Will go same way as Vega vs Mendez. I think SVN will not be as lonely at the top as last year. He will have Vega, Hansen. Will not be surprised if SVN doesnt come to the final.
2026 Crystal Ball
- Thread starter HopkinsPoke
- Start date
Van Ness hoping Vega redshirts.
You aren’t taking it well with full optics. Swiderski was the better Wrestler in that quarter. Van Ness won, but he shouldn’t have. OSU fans feel that for Casey…that’s mainly it. Well, and we love Vega! Love him!
But, he is still the dude at 49. He isn’t getting smashed by anyone, at anytime. Even though the title doesn’t run through him, it still runs through him. Part of the optics are he has lots of close matches and matches that show unreal scoring ability. Hes got some enigma of uncertainty on him. That’s all! He’s vulnerable by sight, and a few results, but not very many.
Of course I disagree about Swiderski being better that match but you're spot on about SVN. He gives up more TDs than the other top Penn State wrestlers but he's never out of a match.
Clearly you’ve got scoreboard in that argument.
But yes on the rest. He so dominant and so exposed. It’s a wild juxtaposition with him. He’s mentioned/considered in the top, yet has 20% of his matches in play until the end…and wins 95% of those.
Hes so fun to watch you get bored waiting to not be bored to watch.
I could 100% see SVN beating Vega. I don't think it is a lock by any means. I think the confidence comes from Vegas had a better year at a much, much harder weight.
I'm not underestimating SVN at all. He is a dawg and goes all out every time. But, he has 0 NCAA championships. With 3-3-2 finishes. I'm saying I wont be surprised if he doesnt make the finals. Its hardly underestimating him. His medium finish is 3rd across 3 NCAAs. If 149 finals is ranked Caleb 1, Vega 2, SVN 3. I see Vega taking him out in a tight battle. Just like he did Mendez.
But I will not bet my house on it before seeing how Vega wrestles at 149 since he wont have the same advantages he had at 141. He might see stronger , lengthier guys.
But I will not bet my house on it before seeing how Vega wrestles at 149 since he wont have the same advantages he had at 141. He might see stronger , lengthier guys.
Undefeated true freshman champs don't grow on trees. The confidence behind Vega is totally understandable. Plus Vega defeating a 2x returning champ.
Glory was talking about median, not average. The mode is 3 as well
Thanks lol, I was talking about Median in my mind while my hands typed mediumGlory was talking about median, not average. The mode is 3 as well
125: Spratley 5th behind Provo, Robinson McGowan, LL.
133: Jax 1st, then Davino, Ono, Seidel.
141: Jordyn Raney 6th. Has Bassett 1st and Blaze 3rd
149: Vega 3rd behind Henson and SVN
157: Robideau 1st, Kasak 3rd
165: Dee 5th
174: Facundo BR
184: Bennet BergeBR
197: Merrill 3rd behind Barr and Ferrari
HWT: Has Coby Merrill 6th and no one from OSU in the to 16
Updated today
That is terribly inaccurate. I see 10 Champs...
How I can be that far off shows how crazy others are!
Lots of opportunities I see for OSU to improve on the latest crystal ball.
Norman, Berge, Ross can all finish higher.
Norman, Berge, Ross can all finish higher.
You have nailed it. The only question is who will be our 10th champ ... Doucet or Ross?
Chase is going to kick some shins at the NCAA and get them both eligible for the tournament. 1 champ 1 runner up.
Nah, I mind my p’s and q’s at Wrestling events.
Now, I might not be above slipping some clear eyes into the water cooler in a certain teams locker room haha.
and another teams because I just don’t like them.
*j/k* my morals wouldn’t allow it.*
I also kind of feel Willie maxxed out PSU points. I dont see Cole Mirasola placing 3rd. If its maybe Connor, I see it a bit.
He maxed out everyone's points. He has teams setting the points record for first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh while tying the record at fifth.
I agree with that too. He said he increased the placement points which contributed to it. But he didnt give benefit of doubts to OSU like he did with PSU. For OSU he has no AA at 174 and 184. I dont see it. But this is why its fun to have it out. The discussions on it.
At April he had Vega 3rd behind Hansen and SVN. Which I disagreed that he is behind SVN. He changed that.
Agree, Cole didnt AA, Carroll AAed, he had Carroll at 8th and Cole 3rd. While Carroll beat Cole and finished higher. Doesnt make sense.
Shows how talented he his that he finished 8th.
The same Connor who got majored by Novak? Going up and winning a bigger and deeper weight class would be surprising to say the least
I'll admit Mirasola at 3rd is a 'max'.
but i cannot fathom why you think Berge or Norman is anything close to a lock for AA. you want to say they AA fine. they definitely can. I had Norman AA'ing two years ago in crystal ball (when he went 1-2, mind you).
but to say that it's weird i don't have them in is...weird.
kinda true. i admit that. however, outside of mirasola, who did i 'max' ?
they literally all placed that high previously. it's not a stretch in and of themselves. maybe against the odds for them to bat a 1.000, that's true.
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Norman went 1-2 at NCAA's. Berger is 2-4 in his last two NCAA's.
you can feel that they will AA this year, that's fine. i can also feel Mirasola does better than Carroll.
@WillieTheBrain Crystal Ball for us (to me) makes sense. I’ll take off my homer hat and agree that these are not bad predictions for us. They aren’t what I’d pick, but they are certainly defendable.
I do think you went a little sweet on PSU, but you’d have to considering you work with Basch.
*Berge/Norman are at deep weights and have historically underperformed in March.
*Hamiti DNP the year before his Title that had him besting TWO all-timers-when does the DT effect get some airtime as fact and not theory?
*you gave us a little room to tighten the thing up, which will be fun to talk about as we get closer to March.
*Ono love has gotten awkward. Is there a chance he’s terrific? Yup. Is there a chance he has some hiccups? Yup. If I’m unbiased, I’m not ranking Ono to podium until I see him Wrestle a folkstyle match. I’m confident my confidence in him will grow after that, but I need to see it.
*Mirasola take is awful, especially when defending the Berge/Norman stance. This one seems like Basch got to ya a tad? HWT isn’t the buzzsaw that 74/84 is though and it could actually happen as he is good.
My revised Crystal Ball team scores:
OSU 193
PSU 190
I do think you went a little sweet on PSU, but you’d have to considering you work with Basch.
*Berge/Norman are at deep weights and have historically underperformed in March.
*Hamiti DNP the year before his Title that had him besting TWO all-timers-when does the DT effect get some airtime as fact and not theory?
*you gave us a little room to tighten the thing up, which will be fun to talk about as we get closer to March.
*Ono love has gotten awkward. Is there a chance he’s terrific? Yup. Is there a chance he has some hiccups? Yup. If I’m unbiased, I’m not ranking Ono to podium until I see him Wrestle a folkstyle match. I’m confident my confidence in him will grow after that, but I need to see it.
*Mirasola take is awful, especially when defending the Berge/Norman stance. This one seems like Basch got to ya a tad? HWT isn’t the buzzsaw that 74/84 is though and it could actually happen as he is good.
My revised Crystal Ball team scores:
OSU 193
PSU 190
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saying Basch influenced my picks is silly and insulting lol
That weight cleared out something fierce and Cole is still building into a hwt and super young for his grade.
but fine, move Cole to 6th to 8th if that floats your boat. it's very realistic, i agree.
you comments on Ono (gotta see it first) is precisely my thoughts on Lorenzo Norman. we haven't seen him in a year when (i had him AAing in Crystal Ball) and he went 3-5 to end the year. I gotta see it first. and i won't, in the least, be surprised if he is that dude. But i'm also not projecting him high in August simply so a certain fan base feels better.
Stilly Boys has a video with Norman being the focus. He wrestles with Caldwell and Merrill mostly. He is compared some to DJ.
yes. that's fine. trust me, no one on this board has followed Lorenzo Norman more than me.
i can't go off good reports from the room. i need to see it. he's always had all the potential.
i can't go off good reports from the room. i need to see it. he's always had all the potential.
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