The Big Ten Championship is right around the corner, which is great news! But it also means I'm way behind schedule in writing this preview! So let's dispense with the preamble and get on with it already!

Watch the 2020 Big Ten Championships Live on Flo

March 7-8 | 10 AM & 11 AM Eastern

Heavyweight watchers were subjected to whiplash this season, as the returning champ, Anthony Cassar of Penn State, went down with an injury in December wrestling freestyle at Senior Nationals which ended his collegiate career. Nearly simultaneously to Cassar going down was the news that Gable Steveson would return to the Minnesota lineup and assume the role of NCAA title favorite. 

Though he placed third last season, the highest of anyone still in the field, Steveson still has a long way to go, with plenty of worthy contenders looking to derail his championship run.

Big Ten Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197

To get an idea of how much weight these Big Ten heavies have been throwing around this season, the graph below shows the number of projected tournament points as determined by the national rankings, broken down by conference.

The Big Tens started strong and got stronger, as Mason Parris proved to have jumped levels from his true freshman season last year. The conference got a bump from Steveson's return and for a couple of weeks had both Cassar and Steveson in the rankings. The projected points dipped when it was established that Cassar's NCAA career was lamentably finished. The weight class nationwide has remained remarkably stable ever since. 

Contenders

#1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota

#2 Mason Parris, Michigan

Although they have not wrestled each other this season, Steveson and Parris have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the conference. Tony Cassioppi beat the next highest returning All-American in the conference, Trent Hillger, and Steveson and Parris both beat Cassioppi in the last month of the regular season. Parris also beat Hillger, just to make the hierarchy even more clear.

Parris made this season's level jump explicit by way of his career series with Central Michigan's Matt Stencel. Stencel placed seventh at NCAAs last season, and held a 2-1 series lead against Parris going into this season. That series now stands at 4-2 in favor of Parris, as the Michigan man by way of Indiana has beaten his intra-state nemesis three straight times this year. 

You can watch Parris defeat Stencel at the Black Knight Invitational in the video below.

For evidence that Gable Steveson has not lost a step during his absence from the mat, look no further than his win over Tony Cassioppi, which was more dominant than the final score would imply. 

Neither Steveson nor Parris are pushing the upper weight limits of the division, relying more on speed, footwork, and athleticism to defeat their often larger opponents. Our own Mike Mal has made a case for Steveson winning a Big Ten title as well as one for Parris (that is Mike for you, ever the fair and balanced diplomat). It would be a major upset if anyone but those two made it to the finals in Piscataway.

Projected Seeds

Our own Daniel Lobdell took a crack at predicting all the Big Ten seeds, so let's cut and paste from this article and see what he came up with at 285.

1. Gable Steveson, Minnesota
2. Mason Parris, Michigan
3. Tony Cassioppi, Iowa
4. Trent Hillger, Wisconsin
5. David Jensen, Nebraska
6. Gary Traub, Ohio State
7. Seth Nevills, Penn State
8. Thomas Penola, Purdue
9. Luke Luffman, Illinois
10. Alex Esposito, Rutgers
11. Christian Rebotarro, Michigan State
12. Jake Kleimola, Indiana
13. Jack Heyob, Northwestern
14. Parker Robinson, Maryland

And thanks to our procrastination, we can also look at the Big Ten pre-seeds, which have been released. They are below. 

1. Mason Parris, Michigan
2. Gable Steveson, Minnesota
3. Tony Cassioppi, Iowa
4. Trent Hillger, Wisconsin
5. David Jensen, Nebraska
6. Gary Traub, Ohio State
7. Seth Nevillis, Penn State
8. Thomas Penola, Purdue
9. Luke Luffman, Illinois
10. Alex Esposito, Rutgers
11. Christian Rebottaro, Michigan State
12. Jake Kleimola, Indiana
13. Jack Heyob, Northwestern
14. Parker Robinson, Maryland

Wow, did Nomad blow it or what? Just kidding, he actually did extremely well, only flip-flopping Parris and Steveson at the top. Looks like the coaches are rewarding Parris for wrestling a full season.

The Big Ten will have seven automatic qualifiers at this weight class, so expect some fierce competition in the wrestlebacks for those final AQs. Winning in the bloodround won't be enough; you'll still need one more to punch your ticket without having to rely on an at-large bid. 

Sleepers and Landmines

Hillger and Cassioppi have separated themselves into the next tier below Gable and Mason. The smart money is for Big Tone to place third, beating the guy the Badger fans call Thor for the second time this season in the consolation finals. 

And then there is the best nickname in college wrestling, Gas Tank Gary. Traub wasn't expected to start this season, though he was pressed into service as the anchor of the Buckeye lineup when 2019 national qualifier Chase Singletary went down with a season-ending injury and has made the most of his opportunity. The Brobdingnagian Buckeye has been electrifying crowds ever since getting the chance, with his signature performance this year coming in the last dual of the season, when Traub beat conference rival Seth Nevills of Penn State in front of a sold-out Bryce Jordan Center crowd. 

Spey's Spredictions

1st: Gable Steveson, Minnesota

2nd: Mason Parris, Michigan

3rd: Tony Cassioppi, Iowa

4th: Trent Hillger, Wisconsin

5th: David Jensen, Nebraska

6th: Seth Nevills, Penn State

7th: Gary Traub, Ohio State

8th: Thomas Penola, Purdue

Mostly chalk. What can I say, years of professional prognostication have left me very risk-averse. And regardless of who wins, we will all be in for a treat if we get a Steveson Parris final, as they two have yet to meet this year. Steveson should be the favorite regardless of the seeds, but this is New Mason Parris, a guy who pinned Iran's Amir Zare for a UWW junior world gold medal over the summer. This is going to be a fun one. 

The other upset I'm picking is Seth Nevills over Gary Traub, reversing a result from the excellent dual meet earlier this season. That one is just a hunch, and should the Gas Tank prove me hilariously wrong, I won't hold it against him!