🔮 PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

The regular season is over for NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse, and now we turn our attention to the 10 conference tournaments. Some of them are already underway, as the Big Ten and MAAC each held their quarterfinal rounds on Saturday.

The winner of each conference tournament — except for the ACC — will automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament in May. There’s a lot on the line this week, so let’s take a look around the D1 landscape and try to predict the winner of each conference tournament.

🔜 ACC Winner: Notre Dame

Notre Dame might be even better than they were last season, when they won the National Championship. The Fighting Irish went undefeated in regular-season ACC play, and their only loss of the year came in overtime against Georgetown way back on Feb. 25.

Syracuse may have the best chance to disrupt Notre Dame’s run. The Orange already won a neutral-site game in Charlotte (ACC Tournament location), when they played Johns Hopkins in early March. They also gave the Irish a battle in South Bend, falling short by just two goals in that game.

Will Duke or Virginia turn it on in the ACC Tournament? Both teams went 1-3 in conference play. They each have the potential to run the table, but Notre Dame has been the most consistent team in the ACC by far. That’s why the Irish are the safest bet to win this tournament.

🔜 Big Ten Winner: Penn State

For most of the season, Penn State was the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions had a two week stretch where they stumbled against Maryland and Johns Hopkins, surrendering a second-half lead in each of those games. They have since won three straight games, giving them a decent bit of momentum heading into the Big Ten semifinals.

Hopkins and Maryland, on the other hand, are coming off a week of rest after battling it out in The Rivalry. Although they are the top two seeds in the Big Ten Tournament, it’s tough to maintain that emotional intensity after an extended break. I could see both of these teams coming out flat in the Semifinals on Thursday.

Michigan is the wild card in this tournament. The Wolverines ran the table last year, and they’ve already upset Maryland once in 2024. Could they go on a run and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament again?

🔜 Ivy League Winner: Princeton

The Ivy League Tournament is totally up for grabs, but Princeton feels like the team with the most momentum right now. Since suffering an embarrassing loss to Brown, the Tigers have refocused and strung together a pair of impressive wins over Penn and Yale. They’re peaking at the right time and could repeat as tournament champs.

As the No. 1 seed, Cornell has the advantage of being the host team. They also have a player who can potentially take over the tournament in CJ Kirst. He and Yale attackman Matt Brandau are the key players to watch.

Penn is a little bit of an afterthought in this tournament field, but the Quakers shouldn’t be overlooked. They play great defense and upset both Cornell and Duke this season. They’ll be a tough out for a 4-seed.

🔜 Big East Winner: Georgetown

The Big East Tournament is a clear two-horse race between Denver and Georgetown. The Pioneers beat the Hoyas, 10-8, in their regular-season meeting, but that game was played out west. This tournament will be held on the East Coast at Villanova, which could shift the dynamic. Although Denver has traveled well this season, Georgetown has won this tournament five seasons in a row.

I don’t really see a path for either Providence or Villanova to pull off an upset in the semifinals. This is a top-heavy conference; there’s a clear gap between Denver/Georgetown and the rest of the Big East.

🔜 Patriot League Winner: Army

The Patriot League has been pure chaos this season, so predicting the tournament winner is anyone’s guess. I’m going with Army because they were the top-ranked team in the conference all season (even peaking at No. 1 for a couple weeks) and have home-field advantage as the 1-seed.

A pair of quarterfinal games will be played on Tuesday night, with Loyola facing Navy in Annapolis and Colgate visiting Boston U. Last year, Loyola made it to the Patriot League Championship. This year, both Colgate and Boston U pulled off upsets over Army. Brace yourself, because anything can happen.

Lehigh is the random team to watch here. Their 8-6 overall record is unassuming, but the Mountain Hawks finished the regular-season with four straight wins and earned a first-round bye as the 2-seed in this tournament.

👀 Other Conference Tournaments…

America East: This conference was a slugfest, but Albany ultimately claimed the 1-seed in this tournament with a 6-1 record. The Great Danes also have the best player in the conference, Jake Piseno, so I’m rolling with them to win.

ASUN: Utah, Air Force and Jacksonville each went 8-1 in regular-season ASUN play. The Utes won this tournament last year and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak, so they’re the team to beat.

Atlantic 10: Saint Joe’s just beat Richmond on the road in the regular-season finale to claim the 1-seed in this tournament. The Hawks started the season 0-3, but they haven’t lost a game since February and are currently surging.

CAA: The winner of this tournament will either be Towson or Delaware. The Tigers just beat the Blue Hens by one goal last weekend, so they will have home-field advantage as the 1-seed.

MAAC: Sacred Heart is having a great season and went undefeated (9-0) in conference play. The Pioneers have the inside track to earning the AQ in this tournament.

📺 Midweek TV & Streaming Info

NCAA streaming info courtesy of Inside Lacrosse (all times Eastern):

Tuesday, April 30:
1 p.m. — Cleveland State vs. Bellarmine (ESPN+)
4 p.m. — Robert Morris at Jacksonville (ESPN+)
6 p.m. — Colgate at Boston U (ESPN+)
6 p.m. — Loyola at Navy (ESPN+)

Thursday, May 2:
3 p.m. — Siena at Sacred Heart (ESPN+)
3 p.m. — UMass at Saint Joseph’s (ESPN+)
4 p.m. — Drexel at Towson (LacrosseTV)
4 p.m. — UMBC at Vermont (ESPN+)
5:30 p.m. — Villanova at Denver (CBS Sports Network)
6 p.m. — High Point at Richmond (ESPN+)
6 p.m. — Michigan at Johns Hopkins (Big Ten Network)
6:30 p.m. — Manhattan at LIU (ESPN+)
7 p.m. — Fairfield at Delaware (LacrosseTV)
7 p.m. — Merrimack at UAlbany (ESPN+)
8:30 p.m. — Providence at Georgetown (CBS Sports Network)
8:30 p.m. — Penn State at Maryland (Big Ten Network)