Syracuse Men's Lacrosse: Orange Move Into the Top Five in Polls

The Syracuse Orange move into the top five in each poll this week after wins over North Carolina and Duke. The Blue Devils are now in the top ten of each ranking due to its win against Notre Dame. The Irish fell several spots in the polls for the OT loss to Duke but still hold a 9-3 record. The Tar Heels took a hit for the loss to Syracuse while the Virginia Cavaliers are now lost in oblivion after getting demolished by the Brown Bears. For me, the only bubble team left in the ACC is North Carolina but I can't see them missing the tourney with wins over Duke, Hopkins, and Notre Dame.

The big loser this week was Navy after falling to Army in the Patriot League Tournament. The only other loss outside of the top 20 in RPI for the Heels is the 11-12 double OT loss to the Boston University Terriers. While I think Marquette and Villanova are more susceptible to the bubble, Navy is third in line to get the boot.

Otherwise, the polls are fairly steady. Take a look below and let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

USILA/NIKE Coaches' Poll

Ranked Teams by Conference: ACC (4/5), Big Ten (4/6), Big East (3/6), Patriot (2/9), Ivy (2/7), America East (2/7), Northeast (1/7), Colonial (1/6), SoCon (1/8), Metro Atlantic (0/7), Independent (0/2),

Biggest Movers:

Duke +4

Navy -8

Exiting the Poll:

Bucknell

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (4), Johns Hopkins (10), Duke (9), Notre Dame (6), UNC (14)

Also Receiving Votes: Bucknell Bison, Army Black Knights, High Point Panthers, Saint Joseph's Hawks, Penn Quakers, Richmond Spiders

Cascade/Maverik Media Poll

Ranked Teams by Conference: ACC (4/5), Big Ten (4/6), Big East (3/6), Patriot (2/9), America East (2/7), Ivy (2/7), SoCon (1/8), Northeast (1/7), Colonial (1/6), Metro Atlantic (0/7), Independent (0/2)

Biggest Movers:

Navy -5

Duke +4

Exiting the Poll:

None

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (4), Johns Hopkins (9), Duke (10) Notre Dame (7), UNC (13)

Also Receiving Votes: Army Black Knights, Saint Joseph's Hawks, Ohio State Buckeyes, Bucknell Bison, Richmond Spiders, Quinnipiac Bobcats

Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Poll

Ranked Teams by Conference: ACC (4/5), Big Ten (4/6), Big East (3/6), Patriot (3/9), Ivy (2/7), America East (2/7), Colonial (1/6), SoCon (1/8), Northeast (0/7), Metro Atlantic (0/7), Independent (0/2),

Biggest Movers:

Navy -4

Syracuse +5

Exiting the Poll:

None

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (6), Johns Hopkins (13), Duke (8), Notre Dame (5), UNC (9)

Also Considered (listed alphabetically): Army Black Knights, Bryant Bulldogs, Fairfield Stags, Harvard Crimson, Hofstra Pride, Penn Quakers, Richmond Spiders, Saint Joseph's Hawks

Syracuse will host the Colgate Raiders on Saturday at 1 PM in the regular season finale. The game can be seen on ESPN3/TWCS and heard on TK99. Of course you can follow me @Orangelax for updates.