Syracuse Moving Up Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20

It was a given there would be stability at No. 1 for a change this week since Notre Dame didn’t play.

It turns out there wasn’t much upheaval anywhere in the rankings given how the weekend unfolded.

Duke beat Virginia in the regular-season (again). Maryland, Penn State and Johns Hopkins all held serve in the Big Ten. Cornell edged Army on Aiden Blake’s goal with 9 seconds remaining, a result that left little reason to create greater separation between the Big Red and Black Knights in the top 10.

Keep going through the scores, and there is little startling. Georgetown survived in overtime at Marquette. Syracuse snagged its first conference victory of the season, slipping past North Carolina in a one-goal game. Penn and Princeton got back to .500 by drubbing unranked Ivy League foes.

There are four games between ranked teams this week, including a Johns Hopkins-Maryland showdown Saturday night that will determine at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title. That contest alone could lead to more of a shakeup than a largely status quo weekend did this week.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION I MEN’S TOP 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Lehigh (8-3), Loyola (6-5), Michigan (5-6), Navy (7-6), Ohio State (5-7), Saint Joseph’s (8-4), Utah (8-4), Vermont (7-4)

HOT

Delaware (+2)

The Blue Hens won their fifth in a row, a 12-9 triumph at Stony Brook, and remained undefeated in CAA play. It was easily the closest league game Delaware has played this season; its first four CAA victories all came by at least eight goals.

Ben DeLuca’s team can clinch home-field advantage in the conference tournament by defeating Drexel at home on Saturday. Delaware has not played host to a CAA tournament game since the 2010 semifinals and last was the site of a league title game since 2005.

Syracuse (+2)

The Orange continued their maturation with a 15-14 victory over North Carolina in Olney, Md., earning their first ACC victory of the season. Freshman Michael Leo’s game-winner with 12 seconds left capped a back-and-forth second half and ensured the Orange would maintain some postseason hopes into their last two games.

Syracuse has dispatched Princeton and North Carolina in back-to-back weeks, which is a welcome sign for a program a year removed from a miserable 4-10 season and is brimming with young players who are bound to have some ups and downs (four freshmen started Saturday against the Tar Heels). A modest rise in the rankings is warranted after the one-goal triumph.

NOT

North Carolina (-2)

The Tar Heels aren’t finished yet, not with a pair of games against Notre Dame still to come. Winning either of those games would be a major boost for North Carolina, especially having absorbed a one-goal loss to Syracuse on Saturday.

“Obviously, it’s disappointing we didn’t come away with the win here, but in the same vein, you have your whole season sitting in front of you, too,” coach Joe Breschi said.

Breschi knows better than most what’s riding on winning at least one of those two contests. He is one of five members of the NCAA lacrosse committee that will select and seed the 17-team tournament next month.

IN

Boston U (No. 20)

The Terriers got well against Loyola, snapping a two-game slide with a 16-9 victory. Vince D’Alto scored four goals and Timmy Ley added two goals and four assists, as Boston U won its third in a row against the Greyhounds dating back to last season.

It was the first game in a three-week stretch against the Patriot League’s top contenders. If the Terriers knock off Lehigh and Army over the next two games, they’ll play host to the conference tournament for the second consecutive year.

Yale (No. 19)

The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to three with a 16-10 thumping of Brown. Yale dominated the second half, limiting the Bears to just two goals in the final 33:35. There is still work to do for the Bulldogs to secure a place in the Ivy League tournament; a victory at Harvard on April 29 will be needed for that.

OUT

Loyola (was No. 15)

The Greyhounds still own two of the season’s best victories — against Maryland and Johns Hopkins to open the season — but they’re just 4-5 since then after a 16-9 thrashing at Boston U. Four of those defeats have come by at least four goals.

It’s a big week on Cold Spring Lane, with Georgetown dropping by Tuesday before Colgate arrives Saturday. Loyola jump-started its NCAA at-large hopes two years ago with a midweek victory over Georgetown. Can it do so again? 

Ohio State (was No. 20)

By the time mid-April rolls around, it’s hard to justify keeping a team two games under .500 in the Top 20. And that’s where the Buckeyes (5-7) sit with Friday’s trip to Michigan and the Big Ten tournament to come.

Ohio State now must reach the Big Ten title game to even be eligible for an at-large berth. Doing so is going to require winning at least once away from Columbus, something the Buckeyes have yet to do in five games. They’ve been outscored 84-38 in those contests, including 17-8 in Saturday’s setback at Johns Hopkins.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 0: February 6

• Week 1: February 13

• Week 2: February 20

• Week 3: February 27

• Week 4: March 6

• Week 5: March 13

• Week 6: March 20

• Week 7: March 27

• Week 8: April 3

• Week 9: April 10