Third

The No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling squad is hunting for its 38th Big Ten title, but the conference powerhouse makes anything better than third at the Big Ten championships a tall task.

This season, competition in the Big Ten is as fierce as ever before, currently holding half of the top-10 ranked teams — giving Iowa wrestling one of the more grueling journeys to a conference title in recent memory.

The battle for second place behind the dominant Penn State Nittany Lions presumably has Iowa as the second favorite heading into the tournament. However, No. 5 Nebraska and No. 6 Minnesota will be          eyeing the Hawkeyes looking to avenge their respective dual losses suffered in the regular season.

This will surely put Iowa wrestling on upset alert, as the Hawkeyes narrowly escaped Nebraska, 19-16, on Feb. 7. Rallying a comeback win in the final two bouts proved Iowa can take a celebrated victory over the cross-state rival.

The comeback win showed Iowa can perform under intense pressure. But if this dual were not in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the results could have been very different. Nebraska will undeniably be looking to take advantage of the neutral site in Evanston, Illinois, during the conference tournament.

Iowa also defeated Minnesota, 23-11, on Feb. 14, yet the score does not tell the entire tale of the dual. The Hawkeyes took seven out of 10 bouts over the Gophers yet only recorded four more takedowns throughout the match.

If Minnesota utilizes the two weeks of preparation to its full potential to focus on Hawkeye weak points — especially at 141, 174, and 184 pounds — Iowa wrestling may find itself in a hole to the Gophers come conference tournament time.

Again, at a neutral site, anything can happen.

Iowa wrestling will have two weeks to start firing on all cylinders, and I fear a possible upset from either Nebraska or Minnesota will send the Hawkeyes back to Iowa City with a third-place finish in the conference tournament.

Second

The reason we have dual meets in the regular season is to outline what the postseason will look like — and the Hawkeyes beat all but one opponent there for a reason.

It’s safe to look past who will finish first at the Northwestern-hosted Big Ten championships in Evanston, Illinois, at Sunday’s conclusion. Penn State’s dominance across the board almost guarantees a handful of Nittany Lion Big Ten champions if not an NCAA title come mid-March.

So, the question is now a matter of who will again be right after them. And it’d be foolish to pick against the Hawkeyes.

“Tough tests” are a cop-out answer in a desperate search for some sort of worry about head coach Tom Brands’ squad. But losses are losses. Nebraska lost. Ohio State lost. Minnesota lost. Illinois lost.

Then-No. 2 Oklahoma State lost, too. The Hawkeyes have proved time and time again they stand above — most of — the surrounding competition. Home field advantage is a fair argument, but no team really has it at Northwestern — not even Northwestern. It comes down to the best wrestler at each level.

Sure, serious runs deep into the bracket will be tough to find at 125, 141, 174, 184, and heavyweight. But Hawkeyes are ranked in roughly the top 10 at the latter three classes, making third or fourth-place finishes point-worthy results for this team’s total.

Losing is important. The Nittany Lions haven’t done much of it, but the Hawkeyes have done just enough to learn how to win the right way. Kyle Parco, Michael Caliendo, and Jacori Teemer have the toolboxes to make serious noise in second-place finishes or even a championship with a stroke of luck.

And Iowa should be guaranteed Big Ten champions in Drake Ayala and Stephen Buchanan — serious point-scorers.

Barring upsets, Brands’ lineup captures second with ease so long as it sticks to the script. But it’s a shame we have to yet again debate who’s going to finish runner-up. Competition for first place makes wrestling much more interesting.