I will answer your questions as best I can. I would actually like to type out more instead of referencing the NCAA, but I am struggling with a 102 degree fever and not as motivated to be as verbose as I would normally be.
1) Yes, but not automatic bids after the 2nd RPI ranking. They may end up with more slots from the final Win% and RPI calculations on March 8th. Final allotments will be announced on March 10th.
2) There is no longer a "Wild Card" or at-large selection process. Instead the final 30 or so slot allotments are determined using a fairly complex methodology. Instead of typing it all out, I will refer you to page 16 of the following linked PDF file - http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/champ_handbooks/wrestling/2010/10_1_wrestling.pdf
3. The automatic allocated slots were not formally announced until Thursday, February 25th. The PAC-10 has to structure the tournament in a way that could accommodate any placing from 1st thru 8th. I don't think it would be reasonable for the tournament committee to change the logistics of the tournament (bracket structure, podium positions, etc.) less than 24 hours before the tournament was about to begin. And obviously they are not going to pick and choose between the weight classes in how many places should be awarded. It seems strange when there are only 8 teams to be awarding to 8th, but again, before the announcement came out on the 25th, places up to 8th in some weight classes could have received automatic tournament births. The Big 10, Big 12 and EIWA all turned out to have automatic allocations down to 6th, 7th, or 8th place. Had the calculations gone a little differently, the PAC 10 could have had a similar result.
I hope this answers your questions. If you want to know anything else let me know.
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