The committee has spoken – win big and get rewarded.

That was the theme delivered by Janna Blais, chair of the NCAA women’s lacrosse committee, who also is the deputy director of athletics at Northwestern.

While there are five criteria the committee must adhere to, including RPI, head-to-head results, common opponents and a team’s RPI against its top 10 opponents, significant wins were cited most often by Blais.

“The committee stayed consistent in rewarding strong points in those teams that had really significant wins,” Blais said. “It’s one of five pieces. We matched each team against one another – and they had to win.”

And that consistency bore out in the bracket’s seeding. Maryland beat North Carolina head-to-head, and both those teams beat Florida (the No. 3 seed). From there, the committee slotted Penn State fourth and Princeton, which lost to the Nittany Lions earlier in the year, fifth. At No. 6, it was Syracuse, who split with the Tar Heels, but also took more losses than Penn State or Princeton.

As for seeds 7 and 8, well, that’s where most of the conversation has been.

Stony Brook, an 18-1 team whose only loss is to third-seeded Florida, is seeded eighth, but appearances can be deceiving. Penn is the No. 7 seed on the strength of the Quakers’ regular-season win over Princeton. Below, we’ll cover why the Seawolves slipped to the No. 8 seed.

Nevertheless, fans will see a fair bracket this year that showcases the sport with exciting matchups and the potential for upsets. Also, this year’s tournament has more of a national feel with the absence of a Midwestern pod. (There is not a Louisville vs. Northwestern or Northwestern vs. Notre Dame matchup unless it happens deep in the tournament.)

“There is more parity in the sport of women’s lacrosse,” Blais said. “I was really happy how it worked out. I think there are some different matchups. Not everyone is going to be happy with it, but we put a lot of sweat into the bracket and are happy as a committee with how it turned out.” 

The Stony Brook Story

Selection comitee TAKE A LAP Hahah let's go!!!!!! @StonyBrookWLAX show you an 8

— Joe Spallina (@JoeSpallina) May 8, 2017

How in the world does the #4 team in the country get a #8 seed in the women's lax tourney @JoeSpallina? @StonyBrookWLAX disrespected.

— Kevin Maher (@KMaherNews12) May 8, 2017

While our pre-tournament projection had Stony Brook as the No. 7 seed, there was shock and some anger among university staff and supporters when the selections revealed Stony Brook as the No. 8 seed. While pollsters have the Seawolves fourth in the country, their NCAA resume lacked major wins – namely wins above their ranking – despite an excellent 18-1 record.

So why did Stony Brook fall to an 8 seed?

Blais revealed a relatively unknown constraint put on the committee after the teams had been selected, seeded and bracketed. The NCAA would have to consider that statewide bans may affect public institutions from traveling to certain states. In this scenario, Stony Brook was seeded seventh and could reach the quarterfinals to face No. 2 North Carolina, which would be forbidden based on the non-essential travel ban the state of New York implemented in March 2016. The ban remains in effect even though the North Carolina state government has replaced the controversial “bathroom bill” deemed discriminatory toward the LGBT community.

“The committee was aware of the public universities impacted by statewide travel bans across all championships and the potential impact on the student-athlete experience,” Blais said. “All selection, seeding and bracketing principles were followed, including the ability to move seeds across and up and down seed lines to build the bracket.”

Moreover, that means all teams in the Stony Brook and Penn pods were swapped. This subsequently gives Maryland a tougher road to Foxborough by potentially facing the No. 7 seed or a third matchup with Northwestern, while North Carolina could face a No. 8 seed in Penn or Colorado, who might have been one of the final teams to miss out on being seeded. According to Blais, there were three teams under consideration for the final seed.

The Favorite

Maryland

The committee agrees with the pollsters that Maryland is the top team in the land and seeded the Terrapins as the overall No. 1 seed. Maryland’s road begins on Sunday against either Towson or High Point with a potential quarterfinal matchup against Stony Brook or a possible third matchup with Northwestern.

Last Team In

Louisville

While Blais is not allowed to divulge specific information about a final team in or a first team out, she was specific about what the committee was looking for to have teams to make the field of 26.

It appears Louisville was the final team selected with its No. 31 RPI and No. 31 strength of schedule. The difference for Louisville? Its win over Syracuse, which is the No. 5 RPI team in the land. If Louisville wasn’t the final team in, it was Albany (No. 19 RPI), whose significant win was over Cornell (No. 15 RPI).

“The committee has been very consistent in recognizing significant wins,” Blais said. “Everyone in the field had a win over another team within the field. That was a big point in selecting Louisville. A win at a top-five RPI team (Syracuse) was really significant when it came down to it.”

First Team Out

Johns Hopkins

Team No. 27 was Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays entered the weekend with the No. 18 RPI, but did not card a win over a team in the field. Would that have changed had Loyola won its Patriot League final over Navy? No one will know, but it’s possible they would have been left out anyway.

Denver might also be No. 27 and did have a win over a tournament team (Louisville). What Denver had that Louisville did not was a significant loss (Georgetown).

Toughest Draw

Penn

By numbers, it would appear North Carolina hosting Virginia (No. 11 RPI) and Elon (No. 17) would be unfair, but the Tar Heels beat those teams by 10 goals apiece in the regular season.

Looking at gaps in RPI between seeded teams and the next closest counterpart, Penn’s pod is the toughest. All four teams are in the top 25 in RPI and should the Quakers advance past the Mids and potentially face Colorado – if the Buffs can get past UMass – that is a true 8 vs. 9 matchup. The Buffaloes have proven they can win on the road (see their win at Penn State). 

Upset Alert

Cornell beats Princeton in the second round.

It’s difficult to beat a team three teams in a single season, and the Tigers have snuck by the Big Red twice this season by a combined four goals. In the teams’ first meeting, Princeton won 12-11 in double overtime by overcoming a two-goal deficit in the final 2:37 of regulation. They met in a tense Ivy League final on Sunday. Since 2015, Princeton holds a 4-1 edge over Cornell with a goal differential of plus-six thanks to three one-goal games.

Revenge Fuel

Florida

Florida has a point to prove after last year’s disappointment. Penn State upset the Gators by one goal in the second round of the tournament after they had a bye as the No. 2 seed.

Florida is the host at Dizney Stadium and likely will face a fired up USC squad, which the Gators already faced this season. Florida wants to prove it belongs in the game’s elite and it needs semifinal appearances to back that claim up.

The Gators won’t have to leave Gainesville to reach that goal. Look for them to host a quarterfinal game against No. 6 Syracuse or Boston College en route to Foxborough.

Players To Watch

Kylie Ohlmiller, Stony Brook, Jr. A

The nation’s leading scorer dishes and scores at ease. As the catalyst of the Seawolves offense, look for Ohlmiller’s skill to shine. It would be a treat to see it on display in a potential matchup against No. 1 Maryland.

Megan Taylor, Maryland, So. G

The Terrapins’ defense is anchored by Taylor’s strong play. She holds the nation’s third-best save percentage at 54.9 against some of the best competition in the country.

Sammy Jo Tracy, North Carolina, Sr. M

The Tar Heels’ do-everything player has been masterful on the draw all season. Tracy is fourth in the country with 7.39 draw controls per game. One only has to remember her game-high six draws against Maryland in last year’s championship game and a pair of goals she scored in the process.

Don't Be Surprised If...

Syracuse makes another run to the semifinals and meets North Carolina – again.

The Orange have shown themselves capable of beating the best. As ACC rivals, the Tar Heels and Orange could go head-to-head for the third time this season. On April 15, Syracuse topped North Carolina 13-11, but on April 30, the Tar Heels rebounded with an 18-11 win over the Orange in the ACC championship game. A third matchup with the Tar Heels in the semifinals would be exciting theater.

You'll Hear A Lot About... 

The potential championship game rematch of Maryland and North Carolina.

They have been the two best teams all year and rightly earned their seedings. It won’t be an easy road for either of them.

Maryland may face what would be a 7 seed in Stony Brook in the quarterfinals with a potential matchup against Penn State, which gave the Terps their toughest game this season, in the semifinals. On the opposite side, the Tar Heels’ only loss came at the hands of Syracuse, which may reappear in the semifinals as a possible pratfall. 

Predictions

Final Four:

• No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 4 Penn State

• No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Syracuse

Maryland has the horses to get by Stony Brook to reach the semifinals, while Penn State will regroup following its Big Ten semifinal loss to Northwestern to down James Madison and host a quarterfinal for the second straight year – the Nittany Lions will win. Carolina cruises to the semifinals, while Syracuse turns an upset at Florida.

Grading the Committee

A

The committee did an excellent job in being consistent and getting the best 26 teams in the field. The members get high marks for following that consistency through from the seeding down to the bracketing.

The Stony Brook situation will sour many people, not because they had to be moved, but that they were a No. 7 seed. But in the committee’s consistency, it said significant wins mattered. Who would the Seawolves jump in this scenario? No. 6 Syracuse beat No. 2 seed North Carolina. Stony Brook was the only seeded team not to defeat another seeded team. Excluding the Tar Heels, Stony Brook, Virginia, Towson and UMass are the only RPI top-20 teams not to beat a team rated higher than it during the season.

The only reason this is not rated an A+ is that some secondary matchups seem somewhat unfavorable to higher seeds. This is nitpicking at this point, but why is High Point being sent up to Maryland when it’s just down the road from Chapel Hill? Is it fair that the No. 11 RPI team may face No. 2 in the second round? Did Florida get an unfavorable matchup with USC in its pod a la 2016 Penn State at Florida? In the end, the committee had an enormously tough task and produced a balanced bracket. When you have to search for something wrong with it, that means it’s well done.

Bracketology Breakdown: This prognosticator correctly predicted the 13 at-large bids and had the eight seeded teams. In terms of seed line, I went 50 percent (which includes Stony Brook remaining a 7 seed and Penn an 8 seed). It was the middle four teams I was well off. I should not have dropped Penn State three spots based on its RPI falling from 3 to 7, which is why I missed the Nittany Lions and Princeton by two seed lines, while Florida and Syracuse were off by just one apiece.