Syracuse Lacrosse: Taking the odds, week 4

This is a weekly post I will be doing all year, just for fun. Keep track, add your picks in the comment section and watch along.

If you follow lacrosse, most likely you’ve ventured into the lax twittersphere where you can find a whole mess of interesting characters. One of the more intriguing profiles out there is @laxvegaslines which sets weekly lines for lacrosse. Back in 2015, the online sports book Bovada opened up for lacrosse wagers. Not long after beginning the experiment it was shut down due to a lack of interest. Thankfully, @laxvegaslines has filled the gap. It is a great follow and always makes for interesting lax talk. It should be made clear that the profile does not actually take wagers, just sets lines.

So just for fun, this season we’ll be keeping an eye on the odds, give you our picks, and I’ll keep an eye on how things go.

Join me and put your picks down in the comment section and maybe we can find out who will win all the Monopoly money!

Immediately below are this week’s lines followed by my picks. And of course, a big thanks to @laxvegaslines for putting together these weekly odds. I will also mention that I am not actually making any wagers (not that anyone would actually take lacrosse bets), this is simply for fun.

If you’re wondering how I’ve been doing, I am 23-23 against the spread and 24-22 on the over/under picks coming into the week. Hmm... pretty mediocre.

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays -4.5, under 23

Marquette Golden Eagles +1.5, under 19

Penn State Nittany Lions PK, under 24

Penn’s defense has been very good this year, especially against Virginia last week. Meanwhile, PSU has 72 goals through four games. This is a really interesting matchup.

UMBC Retrievers +4.5, under 20

These are two teams that just don’t score a lot. UMBC has put up more than six goals just once in its four games. However, Towson is not a defensive powerhouse by any means.

Army Black Knights -6.5, over 20

Army is going to put up a bunch of points in this one. Lafayette is pretty weak, but I still think these two teams get above 20 goals.

Holy Cross Crusaders +5, over 22

On paper, Loyola has certainly underperformed with a 2-2 record. However the Greyhounds have two one goal losses including an overtime loss to Johns Hopkins. This is definitely an over game and I think Loyola wins but Holy Cross covers.

Brown Bears +1.5, over 28

I think Brown comes back after last week’s tough loss to Stony Brook. The Bears have put up 42 goals in two games. Incredible. Meanwhile Rutgers averages 12 goals per game.

Stony Brook Seawolves -4.5, under 22.5

25 goals against Brown? Stony Brook is going to dominate a Fairfield Stags team that has scored just three goals on two separate occasions.

Albany Great Danes -4.5, under 24.5

I think the over/under is right on in this one. Cornell is 0-2 but did manage 10 goals against Penn State. Albany meanwhile has a high powered offense led by Connor Fields and a capable defense that has held all opponents to just 10 or fewer goals.

Yale Bulldogs -3, over 22.5

I expected Yale to be pretty good this year. The Bulldogs are 1-1 with a one goal loss to Maryland. Bryant has been very up and down this year, so I don’t really know what to expect from them.

Denver Pioneers -2.5, over 22.5

I think the Pios win this. UNC is 3-1 but stumbled hard against Johns Hopkins, a team that was demolished by unranked Princeton on Friday. Carolina was also held to just seven goals against Furman. Overall, UNC has been very unimpressive so far, but 22.5 is just so low and I think Carolina is due for a breakout game.

Duke Blue Devils PK, under 22

Speaking of unimpressive ACC teams… Duke is 3-2 with losses to Air Force and Denver. The Blue Devils have not beaten a team with a winning record. Meanwhile Richmond is 4-0 while holding its four opponents to a combined 17 goals. I think Duke ekes it out but these two play to under 22.

Virginia Cavaliers -1, over 28

Fast, fast, fast. I have Virginia winning by more than one but giving up healthy amount of goals. UVA has 82 goals this season, an average of 16.4 per game but has given up an average of 13 goals per game. With the fast paced tempo, expect a lot of transition opportunities. I originally took the under, but am making a last minute switch.

Ohio State Buckeyes -3, under 21

The Buckeyes are a weak 4-0 team but should be able to beat the spread. I think 21 is right on point for the over-under.

Maryland Terrapins -1, over 22

Maryland wins but this could be a one goal game. These are two very good defenses, but I’ve been surprised about Notre Dame’s offensive output this year.