The great thing about the NCAA season is that, like no where else in wrestling, it provides a true 'season' in which we get to see most of the top wrestlers against each other. It enables us to follow the stories and create a sort of hierarchy. 

But due to scheduling, injuries, 'ducking,' etc., there are still premier bouts that never materialized. 

Here we outline a dozen matches (or situations) that we haven't had the opportunity to see before.

There are many others, of course. Be these are the ones we identified as the best, and with an eye on the brackets now that they are out. 

(#) = Seed   |   Full Brackets On Arena

#12 - 141: (2) Joey McKenna, Ohio State vs. (15) Kaid Brock, Oklahoma St.

Kaid hasn't quite been the same since moving up to 141 this year. But still, it's surprising that these two - with there trophy cases full of awards from the same events since they were little - have never hit. I'm certainly watching this one in Round 2. 

#11 - 174: (8) Taylor Lujan, N. Iowa vs. (9) Devin Skatzka, Minnesota

Lujan went 2-2 in his last two trips to the big show. And this year he seems to have moved up to a tier in which he'll be right in the thick of things for AA honors. 

A couple weeks ago, a Lujan-Skatzka match would have been a solid bout in my perspective. But that gets kicked up a notch after Skatzka's very good Big Ten tourney where he took 3rd, losing only to Mark Hall (4-2) and beating Labriola twice. He jumped in the rankings from #13 to #9. It should be one of the better Round 2 bouts.

#10 - 174: (3) Zahid Valencia, Arizona St. vs. (6) David McFadden, Virginia Tech

You're certainly taking the defending National Champ in this potential quarterfinal, but McFadden, who was 5th last year at 165, makes for a nice bout on Friday morning. 

#9 - 125: (4) Ronnie Bresser, Oregon St. vs. (5) Jack Mueller, Virginia

Both are great, yet both, with a combined for a total of one loss between them this year. Yet, they are tough to gauge in the 2018-19 season. 

Bresser was 7th last year, but has only wrestled three top 10 guys this season - Rivera (L), Russell (W), and Fleetwood (W). 

Mueller is undefeated, but he's only beaten two qualifiers - #15 Sean Fausz and #28 Dack Punke. 

It's certainly one of the most intriguing quarters and very difficult to pick the winner.

#8 - 125: (1) Sebastian Rivera, NW vs. (8) Vitali Arujau, Cornell and (2) Nick Piccininni, OK St.

Both Rivera and Picc have beaten returning National Champ Spencer Lee this year. But they've never met. And although it's a match I'm sure every wrestling fan would love to see, it's way down the line. As the #1 and #2 seeds, if we see it next weekend, it will likely be on Saturday night.

But there's another never-been-seen-before possibility for a Rivera - Arujau matchup, which could come in the quarters.

#7 - 149: (4) Brock Mauller, MIZZ vs. (13) Anthony Artalona, Penn and (5) Matt Kolodzik, Princeton

Mauller was in redshirt and didn't wrestle at CKLV. That limited how much data we got on the true freshman, who earned the #4 seed with with wins over Kaden Gfeller, Max Thomsen, and Josh Maruca.

His path will include another true freshman in Anthony Artalona, who was the EIWA Champ in Kolodzik's bracket. Get past that, and Mauller would have Kolodzik, who was ranked #1 earlier this season. 

#6 - 133: (4) Mickey Phillippi, Pitt vs. (13) Austin Gomez, Iowa St.

Another matchup we've never seen, and the styles couldn't be more different. Phillippi is a station-to-station wrestler that plays it close to the vest and often relies on counters. Gomez is a go big or go home freewheeler. 

I love this potential Round 2 bout.

#5 - 149: (2) Micah Jordan, Ohio St. vs. (7) Kaden Gfeller, OK St. and (3) Mitch Finesilver, Duke

At the right weight, and with the bracket devoid of Zain Retherford. Micah's last chance to get to a final and/or win a title.

With a loss to just one man this year (top-seeded Anthony Ashnault), he'll be a favorite in every match til the finals. But to get there, he'll have intriguing bouts against two guys he's never seen before - Gfeller and Finesilver.

#4 - 285: (6) Amarveer Dhesi, Oregon State vs. The Field

Dhesi was the highest returning placer from the 2018 NCAA Championships, losing only to Adam Coon and taking 3rd. In the offseason, there were murmurs that he might not come back for his final season, but he made his debut on January 3rd, where he promptly lost to true freshman Mason Parris.

At his best, Dhesi is a bonafide title threat. But how does he stack up against the field? On one hand, you could say that he might not have been in full form when he wrestled Parris. But there are just so many questions still.

Not a single wrestler that Dhesi faced in last year's NCAA tournament are in the bracket. Just five of the wrestlers he faced this year are qualifiers. And there are only three others that he wrestled in the 2018 season.

We know what Dhesi is when he's on top of his game, but we don't know if that's his current status.

#3 - 197: (3) Preston Weigel, Oklahoma St. vs. (4) Patrick Brucki, Princeton

There were many critics of the seeding here - more for the fact that one is seeded third and the other is fourth, but because being the three seed keeps Weigel on the opposite side of Bo Nickal - a reward some think Brucki earned.

This is undoubtedly the most intriguing bout of the weight class, but with them being on opposite sides, it would have to happen on the backside.

Weigel would - if seeds play out - have a semi with Kollin Moore, who majored him at the dance last year. Keep in mind, however, that Weigel was injured and a shell of himself.

#2 - 184: (2) Shakur Rasheed, Penn State vs. Most of the Field

Perhaps there's never been a #2 seed at NCAAs with so little data vs. the field. Shak went through the Southern Scuffle and hit exactly one national qualifier; the 10-seed Sammy Colbray. He then missed several duals with an injury before making the finals of the Big Ten's, where his best win was over the nine seed, Taylor Venz. He's wrestled just five of the qualifiers, with Cameron Caffey, Mason Reinhardt, and Andrew McNally being the others.

Eyeball test. Pedigree. An AA performance last year at 197. That's all there. But Shak vs. the field is largely new territory.

#1 - 165: (1) Alex Marinelli, Iowa vs. Most of His Path

One of the oddest situations in NCAA tournament history for an undefeated Big Ten Champ whose last match was one in which he barnstormed a 2x National Champ.

In addition to Marinelli's road being tough, he has the misfortune of never having felt most of the guys in his path, including two of which I feel are the most awesome of all possible matchups that have never happened.

He'll have Joe Smith of Oklahoma State in Round 1. Then Junior World Champ Mehki Lewis in quarters, before possibly hitting Chance Marsteller, the returning 4th place finisher.

If there was one single matchup that has never happened that I'd want to see, it would be Marinelli-Chance. And for that reason, Alex vs. his path is #1 on my list.