Want to know how I voted in this Inside Lacrosse Media Poll? Take a look at my NCAA Men’s Division I ballot on ‘Is This Poll Serious?!’
1 Penn State LW: 1 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 1
W 15-11 Vs Cleveland St.
Penn State took a week off following their dual victory trip to Charlotte to take part in the Crown. This game was significantly closer than I thought it would be, but that’s not going to take away my #1 vote here. They still just have a single point loss to Yale on their record, which isn’t too bas considering the field. From here on out, it’s all Big Ten, though. Starting with Maryland.
2 Yale LW: 3 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 2
W 15-10 Vs Princeton
Princeton is no pushover team by any means. This was a good win for the Bulldogs, who are looking better and better by the week. They are mostly Ivy games from this point on, with a few exceptions. Time to earn the right to host the league in a month.
3 Loyola LW: 6 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 6
W 12-7 Vs Bucknell
Bucknell is certainly not who they were a year ago, but a Patriot win is a Patriot win. The Greyhounds now have three of them. They had a rocky two weeks with losses to Towson and Duke, but they’re now through that and should be a relative cruise control until the postseason. The games aren’t gimmes, but Loyola should win them all.
4 Maryland LW: 7 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 3
W 16-9 Vs North Carolina
There is a strong argument to have Maryland higher than four, if not #1. Their only loss is in OT to Notre Dame, which ain’t that bad. I don’t think too highly of Carolina, but a seven point win is still a strong showing. A big date with Penn State is next, which kicks off their all-league schedule from here on out.
5 Cornell LW: 4 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 10
W 18-3 Vs St. Bonaventure
L 15-16 Vs Penn
The win over the Bonnies is what this team needed after a grueling string of games, which resulted in two losses. Unfortunately, they now have an official pattern of alternating wins and losses for the month of March. Penn is a sneaky team, but the Big Red should have won this game.
6 Duke LW: 2 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 5
L 9-8 Vs Syracuse
Duke should have won this game without question. But it was not a dominant showing. What’s most encouraging about how Duke played is how they effectively bottled up the Syracuse Midfield for three quarters in a way almost nobody has. It was interesting how their matchups on defense were different nearly every time, so the matchup-craving Orange were never able to find the one that worked. It was a great plan that almost worked.
7 UVA LW: 9 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 7
W 16-11 Vs Johns Hopkins
The most shocking thing I read about this game was this is supposedly was the biggest victory for the Hoos at Homewood ever. Not a great sign for the Jays, but it was good for Virginia to not be in a one goal game.
8 Syracuse LW: 12 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 8
W 9-8 Vs Duke
Cuse stole this game right out from under Duke. In what was their first outdoor home game in something like 40 years, it lived up to the billing. Close game against a great opponent in front of one of the largest crowds all season. If this team ever becomes consistent across all four quarters, look out.
9 Ohio State LW: 14 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 4
W 11-10 Vs Notre Dame
Ohio State, like Cuse, stole this game from Notre Dame. A late run gave them the win and it was their first major win of the year. And while the early BU and UMass wins are looking better by the week, this is a great resume builder for the Buckeyes.
10 Notre Dame LW:10 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 12
W 12-9 Vs Michigan
L 11-10 Vs Ohio State
Notre Dame split the midwest games this week, which is why I let them hover. They had the game against Ohio state, but couldn’t close it out. Next up is hosting the Orange for their first road game of the season.
11 Denver LW: 11 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 9
W 7-6 Vs Towson
Denver hovered for me this week. The Towson win is good, but it was a game they shoud have one no matter what.
12 Towson LW: 5 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 11
L 7-6 Vs Denver
This was a pretty big drop for me, but I do think Towson had finally settled into where they really belong in the voting.
13 High Point LW: 8 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 14
L 12-10 Vs Jacksonville
I do have to drop High Point for losing to Jacksonville. But they have too many good wins to fall too far off. There’s certainly no reason to start smashing the panic button, but they should really avoid another loss like this, unless it’s to Richmond.
14 Penn LW: 19 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 13
W 16-15 Vs Cornell
This was a fantastic win for Penn and raises some eyebrows in the Ivy league. Only four teams make the tournament. Cornell and Yale are virtual locks, but those last two are interesting. Penn, Brown, and Princeton are the likely candidates, but Harvard beating BU this past week may be a sign that the Crimson are coming into their own at the right time.
15 Richmond LW: 13 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 18
W 16-9 Vs Bellarmine
Already known to be one of the best teams in the SoCon, High Point’s loss shows that the Spiders really do have the solid chance at taking the league’s bid to the NCAA tournament once again. It also shows that this league is no cake walk.
16 Hobart LW: 15 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 19
W 12-6 Vs Colgate
W 10-9 Vs Sacred Heart
The crazy high scoring offense is starting to slow down a little, and it’s not the time to do it. Syracuse visits in just over a week, which is always the game which is circled on the calendar in Geneva.
17 Lehigh LW: 17 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 15
W 15-8 Vs Navy
Lehigh stumbled early on, but they are looking to be right in the mix for the Patriot League. They have a real shot at getting a bye in the six team conference tournament, and a win like this over Navy is why.
18 UMass LW: 20 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: 17
W 14-7 Vs Brown
The Minutemen are trending in the right direction at the right time. Their middies like Treanor and Tobin are proving to be consistent playmakers, and Paparo is showing why he was taken by the Outlaws in the MLL draft. The CAA is getting interesting!
19 BU LW: 18 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: UR
L 12-11 Vs Harvard
W 17-9 Vs Lafayette
The Harvard loss could have been enough to drop BU entirely. They certainly had their chances in multiple overtime to get the win but just didn’t. Grabbing the gimme win over Lafayette certainly helped right the ship a bit.
20 Georgetown LW: 16 Inside Lacrosse Media Poll: UR
L 9-8 Vs Marquette
I was tempted to drop Georgetown entirely, but didn’t want to go all the way for just a one point loss. They’re definitely close, though.
Who Did I Drop?:
Nobody
Who did I leave out?
Hopkins
Army
Hopkins, I don’t quite get as a top-20 team right now. I don’t feel bad about leaving out the team that is listed at No. 20 anyway. Army’s fair, though. Only losses to ‘Cuse and Lehigh so far, and wins over UMass, Rutgers, and Colgate are compelling.
