Our weekly rankings are in!
The top 10 is starting to shuffle quite a bit, and the spots in the teens are basically toss ups. Right now, with so much volatility and key upsets taking place, there is little room for agreement for everyone. This week epitomizes why the media poll has more than 20 voters; virtually nobody agrees!
Public ballots and weekly rankings are nothing without praise and shame, so here is our scoreboard:
Ryan Conwell’s picks aligning with the national poll: 4
Nick Zoroya’s picks aligning with the national poll: 5
Everyone agreeing: 2
If you’d like to see our previous polls, you can find them here:
Week 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6
Key
RC’s Ballot – NZ’s Ballot
National Poll
2021 NCAA DI Men’s Weekly Rankings – Week 7 Top 20
Note: The following are the official Inside Lacrosse Media Poll ballots are from Lacrosse All Stars’ Ryan Conwell and Nick Zoroya.
1 North Carolina (RC) – North Carolina (NZ)
National Poll: Duke (9-0)
RC: UNC was idle, but it stays as my No. 1. Thursday’s date with Duke will see if I’ve been right or not.
NZ: With Duke playing Cuse too close for comfort, I’m moving UNC up to the top spot.
2 Maryland (RC) – Maryland (NZ)
National Poll: North Carolina (8-0)
RC: After another win over Rutgers, this Maryland squad looks like it’ll be undefeated until May rolls around.
NZ: I had Maryland at No. 3 in my weekly rankings, but it just looks too good right now to keep it behind two ACC teams.
3 Duke (RC) – Duke (NZ)
National Poll: Maryland (6-0)
RC: Duke having a close call against Cuse (who was No. 6 in my weekly rankings) combined with how strong Maryland looks made me feel safe moving the Terps up ahead of the Blue Devils.
NZ: The Blue Devils were my No. 1 for the past three weeks, but I didn’t like how they responded to their first real test. All wins are not created equal.
4 Rutgers (RC) – Denver (NZ)
National Poll: Syracuse (4-2)
RC: Rutgers played Maryland much better this time around, and I still feel like it’s a top-five team ahead of the second half of the ACC.
NZ: With TD on board, I shot Denver way up. The Pios were already good at faceoffs, but they may now be unbeatable.
5 Army (RC) – Syracuse (NZ)
National Poll: Denver (7-2)
RC: Army came out of its pause with a defensive-minded win over Holy Cross, so I’ll still hold the Black Knights where they are.
NZ: I dropped Cuse one spot after the Duke loss, but it’s still top five.
6 Denver (RC) – Virginia (NZ)
National Poll: Virginia (7-2)
RC: With the Cuse loss and the addition of TD, I swapped the Pios and the Orange in my weekly rankings.
NZ: UVA jumps from No. 9 to No. 6 after the big road win in South Bend.
7 Syracuse (RC) – Georgetown (NZ)
National Poll: Army (4-1)
RC: Cuse showed some vulnerability once again in faceoffs. When they’re winning at the X, the Orange are borderline unstoppable. When they’re not? Drake Porter is suddenly very popular.
NZ: The Hoyas move up a spot, benefitting from Notre Dame’s drop.
8 Virginia (RC) – Rutgers (NZ)
National Poll: Rutgers (4-2)
RC: UVA played one of its best games all year up at Notre Dame. If the Cavs can keep that rolling, they’ll be pushing their way into the top five.
NZ: Rutgers fell a few spots after not being able to win the revenge game with Maryland.
9 Notre Dame (RC) – Notre Dame (NZ)
National Poll: Notre Dame (4-1)
RC: The Irish did this to make me look dumb. I finally looked at my top 20, really felt like they had the edge over UVA, and put them above the Hoos. So of course they then lost.
NZ: The Irish fell a few spots for me after being put on their heels early on against UVA.
10 Georgetown (RC) – Lehigh (NZ)
National Poll: T-10 Georgetown (6-1)
RC: A closer win for the Hoyas this time around against Villanova, but they hover for me.
NZ: Lehigh hovers in my weekly rankings after another win.
11 Lehigh (RC) – Army (NZ)
National Poll: T-10 Lehigh (4-0)
RC: Another win, and I have Lehigh staying put again.
NZ: Army moves up a spot for me while Loyola takes a step back.
12 Richmond (RC) – Richmond (NZ)
National Poll: Delaware (6-1)
RC: Richmond settling in its conference schedule is officially putting its conference on notice.
NZ: Richmond goes up a few spots for me after officially taking control of the SoCon.
13 Ohio State (RC) – Loyola (NZ)
National Poll: Vermont (4-2)
RC: Ohio State pulled a big and much-needed win over Michigan to get itself back on track.
NZ: Loyola drops a few spots for me after the close loss to Towson.
14 Hofstra (RC) – Hofstra (NZ)
National Poll: Navy (3-0)
RC: After not playing Syracuse, the Pride needed to show they didn’t develop any rust. Yeah, they were fine.
NZ: Hofstra rose a few spots after it won at Fairfield following its COVID-19 pause.
15 Vermont (RC) – Ohio State (NZ)
National Poll: Hofstra (4-1)
RC: Vermont winning again and others losing moved it up. Of all the teams fighting for this spot, I have the most faith in the Catamounts to make the next jump and keep competing with those to be in the top 10.
NZ: Ohio State moves up a spot in my weekly rankings after taking care of Michigan.
16 Loyola (RC) – Vermont (NZ)
National Poll: Ohio State (3-3)
RC: Loyola losing to Towson in OT was perhaps the biggest surprise to me this weekend, so the Greyhounds’ slide in the rankings was to be expected.
NZ: Another win for Vermont means it keeps climbing for me.
17 Johns Hopkins (RC) – Delaware (NZ)
National Poll: Richmond (4-3)
RC: Hop was showing so much promise. I get taking the Jays out of the top 20 entirely as I was hesitating to add them in the first place. But we’ll see how they respond next.
NZ: Delaware moves up a bit for me after the UMass and Albany losses.
18 Albany (RC) – UMass (NZ)
National Poll: Loyola (4-3)
RC: The Danes beating UMass was huge, but then they dropped the game to Stony Brook. Not ideal.
NZ: The Minutemen fall after dropping the midweek game to Albany.
19 UMass (RC) – Stony Brook (NZ)
National Poll: UMass (2-1)
RC: With still only three games played, and the first two showing quite a bit of rust after the eternal preseason for the Minutemen, I felt a slide back some more was justified.
NZ: Enter Stony Brook! The Sea Wolves join the top 20 after beating Albany in a league match.
20 Delaware (RC) – Albany (NZ)
National Poll: Albany (4-2)
RC: Delaware is definitely the team I have most out of place compared to the national poll. I just don’t see ranking it that high just yet. I may be completely wrong, but I still think Hofstra and UMass have the edge on Delaware.
NZ: Albany falls but still stays in after a loss and a win this week.
RC’s Dropped Out:
UMBC (19)
NZ’s Dropped Out:
Hopkins (20)
RC’s Next Teams In:
These are the ones with the best shot at making the top 20 in the coming weeks, not in order: Navy, High Point, LIU, Stony Brook.
NZ’s Next Teams In:
Navy, Drexel.
RC’s Who Did I Leave Out?
Navy (14)
The Midshipmen finally played! I can understand an argument of including them still, but I when I watch them play, I don’t see the No. 14 team in the country. I can definitely be wrong, but we’re also talking about a team with just three games so far.
NZ’s Who Did I Leave Out?
Navy (14)
