It’s best to first address the elephant in the room. Grant Ament is questionable for Sunday.

Penn State coach Jeff Tambroni said the dynamic feeder is officially day-to-day with a lower body injury and didn’t specify if this is related to the foot injury that forced Ament to miss all of 2018.

“He does some things on the field that are just truly different,” Tambroni said. “We’re not going to replace him, no matter how long he’s going to be out. We might have to play a little different in our style, so it means everyone might have to adapt a little bit more.”

The Nittany Lions have their work cut out for them without their top attackmen, as they travel to No. 3 Maryland for the start of their conference schedule.

NO. 2 PENN STATE AT NO. 3 MARYLAND
WHEN: Sunday, March 31, 7 p.m.
WATCH: Big Ten Network

Observers caught a glimpse of what Penn State looks like without Ament against Cleveland State in a 15-11 win. Mac O’Keefe’s role hardly changed, though he had to do a little more work himself without Ament feeding. Six of the Lions’ 15 goals were assisted, just under Ament’s personal per-game average (6.57).

“As a team, I don’t think we should compromise our standards,” Tambroni said of altering the plan without Ament. He also lost Kevin Hill in the season-opener, meaning he’s two weapons short. Of course, the team has plenty experience now playing without Hill.

“Even though the faces may change, we have to find different ways to do these things.”

Maryland now has one less threat to worry about in a loaded Penn State offense, and Tambroni said a team as “uber talented” as Maryland means that his team needs to iron out its own issues.

“Our focus has been, what can we do?” Tambroni said. “What can the Penn State lacrosse team do to maximize our own potential? They give you almost too much to concern yourself with.”

History favors Maryland, which is 40-2 all-time against Penn State (its two wins came in 1916 and 1920). “It certainly speaks about the legacy going on with their program, but at the same time, I think it’s even a stretch to talk about last year’s game or the game two years ago,” Tambroni said.

All that matters is Sunday.

Other games to watch this weekend include:

• No. 9 Syracuse at No. 10 Notre Dame
  Saturday, noon, ESPNU
  
  Notre Dame needs Charles Leonard to have one of his best outings of the season. A respectable .600 percent (87-for-157) on faceoffs this spring, Leonard matches up this weekend against Jakob Phaup and his gaudy .660 winning percentage (70-for-106). Syracuse has grown accustomed to playing one-goal games, as 20 of its last 36 contests have been decided by that margin, one way or the other. The Orange are coming off a 9-8 overtime win against Duke, coming back from four goals down in the fourth quarter against a top-notch defense. Phaup gives Syracuse chances, and Leonard needs to do his best to limit those. Even though Notre Dame’s defense is a top-15 unit, Syracuse can capitalize with enough opportunities.

• No. 5 Duke at No. 20 North Carolina
  Saturday, 2 p.m., ESPNU
  
  Is there a better rivalry across all collegiate sports? Duke will take the short trip to Chapel Hill this weekend while holding a commanding 16-4 advantage over the Tar Heels with John Danowski at the helm. Last year, Duke won 11-10 at Koskinen Stadium. North Carolina is fresh off a 16-9 loss to Maryland and is clinging to a spot in the Nike/US Lacrosse Men’s Division I Top 20. Duke is also coming off a loss — 9-8 to Syracuse in overtime — so these are two teams looking to get back on track. The deciding element could be at the X, where UNC limped to a 7-for-29 showing against Maryland. Duke went 7-for-18 against Syracuse. The team that figures it out should win.

MORE GAMES ON OUR RADAR

All times are listed in E.T. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV/Streaming listing page.

FRIDAY, MARCH 29

7 p.m.

Richmond at No. 8 Virginia (ACC Network)

SATURDAY, MARCH 30

Noon

Furman at No. 16 High Point (ESPN+)

Hofstra at No. 12 Towson (Lax Sports Network)

1 p.m.

Dartmouth at No. 11 Cornell (ESPN+)

Colgate at No. 6 Loyola (Patriot League Network)

No. 14 Army at Bucknell (Patriot League Network)

Drexel at No. 15 UMass (UMassAthletics.com)

1:30 p.m.

Georgetown at No. 7 Denver (Altitude)

2 p.m.

Boston University at No. 13 Lehigh (Patriot League Network)

2:30 p.m.

No. 1 Yale at No. 18 Penn (ESPN+)

3 p.m.

No. 19 Johns Hopkins at Michigan (Big Ten Network)

SUNDAY, MARCH 31

Noon

No. 17 Rutgers at No. 4 Ohio State (ESPNU)