NCAA Men’s DI Lacrosse Conference Comparison: Tournament Edition

The regular season is officially heading into the home stretch as NCAA lacrosse conference tournaments are looming. Three conferences didn’t see a single out of conference game (CAA, Big Ten, and SoCon). But, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still action to be had! The biggest shift this week was the Patriot winning two of their three games and the Big East lost their only two. Those results actually tied both conferences for fourth place. Take a look at where things stand, then dive into how each NCAA lacrosse conference tournament is sitting as they head towards their conference tournaments.

2019 Conference Comparison

Note: The records listed for each NCAA lacrosse conference tournament comparison are based on the Monday through Sunday schedule of the previous week.

Given that we’re about to jump into the NCAA lacrosse conference tournaments, let’s take a look at how all of those races are shaping up. Reminder that only the ACC and Independents do not have an automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament.

ACC

Dates April 25-27 & May 4

Location UNC & Campus Site

The ACC is going with a five-team tournament this time. The fourth and fifth seeds play on Thursday, then meet the top seed on Saturday. The two and three seeds will play each other for the right to play in the championship, which is hosted the next weekend and the highest remaining seed. Given the league dynamics, I also wonder how bad it is to be fourth or fifth. You get an extra game against a high RPI team, and if you do manage to win, it means three games over two weekends. You could do better with that then just losing the first game for sure.

Big Ten

Dates May 2-4

Location Rutgers

Only the top four teams make the tournament, but it’s still wide open right now. This league is also full of scenarios. Even Michigan has a shot if they beat Ohio State and Rutgers, assuming both lose their other game, too. Only Penn State has a spot clinched so far, though. Their win over Ohio State gives them that head to head tiebreaker at three wins should it come to that. Even Maryland could be eliminated by dropping both remaining games. Them at 2-3 in conference could leave Rutgers and Ohio State with three wins and Hopkins with four.

CAA

Dates May 3-5

Location TBD (Highest Seed)

The CAA is another four-team tournament. While Delaware has clinched a spot, they haven’t locked in the top seed. This is a conference that is only going to get one bid, so making the tournament is everything right now. Once that field is set, it’s a new season.

Patriot League

Dates April 30 – May 5

Location Campus sites and #1 Seed (TBD)

With half of the field set, things are close. Bucknell is still hanging on by a thread. With their only league wins being Holy Cross and Lafayette, things are not looking good. They need to win at least one game and Holy Cross to lose both. They could also get it if Navy loses to BU and they win both of their games. Either way, this is going down to the final games to determine the field and ultimate seeding. Loyola will be fine if they stay tied with Lehigh to host the entire tournament. But both of them need at least one more win each to lock in the first-round bye.

Big East

Dates May 2-4

Location Denver

The Big East is another four-team playoff, and with so many games left to play, there is too much that can still happen. St. John’s is obviously the closest to being eliminated. They need to win both of their games AND have Villanova also lose to Providence. That would put them in the three-way tie with Villanova and Georgetown, with head to head victories over both. Even Denver could be eliminated by losing both remaining games and every other two win team picking up a win.

Ivy League

Dates May 3-5

Location Columbia University

Yale and Penn have at least clinched spots in the tournament, with Penn being the No. 1 seed. Those last two spots will be interesting, though. Brown and Cornell play each other next, which will let one clinch, while the other is still scrambling. Since Harvard and Princeton both play each other as well, that means the final spot won’t be decided until the final week of the regular season.

NEC

Dates May 2-4

Location TBD (Highest Seed)

Even being undefeated in conference to far does nothing for Mount St. Mary’s. Things are still just too tight to say they’re officially into the four team tournament. Bryant can still get in with a win AND two St. Joseph’s losses. This is another situation where this conference is only going to send one team to the NCAA tournament. Once that window closes on the postseason, it’s closed.

MAAC

Dates May 2-4

Location Marist

The MAAC, like most of the other conference is a one-bid, four-team playoff. There are already two teams out, and Marist has clinched a playoff spot, but not their seed. They’ll be hosting anyway, which is always a help. After that, it’s a virtual toss-up. Five teams fighting for three spots. Monmouth would be eliminated with a loss this weekend to Quinnipiac.

SoCon

Dates May 2-4

Location High Point

For such a big conference, it’s almost crazy that it all comes down to just four teams. But given how close everyone is, that’s a big reason why nobody has clinched a spot yet. For example, High Point could lose their two games, and if Bellarmine beats Air Force while Air force beats VMI, Richmond beats Mercer, and Jacksonville beats Furman and Mercer: High Point finishes 10-4, but misses the SoCon tournament. So let’s just see how this weekend plays out before we really take stock into who’s in and who’s out.

America East

Dates May 2-4

Location TBD

Vermont and Albany have both locked in spots in the America East tournament, but the host is not decided. The top three teams all play each other, leaving the battle for that fourth spot totally self contained, for the most part. Technically, Binghamton is out, but they could still make things interesting.

Stay tuned for more NCAA lacrosse conference tournaments analysis!

As always, here are the past two years of conference records for reference.

2018:

2017: