The setting was different, but the results weren't. Just two weeks after Iowa fell to fourth place at the Big Ten Tournament, the Hawkeyes stumbled to a fifth place finish at this weekend's NCAA Tournament. It was Iowa's lowest finish at the national tournament since a fifth-place finish in 2016.

Iowa's team point total of 67 was its smallest since scoring just 57 points in 2007, head coach Tom Brands' first season in charge. That meager point total was further emphasized by the 105.5-point gap between Iowa and national champion Penn State. The Nittany Lions finished with 172.5 points, setting a new team points record at the NCAA Tournament and breaking the previous record of 170.0 points, set by Iowa at the 1997 NCAA Tournament.

To be clear, Penn State didn't just finish in a different solar system from Iowa at this tournament -- the Nittany Lions were in a different galaxy than the rest of the college wrestling world. Cornell finished as runners-up this year with 72.5 points -- a full 100 points behind Penn State. That stupefying margin of victory also set a new NCAA Tournament record, shattering the previous record of 73.25 set by Iowa at the 1986 NCAA Tournament.

TEAM SCORES

1) 172.5 -- Penn State
2) 72.5 -- Cornell
3) 71.0 -- Michigan
4) 68.5 -- Iowa State
5) 67.0 -- Iowa

Iowa finished the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Tournament with only four All-Americans (Drake Ayala at 125, Real Woods at 141, Jared Franek at 157, and Mike Caliendo at 165), the fewest All-Americans the Hawkeyes have had since 2013, when they also had just four All-Americans. It was the second-lowest total of the Tom Brands Era at Iowa, ahead of only 2007, when Iowa had three All-Americans.

To address the elephant in the room that's impacted this entire season for Iowa: yes, the gambling suspensions did have an impact. But that impact was the difference between Iowa finishing fifth and finishing second -- not the difference in Iowa being able to mount a credible challenge to Penn State.

An Iowa lineup with Tony Cassioppi, Nelson Brands, and Abe Assad would certainly have been able to score six more points (Cassioppi alone averaged 7.7 points per year in his previous three trips to the NCAA Tournament), which would have been enough to put the Hawkeyes into second place. Their presence would not have closed a 105.5-point gap, though.

After the tournament, Tom Brands was loathe to analyze the team's disappointing results just yet, saying things were "too raw" at the moment.

Iowa's streak of placing at least one wrestler in the NCAA Tournament finals continued for a 34th straight year, with Drake Ayala advancing to the 125 lb final on Saturday night after making it through the bottom half of the bracket on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately, Ayala dropped a 7-2 decision to Richard Figueroa, the 8-seed out of Arizona State.

After a scoreless first period, Figueroa got a quick escape to start the second period and open up a 1-0 lead. He added to that lead with a takedown on the edge of the mat in the final seconds of the period. Iowa challenged the takedown decision, but the call was upheld.

Ayala got an escape to start the third period and needed only a takedown (and rideout) to tie the match. He wasn't able to get to Figueroa's legs and finish an attack, though, and ultimately gave up another takedown in the final seconds of the match off a counter-attack/scramble situation from Figueroa.

It was a bitterly disappointing end, though not a particularly surprising one. While Iowa wrestlers have been good enough to maintain the finals appearance streak, success in the finals has been more elusive. Over the last 10 competitive seasons (not counting 2020, when the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19), Iowa is just 5-9 in NCAA finals appearances, with three of those five wins coming from the incomparable Spencer Lee.

The relative scarcity of those finals appearances is its own problem. Iowa has had just 14 total finalists in the past 10 seasons; by comparison, Penn State has had 16 in the past three seasons combined. Just twice in the past 10 competitive seasons has Iowa had more than one finalist in a given season; the Hawkeyes had three finalists in both 2016 and 2021.

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R1: W, MAJ DEC (10-2) #30 Eli Griffin (Cal Baptist)
R2: W, TECH FALL (19-4) #14 Nico Provo (Stanford)
QF: W, DEC (4-1 SV) #6 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State)
SF: W, DEC (3-2) #10 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin)
FIN: L, DEC (7-2) #8 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State)

Though it ended in disappointment on Saturday night, Ayala still had the best NCAA Tournament of any Iowa wrestler. He won his first four matches in Kansas City, looking dominant on Thursday in a pair of bonus point wins before finding ways to grind out tight wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday.

In Saturday night's final, Ayala was the more active wrestler by far, pushing the pace and stalking the mat. But that activity didn't result in many point-scoring opportunities; Ayala created a lot of half-chances, but few really strong attacks. That's something Ayala will need to work on ahead of next season in order to take the next step and become a Big Ten and NCAA champion.

R1: W, MAJ DEC (12-4) #18 Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State)
R2: L, DEC (8-3) (2) #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh)
CON: W, MAJ DEC (14-6) #17 Braxon Brown (Maryland)
CON: W, DEC (3-1 OT) #25 Braden Basile (Army)
CON: L, DEC (6-3) #4 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)

Teske's final NCAA Tournament was bittersweet, as he had a few good wins, but also came up one match short of making the podium and becoming an All-American. Teske opened his NCAA Tournament with a major decision win before losing 8-3 to 2-seed Ryan Crookham on Thursday night. He bounced back with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket on Friday, before falling to 4-seed Dylan Shawver in the blood round on Friday night.

R1: W, TECH FALL (15-0) #30 Kai Owen (Columbia)
R2: W, MAJ DEC (8-0) #14 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State)
QF: L, DEC (7-1) #6 Lachlan McNeil (UNC)
CON: W, DEC (5-2) #7 Cael Happel (UNI)
CON: W, MAJ DEC (11-2) #27 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota)
CON: W, DEC (4-0) #5 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State)
CON: L, DEC (7-6) #9 Brock Hardy (Nebraska)

After losing in the NCAA Tournament final last season, Woods was hoping to go one step further and win that elusive NCAA championship, especially with last year's champion, Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez, choosing to redshirt this season. Unfortunately, Woods lost twice at this year's tournament, first in the quarterfinals to UNC's Lachlan McNeil and then again in the 3rd-place match to longtime rival Brock Hardy of Nebraska.

Woods looked dominant early this year, winning his first two matches by a combined score of 23-0. But much like Ayala's finals loss, Woods' quarterfinal loss was high on activity, but short on good attacks. That kept the match close and enabled McNeil to get a victory with a takedown (and near fall points) out of a scramble in the final seconds.

In the consolation bracket, Woods rebounded with a pair of wins on Friday night and another on Saturday morning to get into the 3rd-place match before falling to Hardy 7-6. There was a recurring trend in Woods' matches all season: if he got out to an early lead, he was effectively unbeatable, but if he gave up the first takedown instead, he struggled to come from behind. That trend played out at the NCAA Tournament as well, with Woods being unable to open leads on McNeil or Hardy and losing in the end.

R1: L, DEC (12-5) #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma State)
CON: W, INJ DEF #29 Alek Martin (South Dakota State)
CON: L, DEC (7-2) #14 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State)

Caleb Rathjen was the first Iowa wrestler eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, but he was not the only one who had a short stay in the event. He was one of three Iowa wrestlers who lost in the first round, dropping a 12-5 decision to Oklahoma State's Jordan Williams. He picked up a win via injury default in his first consolation match, but fell 7-2 to Ohio State's Dylan D'Emilio in his second conso bout.

R1: W, DEC (3-2 OT) #23 Joey Blaze (Purdue)
R2: W, DEC (4-3) #7 Peyten Kellar (Ohio)
QF: L, DEC (5-2) #2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
CON: W, DEC (4-2) #5 Ryder Downey (UNI)
CON: L, MAJ DEC (11-2) #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)
CON: L, MAJ DC (11-2) #8 Peyton Robb (Nebraska)

The good news: Franek finished better than his seed (10) and earned All-America honors (finishing 8th) for the second straight season.

The bad news: Franek wasn't able to match his finish from last year (4th) and was blown out in his final two matches, both 11-2 major decision defeats.

Minus the blowout losses at the end, this tournament was kind of a microcosm of Jared Franek's season at Iowa in 2023-24: lots of close matches, several narrow wins, and a few tight losses. Franek avoided disaster in his opening match by eking out a victory with a tiebreaker point and won three of his first four bouts, all by two points or less.

His only loss in that stretch was a 5-2 loss to Arizona State's Jacori Teemer in the quarterfinals, a match also decided by a single takedown. When you wrestle almost every match with those same razor-thin margins, eventually you'll get burnt.

R1: W, MAJ DEC (11-2) #27 Blaine Brenner (Minnesota)
R2: W, TECH FALL (26-10) #22 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell)
QF: W, DEC (9-4) #3 Julian Ramirez (Cornell)
SF: L, MAJ DEC (17-9) #2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State)
CON: W, DEC (9-8) #7 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State)
CON: L, DEC (12-8) #1 Keegan O'Toole Missouri)

Mike Caliendo made the podium last season in 7th place as a freshman at North Dakota State; he improved on that with a 4th place finish in his first season at Iowa this year. Caliendo had one of the best NCAA tournaments of any Iowa wrestler, making it to the Friday night semifinals and finishing with a chance to wrestle for 3rd in the end.

Caliendo poured on the offense in his first two bouts, including an impressive takedown clinic technical fall win over 22-seed Noah Mulvaney in the second round. Caliendo out-wrestled 3-seed Julian Ramirez in the quarterfinal as well, picking up a very strong win in the process.

The gap between Caliendo and Big Ten champion (and NCAA runner-up) Mitchell Mesenbrink is still significant and that's something Caliendo will need to continue to try to close next season. He did well against Mesenbrink in the first period of their semifinal match, but couldn't withstand Mesenbrink's relentless offensive pressure, which allowed the PSU wrestler to break the match open in the second and third periods.

Caliendo did rebound from that loss with a narrow 9-8 win over Oklahoma State's Izzak Olejnik in the consolation bracket, which again showed some impressive offense from Caliendo. He drew a brutal opponent in the 3rd-place match -- two-time defending NCAA champion Keegan O'Toole -- but Caliendo held his own fairly well, fighting back after an early deficit to score on O'Toole and give himself a chance in the match.

For most of the season, the book on Caliendo was that he could dominate the lower-ranked guys at 165 but was unable to beat (or compete with) the top-ranked guys at the weight. At NCAAs, Caliendo continued to dominate lower-ranked opponents, but showed more ability to compete with the top-ranked guys -- and even beat them in the case of Ramirez. That's a very positive sign as he prepares for his junior season next year.

R1: L, DEC (9-6) #21 Tyler Eischens (North Carolina)
CON: W, TECH FALL (18-3) #5 Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard)
CON: W, DEC (5-3) #11 Austin Murphy (Campbell)
CON: W, DEC (5-2) #19 Alex Cramer (Central Michigan)
CON: L, DEC (8-4) #1 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)

Podium finishes at the NCAA Tournament continue to elude Patrick Kennedy. Last year Kennedy went 2-2 and fell short of an All-America finish. This season Kennedy's NCAA Tournament started on a terrible note, losing 9-6 in his opening match, but he rebounded to win three matches in a row to make the round of 12 and earn a shot at securing All-America honors. Unfortunately, Kennedy fell short in that match, losing 8-4 to Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis in a match that Kennedy led 4-2 entering the third period.

In his win, Kennedy blew out Harvard's Phillip Conigliaro and was able to grind out wins over Campbell's Austin Murphy and Central Michigan's Alex Cramer. Kennedy responded well after the disappointment of losing in the first round and put himself on the cusp of getting on the podium.

On the other hand, suffering an upset loss in the first round put him in the difficult position of needing to fight from behind for the rest of the tournament. Against Lewis, Kennedy controlled the first two periods well, but couldn't defend a takedown by Lewis in the third (he also gave up a second takedown in the final moments of the match while scrambling for a takedown of his own).

Overall, some good and some bad from Kennedy in his second trip to the NCAA Tournament.

R1: L, DEC (4-1 SV) #26 Andy Smith (Virginia Tech)
CON: W, MAJ DEC (16-6) #23 Luke Geog (Ohio State)
CON: L, DEC (4-1 SV) #9 Stephen Little (Little Rock)

Glazier had his worst weekend of the season at the worst possible time to do so. Glazier entered the NCAA Tournament having only lost twice all season, to Penn State's top-seeded Aaron Brooks in the dual meet and again in the Big Ten Tournament finals. He'd looked strong in all of his other wins this season, though, and looked a good bet to contend for All-America honors at 197.

Instead, his tournament got off to a disastrous start with an upset loss to 26-seed Andy Smith of Virginia Tech. That sent Glazier tumbling down into the consolation bracket, reduced his margin of error to zero, and required him to win four straight matches in order to become an All-American. He won just one, rolling over 23-seed Luke Geog via major decision before losing to Little Rock's Stephen Little in his second consolation match.

Both losses followed a similar template: 1-1 after regulation and losing on a takedown in sudden victory. Glazier was successful this season because he was able to get to his offense early in matches and score points and build leads. His attacks looked tentative in both matches that he lost and he struggled to get in deep on the legs of Smith or Little and give himself good opportunities to score. Ultimately, that led to a bitterly disappointing 1-2 outing at the NCAA Tournament for Glazier.

R1: W, DEC (4-2) #8 Owen Trephan (NC State)
R2: L, MAJ DEC (11-2) #9 Nick Feldman (Ohio State)
CON: L, MAJ DEC (11-2) #26 Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech)

Hill's tournament started well, with a strong upset win over 8-seed Owen Trephan of NC State. It was downhill after that, though, as Hill lost via back-to-back major decisions to Ohio State's Nick Feldman and Virginia Tech's Hunter Catka. The loss to Feldman (the 9-seed) was not unexpected, but suffering a major decision loss to Catka (the 26-seed) in the consolation bracket was a disappointing way for Hill's season to end.