Grow the Game®

Cornell/Princeton Game Photos by Tommy Gilligan who got snubbed
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on reddit
Share on whatsapp

Who Got Snubbed? 2015 NCAA Lacrosse Tourney

Who got snubbed from the 2015 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament? It’s time to give the top NCAA D1, D2, and D3 teams who DIDN’T get an invite to the dance a little love. I’ll also try to explain WHY some of the teams out there were reacting like this last night:

Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan

Read through my snubs, and if you have some of your own, hit us up with them in the comments! To see who DID make it in, and how that lines up with top 20 D1 votes, check out the post comparing the two HERE.

Who Got Snubbed? NCAA D1

According to LaxPower, the highest rated team not to get an invite to the NCAAs was Army at #13, however, NO top 20 wins (by the end of the season at least) and some tough losses made the Cadets an after thought for the committee. If they had beaten Notre Dame, we’d have a different story on our hands, but they didn’t, so we don’t!

Next up is Princeton at #15, and this one is tough to swallow. If Maryland wins the Big Ten, I believe Princeton would go over Hopkins, but that didn’t happen. So it was really down to Brown and Princeton, but Brown had a head-to-head win. The committee seemingly went with that, and the Tigers were left out. If Denver hadn’t won the Big East, or if Albany hadn’t won the AE, Brown and Ohio State would likely both be out. Less upsets means less snubs. Brown and OSU should breathe easy.

Georgetown is probably the only other team that was hopeful and is now shattered. They lacked top 20 wins (two over Marquette is solid though) and had a couple of bad losses, so they were really in the same boat as Army if they didn’t win their conference.

In D1, you really do have two or three teams that should be dancing, but aren’t. With more conference upsets, things could have been a lot worse in this department.

Who Got Snubbed? NCAA D2

New York Tech sits at #6 in LaxPower’s computer ranking, but they didn’t make the 8 team field. Their other problem is that while they won some big games, and played others tight, they don’t have any wins in the Top 8 or 9 teams. Losses to Post and Adelphi put them out of the North potential.

Seton Hill has more losses than NYTech, but they also have a solid win over Lake Erie, who is dancing. With six losses though, it was hard to pick them for an at-large bid. Mercyhurst simply didn’t have the wins to make the tourney, although they were only one goal away from an AQ.

I feel comfortable with the NCAA D2 tourney field. Sure, Tech is a good program, but they didn’t do anything to make me think this is a serious snub.

Who Got Snubbed? NCAA D3

First up on the D3 table is Williams College. This is a top level program, but with FOUR NESCAC teams above them, there was little chance for Williams to pick up a spot. The same goes for Colby, Wesleyan, and Hamilton. NESCAC ain’t getting 5 teams!

Denison is another team that has a potential gripe. Two rough losses to open vs Noke and W&L, and then TWO one goal losses to OWU, and Denison is OUT? Ouch.

Ithaca might have the toughest gripe, because while they didn’t win the big games, they really did play a lot of top teams tight. A 12-9 loss to RIT, a 9-8 OT loss to D2 Tampa, a 10-11 double OT loss to Cortland, and two tight losses to Nazareth. Not tourney worthy I guess, but oh so close!

RPI had a big win over Ursinus, but three losses to unranked teams pushed them out of consideration in my book. Plattsburgh was missing a win to hang their hat on, but played Cortland close in the SUNYAC final, losing 14-12.

When it comes to D3, a ton of teams get in, and there are less and less snubs each year. Denison is a pretty obvious potential Snub of the Year candidate (along with Princeton in D1), but even here it’s not all that shocking. Win a couple BIG games, win your conference, or prepare to be disappointed. That’s really the way it should be.