It was a morning session full of some exciting moments of glory (like Marion's last-second comeback win over 5-seed Jimmy Kennedy or Gambrall's OT win over 4-seed Travis Rutt) and disappointing moments of failure (like St. John coming up just short against 3-seed David Taylor or Uncle Luke getting manhandled by 4-seed Dustin Kilgore or Ethen Lofthouse and Blake Rasing being bounced from the tournament). Because Iowa's had a few too many of those disappointing moments (and Penn State and Cornell haven't), Iowa finds itself on the outside looking in at the team title race. Their margin of error is basically nil -- they need to take care of business in their own matches... and it wouldn't hurt if some of their competitors started dropping matches, too.
The good news for Iowa is that they should be able to go into all three semifinal matches with some degree of confidence. McDonough has two wins over Precin, though they've been incredibly difficult wins. Marion had Russell on the ropes until a brain fart late in the third period gave Russell an opening. And Gambrall holds a win over Wright from earlier this year (albeit against a much different, weaker Wright). It won't be easy, but they can beat these guys -- they just need to go out and do it.
WRESTLING
VIDEO: ESPNU/ESPN3.com (free if you get it)
AUDIO: TheOpenMat (free), Hawkeye All-Access/KXIC (free)
LIVEBLOG: HawkCentral (Andy Hamilton)
LIVE BRACKET: Penn State Wrestling Club
Session IV
semifinals
125: (2) Matt McDonough vs. (3) Brandon Precin (jNW)
141: (5) Montell Marion vs. (1) Kellen Russell (Michigan)
184: (12) Grant Gambrall vs. (9) Quentin Wright (Penn State)
consolation rounds
133: (6) Tony Ramos vs. (5) Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra)
157: (6) Derek St. John vs. (UN) Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo)
165: (11) Aaron Janssen vs. (7) Shane Onufer (Wyoming)
197: (5) Luke Lofthouse vs. (11) Jerome Ward (Iowa State)
BASKETBALL
As far as hoops is concerned (all times CST):
5:50, Tulsa -- (1) Kansas vs. (16) Boston U. (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr) (TBS)
6:15, Charlotte -- (2) North Carolina vs. (15) Long Island (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg) (CBS)
6:20, Chicago -- (3) Purdue vs. (14) St. Peter’s (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel) (TNT)
6:27, Cleveland -- (6) Xavier vs. (11) Marquette (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore) (truTV)8:20, Tulsa -- (8) UNLV vs. (9) Illinois (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr) (TBS)
8:45, Charlotte -- (7) Washington vs. (10) Georgia (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg) (CBS)
8:50, Chicago -- (6) Georgetown vs. (11) Southern California (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel) (TNT)
8:57, Cleveland -- (3) Syracuse vs. (14) Indiana St. (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore) (truTV)
Session III Results
quarterfinals
125: (2) Matt McDonough MAJ DEC (11-0) (7) Ryan Mango (Stanford)
141: (5) Montell Marion DEC (8-7) (4) Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois)
157: (3) David Taylor DEC (6-3) (6) Derek St. John
184: (12) Grant Gambrall DEC (4-2 OT) (5) Travis Rutt (Wisconsin)
197: (4) Dustin Kilgore DEC (10-3) (5) Luke Lofthouse
consolation brackets
133: (6) Tony Ramos TECH FALL (21-4) Tyler Small (Kent State)
133: (6) Tony Ramos DEC (7-5 OT) David Thorn (Minnesota)
165: (11) Aaron Janssen TECH FALL (23-8) Justin Lister (Binghampton)
165: (11) Aaron Janssen DEC (6-2) (9) Justin Kerber (Cornell)
174: Hunter Meys (Boston) DEC (6-5) (9) Ethen Lofthouse
HWT: (4) Dominick Russo (Rutgers) DEC (8-6) (7) Blake Rasing
STANDINGS
1) Cornell -- 61 pts
2) Penn State -- 60.5 pts
3) Iowa -- 52 pts
4) American -- 49 pts
5) Oklahoma State -- 44.5 pts
6) Wisconsin -- 41 pts
7) Lehigh -- 37 pts
8) Arizona State/Boise State -- 35 pts
10) Minnesota -- 32 pts
Cornell: 4 in championship brackets, 1 in consolation brackets
Penn State: 4 in championship brackets, 3 in consolation brackets
Iowa: 3 in championship brackets, 4 in consolation brackets
American: 3 in championship brackets, 1 in consolation brackets