Syracuse Lacrosse: Orange keep a grip on the first position while the polls find some stability

The Syracuse Orange have now held the number one position in the Media Poll for longer than any other team in the nation this year. SU barely escaped the Binghamton Bearcats last week, in yet another one-goal game. This team is the most prepared to battle in close games going into the NCAA Tournament as we’ve seen, and is probably John Desko’s best coaching job ever.

The Duke Blue Devils have now put together four straight wins, including three over ACC opponents. Duke took down a reeling Marquette Golden Eagles team that is 6-6 with three straight losses. The Blue Devils are a lock for the NCAA Tournament heading into the ACC Tournament where it will play Notre Dame in the first round.

Speaking of Notre Dame, the Irish are solidly in the top ten in each poll this week once again after a one-goal win over North Carolina. UND is the third ACC team who will be a lock for the NCAAs.

I’m sitting in the Outer Banks right now and it is absolutely beautiful. What is less pretty is the North Carolina Tar Heels’ resume. UNC continues to fall in the polls after its loss to the Irish. Carolina has wins over Denver and Virginia, but that’s really it. The Heels have not lost to a team with a losing record this year, but are 1-4 in the last five games with the losses against Syracuse and Notre Dame being one-goal affairs. Carolina is 11^th in RPI standings, but holds a 6-7 overall record, so it would need to win the ACC crown in order to even be eligible for the NCAAs. Say what you will about Carolina, but I believe this is a team that could win a first round game in the national tournament and leaving out the ACC Champion would be wild.

The Virginia Cavaliers continue to be unranked in the Media and Coaches Polls but remain at number twenty in the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings. The Cavs got pounded by Duke two weeks ago and were idle this past week. I don’t really understand the scheduling from the program. I think late wins are more important than early wins in most people’s minds, and I don’t really get why you would not want to play two of the final three weeks os the year. UVA’s national championship is Saturday against Penn which will be played at Duke, and it will be the final game for the Cavaliers in 2017.

The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are the only team in the top ten of the Media Poll with four or more losses, but Hop has not lost to a team outside of the top 20 and are fourth in the RPI rankings. I have JHU as a lock for the NCAA.

Denver has slid into the second spot overall in each poll. The Pios have really beat up on the rest of the Big East with one more Conference game to go against the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Maverik Men’s Division I Media Poll

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

Biggest Movers:

Princeton Tigers +4

North Carolina Tar Heels, Towson Tigers, Richmond Spiders -4

Exiting the Poll:

Providence Friars

Entering the Poll:

Loyola Greyhounds

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (6), Johns Hopkins (8), Duke (2), Notre Dame (7), UNC (20), Army (12)

Also Receiving Votes: Air Force Falcons, Virginia Cavaliers, Monmouth Hawks, Binghamton Bearcats, Providence Friars, Drexel Dragons, Brown Bears, Michigan Wolverines

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20

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

Biggest Movers:

Yale -5

Villanova +4

Exiting the Poll:

Providence

Entering the Poll:

Loyola

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (6), Johns Hopkins (10), Notre Dame (8), Duke (3), Virginia (20), Army (17), North Carolina (19)

Also Considered: Air Force, Boston University, Brown, Penn, Providence

USILA/Nike Division I Coaches Poll

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

Biggest Movers:

Richmond -6

Ohio State +5

Exiting the Poll:

Providence

Entering the Poll:

Loyola

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (7), Johns Hopkins (8), Notre Dame (6), Duke (4), UNC (18), Army (14)

Also Considered: Air Force Falcons, Virginia Cavaliers, Binghamton Bearcats, Brown Bears, Providence Friars, Navy Midshipmen, Lehigh Mountain Hawks