Bonus Points at Big Tens

University Park, CENTRE COUNTY - They're the two-time defending champs, have all 10 wrestlers in the lineup pre-seeded and lead the Big Ten with three top seeds.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are considered the favorite to win this weekend's Big Ten tournament.

But once again, the conference is balanced and deep - six teams are ranked in Intermat's top 15.

A three-peat could come down to picking up the most bonus points over the two-day competition.

That fits the Nitany Lions aggressive style just fine.

"From top to bottom we have guys who are going out to score bonus points," two-time Big Ten champion David Taylor says. "It's almost in some instances if guys are going out and they only win by seven, they're upset with themselves. Where on other teams guys that win by three or four are content. No one on our team is content to win by three or four points."

The other key, in Penn State's eyes, is fighting back in the face of adversity.

Taking first-place in every weight class is unrealistic.

But once wrestlers fall into the consolation bracket, the competition has just begun.

"They don't get a win every time," head coach Cael Sanderson says. "And if you don't, we need guys to come back and take third place. Those are the guys that really win the championship for you."

The Big Ten tournament starts Saturday morning at the University of Illinois. Finals are scheduled for Sunday afternoon.