OSU Wrestling: Big 12 Tournament Preview 165-285

Yesterday we took a look at 125-157 for the Cowboys heading into the Big 12 tournament.

Today we’re going to go over what to expect from 165-285. Again, here’s a look at the full bracket.

165: Chandler Rogers

Rogers is the 2 seed here, but don’t let that fool you. He’ll be the favorite to win the tournament. He’s the 2 seed because he dropped a match at Wyoming that he shouldn’t have. He’s a better wrestler than Brandon Ashworth. I really think the elevation just got him there, and he’s looked good lately, so you should expect him to win this. I don’t really see him being tested until the final. The guy can pin just about anyone. Let’s hope to see some of this, this weekend.

Expect plenty of big moves when the Big 12 Championship kicks off live a week from today on FloWrestling. pic.twitter.com/aHOYO8Ti13

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) February 24, 2018

174: Jacobe Smith

Jacobe comes in as the 4 seed and this will be his first time on the mat since his injury against Missouri. Earlier in the year, John Smith had said that when Jacobe comes back he’d be 100 percent. If that’s the case I like Oklahoma State’s chances of making a dark horse run to a title here. He’d most likely get the 1 seed Taylor Lujan in the semifinal and he can definitely take him. Hestin Lamons gave Lujan fits in the dual and I think a healthy Smith can win this. If he wins there the final will be tough. I really do think he’d be a 2-3 seed had he been healthy all year though and could whoever he meets in the final if he can pull that upset on Friday over Lujan.

184: Keegan Moore or Austin Marsden

I don’t know who won the ranking match between these guys. John Smith is telling us it’s probably going to be Keegan here, so I’m going with that for the preview and I think that’s who it will be. Keegan will have to wrestle to his seed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Two of the three guys seeded ahead of him beat him pretty comfortably this year, so it’s tough to expect him to pull any big upsets and finish any higher than fourth.

I just really hope Moore wrestles well here and gets the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. One thing I’d note is the last 5-6 years OSU has pretty consistently had guys at these upper weights develop a lot beyond what’s expected of them. Preston Weigel and Nolan Boyd weren’t big name recruits and both seemed to always peak at the end of the year and wrestle really well in the postseason. It would be great to see something similar here.

197: Preston Weigel

Weigel’s the 1 seed and depending on how his injury is impacting him is a guy I think could contend for an NCAA title. Even though he’s a 1 seed here, the Big 12 is good at this weight. His semifinal would probably be against Jake Smith who is All-American caliber and in the final, he’s probably looking at Nate Rotert who is as well. This is a tough test for him off the injury. If he comes out here, wrestles well, and wins I’ll feel pretty good about his potential at the NCAAs, but you have to be a little nervous with this being his first wrestling off of his injury.

285: Derek White

I’m more confident about Derek White winning the Big 12 than any wrestler on the team. If you would’ve told me that four months ago I would’ve said you were crazy. That’s how impressive he’s been in his jump to heavyweight this year. I really think he’ll run through this thing and win it comfortably. Derek had the most take-downs of anyone on the team this season. That’s insane for a heavyweight.

Don't blink.

Derek White (55) and Kaid Brock (52) led the Cowboys in dual takedowns this season. #okstate pic.twitter.com/37HtweBmvf

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) February 27, 2018