Weekend One-Liners: Anyone Can Get Hot at the Right Time

We’re nine days away from Selection Sunday and the NCAA tournament field looks, dare we say, rather predictable?

Ah, but it’s conference tournament time. Bid thievery has been the ultimate disruptor in recent years, especially in the Big Ten and Ivy League. And while the renewed ACC championship won’t yield an automatic qualifier, it sure has the potential to shift the dynamics of the field.

On Friday, the Big East, CAA and Patriot League fields will be finalized. On Saturday, the Big Ten and MAAC tournaments get underway while various other conferences sort out their seeds.

Anyone can get hot at the right time and send all the bracketologists scrambling back to their spreadsheets. 
Here are 10 games to watch with one sentence on each. See others on our TV Listings page.  All times Eastern. Rankings are per the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20.

Boston University (7-6, 4-3) at No. 19 Colgate (8-5, 5-2) – Friday 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the Patriot League preseason coaches poll, Colgate can clinch the conference tournament’s No. 1 seed and hosting rights with a win at home.

No. 12 Army (10-2, 5-2) at Loyola (7-6, 5-2) – Friday 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

If BU beats Colgate, the winner of this game gets the No. 1 seed and hosts the Patriot League semifinals and championship and yet there’s also the possibility the loser of this game finds itself in the quarterfinal round.

No. 15 Towson (10-3, 6-0) at No. 18 Delaware (8-3, 6-0) – Friday 7 p.m. (LacrosseTV)

Blue Hens senior goalie Kevin Ellington barely got on the field his first three seasons, and now he’s an All-American candidate leading the country in save percentage (61.5) and ranking seventh in saves per game (13.36).

No. 10 Georgetown (9-3, 3-1) at Villanova (8-5, 2-2) – Friday 7 p.m. (FloSports)

The Hoyas have that win over Notre Dame to hang their hat on but will find themselves on the bubble if they stumble here or in the Big East tournament.

No. 2 Duke (11-3, 1-2) at North Carolina (6-7, 0-3) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ACC Network)

If Carolina pulls the upset and Virginia knocks off Notre Dame, the Tar Heels will make the ACC tournament with a chance to summon some late-season magic; a UVA loss means UNC would need to beat the Blue Devils by at least five goals with tiebreakers afoot.

Ohio State (6-8, 1-4) at No. 20 Michigan (7-6, 2-3) – Saturday 12 p.m. (BTN+)

The first of two Big Ten quarterfinals Saturday is a rematch of last week when Michigan withstood a late five-goal flurry to defeat Ohio State 13-12.

No. 14 Princeton (8-4, 3-2) at No. 9 Yale (11-2, 4-1) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Princeton can clinch the last spot in the Ivy League tournament and advance its case for an NCAA tournament at-large bid with an upset, while a loss coupled with a Brown win over Harvard would eliminate the Tigers altogether.

No. 1 Notre Dame (9-1, 3-0) at No. 5 Virginia (10-3, 1-2) – Saturday, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

Expect the Klöckner Stadium crowd to spill out onto the berm for this rematch of the 2023 NCAA semifinal won by Notre Dame in overtime, as the Fighting Irish seek to finish unbeaten in ACC play.

Rutgers (7-6, 1-4) at No. 7 Penn State (9-3, 3-2) – Saturday 3 p.m. (BTN+)

The Nittany Lions are being careful with Jack Posey, but Kevin Parnham is back in a full-time role as Penn State’s defense nears full health entering the postseason stretch.

No. 16 Saint Joseph’s (9-3, 4-0) at No. 13 Richmond (9-4, 4-0) – Saturday 4 p.m. (ESPN+)

It’s the Atlantic 10 game of the year — until the conference tournament, that is — the stiffest test for a St. Joe’s team that has not lost a game since Towson dropped the Hawks to 0-3 way back on Feb. 23.