Amazing Bonus Rate Leads Penn State To Title

Putting the 2017 Penn State Wrestling team bonus points spree in perspective.

Mar 20, 2017 by Kyle Bratke

Amazing Bonus Rate Leads Penn State To Title

Since Cael Sanderson arrived at University Park, the Nittany Lions have been known for an aggressive pinning style. This year's NCAA tournament was no different from almost every other performance of Sanderson led squads. The Lions put up 21 bonus wins, 18 of those coming in the championship bracket. This gave them a bonus point total of 32.5 points, outpacing Ohio State's 22.5. Just the bonus points for the Nittany Lions would slot them in 15th place just ahead of the Virginia Cavaliers.

Team	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Session 4	Session 5	Session 6	Total
PSU	8	7.5	7.5	5	0	4.5	32.5
Ohio State	7	6.5	3.5	2.5	3	0	22.5
Oklahoma State	6	3	0	1	3	0	13
Iowa	4	5.5	4	2	2	0	17.5

Penn State wrestled far fewer matches than the rest of the top four teams because they placed five wrestlers in the finals and mostly stayed clear of the consolation brackets. In the 36 matches the Nittany Lions wrestled, they earned 32.5 bonus points for an average of 0.79 bonus points per match. This rate outdistanced the field drastically, and should amaze you that they are putting up bonus point victories in just more than half their matches at the toughest folkstyle tournament in the world.

Team	Wins	Losses	Bonus Wins	Championship Wins	Consolation Wins	Championship Bonus	Consolation Bonus	Bonus Per Match
PSU	35	6	21	30	5	20	1	0.79
Ohio State	33	13	18	19	14	12	6	0.49
Oklahoma State	38	20	9	21	17	5	4	0.22
Iowa	34	13	13	20	14	8	5	0.37

Possibly the most impressive stat for the Nittany Lions is that they won 35 of 41 matches as a team. They won 85.4% of their matches in St. Louis. The recipe for Penn State national titles has been finalists, champions, and bonus points. This 2017 edition was almost a perfect mix for chef Sanderson.

Here's a little perspective of the bonus Penn State put up. NCAA Champion Dean Heil and 5th placer Kaid Brock combined for 31 total points. That includes bonus, placement, the whole shebang. So essentially PSU's bonus adds an additional NCAA champion and a 5th placers total points.