Let's be honest, every match at the NCAA Championships is going to be rad. But there are 160 matches in the first round alone (not counting the pigtails), and that's probably more than anyone but Ozymandias can watch at one time. So here are the most anticipated round one matchups this week in Cleveland.

125 Pounds

Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) vs. #6 Nick Piccininni (OK State) — Piotrowski is really tough. He might not be able to hang with Pich’s slickness though.  

RayVon Foley (Michigan State) vs. #1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) — Shakur Laney slowed Cruz down with his underhooks one year ago. Enter underhooking true freshman RayVon Foley.

133 Pounds

Chaz Tucker (Cornell) vs. #9 Dennis Gustafson, (Virginia Tech) — The super fundamental Tucker vs. the wild man Gustafson. Feels like we saw something similar at EIWAs.

Tariq Wilson (NC State) vs. #5 John Erneste (Missouri) — Two point factories. Wilson has had some really nice moments. Erneste is really, really tough on top. Wilson could give Erneste issues from neutral.

Jason Renteria (Nebraska) vs. #13 Bryan Lantry (Buffalo) — I think on paper Renteria is the favorite here. Don’t forget, however, Lantry had a great run last year at NCAAs.

141 Pounds

Ryan Diehl (Maryland) vs. #8 Nick Lee (Penn State) — Sure, Lee is probably better, but Diehl has his moments and has a few big moves in his arsenal. Not an ideal first match for the PSU true freshman.

Watch Diehl and Lee's match from a dual meet earlier this January:

Chad Red (Nebraska) vs. #7 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) — Zacherl was undefeated going into his conference final. He took a surprising loss to Evan Cheek there. Red has the skills to go on a run. Though this is an unranked vs. #7 matchup, it’s close to a coin-flip match to me. Red’s ability to counter Zacherl’s great leg attacks could be the difference.

Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) vs. #10 Mason Smith (Central Michigan) — Though Smith beat Thorn earlier this year, this is still not an ideal draw for a seeded guy. Thorn is a returning All-American with a win this year over #4 Joey McKenna. If Thorn gets in his NCAA groove, watch out.

149 Pounds

Jared Prince (Navy) vs. #2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) — OK, so there’s not much at 149. What is worth noting is that Prince has some huge pinning combinations. He should go to those early and often against Mr. Consistency, Brandon Sorensen.

Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma) vs. #8 Boo Lewallen (OK State) — Bedlam right away! These two had a tight one at Big 12s. Now they’ll do it again in R1 of NCAAs. Not a great draw for the eight seed.

Enjoy Bedlam at 157 pounds from last week's Big 12 Championships:

157 Pounds

Joe Velliquette (Penn) vs. #8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) — OK, you can call me a Flo homer on this one. Joe is the brother of Nick V, our marketing wizard, and Joe interned at Flo this summer. But seriously, Berger hasn’t been super inconsistent this year. Joe V is great on top. Berger’s the big favorite, but it’s tough to count out the ones we love.

Ian Brown (Lehigh) vs. #5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) — Well, Brown beat Pantaleo this year. So….

Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) vs. Joey Lavallee (Missouri) — Kennedy probably can’t put seven full minutes together here against someone as savvy as Lavallee. That said, I could see him snaking a TD or two and making it interesting. 

165 Pounds

DaWaylon Barnes (Oklahoma) vs. #13 Te’Shan Campbell (Ohio State) — Barnes is capable of taking out ranked wrestlers, and Campbell has been susceptible to wrestlers who can keep up with his pace and strength. It's a crucial early match for Ohio State, as every point will matter in the team race.    

Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) vs. #11 Isaiah White (Nebraska) — Zayzay White should take this one, but Romero is dangerous and mostly I just wanted to draw attention to Romero, a former Boise State wrestler who was forced to transfer after BSU President Bob Kustra shamefully and deceitfully canceled the program. 

174 Pounds

Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) vs. #15 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) — A rematch of the tight run Big Ten quarterfinal that Sebastian won 2-1. Lydy earned the seed, but Sebastian maintains a 3-1 career record over Lydy. 

Check out Sebastian and Lydy's match from last week's Big Ten Championships:

Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) vs. Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) — Two ACC rivals meet in the first round. Ramos is a fifth-year senior and All-American, and Bolen is a redshirt freshman. Both are ranked in the national top 20. They split their only two matches so far. The stakes are their highest yet for their rubber match.

184 Pounds

Keegan Moore (OK State) vs. #4 Pete Renda (NC State) — Moore and Renda had a real slobberknocker in Italy. Renda emerged victoriously, but it was closer than one would think. You can even ask Willie — he was there!

Watch these two go head-to-head in NCAA wrestling's very first Neapolitan Classic!

Chip Ness (North Carolina) vs. #10 Emery Parker (Illinois) — ACC vs. B1G. What is this, basketball? No, this is wrestling! A great wrestling match between two top 20 wrestlers!

Mitch Bowman (Iowa) vs. #15 Canten Marriott (Missouri) — Bowman had a great Big Ten tournament, stealing an NCAA bid after upsetting Nick Gravina. Marriott was the #1 seed at the MACs before getting upset and finishing third. Both are in the top 20. This should be a round of 32 war.

197 Pounds

Jake Smith (West Virginia) vs. #2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) — Smith is the immovable object and Darmstadt is the irresistible force. The seeds and rankings are all in Darmstadt’s favor. However, it’s freshman vs. senior and Smith appears to be peaking after an excellent Big 12 tournament.

Chris Weiler (Lehigh) vs. #10 Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) — The SoCon champ Boykin is ranked 14th nationally, but he’ll have his hands full with a real cement lugger in Weiler, who had #1-ranked Ben Darmstadt on the ropes for a good part of their match at the EIWAs. 

Daniel Chaid (North Carolina) vs. #12 Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) — Both these grinders have put together solid seasons and are separated by only three spots in the top 20 rankings. This is a toss-up, regardless of what the seeds say. 

285 Pounds

Conan Jennings (Northwestern) vs. #15 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) — Jennings rocketed up the rankings to #13 nationally thanks to his fifth-place finish at the Big Tens. Haines, meanwhile, dropped to #18 in the top 20 after losing to Billy Miller in the EWL Championships. This one could go either way. 

Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh) vs. #1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) — It’s Snyder’s last collegiate tournament. Do you really need another reason to tune into all of his matches?