There was not one single upset in games involving the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20 last week, but don't expect those calm waters to last. There are too many good teams playing against each other this week for something not to be turned around.
The potential for mayhem starts tomorrow when No. 16 Penn State, a NCAA semifinalist the last two years, visits No. 1 Stony Brook in the Seawolves final nonconference game of the regular season.
On Wednesday, the two heavyweights of the Ivy League the last several years, No. 8 Penn and No. 20 Princeton, meet in New Jersey. And two teams just outside of the rankings — Georgetown and Johns Hopkins — have a chance to boost their at-large resumes. Georgetown hosts No. 9 Loyola and Johns Hopkins hosts No. 10 Towson.
Thursday is chock full of good games, including No. 7 Northwestern at No. 3 Maryland for the Big 10 regular season title, along with the opening rounds of the ACC and Pac-12 tournaments. How tough is the ACC? A Syracuse team that took unbeaten No. 2 in the nation Boston College to the brink, is the No. 7 seed in its own conference tournament. Not exactly an easy opening-round draw for North Carolina.
Those tournaments continue through the weekend and No. 4 James Madison and No. 10 Towson meet with the CAA regular season title on the line on Saturday in Towson, Md.
April 23, 2018 |
W/L |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stony Brook | 15-0 | 1 | 4/24 vs. No. 16 Penn State |
| 2 | Boston College | 17-0 | 2 | 4/26 vs. Louisville |
| 3 | Maryland | 15-1 | 3 | 4/26 vs. No. 7 Northwestern |
| 4 | James Madison | 15-1 | 4 | 4/28 at No. 10 Towson |
| 5 | North Carolina | 12-3 | 5 | 4/26 vs. No. 17 Syracuse |
| 6 | Florida | 13-3 | 6 | 4/28 vs. Butler |
| 7 | Northwestern | 13-3 | 7 | 4/26 at No. 3 Maryland |
| 8 | Penn | 11-2 | 8 | 4/25 at No. 20 Princeton |
| 9 | Loyola | 12-3 | 9 | 4/25 at Georgetown |
| 10 | Towson | 13-2 | 10 | 4/25 at Johns Hopkins |
| 11 | Colorado | 12-4 | 11 | 4/27 Pac 12 Semifinal vs. TBD |
| 12 | Navy | 13-3 | 12 | 4/28 vs. Boston University |
| 13 | Virginia Tech | 12-5 | 13 | 4/26 at Duke |
| 14 | Stanford | 13-4 | 14 | 4/27 Pac 12 Semifinal vs. TBD |
| 15 | Dartmouth | 10-3 | 15 | 4/25 vs. UMass-Lowell |
| 16 | Penn State | 9-6 | 16 | 4/24 at No. 1 Stony Brook |
| 17 | Syracuse | 9-8 | 19 | 4/26 vs. No. 5 North Carolina |
| 18 | High Point | 14-2 | 18 | 4/26 at Hofstra |
| 19 | Virginia | 9-8 | 17 | 4/26 vs. Notre Dame |
| 20 | Princeton | 8-5 | 20 | 4/25 vs. No. 8 Penn |
Also considered: Denver, Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, USC
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Syracuse (+2)
Syracuse went into the week with its season potentially on the line. At 8-7 with games against Boston College and Louisville awaiting, the Orange desparately needed to avoid going under .500 heading into the ACC tournament. Syracuse wasn't able to pull off the upset against BC, losing on a goal with 0.2 seconds left, but with its back against the wall, the Orange took care of business with a 19-8 win over Louisville. After three straight Louisville goals tied the game 8-8 early in the second half, the Orange closed the game with 11 straight goals.
Syracuse plays No. 5 North Carolina in the opening round of the ACC tournament, no easy task, but is guaranteed at least a 9-9 record that features two Top 10 wins — Florida and Loyola. North Carolina won the first meeting between the two teams 20-11.
Virginia Tech (0)
Virginia Tech didn't move in the rankings, but Saturday's 16-12 win over Virginia was a huge one for the program. Virginia Tech has set a new single season with 12 wins, beat Virginia for just the second time in school history, and with five ACC wins this season, equaled the school's total number of ACC wins in the previous 13 seasons combined.
Virginia Tech earned the No. 3 seed for the ACC tournament, but with Duke hosting this year's event, will have to play a true road game in its tournament opener. Virginia Tech dominated the first half of the regular season meeting with the Blue Devils and then hung on for a 17-14 victory.
NOT
Virginia (-2)
At different points this season, Virginia has been 5-2 and 8-2, but after dropping six of their last seven games, the Cavaliers have fallen to 9-8. Virginia was unable to parlay an 18-10 win over Louisville into any momentum, falling to state rivals James Madison (15-10) and Virginia Tech (16-12) last week.
Virginia's strong early season play was enough to earn it the No. 4 seed for the ACC tournament and it will attempt to right the ship against another struggling team, Notre Dame. The Irish lost to unranked Albany last week and have gone 4-6 in their 10 games leading into the tournament.
IN
None.
OUT
None.