Dean to an 8-3 victory.

I expect Warner to come back with a vengeance at the Big Ten Championships and claim an individual league title of his own, bringing the Hawkeyes’ conference crown count to four.