WIN’s Jan. 27 rankings feature this week’s meeting between top-ranked teams and wrestlers

Photo: Iowa’s Alex Marinelli (right) tried to secure a takedown against Penn State’s Vincenzo Joseph in last year’s Big Ten Championship final at 165 pounds, which the Hawkeye won in Minneapolis. The two are expected to be one of two meetings between top-ranked wrestlers this Friday in Iowa City, where No. 1 Iowa will host No. 2 Penn State. (WIN file photo)

NEWTON, Iowa — The much-anticipated and sold-out meeting between Iowa and Penn State is set for this Friday, Jan. 31, in Iowa City, and the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions remain rated No. 1 and 2, respectively, in WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic.

Iowa (8-0) leads in WIN’s Dual Team Rankings and continues to feature 10 ranked wrestlers, all rated in the Top 8 of their weight class and leads WIN’s Tournament Power Index with 128.5 points. Penn State (7-1), the defending national champion, is ranked No. 2 in the Dual rankings and currently features seven ranked wrestlers for 81.5 TPI points.

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The upcoming dual will also feature two meetings between top-rated wrestlers when Penn State’s No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph will take on Iowa’s No. 2 Alex Marinelli at 165 pounds, while PSU’s No. 1 Mark Hall will face Iowa’s No. 2 Michael Kemerer at 174 pounds.

Iowa’s only top-ranked wrestler is Spencer Lee at 125 pounds, while Penn State features another No. 1-rated wrestler in Nick Lee at 141 pounds.

The biggest change among the individual rankings comes at 149 pounds, where Oklahoma State’s Boo Lewallen is now rated No. 1 after Iowa’s Pat Lugo lost to Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso last weekend. The Hawkeye dropped to No. 2 and is followed by North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor.

The other top-ranked individuals remain Wisconsin’s Seth Gross (133), Arizona State’s Zahid Valencia (184), Ohio State’s Kollin Moore (197) and Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson.

WIN’s individual rankings are predictions to where wrestles might place at the 2020 NCAA Championships, March 19-21, in Minneapolis, Minn., and WIN’s Tournament Power Index is a prediction of accumulated NCAA points of those ranked wrestlers.

WIN’s TPI point totals are broken down by the following individual rankings: 1st – 20 (16 AA points + 4 advancement points); 2nd – 16 (12+4); 3rd – 13.5 (10+3.5); 4th – 12.5 (9+3.5); 5th – 10 (7+3); 6th – 9 (6+3); 7th – 6.5 (4+2.5); 8th – 5.5 (3+2.5). Additional points for other rankings include: 9th/12th – 2; 13th/16th – 1.5; 17th-20th – 1. TPI points will be lower than the final actual NCAA tournament points because it does not include bonus points.

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27, 2020 Dual Team Rankings

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27 Tournament Power Index

WIN Magazine’s Jan. 27, 2020 Individual Rankings

125 pounds

133 pounds                                               

141 pounds

149 pounds           

157 pounds           

165 pounds                                               

174 pounds

184 pounds                                   

197 pounds

Heavyweight