Previewing conference tournaments as teams fight for NCAA lacrosse spots
The first weekend in May is at hand, and the attention of the sporting world turns to… Well, sure, there’s that horse race, too. But for lacrosse fans, it means the conclusion of the regular season and the anticipated arrival of Selection Sunday.
The last three months have produced a lengthy list of unexpected results and close finishes. But despite all that, the Division I men’s field appears to be largely in order. This statement comes, of course, with the usual caveat that there is still room for chaos to ensue if a few conference tournaments don’t unfold as expected over the next four days.
Here’s what we do know. The NCAA field will consist of nine automatic qualifiers and eight at-large selections. That’s one fewer automatic bid than there was a year ago since the Atlantic Coast Conference, with only five members that sponsor the sport, is no longer eligible for an AQ. The ACC will be well represented in the at-large pool, of course, but that does mean there will be just one play-in game for automatic qualifiers this season instead of two. The at-large group might in fact be the exclusive dominion of just two conferences, but we’ll get to that shortly.
For now, one of those nine automatic NCAA berths has already been determined. Loyola (Md.) claimed the Patriot League tournament title last weekend and now awaits its first-round assignment. Eight more leagues will stage their four-team postseason tournaments starting Thursday.
The ACC also held its tournament last week, and though there was no AQ involved, it was nevertheless a must-win event for defending NCAA champion North Carolina. The Tar Heels entered the weekend 6-7 and needed to win twice just to finish above .500, a minimum requirement for consideration as an at-large team. UNC did just that, staving off a huge rally to upend top-ranked Syracuse 16-15 then defeating Notre Dame 14-10 in the final. The Heels picked up a pair of RPI top-five victories in the process, which combined with their earlier non-conference win against Denver could make their resume worthy of a top-eight seed and first-round home game thanks to a top-10 RPI and strong schedule. In any event, UNC is undoubtedly not a team anybody wants to see on their half of the bracket right now.
“We kind of waited until the last minute of the season,” said Tar Heels coach Joe Breschi. He added that his team borrowed a page from basketball in its approach entering the ACC tournament, something that also tends to work pretty well around Chapel Hill. ”Going in we kind of looked at it like it was a 6-4 team bracket If you win six games, you’ll achieve your two main goals, winning the ACC tournament and winning the national championship.”
Syracuse, Notre Dame and Duke, all still in the RPI top 10, also figure to hear their names called along with the Tar Heels when the field is unveiled Sunday evening. That already constitutes half the at-large pool, and the other half could very well be filled by the Big Ten.
The B1G tournament gets underway Thursday in Columbus, the predetermined host site. Maryland enters as the top seed following a decisive 12-5 victory against long-time rival Johns Hopkins to close out the regular season. The Terrapins will take on fourth-seeded Penn State at 5 p.m. ET followed by host Ohio State vs. Johns Hopkins. The winners meet Saturday at 7:30, with all tournament games available on BTN.
The Buckeyes had upended the Terrapins a week earlier and had a chance to claim the regular-season crown outright but lost in overtime to Rutgers in their finale. It was a result the Scarlet Knights needed, even though they had already been mathematically eliminated from the four-team B1G tourney field. Rutgers might now have an at-large case, along with the other three squads that don’t claim the title this weekend.
As for the actual B1G tourney participants, there’s still plenty to play for. The Nittany Lions, who were beaten 15-11 by the Terps in their prior encounter on April 8, could use a signature win to enhance their chances to stay home in the first round of the NCAA’s. A tournament title for Maryland could mean the overall No. 1 seed. The Buckeyes and Blue Jays might also be playing for a first-round home game, though both could still wind up in the top eight regardless of Thursday’s outcome.
“All four teams here are top-10 teams. They’re all really, really strong,” said Maryland coach John Tillman during his weekly conference call with media members. “At this time of the year, teams are all trying to find their way and get hot. I think our older guys understand that the end is near, so there’s a sense of urgency there. One thing we talk about around here is enjoying and embracing the moment.”
Crowding the Pool — While all the at-large openings might be filled by those two power conferences, there are still a few things to watch this weekend that might complicate some decisions for the committee. We’ll begin with a couple of non-tournament affairs. Patriot League runner-up Army, which early in the campaign scored a huge road victory at Syracuse, plays host to Notre Dame on Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network). Though the Black Knights have a head-to-head loss to Rutgers and are only 17th in the RPI, a second top-ten win would have to be considered. Likewise, Patriot League semifinalist Boston University takes on Duke Sunday. An upset of the Blue Devils might not be enough to get the Terriers in, but it has the potential to scramble the seeds a bit.
Any other possible chaos would have to come from conference tournaments, or more specifically two conference tournaments in particular. Here’s a quick look around them all, starting with the leagues that get underway Thursday.
Big East — Things could get interesting at predetermined host Providence. Top-seeded Denver is probably in the NCAA field either way. But if the Pioneers are upset in this tournament, as they were last year by Marquette, that would be bad news for someone. Second-seeded Villanova could also be a long-shot at-large candidate. The Wildcats sustained some damaging losses early but own a big non-conference victory against Maryland. Thursday’s semifinals, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET with Denver vs. Marquette followed by Villanova vs. Providence, can be seen on CBS Sports Network. Saturday’s title game at 3:30 ET will be on Fox Sports 2.
America East — Top-seed and host Albany has a top-ten RPI and no bad losses, with its only setbacks coming by a goal each against Syracuse and Maryland. Nevertheless, the overall resume for the Great Danes isn’t quite as strong as, say, Denver’s, so they would do well to not leave anything to chance. Through no fault of their own, the Great Danes’ best win lost some value last weekend when Yale was upset by Harvard.
Colonial — Host and top seed Towson earned the home field with a victory against Hofstra in the regular-season finale. Though both the Tigers and Pride are in the RPI top 15, the runner-up wouldn’t compare well against other at-large candidates.
Southern — Air Force is the No. 1 seed, though second-seeded Richmond is the predetermined host. Both the Falcons and Spiders have top-20 RPI’s, so either of those should avoid the play-in game if they claim the automatic bid.
Northeast — Hobart earned the top seed and hosting privileges on the final weekend of the regular season by taking down Robert Morris. The champion here is likely to be slotted into the play-in game, unless something unexpected happens in one of the other league tournaments.
The remaining two leagues will stage their tournament semifinals on Friday with championship games on Sunday.
Ivy — Though the Ivy League can usually be counted on to send multiple teams through to the NCAA’s, that won’t be the case this year, a fate sealed by some bad results on the final day of the regular season. In addition to top-seeded Yale’s afore-mentioned setback against Harvard, second-place finisher Princeton dropped its finale to Cornell. That isn’t normally a bad loss, but the Big Red had been winless in the Ivy to that point and finished with a disappointing 5-8 mark overall.
That isn’t to say, of course, that the Ivy tournament won’t be entertaining. Both semifinals and Sunday’s title game can be seen on ESPNU. The action gets underway Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET as Princeton faces off with Brown, a Final Four squad a year ago whose games tend to be high-scoring and fast-paced. Yale, seeking its third Ivy tournament crown in a row and fifth in six years, follows against fourth-seeded Penn. The winners will meet at noon Sunday.
Metro Atlantic — In only its fourth year of existence, Monmouth swept the MAAC regular season and now seeks its inaugural NCAA appearance. The MAAC tourney will be held on the Marist campus in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Sunday’s final can be seen on ESPNU at 10 a.m. ET.