Weekend One-Liners: 2024 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Opening Day Edition

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO, Denver visited then-No. 1 Syracuse for its 2010 season opener, Bill Tierney’s first game as the head coach of the Pioneers.

On Saturday, the Matt Brown era begins at No. 6 Johns Hopkins.

Anyone, anytime, anywhere indeed.

Denver-Hopkins headlines a 15-game slate for opening day of the 2024 NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse season.

Here’s one sentence on the 10 most enticing contests, including betting lines (as of Friday) from Draft Kings, Fan Duel and Bet MGM.

TV LISTINGS | USA LACROSSE TOP 20

Mount St. Mary’s at Navy - Saturday 12 p.m.
(ESPN+)

The stars aligned to lure legend Dave Cottle back to the college game as Navy’s new offensive coordinator and there’s plenty of talent (Xavier Arline, Max Hewitt and a healthy Dane Swanson) on that side of the field, but the Midshipmen butter their bread with a stout defense fronted by “Captain of Captains” Jackson Bonitz.

(DK: Navy -6 O/U 21.5, FD Navy -6.5 O/U 21.5, MGM: Navy -6.5 O/U 21.5)

Colgate at No. 4 Penn State - Saturday 12 p.m.
(BTN+)

Raiders coach Matt Karweck remade his staff, most notably hiring a veteran offensive coordinator in Judd Lattimore to help jumpstart a team that went 2-9 with three one-goal losses last year.

(DK: Penn State -9.5, O/U 25.5; FD: Penn State -9.5, O/U 24.5, MGM: Penn State 9.5 O/U 25.5)

Utah at Ohio State – Saturday 12 p.m.
(BTN+)

Whereas the Buckeyes responded to their 5-9 finish with a deep dive into the transfer portal, the reigning ASUN champion Utes have continuity on their side with an experienced senior class featuring 1-2 scoring punch Jordan Hyde and Tyler Bradbury. 

(DK: Ohio State -2.5 O/U 27, FD: Ohio State -1.5 O/U 26.5, MGM: Ohio State -1.5 O/U 26.5)

No. 12 Georgetown at Loyola – Saturday 1 p.m.
(ESPN+)

A pair of high-pedigree programs with plenty of holes to fill, the Hoyas and Greyhounds are certain to produce new household names who could emerge Saturday.

(DK: Georgetown -4 O/U 24.5, FD: Georgetown -4.5 O/U 24.5, MGM: Georgetown -4.5 O/U 24.5)

No. 5 Maryland at No. 20 Richmond – Saturday 1 p.m.
(ESPN+)

Will 2022 NCAA championship MVP Logan McNaney reclaim the Terps’ starting goalie job or has 2023 revelation Brian Ruppel truly turned this into a competition?

(DK: Maryland -6 O/U 23.5, FD: Maryland -5.5 O/U 23.5, MGM: Maryland -5.5 O/U 24.5)

Lehigh at No. 15 Rutgers – Saturday 1 p.m.
(BTN+)

Longtime assistant Will Scudder makes his head coaching debut for the Mountain Hawks against the Scarlet Knights, whose NASCAR offense stalled out last year but who once again went hog wild in the transfer portal.

(DK: Rutgers -5 O/U 24.5, FD: Rutgers -4.5 O/U 24.5, MGM: Rutgers -4.5 O/U 24.5)

Vermont at No. 9 Syracuse – Saturday 4 p.m.
(ACCN)

Word out of central New York was the Orange underperformed in their final scrimmage against Michigan, perhaps an indication that new additions like All-Americans Sam English (Princeton), Jake Stevens (Princeton) and Matt Wright (North Carolina) need more time to gel with Joey Spallina and company despite their considerable preseason hype.

(DK: Syracuse -6.5 O/U 25.5, FD: Syracuse -6.5 O/U 24.5, MGM: Syracuse -6.5 O/U 24.5)

Marquette at Air Force – Saturday 4 p.m.
(AFAA)

Marquette beat Michigan and Penn State on neutral fields but lost overtime games to Georgetown, Villanova and Denver in the last three weeks of the season—ensuring that Bobby O’Grady (43 goals), Mason Woodward (5.0 ground balls per game) will lead a hardened and hungry group into the 2024 season.

(DK: Marquette -1.5 O/U 23.5, FD: Marquette -1.5 O/U 23.5, MGM: Marquette -1.5 O/U 23.5)