📊 LACROSSE BRACKETOLOGY

How did your March Madness bracket turn out? Busted weeks ago?

Well, good news: The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament is fast approaching, and this newsletter will provide our first stab at 2024 bracketology.

The NCAA Tournament will begin on the weekend of May 11, after conference tournaments end. The NCAA Quarterfinals will be held in Hempstead, N.Y. and Towson Maryland the following weekend. Then, the final four returns to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Memorial Day Weekend.

There are nine conferences that get automatic qualifiers in the NCAA Tournament. Eight teams will receive at-large bids. That’s a total of 17 teams, with one play-in game to determine the 16-team field.

Keep scrolling for the projected field and first-round matchups.

🔎 The Tournament Teams

(1) Notre Dame
(2) Virginia
(3) Duke
(4) Johns Hopkins — Big Ten Champ
(5) Cornell — Ivy League Champ
(6) Yale
(7) Georgetown — Big East Champ
(8) Denver
Maryland
Syracuse
Penn State
Boston U — Patriot League Champ
Saint Joseph’s — Atlantic 10 Champ
Towson — CAA Champ
Utah — ASUN Champ
Bryant — America East Champ
Sacred Heart — MAAC Champ

First four out: Princeton, Penn, Harvard, Army

It’s important to remember that ANYTHING can happen in conference tournaments. The “Champs” you see listed above are just our predictions based on the way the season has unfolded so far. If an underdog runs the table — like Michigan did last year in the Big Ten — it could significantly impact the at-large bids. RPI is the most important metric to consider when projecting which teams will likely receive at-large bids.

🆚 The Round 1 Matchups

(1) Notre Dame vs. Bryant/Sacred Heart: The play-in game is more interesting than the first-round matchup here, since Notre Dame would destroy either of these two teams. Sacred Heart is quietly rolling through the MAAC (6-0) after winning just five games last year.

(2) Virginia vs. Utah: Last year, Utah won the ASUN and lost 20-7 to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A trip to Charlottesville would likely end in similar fashion.

(3) Duke vs. Towson: A lot of folks have faith in Towson as an underrated team that could go on a run in the postseason. Duke has showed some cracks this year, but count on the Blue Devils to be at their best in May. This would be an extremely unlikely upset.

(4) Johns Hopkins vs. Saint Joseph’s: This is where the upset potential starts to become somewhat realistic. Two years ago, St. Joe’s got into a first-round shootout with Yale and almost took down the Bulldogs. The Hawks are starting to heat up, and Hopkins is far from unbeatable.

(5) Cornell vs. Boston U: This potential first-round matchup could go either way. Cornell has been up-and-down this season, while Boston U has proved it can put up a fight against top-tier teams. The Terriers upset Army when they were No. 1 and took Duke to the wire on the road.

(6) Yale vs. Penn State: This one would be an interesting rematch. These two teams met in Happy Valley in early March, with Yale jumping out to 8-1 lead only to blow that lead and lose in overtime. Would luck still be on the Nittany Lions’ side?

(7) Georgetown vs. Syracuse: This would probably be the most entertaining matchup of the first round. Syracuse is enjoying a resurgent year; Georgetown may finally be primed to make a deep run. Someone is losing this game in heartbreaking fashion.

(8) Denver vs. Maryland: This matchup would be a defensive slugfest. Last year, Maryland suffered an embarrassing first-round defeat against Army. Denver would be an even tougher opponent this time around.

📺 Midweek TV & Streaming Info

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

Tuesday, April 9:
4 p.m. — Yale at Boston U (ESPN+)

Wednesday, April 10:
12 p.m. — Robert Morris at Bellarmine (ESPN+)
12 p.m. — Jacksonville at Detroit Mercy (ESPN+)
2 p.m. — Utah at Lindenwood (ESPN+)
3 p.m. — Sacred Heart at Quinnipiac (No Streaming Info)
3 p.m. — Wagner at VMI (ESPN+)
4 p.m. — Mount St. Mary’s at Canisius (ESPN+)
4 p.m. — Queens at Cleveland State (ESPN+)
4 p.m. — Manhattan at LIU (ESPN+)
8 p.m. — Siena at Marist (ESPNU)