Penn State Bracket Breakdown | Oklahoma State Bracket Breakdown | Ranked Higher In College Than In High School | Updated Hodge Rankings

Off the heels of its Big Ten title, Ohio State heads to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis this week with some serious momentum. The Buckeyes have a team capable of winning a title, check out their draws and their most important bouts.

2017 NCAA Wrestling Brackets

125 - Jose Rodriguez

Rodriguez is a dangerous unseeded wrestler. His slump prohibited him from earning a seed, but he's been very competitive and earned wins over multiple elite guys. Rodriguez could potentially pull the upset right out of the gate against No. 11-seeded Josh Terao. Were Rodriguez to win, he'll likely get sent into the wrestlebacks by Ethan Lizak, who dominated him at Big Tens.

If Rodriguez beats Terao and loses to Lizak, he should have a solid draw to the round of 12, going through Gonser then maybe Dylan Peters. If Rodriguez falls to Terao, his run to All-American status will be difficult as he'll hit the Sean Fausz/Tim Lambert loser in the wrestlebacks.

133 - #1 Nathan Tomasello

NATO should have little issue dominating his way to the semis. The path of Korbin Myers, Kevin Devoy, and the Zane Richards/Scotty Parker winner will likely not give Tomasello much of a challenge.

Once in the semis, NATO will face two back-to-back major challenges. The semi of Cory Clark or Stevan Micic will likely be just as competitive as his finals opponent in Seth Gross, Kaid Brock, or Eric Montoya. The weight is very deep, so tough semis should come as no surprise. Ohio State needs NATO to win the title if it wants to compete with Penn State and Oklahoma State in this tournament.

141 - #12 Luke Pletcher

Pletcher should knock off Salvator Profaci in round one before falling to Anthony Ashnault in the second round. Once in the wrestlebacks, Pletcher will have some tough but winnable bouts against Christopher Carton, Javier Gasca, and then the Bryce Meredith/Kevin Jack loser. So if Pletcher wants to place, he'll need to at some point beat Ashnault, Meredith, or Jack.

149 - #4 Micah Jordan

Mick will go through Troy Heilmann and Alfred Bannister (whom Jordan had a competitive Ironman final with a few years back) to make the quarters. Then Jordan will have his coin-flip match against Brandon Sorensen. If Jordan wins, he'll get sent to the back side by Zain Retherford in the semis.

A quarterfinal win would give Jordan a much more favorable path to a high placement. If he were to down Sorensen, he would likely face Solomon Chishko (whom he's never lost to) and then the Lavion Mayes/Sorensen winner for third. Should Jordan lose in the quarter, his path looks like Laike Gardner (whom has beaten Jordan and always wrestles him tough) and then Mayes in the consolation semis.

165 - Cody Burcher

Burcher's draw is particularly difficult. He'll have Anthony Valencia right away. Then he'll face a very tough Yoanse Mejias in his first wrestleback match. Placement from Burcher seems highly unlikely.

174 - #3 Bo Jordan

Bo is set up pretty decently out of the three spot. Though Ryan Preisch isn't an ideal candidate for a quarterfinal, there are really no fun opponents at this point of the tournament in this weight.

A winnable semi against Brian Realbuto or Kyle Crutchmer will be waiting for Bo if he knocks of Preisch. Jordan is good enough to win this weight, but Big Tens showed he can be vulnerable (yes, I know he won) having been pushed by Devin Skatzka. If Jordan loses in the semi, he'll see Zach Epperly in all likelihood in the consolation semis.

184 - #6 Myles Martin

I'd be stunned to see Martin not make the quarters against Sammy Brooks. That's a problematic matchup, but despite Brooks' previous wins over Martin, it is winnable in my opinion for the reigning 174 NCAA champ.

Should he fall there, he'll likely see Nathan Jackson in the round of 12 then TJ Dudley in the consi quarters. Should he keep winning, he'll see Nolan Boyd or Zack Zavatsky in the consolation semis.

Martin is opposite of Gabe Dean, so that's one thing that is beneficial. As is the case for most 184s, the road to success here is paved with pain and excellent opponents.

197 - #3 Kollin Moore

Moore is another guy I think cruises to the quarter. Once there, Preston Weigel is no joke. He looked great at Big 12s and is wrestling the best we've ever seen him. Moore's tank and output will make it difficult, however.

Should Moore win there, he'll have a clearly winnable bout against Brett Pfarr. Despite Moore's lopsided win at Big Tens, I view this as a coin-flip match. So he could be in the finals, but the Weigel match means Moore could be in the round of 12. Regardless, I expect Moore to place in the top four this year given his progression and talent.

285 - #1 Kyle Snyder

I mean, cmon. Unless Abdulrashid Sadulaev is allowed to enter, nobody is challenging this guy.