It's the most wonderful time of the year, the week of the NCAA Championships! You can check out all 10 glorious brackets here on FloArena. When you're done perusing the 33-man fields, scroll down to read our breakdown of the first three weight classes in our preview of the NCAA Championship lightweights. 

NCAA Draw Analysis: Penn State | Ohio State | Missouri | Michigan

125 Pounds

Darian Cruz will be looking to silence his doubters and defend his title this week in Cleveland, but standing in his way are three contenders that he didn't have to wrestle last year. Nathan Tomasello is back down from 133 pounds and looking to collect his second 125-pound title as well. And Nick Suriano, who, like Cruz, sports an undefeated regular season record, and is looking for redemption after an injury kept him out of 2017's tournament. Finally, Spencer Lee, the #3 seed, was in high school last year, which obviously kept him from participating last year in St. Louis. 

Astonishingly, 11 of this year's 16 seeded 125-pounders did not compete in the 125-pound tournament in 2017. If Cruz can maneuver through this beefed up bracket, it will go down as one of the most challenging title defenses in recent memory.

Spey’s Spredictions

1st: Nick Suriano (Rutgers)

2nd: Spencer Lee (Iowa)

3rd: Darian Cruz (Lehigh)

4th: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)

5th: Sean Fausz (North Carolina State)

6th: Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern)

7th: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)

8th: Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State)

R12: Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)

R12: Sean Russell (Edinboro)

R12: Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)

R12: Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)

Bracket Breakdown

There really is no way to fill out this bracket and not think something is wrong by the time you get to the placement rounds, but somebody has to finish fourth! It pained me not picking Cruz, Lee, or NaTo to win it all, and I would not be surprised in the slightest if one of them did. But I think Suriano was the best 125-pounder last year before his injury and I think he's the best 125-pounder this year. So I have him beating the defending champ in the semis and then taking out Lee, whom I think wins the rubber match against NaTo in the finals.

Elsewhere, I have Bresser pulling off a minor upset over the streaky Ethan Lizak on Thursday night. I also have Sebastian Rivera taking out Taylor LaMont in the same round. LaMont's missed some time this year and I like Rivera to win the battle of talented redshirt freshmen. 

Zeke Moisey was the toughest guy to pick to lose in the blood round. He's been improving steadily, avenging several losses he took earlier this season. But I'm sold on Rivera, whom I think defeats Moisey in the round of 12 and then pulls off another upset against Nick Piccininni in the consi quarters. 

This bracket really is wild though, and I found it impossible to avoid head-scratchers like All-American Ryan Millhof losing in the round of 16 when I put pen to paper. But with this much talent in one field, something has to give. 

Dark Horses

Conner Brown (South Dakota State)

Rayvon Foley (Michigan State)

Brown has spent most of the season on the top 20 bubble, but if he pulls off the upset over Luke Welch in round one, he'll have a believable path to the podium. True frosh RayVon Foley draws Darian Cruz in the first round and will in all likelihood then head to the consolation pigtail. His path to an All-American step will have to come the hard way, but I love his fearlessness and potential. Even if Foley falls short of a top eight finish, he's matches are a must-see. 

Watch Lee and Nato in an instant classic in the Big Ten semifinals:

133 Pounds

The highlight of the season at 133 pounds actually took place up at 141 pounds, when #1-ranked Seth Gross courageously bumped up a weight class to take on #1-ranked Bryce Meredith in a home dual in Brookings, South Dakota. Meredith prevailed, but that kind of challenge-seeking attitude is why I'm taking the Jackrabbit to win it all and feeling pretty solid about it.

Spey’s Spredictions

1st: Seth Gross (South Dakota State)

2nd: Stevan Micic (Michigan)

3rd: Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)

4th: Scott Parker (Lehigh)

5th: Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State)

6th: John Erneste (Missouri)

7th: Jack Mueller (Virginia)

8th: Dom Forys (Pittsburgh)

R12: Austin DeSanto (Drexel)

R12: Montorie Bridges (Wyoming)

R12: Josh Terao (American)

R12: Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech)

Bracket Breakdown

I see a lot of chalk in the championships rounds, except for when #7 seed Austin DeSanto faces off against his nemesis, #10 seed Jack Mueller, for the fourth time this year. Mueller blanked DeSanto twice at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, winning 4-0 and 7-0. DeSanto was actually beating Mueller a few weeks later at the Southern Scuffle before injury defaulting. I definitely think it's possible that DeSanto avenges those losses, but for now, I'm taking the guy that has the three wins against zero losses in head-to-head matches. 

That loss would set DeSanto up for a blood-round match with John Erneste, and I don't see Erneste dropping that one either, making DeSanto one of the more difficult picks I've made to finish in the round of 12.

Elsewhere, I think Scott Parker is wrestling the best he has all year. Parker recently won EIWAs over a very tough Chaz Tucker (who beat DeSanto in the semifinals of the same tournament), and I'm picking Parker to finish a couple slots above his seed. I also like senior Dom Forys to finally make it on to the podium after coming up short in three previous attempts. 

Dark Horses

Cam Kelly (Ohio)

Jason Renteria (Nebraska)

Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) 

Although just barely outside the top 20, Cam Kelly is quietly having an excellent junior campaign. As the lone Bobcat in the tournament, he'll be responsible for all the team points Ohio earns in its home state. 

Jason Renteria is your definition of a bracket buster. The true freshman has just 12 varsity matches to his name, but don't be surprised if he makes a deep run at the tournament. And Rico Montoya has beaten both #8 seed Montorie Bridges and #6 seed Scott Parker, so we know he's capable of beating All-American caliber wrestlers. 

Watch Gross and Meredith in the historic clash of #1s:

141 Pounds

While 125 pounds had four title contenders that I could see all winning a championship, 141 pounds goes six deep, with one of the most crowded top tiers of any weight class. The quarterfinals are going to be out of this world. Bryce Meredith, Jaydin Eierman, Yianni Diakomihalis, Joey McKenna, Dean Heil, and Kevin Jack have been trading blows all season, and how those six finish the season is one of the most intriguing storylines of the NCAAs. 

Spey’s Spredictions

1st: Bryce Meredith (Wyoming)

2nd: Jaydin Eierman (Missouri)

3rd: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell)

4th: Joey McKenna (Ohio State)

5th: Dean Heil (Oklahoma State)

6th: Kevin Jack (North Carolina State)

7th: Michael Carr (Illinois)

8th: Tyler Smith (Bucknell)

R12: Mason Smith (Central Michigan)

R12: Josh Alber (Northern Iowa)

R12: Brock Zacherl (Clarion)

R12: Nick Lee (Penn State)

Bracket Breakdown

I like Bryce Meredith's draw and think he beats Big Ten champ Joey McKenna to make the finals. I think McKenna stops Kevin Jack in the quarters as Jack is still shaking off a perplexing loss to Brent Moore in the ACC finals.

On the other side of the bracket, I think it's Yianni Diakomihalis and Jaydin Eierman in a rematch of their thrilling clash in South Florida. We're in for a treat no matter who wins, but I think Eierman once again pulls out a victory, although it's by no means a sure thing. Then in the finals, I think the senior Meredith goes out on top.

Dean Heil is gunning for his fourth All-American honor and third title but amazingly only has the #6 seed. I think he falls to the freshman phenom Diakomihalis in the quarters. Though the two have yet to wrestle each other, Yianni is too good of a scrambler and is just a bad matchup for Heil. I am picking Heil to win the fifth-place match and get redemption over Jack, who beat Heil in a dual meet in Italy. 

Picking Jack to finish sixth doesn't sit well with me, as he is also good enough to win a title, but there are just too many hammers in the 125-pound bracket and something has to give. 

Speaking of redemption, I'm picking Josh Alber to avenge a loss to Nick Lee in the round of 16. Lee was only winning by one point when he pinned Alber after a 50/50 upper-body lock position in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle. I think Alber gets the win this time. 

However, Alber will be denied in the blood round by Michael Carr, who has come on strong with a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Tournament and a convincing 10-6 victory over Lee in the semis of that tournament. I also have Tyler Smith, who was on an 18-match winning streak until he was beaten by Diakomihalis in the EIWA finals, upsetting Brock Zacherl in the blood round and making the podium.

Dark Horses 

Ryan Diehl (Maryland)

Brent Moore (Virginia Tech)

Evan Cheek (Cleveland State)

Ryan Diehl has beat All-American Tommy Thorn twice this season and is going to be a tough out for anyone. It's also a testament to the weight class that Thorn isn't even seeded this year. Brent Moore showed he's a threat when he beat Jack in the ACC finals. 

Last but not least, Evan Cheek is Cleveland State's sole qualifier, so look for him to show out in front of his hometown crowd. He stunned previously undefeated Brock Zacherl in the EWL finals, so he's proven himself capable of accomplishing a shocker. 

Watch Lee and Alber scrap in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle: