Agreed. I also think murin is more likely to AA than not. Great tournament would be 5th place match. And if he somehow ends up on opposite side of yianni, murin could be a great dark horse pick for finals. While he struggles to finish takedowns against the top guys, he does keeps matches close and is relentless. Great attributes to have for a stellar NCAAs IMO.
Iowa vs Ohio St Match Notes
- Thread starter jmadden1998
- Start date
To beat Sasso (or anyone else in the quarterfinals on), Murin needs to wrestle all 7 minutes with the intensity he wrestled for the last 30 seconds of the Thomas match. He's got the skills but not the horsepower or speed to move tough opponents out of position when the opponent is fresh. If he shoots straight in, they power him down or quickly counter him. The faster Murin tires his opponent, the more opportunities he has to create an angle and score.
Sidebar: Don't know if anyone remembers Eric Ehlen from Belle Plain. He had better tech skills than Tom & Terry as true freshmen. I remember telling Gable, "This guy's gonna be great--he never gets out of position." But, like Murin, he lacked horsepower + speed, and he never quite got there. Murin can get there consistently if he can tire guys 2 min faster. My two cents.
You said it. Why guys at this level try straight ahead attacks with no setups is so confusing to me. Everybody knows you have to get an angle and yet we see some guys consistently taking straight ahead shots without a setup or angle. Why?
Great sidebar BTW😎
Nothing cooler than a straight on double - right to the back
You don't think Murin was pushing that entire match?
I remember watching and being super happy with max in like the 2nd period, you could tell he was staying in Yahya's face and looking for an opportunity without forcing the issue and taking a bad shot. I believe that is what set it up so Yahya gassed and was open to the late takedown in the 3rd.
Looked like he was wrestling like Freshman year Marinelli, didn't break contact with Yahya or let him breathe for a second the whole match.
When you have Kemdawg's speed and finishes that helps .
The difference is Kemdawg can do this to everyone. He is one of the strongest 174 lbers I have ever seen. Can straight up big brother everyone that's not from psu.
I see it coming down to one big scramble at some point and I just don’t see Murin coming out on top of it. Best bet is to bang on his head for 6 minutes, escape quickly, maybe get a stall call, and grind out a late scramble. Be a really big boost for Max’s confidence if he could get it done tonight!
Sasso likes to sit back and wait to counter shots and scramble (which he is very good at). I think Max needs to keep it 1-1 and hold on until the end or even in overtime to steal one against Sasso. As much as I hate that strategy, it is probably his best chance. Max keeps great position on his feet and could keep this close if he gets out on the bottom. Not likely, but would be a huge win for Max if he could find a way. Poor shots that result in scramble situations with Sasso won't end well more than likely for Murin.
Oh, the old stallrocci?
Where's the pride?!
I'd rather him go after sasso, try a lot of shots and figure out what he has in his arsenal (if anything) that works against Sasso. That's more beneficial for the future than beating him in this meaningless dual to me.
Then, if they meet in Nationals/BIGs, swallow your pride and try to gut out a win late if you have to, having a little extra info because you went after him during the dual.
Sasso is similar to Eierman. His defense is all his right side. You have to attack the left leg or both.
It's why Sorensen couldn't beat Retherford and also why Retherford was damn good. Couldn't create angles on him.
We also see an example of both in our freshman Ayala and Schriever...Schriever takes a lot of shots but tends to get stuck and can't finish quickly whereas Ayala really only had that problem against MInne.
Great scorers chain wrestle and look beyond their shot/or other guy's shot to chain wrestle for their scoring opportunities. A guy shoots in, a regular wrestler sprawls, maybe tries a go behind but is content to wait for a restart. The elite look at what the guy gives him, tries to cradle them up or otherwise put them in danger and will get the two or take them straight to their back if they don't belly out. Kemdawg is good at this. So were the Nolf's, Bo's etc. They create a pattern...that's why we see so many "easy" takedowns for those guys. Dudes belly out quick instead of wrestling through those positions for fear of getting stuck.
Last edited:
I totally get what you are saying and like I said, I hate the stall and steal strategy. It just gives Max the best chance of winning tonight. I agree with you that NCAA's or B10's are more important and would love to see him pull it off then, but there are no guarantees that they will meet up again later either. I'm greedy, I'd prefer Max wins any and all meetings!
