I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Part 3) - Mat Stats Ep. 56
About this episode
Episode 56 concludes a deep dive into the three-point takedown rule, analyzing its impact on scoring and competition in NCAA wrestling.
Episode 56 of The Mat Stats Show wraps up the three-part deep dive into the three-point takedown rule with Glenn Gormley, Kevin Hazard and Jason Bryant taking the research down to the round-by-round and weight-by-weight level. Using six NCAA Division I Championships worth of data before and after the rule change, the crew looks at how scoring changes as the tournament progresses, why early rounds heavily influence the numbers, and what the data says about parity across the bracket. One consistent trend: as the rounds advance, scoring, margin of victory, majors, techs and pins all decrease as the competition tightens. Episode 56 Slideshow: https://www.mattalkonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/sildeshow56.pdf The show also dives into how different weight classes compare statistically. Some long-held wrestling stereotypes take a hit, including the old “heavyweight is always 1-0 or a pin” mentality. The numbers actually show a moderate positive correlation between weight and margin of victory, along with more majors and tech falls in the upper weights than many fans might expect. The group also gets into statistical anomalies, including why 125 pounds was the only weight class to…
More episodes of The Mat Stats Show by the NWCA
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Mat Stats Show by the NWCA podcast page.