Can Penn State win the Big Ten wrestling tournament title? When Lions wrestle on Sunday, how to watch, more

It is championship Sunday at the Big Ten wrestling tournament, and Penn State is chasing another team title.

Only six programs remain alive for the conference crown. However, it’s really only a three-team race at the top as we enter the day.

Michigan had a dominant Saturday, which gives it a 5.5 point lead over Penn State at 116.5-111. Iowa, then, is in third with 109. The next closest school, Ohio State, sits all the way back with only 72 team points.

Penn State has eight wrestlers still alive. Five are in the championship bracket and three find themselves in wrestlebacks.

Here’s everything you need to know so that you’re ready for the day.

Who is in, and who is out, for Penn State?

Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Nick Lee (141) pounds, Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184), and Max Dean (197) are all in the finals for Penn State at their respective weights.

Brady Berge and Greg Kerkvliet, then, are in the consolation finals at 157 and 285 pounds, respectively.

Drew Hildebrandt, the two-seed at 125, and Creighton Edsell, who was No. 10 at 165, are both out of the tournament. Edsell did relatively as expected while Hildebrandt was a shocking two and done. Both will be on the mat Sunday but neither can score team points anymore. Hildebrandt needs to win a ninth/tenth place mini-bracket to earn one of the Big Ten’s final NCAA automatic qualifiers bids at 125, of which there are 10. Edsell, then, can finish ninth at best, which would help his case for an at-large invitation to nationals, which is still a longshot.

When can I watch, follow the Lions today?

The consolation semifinals start at Noon ET today on subscription streaming service BTN+. Penn State also offers the radio call from play-by-play man Jeff Byers for free over at LionVision.

Here at BWI, you can join us in The Wrestling Room forum to discuss the action as it unfolds. OnBrackets can be found at TrackWrestling, which also has updated team scores.

With Penn State starting consolations at 157 and then 285, it won’t be on the mat right at Noon. In fact, Berge is likely to wrestle after 12:30 p.m., with Kerkvliet closer to 12:45 if not one.

As for the finals, they start at 4:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network. Bravo-Young will be up first at 133, which is the second final on the schedule. Lee is right behind him, and then Staorocci, Brooks, and Dean will wrestle back-to-back-to-back.

Matchups to watch

Here are the first matches of the day for each Penn State wrestler. Note that consolation bracket competitors could of course have more while the finalists have just that bout today.

125 pounds: The mini-bracket for Drew Hildebrandt is not yet available

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo Young, Penn State vs. No. 2 Austin DeSanto, Iowa (final)

141 pounds: No 1. Nick Lee, Penn State vs. No. 2 Jaydin Eierman, Iowa (final)

149 pounds: No. 7 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs. No. 11 Kaden Storr, Michigan (seventh-place match)

157 pounds: No. 10 Brady Berge vs. No. 4 Kendall Coleman, Purdue (consolation semifinal; winner goes for third)

165 pounds: Creighton Edsell’s mini bracket is not yet available.

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs. No. 2 Logan Massa, Michigan (final)

184 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks vs. No. 2 Myles Amine, Michigan (final)

197 pounds: No. 2 Max Dean, Penn State vs. No. Eric Schultz, Nebraska (final)

285: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State vs. No 5 Lucas Davison, Northwestern (consolation semifinal)

Can Penn State actually win the team tournmanent?

The short answer is yes, but it’ll need a lot to break its way.

The long answer?

According to the tremendous folks at the Penn State Wrestling Club, Michigan has the max possible points available at 183. The Wolverines have five finalists, four consolation semifinalists, and one wrestler in the seventh/eighth place match.

Iowa actually comes next on the max possible list with 173. The Hawkeyes have four finalists, four consolation semifinalists, and two in seventh/eighth bouts.

Penn State checks in at third with 161.5 possible points. As noted above, it has five finalists, two consolation semifinalists, and one seventh/eighth place wrestler.

Obviously, if Penn State wins out, it’s going to zap a lot of those possible points from Michigan and Iowa since there are so many matchups between the two. But, the Lions are also going to need help from other schools when facing a wrestler from one of the other two. They also must win any other head-to-head meetings, like, say, if Kerkvliet draws Michigan’s Mason Parris in the third-place bout, for example.

All told, a mathematical path is there for Penn State to win its first conference crown since 2019. But, the Lions cannot have a day like Saturday if they hope to leave on top. There were too many missed opportunities, from Hildebrandt losing the way he did to Kerkvliet giving up a late reversal to eventually lose to bonus points being left on the mat.

Stay tuned for more Penn State wrestling updates from Blue-White Illustrated as the day unfolds.