CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 17 Illinois wrestling begins postseason competition with the 2020 Big Ten Championships at Rutgers on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. Fans can watch Sessions I-III with subscriptions to either BTN + or FloWrestling. The Session IV championship round will air exclusively on Big Ten Network.
Big Ten Championships Schedule and TV Information (All Times Central)
Sat., March 7 Session I- 9 a.m. BTN + / Flo
Sat., March 7 Session II- 5:30 p.m. BTN + / Flo
Sun., March 8 Session III- 11 a.m. BTN + / Flo
Sun., March 8 Session IV (Finals, third, fifth place)- 2:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
# - National Ranking
() - Big Ten Championships Pre-Seed
Quick Hits
*No. 17 Illinois finished the dual season with a record of 10-4 overall and a 6-3 mark in Big Ten duals.
*The Illini placed fourth in the Big Ten dual season standings with their 6-3 conference record.
*Illinois won its last dual of the season, 23-9, over Fresno State at Huff Hall on February 21.
*The Illini finished the regular season with a 6-1 record at Huff Hall.
*In the history of the Big Ten Championships, dating back to 1910, Illinois has the second most Big Ten team titles (17) and fourth most individual champions (76).
*Eight of Illinois' 10 competing wrestlers have top-10 pre-seeds in their respective weight classes for the 2020 Big Ten Championships.
*Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125) and senior Travis Piotrowski (133) have the highest Illini pre-seeds, with each as the fourth-seed in their weight class.
*Five Illinois wrestlers will compete at their first Big Ten Championships: Cardani, redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165), redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel (184), redshirt sophomore Matt Wroblewski (197) and freshman Luke Luffman (285).
*The Big Ten has 79 automatic qualifying bids for NCAA Championships up for the taking at this weekend's conference tournament.
*Illinois has two wrestlers ranked in the top-10 of the national RPI and 9 wrestlers ranked in the RPI total.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
No. 17 Illinois wrestling closed out the regular season with a 23-9 victory over Fresno State on February 21 at Huff Hall. The Illini were led by redshirt senior Eric Barone's upset win over No. 14 Jacob Wright in the 157-pound match, which was the first of five consecutive bouts won by the Illini in the dual. Illinois also saw wins from Justin Cardani (125), Travis Piotrowski (133), Danny Braunagel (165), redshirt senior Joey Gunther (174), Zac Braunagel (184) and Matt Wroblewski (197). The Illini close the 2019-20 dual schedule with a record of 10-4 overall, including 6-1 in duals at Huff Hall.
Piotrowski Power
Senior Travis Piotrowski pushed his record to 23-2 this season with a 6-4 decision victory against Fresno State's Lawrence Saenz at 133-pounds in the final bout of his career at Huff Hall. Piotrowski's 23 wins are his most in a season in his career. He finished the dual season undefeated at 14-0 across all dual bouts this season. Piotrowski heads into the conference tournament on a 12-match win streak.
Super Braunagel Bros.
Redshirt freshmen Danny Braunagel (165) and Zac Braunagel (184) were consistently strong for the Illini in their first dual campaigns. The twins totaled 71-combined dual points, with Danny tallying 36 points for second most on the team and Zac recording 35 points for the third most. Danny enters his first B1G Championships with an overall record this season of 20-6, and Zac heads in with a record of 18-8.
Latest RPI Rankings And Coaches Poll
The latest NCAA ratings percentage index (RPI) rankings and coaches' rankings were announced on February 27. The RPI is a calculation that considers a wrestler's winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent's opponent winning percentage (opponent's strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at a designated weight class are considered for the RPI, and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked in the RPI. Illinois has nine wrestlers ranked across the 10 weight-classes in the RPI rankings, with two wrestlers in the top-10 of their weight-class and five in the top-15.
Illinois And Illini Wrestlers In The National Rankings
The Illini rank at No. 17 in the latest InterMat Dual National Rankings. The Illinois lineup features four wrestlers ranked in the top-15 nationally. Here are the highest national rankings for each ranked Illini wrestler entering the weekend: No. 6 Travis Piotrowski (133, Coaches Poll), No. 12 Danny Braunagel (165, InterMat, Trackwrestling) No. 13 Joey Gunther (174, InterMat, WIN Magazine), No. 13 Zac Braunagel (184, InterMat, Coaches Poll), No. 18 Justin Cardani (125, Trackwrestling), No. 18 Dylan Duncan (141, InterMat), No. 27 Luke Luffman (OpenMat) and No. 32 Eric Barone (157, Coaches Poll).
Illinois Big Ten Championships History
The Fighting Illini continue to rank second all-time in team Big Ten titles with 17 behind Iowa's leading 35. The Illini also own 77 individual Big Ten titles, fourth-best in the conference. Last year at Big Ten Championships, the Illini finished 11th with 39.5 team points.
Illini Learn Big Ten Pre-Seeds
The Big Ten Conference announced preliminary seeds for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Monday afternoon. The pre-seeds are determined through voting by the conference's coaches, and rank 14 starters in all 10 weight classes. Eight of Illinois' 10 starters received top-10 seeds in their respective weight classes. Justin Cardani and Travis Piotrowski received the highest seeds of Illini wrestlers for the conference tournament, with each earning the No. 4 seed at 125-pounds and 133-pounds, respectively.
Redshirt junior Dylan Duncan (141), Danny Braunagel (165), Joey Gunther (174) and Zac Braunagel (184) each received a No. 7 seed in their respective weight classes. Eric Barone is seeded eighth at 157-pounds, and Luke Luffman is the nine-seed at 285-pounds.
NCAA Championships Bids On The Line At B1G Championships
The Big Ten Championships, as well as the other conference tournaments, serve as the primary way to qualify for NCAA Championships. Each conference is allocated a select amount of automatic qualifiers per weight class, with a wrestler automatically qualifying for nationals if they are to finish within their weight-classes bid allocation at their conference tournament.
The Big Ten received 79 automatic qualifying spots for this year's NCAA Championships across the 10 weight classes. The conference totals 25 more automatic bids than the next conference, the Big 12 Conference. With at least six automatic bids at every weight class, the Big Ten received 10 automatic bids at 149-pounds and 184-pounds, nine at 174-pounds and eight 125-pounds, 141-pounds and 165-pounds.
Up Next
NCAA Championships are up next for those that qualify. The national tournament will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. from Thursday, March 19 through Saturday, March 21.
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