The top wrestlers in the nation's strongest conference are set to battle for titles and NCAA bids at the 2018 Big Ten Championships in East Lansing, Michigan, this weekend.

The first session of the two-day tournament starts at 10 AM ET on Saturday, March 3. The pre-seeds can be found here.

We are running previews for every weight class, and today's focuses on the three upperweights at 184, 197 and 285lbs.  Tuesday's lightweight preview is available here and yesterday's middleweight preview is available here.

For each weight, we show the automatic qualifier allocations available for the NCAA tournament, as well as the pre-seeds. We finish each weight with predictions for the top four finishers.

WATCH THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT LIVE | SATURDAY, 10 AM EASTERN

184 Pounds: 8 Allocations

1. Bo Nickal, Penn State
2. Myles Martin, Ohio State
3. Dom Abounader, Michigan
4. Emery Parker, Illinois
5. Nick Gravina, Rutgers
6. Taylor Venz, Nebraska
7. Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin
8. Mitch Bowman, Iowa

One of the best rivalries in recent college wrestling history could be renewed this weekend with a Bo Nickal vs Myles Martin final. Nickal now holds a 5-2 lead in the series after majoring Martin in the dual. They have never met in the Big Ten finals, as Nickal pinned Martin in the 2016 semis at 174 and Martin winning 6-4 in the 184 semis a year ago.

Martin will of course have to get by Dom Abounader in the semis, as he has already done twice this year by an 8-4 score in the CKLV finals and 5-3 in the dual. As for Abounader, he has not wrestled Midlands finalist Emery Parker in college. That one could very well be the third place match, and will be huge for seeding purposes.

This was one of the easiest weights to seed, as Gravina beat Venz and Venz beat Robertson. However, I’m not sure I see it going the same way again.

Nomad’s Picks

1) Bo Nickal 2) Myles Martin 3) Emery Parker 4) Dom Abounader

WATCH THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT LIVE | SATURDAY, 10 AM EASTERN

197 Pounds: 6 Allocations

1. Kollin Moore, Ohio State
2. Shakur Rasheed, Penn State
3. Cash Wilcke, Iowa
4. Kevin Beazley, Michigan
5. Hunter Ritter, Wisconsin
6. Christian Brunner, Purdue
7. Zack Chakonis, Northwestern
8. Eric Schultz, Nebraska

Another weight that, on paper, is the Penn State vs Ohio State show at the top. But this weight has been so topsy-turvy, those six allocation spots could go any number of ways. 

I’m not sure how I fell about Wilcke as the three seed, but I do feel he is the third best guy. Beyond that, Beazley has the best track record as a former All American. However, he’s also to the likes of Eric Schultz and Hunter Ritter in conference, and out of conference to guys like Tom Lane and Jordan Atienza.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but I like Brunner to steal the fourth spot here. No one below Rasheed has a clean resume, and Brunner has been wrestling well over the last month.

As for the final, the last seven years have led me to believe that it is foolish to pick against Penn State guys when they have a legitimate shot in the finals. Which does sound a little odd considering Ohio State just beat them one year ago in the conference tournament, and that Haught has been and will continue to be my pick to win NCAAs. But with this small field, give me Rasheed.

Nomad's Picks

1) Shakur Rasheed 2) Kollin Moore 3) Cash Wilcke 4) Christian Brunner

285 Pounds: 7 Allocations

1. Adam Coon, Michigan
2. Kyle Snyder, Ohio State
3. Nick Nevills, Penn State
4. Sam Stoll, Iowa
5. Youssif Hemida, Maryland
6. Conan Jennings, Northwestern
7. Shawn Streck, Purdue
8. Rylee Streifel, Minnesota

The big one, literally. A rematch of the Olympic champ and one of the largest humans that's soon to be in space. That one will go one of two ways: Snyder finishes his leg attacks and wins, or Coon gets his bodylock and wins.

Moving down the line, there's a couple interesting quarterfinals. Sam Stoll and Youssif Hemida did not meet this year, and I think that one will be closer than last year when Stoll 15-4. Nick Nevills did not see Conan Jennings this year, but it was only 5-4 in the dual last year with Nevills having to win on riding time.

As our own Andrew Spey pointed out in his article explaining the Big Ten allocations, all seven of the qualifying allocations were earned by guys ranked in the Top-20. Which means it will be difficult for someone like a Rylee Streifel to "steal" a spot.

The seeds matched our Big Ten conference rankings, and Buckeye fans should be hoping that Snyder does not get a bye in the first round so he can get bonus points for the team race.

Nomad's Picks

1) Kyle Snyder 2) Adam Coon 3) Sam Stoll 4) Nick Nevills