Weekend One-Liners: What to Watch for in Men's Lacrosse

Three of the greatest rivalries in college lacrosse take center stage Saturday. It’s been a while since they had this kind of heat.

Johns Hopkins and Syracuse’s resurgence in 2023 means Hopkins-Maryland and Syracuse-Virginia will be must-watch games. And Army-Navy, well, it’s Army-Navy. Incentive is never in short supply.

As an appetizer to rivalry weekend, we get Ohio State-Michigan on Friday night. All four games will be televised nationally.

Here’s one sentence each on 10 games to watch this weekend. All times Eastern.

TV LISTINGS | NIKE/USA LACROSSE TOP 20

No. 11 Rutgers (8-4, 1-3) at No. 5 Penn State (8-3, 3-1) – Friday 6 p.m. (BTN)
The Scarlet Knights are on the outside looking in according to Patrick Stevens’ latest bracket projection and the locked-in Nittany Lions are unbeaten (5-0) at home this season.

Michigan (5-6, 1-3) at Ohio State (5-7, 1-3) – Friday 8 p.m. (BTN)

If the Big Ten in 2023 is what the Ivy League was in 2022 — an RPI darling with all six teams landing in the top 20 of the NCAA’s often bemoaned formula — then the Buckeyes still have plenty to play for as a win would clinch the fourth seed in the conference tournament thanks to their head-to-head advantage over Rutgers.

UPSET ALERT

No. 7 Cornell (9-2) at Brown (5-6, 1-3) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

In an Ivy League race in which seven teams are separated by just two games in the conference standings, it feels very on brand for Bruno to add to the chaos by beating the Big Red.

Drexel (7-4, 4-1) at No. 15 Delaware (9-3, 5-0) – Saturday 12 p.m. (FloSports)

The buzz around Tye Kurtz (44 goals, 21 assists) is justified and the Blue Hens can clinch the CAA tournament’s No. 1 seed and hosting rights with a road win against a Dragons team that sputtered against Hofstra last week.

Lehigh (8-3, 5-1) at Boston University (8-3, 5-1) – Saturday 12 p.m. (CBSSN)

The Patriot League increasingly has the look of a one-bid conference and the No. 1 seed (and rights to host the semifinals and championship game) remains within reach for all four teams that have clinched berths (Army, BU, Lehigh and Navy).

No. 16 North Carolina (7-5, 1-3) at No. 1 Notre Dame (8-1, 2-1) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

The unbalanced ACC schedule means the Tar Heels get two cracks at the top team in the land and likely needs to win one of the matchups to remain in contention for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

Binghamton (8-3, 4-1) at Bryant (8-3, 4-1) – Saturday 1 p.m. (ESPN3)

The top two scoring teams in the America East will face each other for the first time with the winner taking over sole possession of second place in the conference behind Vermont, which edged both in close games earlier this month.

No. 14 Syracuse (8-5, 1-3) at No. 4 Virginia (8-3, 2-2) – Saturday 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

The Cavaliers’ latest loss to Duke came with a moral victory of nearly erasing a six-goal deficit in a one-goal defeat, momentum they hope to sustain against an Orange team whose offense has coalesced around a pair of dangerous dodgers in Joey Spallina and Cole Kirst who can draw fouls to keep the man-up unit (35 goals on a Division I-leading 61 attempts) busy.

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 6 Johns Hopkins (10-4, 3-1) at No. 3 Maryland (8-3, 3-1) – Saturday 6 p.m. (BTN)

The 125th edition of the rivalry comes a year after the Terps dealt the Blue Jays the most lopsided loss in program history, but the gap between the teams has narrowed considerably as Hopkins aims to snap a five-game losing streak in the series. (Johns Hopkins Leans on Balance, Depth to Inch Closer to Former Glory)

No. 8 Army (9-2, 6-0) at Navy (7-6, 4-2) – Saturday 7 p.m. (CBSSN)

The Midshipmen (four straight wins after a six-game skid) have won four of the last five games in the series, including an overtime victory in West Point last year in which extra-man specialist Jack Sweeney capitalized on his lone appearance in the game.