A different kind of bracket
For Mark Manning’s program, this year’s NCAA Championships come with real expectations.
Monday’s newsletter focused on basketball (and rightfully so). Nebraska’s men earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will face Troy on Thursday morning, while the women also punched their ticket and will play Richmond in the First Four on Wednesday evening.1
But Brandon hinted at something else in a footnote that deserved more attention: wrestling. While basketball fans fill out their brackets, Nebraska wrestling is preparing for a tournament that requires following 10 of them.
Ten weight classes. Ten potential paths. Ten chances to swing momentum.
And for Mark Manning’s program, this year’s NCAA Championships come with real expectations.
Nebraska finished third at the Big Ten Championships earlier this month and now heads to Cleveland with a full lineup. In fact, it’s the first time the Huskers have qualified all 10 wrestlers for nationals in a decade.
The seeds suggest Nebraska could finish near the top again. The program is projected fourth based on the bracket. Manning, however, made it clear on Monday afternoon that wrestling tournaments rarely follow projections.
“I think now we have a lot of basketball fans in Nebraska. Instead of following one bracket, we’re following 10 brackets,” Manning told the media. “And that’s what the NCAA wrestling tournament is like. ‘Oh, the No. 2 seed got upset (by) the No. 3 seed.’ It’s wild. That’s what we’re getting ready to experience Thursday, Friday, Saturday.”2
