📺 'CUSE-MARYLAND LEADS PACKED SATURDAY

⏮ Throwback Matchup: Maryland Hosting 'Cuse

If there's one blue-blood matchup worth dropping EVERYTHING to watch this weekend, it's Maryland vs. Syracuse. Both programs are ranked in the Top 20. The Terps are the defending National Champions, while the Orange have a young and exciting roster under head coach Gary Gait.

And if this matchup feels like a throwback, that's because it kind of is. Although Maryland paid a visit to The Dome last season, this is the first time the Terps will host Syracuse at College Park since 1997. Allow a young Quint KesseNICK to help illustrate how long that's been.

Syracuse (3-0) is looking to preserve its perfect record, but Maryland (1-1) will be determined to bounce back from last week's 12-7 loss to Loyola. The key for the Terps will be slowing down star freshman Joey Spallina (11 goals in 2023). Look for fifth-year defender Brett Makar to mark up on him this Saturday.

Injury Update: Maryland goalie Logan McNaney tore his ACL against Loyola and will miss the rest of the season, according to Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun. We'll have to wait and see who the Terps turn to in net moving forward.

🤕 Who Will Rebound: Duke or Denver?

Last weekend was full of stunning upsets, and two teams on the wrong end of them — Duke and Denver — will meet on Friday afternoon in Durham, N.C.

Duke (2-1) lost to Jacksonville for the second year in a row; Denver (1-1) lost to Air Force for the first time since 2009. Only one team can rebound with a win this weekend.

A second early season loss would be devastating to either program. Duke dropped two games in February last season and ended up missing the NCAA Tournament. Denver also missed the tourney in 2022, but is on a mission to make it back in what is head coach Bill Tierney's final season before retirement.

Recent History: Duke beat Denver 19-10 at home when they met last February.

🌿 The Return of The Ivy League

The Ivy League teams were agents of chaos last season. After an extended hibernation, they return to action this weekend.

Six of the seven Ivy programs qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2022 (sorry, Dartmouth). While that's unlikely to happen again, it's impossible to predict which schools will make it this year given how close the competition is. It's a conference where parody rules, and anyone can beat anyone.

Here's how it shook out last year: Princeton was the highest-ranked Ivy League team at the end of the regular season, Penn won the Ivy League championship, and Cornell went the furthest in the NCAA Tournament.

Can't wait to see what craziness the Ivies deliver in 2023.

Player to Watch: Penn midfielder Sam Handley (pictured above) is a preseason All-American and potential No. 1 pick in the 2023 PLL Draft.

🍀 Notre Dame Goes Streaking

Notre Dame made its return this week and utterly stomped Marquette, 21-10, in what felt like a preseason scrimmage inside Loftus Sports Center. With the win, the Irish notched their seventh straight victory dating back to last season.

With Maryland losing last weekend, that means Notre Dame now owns the longest active winning streak in NCAA Division-I Men's Lacrosse.

Some are calling this a "weird flex" because Notre Dame missed the NCAA Tournament last season, while others are using it as evidence that the Selection Committee snubbed one of the best teams in college lacrosse. Either way, the Irish are ranked in the top five this year and will likely pick up another win vs. Cleveland State on Sunday.

Dynamic Duo: Brothers Chris Kavanagh (5 goals, 2 assists) and Pat Kavanagh (0 goals, 6 assists) combined for 13 points in the win over Marquette.

📺 FULL Weekend Television Slate

TV listings via USA Lacrosse Magazine (all times Eastern):

Friday, Feb. 171 p.m. — UMass at UMass-Lowell (ESPN+)4 p.m. — Denver at Duke (ESPNU)

Saturday, Feb. 1811:30 a.m. — Bucknel at Richmond (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Manhattan at Navy (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Cornell at Albany (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Hobart at Lehigh (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Rutgers at Army (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Hopkins at Loyola (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Boston U at Bryant (ESPN3)12 p.m. — Navy at Manhattan (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Stony Brook at Penn State (BTN+)12 p.m. — Hofstra at Michigan (BTN+)12 p.m. — Bellarmine at Canisius (Golden Griffins Network)12 p.m. — Marist at Jacksonville (Dolphins All-Access)12 p.m. — St. John's at Delaware (FloSports)12 p.m. — Penn at Georgetown (FloSports)12 p.m. — Siena at Providence (FloSports)12 p.m. — St. Joe's at Towson (FloSports)1 p.m. — UMBC at Drexel (FloSports)1 p.m. — Syracuse at Maryland (BTN+)1 p.m. — Lindenwood at LIU (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Quinnipiac at Brown (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Fairfield at Wagner (Wagner All-Access)2 p.m. — Mount St. Mary's at NJIT (AmericaEast.tv)2 p.m. — Colgate at Air Force (YouTube)3 p.m. — Monmouth at Princeton (ESPN+)3 p.m. — Vermont at Utah (Utah Live Stream)4 p.m. — Harvard at Virginia (ACCNX)4 p.m. — Sacred Heart at Lafayette (ESPN+)

Sunday, Feb. 1912 p.m. — Cleveland State at Notre Dame (ACCNX)12 p.m. — North Carolina at Ohio State (BTN+)12 p.m. — Yale at Villanova (FloSports)