With our Men’s DI Championship Challenge underway, I thought it would be fun to share my Yale-Duke Championship Predictions. The Challenge is something cool that we have put together just in time for this year’s NCAA Division I tournament took place. Assuming you guys like, we are excited to do this more often!
So, here are Yale-Duke Championship predictions. You think you can beat me? Good luck…
You think that you can beat the Powell athletes?
The Top 3 winners will receive a nice prize from Powell Lacrosse.
Thanks for playing and enjoy the big game tomorrow at 1pm ET.
Happy Memorial Day, Lacrosse Family!
RP’s Yale-Duke Championship Predictions
Who will win the first face-off of the game?
RP’s Pick = Yale
The Bulldogs Conor Mackie is a stud – currently 7th in the country at the X winning 63% of his draws.
Who will score first in the game?
RP’s Pick = Yale
Both Yale and Duke have scored 58 first quarter goals. Crazy! So this turns into a heads or tails type question. Watching Yale’s start against Albany has made up my mind for me.
Will a team score within the first 2 minutes of the game?
RP’s Pick = Yes
Yale was on fire and had an explosive start against Albany. I believe they will have a similar start against Duke and might even have two goals in the first two minutes of the game.
Will the first goal of the game be scored by a player who has over 20 goals on the year?
RP’s Pick = No
Mackie has only 3 goals on the year. My prediction is Conor wins one out the front early and sticks one.
Will Yale be man up before Duke?
RP’s Pick = No
I think that Yale will have an early push on the offensive end that will lead to a Duke penalty – a Blue Devil will head to the sin bin first. Tough question because both clubs are so well coached and realize they need to stay out of the box in order to be successful.
Regarding goalies, will Duke have more saves than yale?
RP’s Pick = Yes
Duke goalie Danny Fowler has a save percentage of 54% and the Yale net minder Jack Starr has a 47.9 stopper percentage. I’m playing the percentages on this one.
Will a defenseman or long stick middie score in the game?
RP’s Pick = Yes
Neither team has a player that really comes to mind in the game – no Joel White or Brodie Merrill in this one. But I will say this Championship Game always produces fireworks. I’m not sure what pole it will be but after looking in my crystal ball I do see it happening.
Will Ben Reeves & Jackson Morrill (Yale) score more goals in the game than Justin Guterding & Brad Smith (Duke)?
RP’s Pick = No
Good question here; I’m liking Guterding to have a big day and Smith will bang in a few himself. Yale will have more balance and get more contributions from their supporting cast. My vote goes against the stats on this one.
Reeves & Morrill have combined for 101 goals & 81 assist: Total = 182 points
Guterding & Smith have combined for 92 goals & 81 assist: Total = 173 points
Will Duke have a better clear percentage at the end of the game than Yale?
RP’s Pick = Yes
After seeing how Yale was in the riding game against Albany is hard for me to take Duke in this one – but I have to take a few risk and going with the Blue Devils on this one is risky. This is a toss up.
Duke is 15th in the country at 89.3%
Yale is 40th in the country at 86.9%
Will any goals be scored less than 10 seconds after a face-off?
RP’s Pick = Yes
I’m thinking that Mackie goes out the front early in the first quarter and sticks it within 10 seconds.
How many total goals will be scored in the first quarter (combined goals for both teams)?
RP’s Pick = 5 goals or more
Gotta play the numbers on this one. Both teams have scored 58 first quarter goals; divide that by 19 games and you get 3 and a little change – gotta go with the over on this one.
How many total goals will be scored in the first half (combined goals for both teams)?
RP’s Pick = 10 goals or more
Duke scores more in the first half than they do in the game. I’m thinking that the teams score plenty in the first have and will be well over 10 combined goals.
Will Yale be ahead at the half?
RP’s Pick = No
I don’t believe any team will be ahead at the half actually – we are going to have a 7 to 7 ball game at the half.
Who will win the first face-off of the second half?
RP’s Pick = Yale
Mackie is my guy – I’m saying that he wins the first of the game and the first of the 2nd half.
Will Duke be man up at any point in the second half?
RP’s Pick = Yes
As well coached as both these teams are and how much emphasis there is towards staying out of the box, I believe that both Yale and Duke will commit a few penalties in each half of the game.
Will there be more total goals scored the fourth quarter than in the first quarter?
RP’s Pick = No
When you look at lacrosse right now teams get a lot more patience late in the game. One team has will have a few goal lead in the fourth and will attempt to take the air out of the ball. Combine this with the 1st quarter scoring these teams can create I find it hard to believe more goals would be scored in the 4th.
Will Yale have more ground balls in the game than Duke?
RP’s Pick = Yale
Mackie will own the face-off X creating more tallies in the GB category.
Yale is 5th in the country in GB’S
How many total combined Penalties will occur in the game
RP’s Pick = 6 or more
I believe that each team will be in the box a few times for sure. If you are making me guess I would say that Duke has 4 on the day and Yale has 3.
Will the winning team win by 2 goals or more?
RP’s Pick = No
I believe the winning team will take it by 2 – Not more than 2 – exactly 2.
Will the winning team come from behind at any point or will they be ahead/tied the whole game?
RP’s Pick = Winning team is at least 1 goal down at some point in the game
Again to the crystal ball for my Yale-Duke Championship Predictions; Yale goes up early in the first quarter – Duke comes back to tie it at halftime. Duke takes the lead in the 3rd and Yale comes storming back for a two goal victory.
Who will win the game?
RP’s Pick = Yale Bulldogs
I think that now is the time for Yale – great season with one of the top coaches and players in the game. This would be the first ever NCAA title for Yale. The kids play with a ton of heart and on Monday I believe it will be their day. There you have it, fam. Now I dare you to make your own Yale-Duke championship predictions.
Now it’s your turn to make Yale-Duke Championship Predictions!
