As February segues to March, only 11 undefeated teams remain in Division I.

There are the usual suspects, the preseason top-10 teams that have lived up to their initial billings: Virginia, Maryland, Georgetown and Rutgers. They account for the top portion of this week’s Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20.

There are sizzling teams like Ohio State and Michigan, both of which have already at least matched their victory total from last year’s Big Ten-only slate. Both have jumped into the rankings in the last two weeks.

There’s the mystery team at Cornell, which has won its first two games after a nearly two-year hiatus. And then there are the likes of Boston University, Bucknell, Hobart and Stony Brook, intriguing programs that bear watching in the months to come.

Virginia and Maryland maintain their spots in the top two and could very well be there by the time their March 19 meeting in Washington, D.C., arrives. But as February’s flux demonstrated, there are interesting things percolating throughout the sport a month into the season.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION I MEN’S TOP 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Boston University (3-0), Brown (2-1), Bucknell (4-0), Lehigh (1-2), Princeton (2-1), Richmond (2-1), Saint Joseph’s (3-1), Stony Brook (4-0), Utah (2-1), Villanova (3-1)

Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

HOT

Cornell (+7)

The early returns for the Big Red are impressive. Connor Buczek’s team doubled up Albany to open the season, then smothered Lehigh 9-5 as Aiden Blake, CJ Kirst and John Piatelli each scored twice in a road victory.

Cornell heads back to Ithaca for two games this week. The first is a Tuesday encounter with in-state rival Hobart. The second is a visit from Ohio State, which followed up its drubbing of North Carolina with a 17-12 neutral-site defeat of Harvard on Saturday.

North Carolina (+4)

The Tar Heels’ response to a 12-goal loss to Ohio State? Handling both Brown and Johns Hopkins in Chapel Hill to jump back into the top 10.

It was little surprise that senior Chris Gray, a Tewaaraton finalist last season, helped Carolina pull away from Hopkins on Sunday. Gray had seven goals and two assists, and his goal total was the second-largest of his career — behind only an eight-goal burst against the Blue Jays in 2020.

NOT

Yale (-5)

Well, that was … weird. The Bulldogs faced a Penn State team giving up nearly 15 goals a game and promptly managed just six scores, as Nittany Lions goalie Aleric Fyock stopped 21 shots. Yale’s 10-6 loss is one of the more puzzling early season results since Penn State had already dropped games to borderline Top 20 teams like Saint Joseph’s, Vermont and Villanova.

So what to make of it? There’s a temptation to chalk it up to inexperience as much as anything else. Yale has some proven players, but the loss of last season does create a void of game experience for the Bulldogs and everyone else in the Ivy League. The tumble to No. 10 is fairly modest, but it will be worth keeping an eye on Andy Shay’s team as it meets UMass this weekend.

Loyola (-4)

The Greyhounds have a blowout loss to Maryland and one-goal setbacks to Johns Hopkins and Rutgers. That’s not good for their hopes of an imaginary Big Ten title and not helpful in their task of building an at-large resume. Yet as coach Charley Toomey said after Saturday’s 13-12 loss to Rutgers, Loyola probably isn’t too far off.

One thing that could use settling is a rotation of goalies that has seen three starters in as many games. Look for Sam Shafer to reclaim a starting spot after finishing Saturday’s game strong with six saves in the fourth quarter.

This drop puts the Greyhounds on the edge of falling out of the Top 20, and a two-game week provides a chance to climb closer to .500. Loyola welcomes Towson on Wednesday before opening Patriot League play at Lafayette on Saturday.

IN

Michigan (No. 19)

The Wolverines are 5-0 for the first time in program history, and their average margin of victory is 12.6 goals. Josh Zawada already has 40 points (23 goals, 17 assists), which is one more than his team-leading total in 12 games last season.

The obvious issue is strength of schedule. Michigan has yet to leave Ann Arbor, and its opponents are a combined 2-16. Any skepticism about the Wolverines’ ability relative to what they’ll see in the Big Ten is reasonable. But they’ve also trailed for only 5:52 through five games (a 2-1 deficit to Canisius) and lead the country in victory margin. It’s reasonable to give Kevin Conry’s team a Top 20 nod as February ends.

OUT

Lehigh (was No. 19)

The Mountain Hawks dropped their second in a row, a 9-5 decision at home against Cornell. Fewer goals mean fewer chances for faceoff ace Mike Sisselberger to get into a rhythm and make a difference, and he was 10 of 18 at the X against the Big Red. Lehigh also ran into a hot goalie; Chayse Ierlan made 15 saves against the Mountain Hawks.

There were only so many chances in Lehigh’s non-conference slate to build an at-large profile. This game was one of them, a contest at home against Georgetown next month is another. The Mountain Hawks could very well end up at or near the top of the Patriot League, but their at-large margin for error is already eroded considerably.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 1 (Feb. 14)

• Week 2 (Feb. 21)