This year’s regular season was never going to come close to satisfying the usual question of, “Who’s No. 1?”
Fortunately, the postseason is here to render that exact verdict — assuming a positive virus test doesn’t derail anyone invited to the NCAA tournament.
Barring that, all the arguments for Duke, Maryland, North Carolina and anyone else will be moot, at least as far as history is concerned, in three weeks when the Memorial Day tradition of snipping the goal nets will hopefully resume after a one-year hiatus.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Men’s Top 20
May 10, 2021 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 12-0 | 1 | 5/16 vs. No. 18 Vermont |
| 2 | North Carolina | 11-2 | 2 | 5/15 vs. Monmouth |
| 3 | Duke | 12-2 | 3 | 5/16 vs. No. 20 High Point (in Chapel Hill, N.C.) |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 7-3 | 4 | 5/15 vs. No. 10 Drexel (in Denver) |
| 5 | Virginia | 10-4 | 6 | 5/16 vs. No. 17 Bryant |
| 6 | Georgetown | 12-2 | 10 | 5/15 vs. No. 13 Syracuse (in College Park, Md.) |
| 7 | Denver | 12-4 | 7 | 5/16 vs. No. 11 Loyola |
| 8 | Lehigh | 10-1 | 8 | 5/15 vs. No. 9 Rutgers (in Charlottesville, Va.) |
| 9 | Rutgers | 8-3 | 5 | 5/15 vs. No. 8 Lehigh (in Charlottesville, Va.) |
| 10 | Drexel | 10-2 | 14 | 5/15 vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (in Denver) |
| 11 | Loyola | 9-5 | 16 | 5/16 at No. 7 Denver |
| 12 | Army | 7-4 | 9 | Season complete |
| 13 | Syracuse | 7-5 | 15 | 5/15 vs. No. 6 Georgetown (in College Park, Md.) |
| 14 | Villanova | 7-5 | 13 | Season complete |
| 15 | Delaware | 10-3 | 11 | Season complete |
| 16 | Navy | 6-3 | 12 | Season complete |
| 17 | Bryant | 9-3 | NR | 5/16 at No. 5 Virginia |
| 18 | Vermont | 9-4 | 19 | 5/16 at No. 1 Maryland |
| 19 | UMBC | 8-3 | 17 | Season complete |
| 20 | High Point | 8-5 | NR | 5/16 vs. No. 3 Duke (in Chapel Hill, N.C.) |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Albany (8-5), Brown (1-0), Hofstra (8-6), Johns Hopkins (4-9), Penn (1-0), Richmond (7-6), Robert Morris (7-6), Saint Joseph’s (9-4), Stony Brook (8-6)
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Loyola (+5)
The Greyhounds almost leaped into the top 10 on the strength of victories over Navy and Army and might have made it even further if they weren’t forced to withdraw from the Patriot League tournament on Sunday because of a positive virus test. Still, Loyola did earn an at-large berth and will have a chance to extend its four-game winning streak when it visits Denver on Sunday.
Drexel (+4)
The CAA champion Dragons take a nine-game winning streak into the NCAA tournament after handling UMass and Hofstra in the conference tournament. The last time Drexel won nine in a row? When it made its only other NCAA appearance, a trip to the quarterfinals in 2014.
Georgetown (+4)
That’s three consecutive Big East tournament titles for Kevin Warne’s Hoyas, who edged Denver in Saturday’s championship game to ensure a vault in the rankings while solidifying NCAA tournament seeding. The next step for Jake Carraway, Owen McElroy and Co.? Reaching the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2007.
NOT
Rutgers (-4)
The Scarlet Knights tumble after a forgettable 12-10 loss to Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten semifinals. It was Rutgers’ only real misstep of the season — the two losses to Maryland can be explained easily enough — and it rightfully proves costly in the rankings.
Still, a dip to the bottom of the top 10 isn’t going to spoil the Scarlet Knights’ day, week, month or year. They’re off to their first NCAA tournament since 2004.
Delaware (-4)
The Blue Hens entered the CAA tournament as the No. 1 seed, something that in the not-too-distant past, spelled near-certain postseason doom. While the CAA hadn’t been too upset-prone in the last half-decade, things reverted to their previous state when Hofstra upended Delaware in Thursday’s semifinals. It’s now been 10 years since the Blue Hens’ last NCAA trip, but this year provides reason to believe that drought will end before too long.
Navy (-4)
When the Midshipmen won at Loyola last month, coach Joe Amplo said those two hours didn’t mean his team had completely arrived. And when Navy lost 16-9 in a return trip to Baltimore last week, he said those two hours wouldn’t define the Mids’ season. It’s a wise approach. Progress was made in Annapolis this season, even if Navy was overwhelmed in its Patriot League tournament cameo.
IN
Bryant (No. 17)
The Bulldogs closed the season on a four-game winning streak, averaging 17.5 goals in that span to surge to the Northeast Conference title. Bryant beat the top two seeds in the NEC — Hobart and then Saint Joseph’s — on the road to clinch its first NCAA berth since 2017.
High Point (No. 20)
The Panthers made strong runs at both North Carolina and Virginia earlier this season, but since they lost all four of their games against ACC opponents, they were largely forgotten about for two months. No longer. Asher Nolting and Co. are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015 after winning at Richmond in Friday’s Southern Conference title game.
OUT
Saint Joseph’s (was No. 18)
It’s usually the case that if you keep knocking on a door, eventually you’ll bust it open. The Hawks could be forgiven for thinking that isn’t true. Saint Joseph’s fell 16-10 to Bryant in Saturday’s NEC title game, the fourth time since 2015 the Hawks lost a conference final on their home field. Nonetheless, the Hawks enjoyed a nine-game winning streak this year while re-establishing themselves as one of the NEC’s top programs.
Stony Brook (was No. 20)
The Seawolves were bounced in the first round of the America East tournament by eventual champ Vermont. It was a rough finish for Stony Brook, which closed the regular season with one-goal losses to UMBC and Vermont before Thursday’s 10-7 decision left it at 8-6.