Will Iowa win the national championship in wrestling? The answer can be both a guess and a bet as of Wednesday afternoon. Odds for this week’s NCAA Wrestling National Championships are on the menu at one of Iowa’s 18 sportsbooks in Iowa.
Circa Sports got the odds up with less than 24 hours before wrestlers take the mat Thursday in Detroit.
Mike Palm, the Vice President of Operations for Circa, already helped his sportsbook app set some wrestling odds this season, including the No. 1 vs. No. 2 Penn State at Iowa showdown.
Odds to win the 2022 NCAA wrestling national championships
Circa Sports as of Wednesday night:
- Penn State: -260
- Iowa: +453
- Michigan: +475
- The field: +10000
Will they win the national championship (Yes/No)?
- Penn State: Yes -260 and No +220
- Iowa: Yes +453 and No -583
- Michigan: Yes +475 and No -620
Michigan vs. Iowa — higher team score?
- Michigan -105
- Iowa -115
Iowa State total team score
- Over/under is 33 points.
Northern Iowa total team score
- Over/under is 22 points.
NCAA wrestling odds are still rare
Trent Condon of KXnO gave Palm the idea of bringing bets to Circa and the wrestling-crazed Hawkeye State. Palm recalled his conversation with the Des Moines sports station host:
“He said, ‘You know, it’s one versus two. I know you guys haven’t booked wrestling before, but would you put it up?’ So we said, ‘Sure, what number are we going to make on the match?’ We really hadn’t booked any college wrestling matches before and there was a lot of debate on how big of a favorite Penn State should be.”
Since then, Circa has floated wrestling odds for Iowa State, the Penn State-Wisconsin dual and the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament. As for that 1 vs. 2 dual, Penn State picked up a 19-13 win.
Circa won too. Palm said the offering drew wagers in the “five figures” range. He called the amount “very encouraging for our first-time effort on something”:
“Obviously, there’s a market there in Iowa, I understand that. I grew up in the Dan Gable era when they were winning every national championship. I explained to some of our guys in the risk room here — I said: You know, Iowans are more passionate about wrestling than football even, if you can imagine that. Yeah, I certainly think we want to develop that market as we move forward.”
How to watch the NCAA Wrestling National Championships
Men’s March Madness, Women’s March Madness and the NCAA Wrestling National Championships all crash into each other over the next four days. ESPN platforms weave in 19 hours of wrestling from Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.
- 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday — First Round coverage on ESPNU
- 6-9:30 p.m. Thursday — Second Round coverage on ESPN
- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday — Quarterfinals on ESPNU
- 7-10 p.m. Friday — Semifinals on ESPN
- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday — Medal Round on ESPNU
- 6-9 p.m. Saturday — Championship matches on ESPN
The ESPN3 free streaming platform and ESPN app carry a multi-box “Matcast” with feeds from eight mats through the quarterfinals. The number of mats goes down to six for the semifinals and four in the medal round.
Viewers can stream the command center and trophy ceremony Saturday night on ESPN3 as well. ESPN has carried the NCAA wrestling championships since 1980.
The network announced that former UFC heavyweight champion and NCAA wrestling All-American Daniel Cormier is one of the analysts.
