NWCA National Duals 2015: Schedule for Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals

Many of the best collegiate wrestlers in the United States will converge on Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend to determine the winner of the National Wrestling Coaches Association's National Duals.

The quarterfinals are officially set, and as seen in this Mat Mayhem bracket, courtesy of the NWCA's Twitter account, there are several intriguing matchups already in place:

On Feb. 21 starting at 1 p.m. ET, the eight remaining teams will do battle for a spot in the semifinals. Once that is decided, the semis will be contested on Feb. 21 as well beginning at 4 p.m. ET.

The semifinal winners will then meet in what promises to be a spectacular finals clash on Feb. 22 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

According to this graphic, courtesy of the National Registry for Wrestling, the semifinals and finals will be nationally televised live on the Big Ten Network:

There is little doubt that Mat Mayhem will feature elite-level competition, as the top five teams in the nation will all be part of the tournament, according to WIN Magazine on Twitter:

That includes a pair of undefeated teams in 15-0 Iowa and 21-0 Missouri. They are on opposite sides of the bracket, which means a battle between the top two teams in the nation is a very real possibility if things go as expected.

For the powerhouse Hawkeyes, this event is especially important due to the fact that they will have to defend their home gym.

Following Iowa's dominant 30-6 win over Virginia on Feb. 15, coach Tom Brands described the importance of hosting the NWCA National Duals, per Craig Sesker of TeamUSA.org.

"One week from now, a National Duals champion will be crowned," Brands said. "And we've got work to do in the next week. It's exciting to have the event here and it's exciting for our fans. It's our next event and we have to be ready to go."

Brands certainly has a point regarding the excitement of Iowa wrestling fans, as the event has yielded some strong ticket sales, according to Jordan Hansen of The Daily Iowan:

While the fact that highly touted teams such as Iowa, Missouri, Ohio State, Minnesota and Cornell are involved makes the National Duals special, it can be argued that the presence of unheralded squads like Lehigh, Illinois and especially Chattanooga is what this tournament is all about.

The Mocs enter this competition as absolutely massive underdogs against a Hawkeyes program that has 23 NCAA tournament championships to its credit. That type of David vs. Goliath matchup is what truly captivates the fans.

Iowa may ultimately romp past Chattanooga, but the minute possibility of an upset will have wrestling fans across the nation looking on with curiosity.

The NWCA National Duals will truly showcase wrestling at the highest level, and one team will separate itself from the pack ahead of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in March.

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