If there was ever a year to go with chalk picks for the NCAA wrestling tournament, this is it.

Who can beat Kyle Snyder? Or Gabe Dean? Or Zain Retherford? Or Jason Nolf? Or any of the 10 unbeaten No. 1 seeds, for that matter? In fact, for what appears to be the first time in the modern era of college wrestling, every weight class has an undefeated standout going for an NCAA title.

All that being said, expect some drama, with three top seeds getting toppled. Here are our predictions for the top eight finishers for all 10 weight classes, plus a team title prediction.

125 pounds

Despite this advantageous-looking position, Iowa's Thomas Gilman ultimately lost to Penn State's Nico Megaludis in last year's 125-pound finals. The Hawkeye enters the 2017 NCAA wrestling championships as the weight class favorite. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

Iowa's Thomas Gilman lost 6-3 to Penn State's Nico Megaludis in last year's 125-pound finals, but he should avenge that runner-up finish here in St. Louis, Missouri, and end 2017 undefeated.

Date Time (ET) Channel Thursday

March 16 Noon ESPNU March 16 7 p.m. ESPN Friday

March 17 11 a.m. ESPNU March 17 8 p.m. ESPN Saturday

March 18 11 a.m. ESPNU March 18 8 p.m. ESPN

1. Gilman, Iowa

2. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech

3. Ethan Lizak, Minnesota

4. Nick Piccininni, Oklahoma State

5. Darian Cruz, Lehigh

6. Tim Lambert, Nebraska

7. Josh Terao, American

8. Sean Fausz, NC State

133 pounds

This weight class ought to be fun. After winning the national title in 2015, Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello finished third at 125 pounds last year. He moved up for 2017 and has run the table thus far. Any one of the top five or so guys could ultimately win this weight, but look for Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock to knock off the Buckeye in the final.

1. Brock, Oklahoma State

2. Tomasello, Ohio State

3. Stevan Micic, Michigan

4. Seth Gross, South Dakota State

5. Cory Clark, Iowa

6. Dom Forys, Pittsburgh

7. Eric Montoya, Nebraska

8. Mitch McKee, Minnesota

141 pounds

Rutgers standout Anthony Ashnault is fresh off a Big Ten title and looking for more in St. Louis. Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire

Oklahoma State's Dean Heil is the defending champ, and comes into this year's tournament at 27-0. He has had some narrow escapes, but nobody has been able to finish the job. Look for Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault to pull a semifinal stunner.

1. Ashnault, Rutgers

2. Joey McKenna, Stanford

3. Heil, Oklahoma State

4. Kevin Jack, NC State

5. Bryce Meredith, Wyoming

6. Matthew Kolodzik, Princeton

7. George DeCamillo, Virginia

8. Luke Pletcher, Ohio State

149 pounds

It's really risky to pick against Retherford. So let's not do that. Retherford has had some close calls of late, but look for him to pile up bonus points here.

1. Retherford, Penn State

2. Anthony Collica, Oklahoma State

3. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa

4. Solomon Chisko, Virginia Tech

5. Micah Jordan, Ohio State

6. Lavion Mayes, Missouri

7. Steve Bleise, Northern Illinois

8. Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa

157 pounds

Penn State's Jason Nolf lost in last year's NCAA 157-pound final but is an overwhelming favorite to win this year's title. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

See: Retherford, Zain. It's hard to see anybody coming close to Nolf. In fact, he may just rack up bonus points in every match. And his old Western Pennsylvania club wrestling buddy, Michael Kemerer, may be just as strong a lock to sweep through his half of the bracket. But like everybody else in the country this year, Kemerer hasn't figured out Nolf yet.

1. Nolf, Penn State

2. Kemerer, Iowa

3. Tyler Berger, Nebraska

4. Joey Lavallee, Missouri

5. Dylan Palacio, Cornell

6. Jake Short, Minnesota

7. Clayton Ream, North Dakota State

8. Joe Smith, Oklahoma State

165 pounds

Illinois' star 165-pounder Isaiah Martinez takes down Columbia's Markus Scheidel at last year's NCAA wrestling championships. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

Isaiah Martinez of Illinois is one of three wrestlers going for a third career title, and I-Mar could very well be a four-timer come 2018. Logan Massa, Isaac Jordan and Vincenzo Joseph are all good enough to push Martinez to the brink in what will probably be 4-3 nail-biters, but it's hard to see the two-time 157-pounder losing.

1. Martinez, Illinois

2. Massa, Michigan

3. Jordan, Wisconsin

4. Joseph, Penn State

5. Chandler Rogers, Oklahoma State

6. Chad Walsh, Rider

7. TeShan Campbell, Pittsburgh

8. Anthony Valencia, Arizona State

174 pounds

A freshman phenom will win this weight class -- just not Arizona State's explosive undefeated frosh, Zahid Valencia. Instead, Penn State's Mark Hall will rally from his No. 5 seed and romp to a title in what is a very intriguing class that any one of the top six guys could win.

1. Hall, Penn State

2. Bo Jordan, Ohio State

3. Valencia, Arizona State

4. Brian Realbuto, Cornell

5. Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech

6. Ryan Preisch, Lehigh

7. Kyle Crutchmer, Oklahoma State

8. Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State

184 pounds

Cornell's Gabe Dean has been an unstoppable force this year as he goes for NCAA title No. 3. David Hahn/Icon Sportswire

Well, this ought to be fun. Dean and Penn State's Bo Nickal are two of the top pinners in college wrestling. Nickal especially has an impossible-to-simulate funky style that could conceivably give Dean problems. The Nittany Lions' sophomore got upset by Ohio State's Myles Martin at Big Tens, which should give him an edge heading into NCAAs. So ... ah, come on, how can you pick against Dean?

1. Dean, Cornell

2. Nickal, Penn State

3. Sammy Brooks, Iowa

4. Martin, Ohio State

5. TJ Dudley, Nebraska

6. Nolan Boyd, Oklahoma State

7. Zach Zavatksky, Virginia Tech

8. Nathan Jackson, Indiana

197 pounds

Missouri's J'Dean Cox has an Olympic bronze under his belt, plus two NCAA titles already (and a pretty great voice, too). And yet, he ekes out more matches than he needs to. Ohio State's freshman Kollin Moore has some losses, but based on the Big Ten championship win over Brett Pfarr of Minnesota, he's dangerous. Look for a very tight Cox win, but don't be surprised if it comes down to a late Moore takedown attempt that could go either way.

1. Cox, Missouri

2. Moore, Ohio State

3. Pfarr, Minnesota

4. Preston Weigel, Oklahoma State

5. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech

6. Matt McCutcheon, Penn State

7. Aaron Studebaker Nebraska

8. Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin

Heavyweight

Nobody has come close to Snyder this year, so that's not happening at NCAAs, either. It's a shame for some of the other top guys in the weight class, who all look like they could have won NCAA titles in other non-Kyle Snyder years.

1. Snyder, Ohio State

2. Connor Medbery, Wisconsin

3. Ty Walz, Virginia Tech

4. Nick Nevills, Penn State

5. Jacob Kasper, Duke

6. Austin Schafer, Oklahoma State

7. Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State

8. Thomas Haines, Lock Haven

Team title

The possibilities are endless. Can Penn State win without key 125-pounder Nick Suriano, who's out with an ankle injury?

What if Ohio State's momentum culminates in four finalists -- Tomasello, Snyder and two others (Bo Jordan? Kollin Moore? Reigning 174-pound champ Myles Martin?) -- and a few other high placers?

And watch out if Oklahoma State gets hot -- the Cowboys have the depth to be all over the medal stands come Saturday night. Iowa probably deserves a mention here, though the Hawkeyes would need everything to break right and get four or five finalists, with three champs.

So how does it end? The same way it has five of the past six years, with coach Cael Sanderson and Penn State hoisting the team trophy. The Nittany Lions just have too many bonus point scorers, even without Suriano.

1. Penn State

2. Ohio State

3. Oklahoma State

4. Iowa

5. Virginia Tech