Welcome to the Gameday Guide.

Every weekend during the college lacrosse season, USA Lacrosse Magazine staff will riff on the juiciest matchups, trendiest topics and biggest storylines.

Check out the rankings and TV listings for more.

Can you believe it’s the midway point of April?

Selection Sunday is fast approaching. And for teams playing in conferences that have little hope of receiving multiple bids to the NCAA tournament, earning that coveted automatic qualifier is imperative.

Jeremy Fallis, our women’s bracketology expert, breaks things down every week — check out his stories every Tuesday on usalaxmagazine.com — but the quick summation is as follows: win the conference championship, and you’ll have nothing to worry about.

That’s what makes weekends like this one so interesting. While we’re lacking in marquee top-20 matchups, we’re heavy on conference rivalries that will certainly dictate standings. With many conferences limiting the number of teams that can participate in the postseason tournament, every single win matters.

The Pac-12, Atlantic 10 and Big Ten are the stars of this upcoming weekend, with a plethora of matchups in each conference taking centerstage.

GAMES TO WATCH
ALL TIMES EASTERN

GAME OF THE WEEK

Arizona State at Colorado

The Pac-12 has been a major subject of discussion this season. The balance of power has extended beyond USC, Stanford and Colorado to now include Arizona State, adding a rather interesting wrinkle into the conference’s hierarchy.

For this reason, Arizona State’s trip to Colorado should be a must-watch meeting. Sure, the Sun Devils blasted the Buffs 20-6 on March 13, but that’s increasingly looking more like an outlier than a trend. Arizona State is talented, of course, but to say the Sun Devils are 14 goals better than Colorado might be a bit much.

Each team is 1-1 against defending Pac-12 champion Stanford, so we can use that for comparison. Colorado’s early season wins against Louisville and Vanderbilt looked more impressive than they are now, but a February 27 win over Ohio State suddenly looks quite good after the Buckeyes beat Michigan.

This one should be close.

UPSET WATCH

No. 19 Michigan at Penn State

It seems unfair to pick on Michigan for a second straight week. But in this space a week ago, we rightfully predicted that Ohio State would upset its biggest rival. This week, in another critical Big Ten outing, Michigan gets a Penn State team fresh off an eight-goal win over Pitt.

These conference rivals split the season series a year ago, with both games in Panzer Stadium. A year later, Michigan is much improved (even if its recent four-game losing streak might indicate otherwise).

The problem, it seems, with Michigan is offense. The Wolverines boast a top-flight midfield and stubborn defense, but the offense has scored double-digit goals just once since March 13 (10 goals in a loss to USC). That coincides with a 2-5 record in that time.

If Penn State can limit the Michigan offense, it’ll be another tough day for the Wolverines.

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT

San Diego State at No. 14 Rutgers

Maybe no one’s talking about this one because it’s one of the few non-conference games on the slate. And maybe it’s because very few people are paying attention to what’s going on out there in San Diego.

Rutgers is 1-2 in April and struggled to put away Wagner in its last game. San Diego State, meanwhile, hasn’t played a ton of close games. The Aztecs, for the most part, either win by a bunch or lose by a bunch. But the mere presence of Deanna Balsama, who’s fifth in the nation in goals per game (4.33), gives the Aztecs a chance in just about every matchup.

This isn’t exactly upset alert, but there’s an outside chance this ends up being a rather interesting game.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Meghan Murray, Penn State

Murray’s started three times in 12 games, but she’s contributed multiple goals ins even contests. She’s coming off a three-goal, one-assist performance against Pitt and has 21 goals on the season. Her best game was a one-goal loss to Princeton in which she scored three goals and secured nine draw controls.

Bailey Brown, San Diego State

Balsama nabs the headlines, but Brown impacts the game in so many ways for SDSU. She has 19 goals and six assists (good for the fourth-most points on the team) and leads the Aztecs with 50 draw controls. She also has 16 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers.

Katie Whelan, Hofstra

How did Hofstra replace all-time great Alyssa Parrella? They turned to another program great in graduate student Katie Whelan. The attacker began the season sixth all-time at Hofstra with 61 assists and is now up to 75. She also has a career-high 31 goals to go with 27 draw controls.