Duke Md LAX ACC Championship game

[MCFinARL]

Duke is hosting this year's ACC lacrosse tournament and will meet Virgina tomorrow at 7:30 in Koskinen. Coach Danowski will pay admission for all current Duke students.

Although Duke is the top seed and UVA is the 4th seed, the ACC is incredibly tight this year and the game should be very close and very exciting (both teams have potent offenses). Hope folks who are in or near Durham will turn out to support the team; wish I could.

[burnspbesq]

Both semifinals will be streamed on theacc.com. Sunday's final will be on Fox regional networks at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Meanwhile, the women's ACC tournament is going on at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Yesterday's first-round games were won by Carolina and BC, so top seed Murlund plays BC and Duke plays Carolina in today's semis.

Also of note: four ACC club lax teams (FSU, BC, VaTech, and Clemson) are ranked in the MCLA D1 top 20, and have a chance to make it to the MCLA tournament in Denver next month. I hope I live long enough to see a real (i.e., 12-team) ACC tournament in lax. The interest is there, and with the explosive growth of high school lax around the country, there are more than enough players to stock 150-200 NCAA D1 programs. The only thing standing in the way is Title IX, which sucks if you're a lax fan who thinks that on balance Title IX has done a lot of good for a lot of people.

[MCFinARL]

Both semifinals will be streamed on theacc.com. Sunday's final will be on Fox regional networks at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Meanwhile, the women's ACC tournament is going on at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Yesterday's first-round games were won by Carolina and BC, so top seed Murlund plays BC and Duke plays Carolina in today's semis.

Also of note: four ACC club lax teams (FSU, BC, VaTech, and Clemson) are ranked in the MCLA D1 top 20, and have a chance to make it to the MCLA tournament in Denver next month. I hope I live long enough to see a real (i.e., 12-team) ACC tournament in lax. The interest is there, and with the explosive growth of high school lax around the country, there are more than enough players to stock 150-200 NCAA D1 programs. The only thing standing in the way is Title IX, which sucks if you're a lax fan who thinks that on balance Title IX has done a lot of good for a lot of people.

Agreed on all counts, though I'd probably be happy to settle for an 8-team ACC tournament. When it comes to Title IX, of course, football is the elephant in the room--because it uses so many scholarships and there is no equivalent sport for women. Personally, I might be able to live with a Title IX in which football didn't count (or perhaps one in which football scholarships could be offset by giving more non-athletic scholarships to women than to men, so the access to higher education goals of the law would still be met), but obviously that might allow room for some shenanigans that could undercut the benefits of the law.

[burnspbesq]

Turtles were down 6-4 with about five minutes to go, and got three unanswered to pull it out.

Raining heavily. Not sure who that favors in a Duke-Virginia game.

[NovaScotian]

Agreed on all counts, though I'd probably be happy to settle for an 8-team ACC tournament. When it comes to Title IX, of course, football is the elephant in the room--because it uses so many scholarships and there is no equivalent sport for women. Personally, I might be able to live with a Title IX in which football didn't count (or perhaps one in which football scholarships could be offset by giving more non-athletic scholarships to women than to men, so the access to higher education goals of the law would still be met), but obviously that might allow room for some shenanigans that could undercut the benefits of the law.

what other schools do you think are most likely to get teams? bc seems like the most obvious, maybe vpi and the florida schools? does anyone know if any acc schools have strong club programs?

[burnspbesq]

Duke outscored the Hoos 7-1 in the second quarter. Eight of Duke's ten goals have come from the midfield (Lawson 3, Offit 2, Tripucka 2, Turri 1). Offit got a huge momentum-changer with three seconds left in the first quarter. Wigrizer hasn't looked great, but he hasn't had much to do, as Duke has dominated possession.

[MCFinARL]

what other schools do you think are most likely to get teams? bc seems like the most obvious, maybe vpi and the florida schools? does anyone know if any acc schools have strong club programs?

See burnspbesq's post above--Virginia Tech, BC, Florida State and Clemson all have strong club teams. Tech and BC already have women's D1 teams. Perhaps the recent emergence of Florida as a competitor in women's lacrosse would draw Florida State into the sport with teams of both sexes, but it's hard to know. Michigan has just announced that it will field D1 teams in both men's and women's lacrosse in 2012, and lacrosse is less established in the Big 10 than in the ACC (men's and women's teams at OSU and PSU, a tremendous, recent NCAA champion women's team but no men's team at Northwestern).

In other news, Duke leading UVA 10-5 at the half--hope they can hold onto that.

[MCFinARL]

Duke outscored the Hoos 7-1 in the second quarter. Eight of Duke's ten goals have come from the midfield (Lawson 3, Offit 2, Tripucka 2, Turri 1). Offit got a huge momentum-changer with three seconds left in the first quarter. Wigrizer hasn't looked great, but he hasn't had much to do, as Duke has dominated possession.

Yes, I've been watching off and on, didn't see the entire thing, but I think I saw about half of the play in the first half. During that time I saw Ghitelman make one save (on a shot that went right to him) and Wigrizer make none--maybe the bad weather makes things hard for the goalies?

In fairness I have to note that at least 2 of the Virginia goals I saw involved passed to men who were wide open near the goal, so Wigrizer would have had to be perfect (or guess right) to stop those shots.

[MCFinARL]

Score now 19-10 Duke in the 4th quarter thanks to overall solid play despite some inconsistent efforts on the defense. What has happened to Virginia this year? They have lots of talent but can't seem to pull it together.

[burnspbesq]

Dominant performance by the Blue Devils.

Terrapin stew is on the menu for Sunday.

[burnspbesq]

Marquette is also starting men's and women's D1 in 2013, and USC is starting women's. The Women of Troy's first recruit is a transfer from Virginia, Kelly Austin, who was the 2008 national HS player of the year. They may get good as fast as Florida did.

[burnspbesq]

the Duke women got smoked by Carolina, 17-8. Every time I looked in, the Heels' goalie was making an unconscious save. Some days it's not your night.

[MCFinARL]

the Duke women got smoked by Carolina, 17-8. Every time I looked in, the Heels' goalie was making an unconscious save. Some days it's not your night.

Yes, that is how it looked. Duke barely beat Carolina last week, and Carolina trounced UVA yesterday--I think they may be a team that is peaking now.

[burnspbesq]

Hard to imagine an ACC team not making the NCAA tournament, but consider the following.

If Carolina loses to Notre Dame next weekend, they will have six losses. Their strength of schedule is very high, but their only wins over ranked teams are Maryland and Penn.

If there is carnage in the other conference tournaments -- if, say, Lehigh or Army wins the Patriot League, Penn State wins the CAA, and Denver doesn't win the ECAC -- the Heels could be in real trouble.

[MCFinARL]

Hard to imagine an ACC team not making the NCAA tournament, but consider the following.

If Carolina loses to Notre Dame next weekend, they will have six losses. Their strength of schedule is very high, but their only wins over ranked teams are Maryland and Penn.

If there is carnage in the other conference tournaments -- if, say, Lehigh or Army wins the Patriot League, Penn State wins the CAA, and Denver doesn't win the ECAC -- the Heels could be in real trouble.

True--although their losses to Hop, UVA, and Maryland (today) were all one-goal games. The loss to Ohio State might hurt them, though.

For that matter, UVA doesn't look all that potent in terms of wins over tough competition, having beaten North Carolina (in overtime), Cornell (admittedly a good win), and Stony Brook. I doubt they will have a problem getting into the field, but they may not get a home game.

All in all, it's sort of a down year for the ACC.

[burnspbesq]

Here's how I see the field as of today. Obviously, with two weeks left in the season, almost anything could happen.

1 Notre Dame
16 Siena

8 Hofstra
9 Virginia

4 Johns Hopkins
13 Massachusetts

5 Duke
12 Stony Brook

3 Syracuse
14 North Carolina

6 Denver
11 Bucknell

7 Maryland
10 Villanova

2 Cornell
15 Colgate

First four out: Yale, Penn, Army, Delaware

[DevilWearsPrada]

I watched the game online (for the 3 and 4 quarters). Duke just dominated over Uva. Had a friend texting me the scores during the first half. Once Duke got going, they took over. Uva is a very good team.

Hoping the team, gets back to the Final 4, again. I enjoyed going to Baltimore and seeing them win their 1st National Championship! It may have been 105 degrees sitting in the stands! But it was worth seeing it all!

The weather was crappy yesterday with misty rain and overcast all day. The chill in the air, felt more like a March day, vs a late April day.

Lets Go Duke!

[DevilWearsPrada]

Score now 19-10 Duke in the 4th quarter thanks to overall solid play despite some inconsistent efforts on the defense. What has happened to Virginia this year? They have lots of talent but can't seem to pull it together.

Uva is a very very good team. (But Duke is better!) Don't you think the Court Case (Yeardley Love / George Hugluely) is also a factor with Uva's team! Maybe a small factor, but in the thoughts of the team and campus! RIP Yeardley

FROM the BALTIMORE SUN:

Huguely indicted on first-degree, felony murder charges

The circumstances surrounding Love's death have left many unanswered questions
trial date set for February

April 18, 2011|By Don Markus, The Baltimore Sun
A grand jury in Virginia considering charges in the death of Cockeysville resident Yeardley Love indicted her ex-boyfriend on Monday on first-degree and felony murder charges, and a judge set a trial date of Feb. 6.

Still, new evidence presented at an April hearing against suspect George Huguely V is raising questions about whether prosecutors can prove the most serious charges at trial and about how the University of Virginia women's lacrosse player died.

Defense lawyers have contended that Love's death was the result of a "tragic accident" and that the evidence revealed thus far does not support a charge of premeditated murder. The grand jury that met Monday disagreed, upholding all the charges that police had filed against Huguely.

[MCFinARL]

Here's how I see the field as of today. Obviously, with two weeks left in the season, almost anything could happen.

1 Notre Dame
16 Siena

8 Hofstra
9 Virginia

4 Johns Hopkins
13 Massachusetts

5 Duke
12 Stony Brook

3 Syracuse
14 North Carolina

6 Denver
11 Bucknell

7 Maryland
10 Villanova

2 Cornell
15 Colgate

First four out: Yale, Penn, Army, Delaware

This seems pretty plausible--except, having beaten us head to head and lost only to Syracuse and Notre Dame, I think Denver would probably be 5th and Duke 6th--unless Denver slips up and has an early exit in their conference tournament.

[MCFinARL]

Uva is a very very good team. (But Duke is better!) Don't you think the Court Case (Yeardley Love / George Hugluely) is also a factor with Uva's team! Maybe a small factor, but in the thoughts of the team and campus! RIP Yeardley

FROM the BALTIMORE SUN:

Huguely indicted on first-degree, felony murder charges

The circumstances surrounding Love's death have left many unanswered questions
trial date set for February

April 18, 2011|By Don Markus, The Baltimore Sun
A grand jury in Virginia considering charges in the death of Cockeysville resident Yeardley Love indicted her ex-boyfriend on Monday on first-degree and felony murder charges, and a judge set a trial date of Feb. 6.

Still, new evidence presented at an April hearing against suspect George Huguely V is raising questions about whether prosecutors can prove the most serious charges at trial and about how the University of Virginia women's lacrosse player died.

Defense lawyers have contended that Love's death was the result of a "tragic accident" and that the evidence revealed thus far does not support a charge of premeditated murder. The grand jury that met Monday disagreed, upholding all the charges that police had filed against Huguely.

I'm sure the case doesn't help--I suspect it may especially affect Coach Starsia and his relationship with his players. I think there is also a lot of pressure on the UVA senior class, which came into college touted as possibly the best freshman recruiting class in history and was expected to win multiple championships--but has none so far. It doesn't look like they are handling that pressure especially well.

[burnspbesq]

I thought a lot about where Duke would be seeded. One can make a plausible case for anything from 5 to 7. The decider for me was strength of schedule. If we lose badly to the Turtles tomorrow, 7 is most likely where we will end up.

[MCFinARL]

I thought a lot about where Duke would be seeded. One can make a plausible case for anything from 5 to 7. The decider for me was strength of schedule. If we lose badly to the Turtles tomorrow, 7 is most likely where we will end up.

That makes sense. Hopefully, we will not lose badly. If I'm not mistaken, our last two meetings have ended in OT--a loss last year, a win this one. It promises to be an exciting game.

[burnspbesq]

UMass and Delaware went from in and first four out, respectively, to must win the CAA tournament to get in. UMass losing to Hofstra not a huge surprise, but UMass losing to Hofstra by nine goals, and looking really bad in the process, is unexpected. And where the heck did Penn State come from, to beat Delaware by ten?

[jkidd31]

Both semifinals will be streamed on theacc.com.
Also of note: four ACC club lax teams (FSU, BC, VaTech, and Clemson) are ranked in the MCLA D1 top 20, and have a chance to make it to the MCLA tournament in Denver next month. I hope I live long enough to see a real (i.e., 12-team) ACC tournament in lax. The interest is there, and with the explosive growth of high school lax around the country, there are more than enough players to stock 150-200 NCAA D1 programs. The only thing standing in the way is Title IX, which sucks if you're a lax fan who thinks that on balance Title IX has done a lot of good for a lot of people.


Boston College was DI and they pulled the funding. The current AD has no use for having the program reinstated to NCAA status and has openly stated such. I think FSU might be the closet in the ACC to making the jump. Lax is growng in Florida at the HS level, so with Jacksonville adding a program the consensus is it's only a matter of time for FSU and Florida to make the jump. Florida's women's team has done very well so adding men's seems logical.

The big news over the w/e is that Inside Lacrosse is reporting Michigan will add both mens and womens lacrosse. The men are the top MCLA program and will start playing next year.

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/04/22/breaking-michigan-mens-lacrosse-go-di-2012-womens-2013

[MCFinARL]

UMass and Delaware went from in and first four out, respectively, to must win the CAA tournament to get in. UMass losing to Hofstra not a huge surprise, but UMass losing to Hofstra by nine goals, and looking really bad in the process, is unexpected. And where the heck did Penn State come from, to beat Delaware by ten?

Good question--though some folks have been saying for a couple of years that it was only a matter of time until Penn State got it together in lax. Maybe Jeff Tambroni will be a real difference maker for their program.

[burnspbesq]

Great start for Duke. Eight minutes in, it's 4-1.

[burnspbesq]

Maryland is dominating face-offs and ground balls, and starting to run their offense. Wigrizer made a huge stop on Catalino late in the second quarter.

[MCFinARL]

Great start for Duke. Eight minutes in, it's 4-1.

Second quarter a little less impressive. Hope the coaches have a plan for winning a few more faceoffs in the second half.

[burnspbesq]

Props to the Turtles, who played 45 minutes of superb team defense after going down early. Faceoff deficiency will have to be addressed going forward.

[MCFinARL]

Props to the Turtles, who played 45 minutes of superb team defense after going down early. Faceoff deficiency will have to be addressed going forward.

Yes. Also, it looked like we had some trouble with clearing today, with Wigrizer sometimes needing some help he didn't get.

[jkidd31]

Maryland is dominating face-offs and ground balls, and starting to run their offense. Wigrizer made a huge stop on Catalino late in the second quarter.

Groundballs win games. Enough said.

[burnspbesq]

Groundballs were 29-27 in favor of Maryland, an advantage that was offset by the Turtles 12-7 edge in turnovers. Losing 18 of 24 faceoffs was a huge disadvantage for Duke; they simply didn't have enough possessions. Duke scored only two goals in half-field, six-on-six situations after the first quarter. I also think our defense was guilty of ball-watching on several occasions; Maryland got a number of goals on cuts to the crease from up high by guys who shouldn't have been open.

I also think it's fair to wonder, based on recent games, which is really Duke's first midfield unit. Lawson/Offit/Coyle have been a lot more productive than Turri/Rotanz/Tripucka.

Josh Dionne scored a great man-up goal today. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do with more playing time next year. Not meaning to suggest he's going to be as productive as Qunizani (he's not going to have the advantage of playing with Danowski, Greer, and Crotty), but his game is Max-like; he pops up in good places unexpectedly.

Lawson has gotten away with a high-risk play several times of late, beating his man on a right-alley dodge and then changing to his left hand to improve his shooting angle. When you do that, you make yourself a much bigger target for the help defense. Eventually he's going to get killed by some opposing defender who bothers to read the scouting report.

Jacksonville will be a game where the starters don't see much time, so we effectively have a three-week break before the NCAAs start. Guys can focus on finals and come back fresh.

[MCFinARL]

Groundballs were 29-27 in favor of Maryland, an advantage that was offset by the Turtles 12-7 edge in turnovers. Losing 18 of 24 faceoffs was a huge disadvantage for Duke; they simply didn't have enough possessions. Duke scored only two goals in half-field, six-on-six situations after the first quarter. I also think our defense was guilty of ball-watching on several occasions; Maryland got a number of goals on cuts to the crease from up high by guys who shouldn't have been open.

I also think it's fair to wonder, based on recent games, which is really Duke's first midfield unit. Lawson/Offit/Coyle have been a lot more productive than Turri/Rotanz/Tripucka.

Josh Dionne scored a great man-up goal today. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do with more playing time next year. Not meaning to suggest he's going to be as productive as Qunizani (he's not going to have the advantage of playing with Danowski, Greer, and Crotty), but his game is Max-like; he pops up in good places unexpectedly.

Lawson has gotten away with a high-risk play several times of late, beating his man on a right-alley dodge and then changing to his left hand to improve his shooting angle. When you do that, you make yourself a much bigger target for the help defense. Eventually he's going to get killed by some opposing defender who bothers to read the scouting report.

Jacksonville will be a game where the starters don't see much time, so we effectively have a three-week break before the NCAAs start. Guys can focus on finals and come back fresh.

Well, I'm not sure it's completely fair to say that the second midfield has been significantly more productive lately than the starting midfield. In today's game the starting midfield produced 2 goals and 1 assist, while the second midfield had 3 goals (all by Lawson) and no assists. In the semifinal, the second midfield was admittedly more productive, with 6 points (4 goals--again all Lawson--and 2 assists to 2 goals and 1 assist), but in the previous UVA game, only a week before, the first midfield had 6 goals and 2 assists to 2 goals and 2 assists for the second midfield. In the Presbyterian game, lineups were atypical, and in the two previous games (Denver and Syracuse), Turri was injured and Lawson was playing in the first midfield.

It seems to me there might be an argument to be made about whether Lawson should be on the first midfield (although as you point out, eventually people may figure out how to defend him), rather than whether the second midfield as a whole is better--but maybe having an especially effective scorer on the second midfield provides some balance.

[buddy]

I think both midfields have been effective, although the first line is more experienced (red shirt junior, junior, and sophomore). Even though Stephen Coyle is a senior, he is relatively inexperienced. I am a little surprised that Josh Dionne has not been moved up to the second midfield, instead of relegated to EMO. He offers more offense than Coyle, but may not play defense as well.

This is a VERY young team that has exceeded expectations. Howell and Montelli are the only seniors who see substantial time. The defense was hobbled with the loss of Manley before the season started. Inability to win face-offs doomed today's effort. The defense was just on the field too much, and the offense seemed to hurry at times in the second half. Wigrizer had an outstanding game in goal, making a couple of point blank saves. He still needs to work on his clears; however, clearing is a team effort. I think it a stretch to get to Baltimore this year, but I do think this team accomplished more than could have been expected. The ACC is a tough conference, but this group is only going to get better next year and the year after.

[MCFinARL]

I think both midfields have been effective, although the first line is more experienced (red shirt junior, junior, and sophomore). Even though Stephen Coyle is a senior, he is relatively inexperienced. I am a little surprised that Josh Dionne has not been moved up to the second midfield, instead of relegated to EMO. He offers more offense than Coyle, but may not play defense as well.

This is a VERY young team that has exceeded expectations. Howell and Montelli are the only seniors who see substantial time. The defense was hobbled with the loss of Manley before the season started. Inability to win face-offs doomed today's effort. The defense was just on the field too much, and the offense seemed to hurry at times in the second half. Wigrizer had an outstanding game in goal, making a couple of point blank saves. He still needs to work on his clears; however, clearing is a team effort. I think it a stretch to get to Baltimore this year, but I do think this team accomplished more than could have been expected. The ACC is a tough conference, but this group is only going to get better next year and the year after.

I agree. A first-round playoff win would be a very respectable level of accomplishment for this team; a trip to Baltimore would be a wildly successful outcome. But it's easy to be excited about next year, when we lose only a couple of key players and gain, from what I have read, an excellent recruiting class.

[burnspbesq]

Here's an interesting Bracketology take.

http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=24848

I think these guys are overly enamored of Duke's SOS. But we'll see in two weeks.

[MCFinARL]

Here's an interesting Bracketology take.

http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=24848

I think these guys are overly enamored of Duke's SOS. But we'll see in two weeks.

That is an interesting analysis--and I agree with you that they are putting a lot of weight on SOS here, especially since, as always, the SOS of any ACC team is heavily influenced by their games against other ACC teams. Fans of non-ACC teams complain about this every year, but the overall high quality of the league usually provides an answer.

This year, however, the ACC is a lot shakier than usual. Duke, for example, derives a lot of its strength of schedule from good teams it lost to, and the other ACC teams also lost more games out of the league this year than usual. So if the whole conference is overrated, their games against each other may, in fact, be artificially inflating their SOS.

I will be very surprised if Duke gets a top four seed. And this year could, in fact, be the first year in a long time with no ACC team in the Final Four. But of course, that's why they play the games--depending on the matchups, etc., maybe we will see two or even three ACC teams on Memorial Day weekend (but I'm not betting the rent).

[jkidd31]

At this point there is no way Duke with 5 losses should be ahead of Hopkins with 2. Hopkins also beat all three of the ACC teams, had a clinker loss to Princeton, but are a controversial disallowed goal at Cuse from being a one loss team.

[MCFinARL]

At this point there is no way Duke with 5 losses should be ahead of Hopkins with 2. Hopkins also beat all three of the ACC teams, had a clinker loss to Princeton, but are a controversial disallowed goal at Cuse from being a one loss team.

I'm assuming you meant all three of the OTHER ACC teams, since Hopkins did not play Duke this year. Otherwise, yes, your comment makes sense. Did someone say Duke should be seeded ahead of Hopkins? Duke does have a higher RPI (5 to Hhopkins' 6), and has more wins against teams with top 20 RPIs (Hop has Virgina, Maryland, North Carolina; Duke has Virginia twice, Maryland, North Carolina, Loyola and Georgetown--and yes, it is one of the mysteries of RPI that Georgetown has a top 20 RPI even though they have a losing record). But 5 losses is definitely a lot more than two--and you are right that the Syracuse "loss" was very close to being a win. In fact, given Hopkins' poll standings --higher than Syracuse in both polls, despite the fact that Hop has two losses, counting the one to Syracuse, and 'cuse has only one--it seems a lot of people think it was a win.

That being said, after watching them stymie Duke so many times, I experienced a lovely schadenfreude when Hopkins struggled last year, and especially when we humiliated them in the tournament. I'm pretty sad to see them bounce back so well.

[jkidd31]

I'm assuming you meant all three of the OTHER ACC teams, since Hopkins did not play Duke this year. Otherwise, yes, your comment makes sense. Did someone say Duke should be seeded ahead of Hopkins? Duke does have a higher RPI (5 to Hhopkins' 6), and has more wins against teams with top 20 RPIs (Hop has Virgina, Maryland, North Carolina; Duke has Virginia twice, Maryland, North Carolina, Loyola and Georgetown--and yes, it is one of the mysteries of RPI that Georgetown has a top 20 RPI even though they have a losing record). But 5 losses is definitely a lot more than two--and you are right that the Syracuse "loss" was very close to being a win. In fact, given Hopkins' poll standings --higher than Syracuse in both polls, despite the fact that Hop has two losses, counting the one to Syracuse, and 'cuse has only one--it seems a lot of people think it was a win.

That being said, after watching them stymie Duke so many times, I experienced a lovely schadenfreude when Hopkins struggled last year, and especially when we humiliated them in the tournament. I'm pretty sad to see them bounce back so well.

MCFinARL...yeah I meant the other ACC teams than Duke. If the defense shows up, Duke can play with anyone. However, if you discount the ACC games, we've laid eggs in our three biggest games (ND, Cuse, and Denver). That said if the offense gets hot and the close D tightens up, they have as good of a chance as anyone of getting to Baltimore.

[MCFinARL]

MCFinARL...yeah I meant the other ACC teams than Duke. If the defense shows up, Duke can play with anyone. However, if you discount the ACC games, we've laid eggs in our three biggest games (ND, Cuse, and Denver). That said if the offense gets hot and the close D tightens up, they have as good of a chance as anyone of getting to Baltimore.

When reread your earlier post I fgured out why you phrased it as you did; I was a lttle slow on that.
I agree with your assessment here. Wth Manley's injury this year, Duke has had to work with a completely new defensive lineup (except for Wigrizer), and while they have some promise they are farly inexperienced, thus inconsistent. Possibly the results have been better against ACC teams because Duke is more familiar with those teams and their general tendencies? If everyone plays at their best, though, they can compete with anybody.

[burnspbesq]

Rhamel suspended indefinitely.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=6450869

[MCFinARL]

Rhamel suspended indefinitely.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=6450869

Yes, this is just sad. Not sure what the issue is, but whatever it is, they have been having problems with it all season. It seems a shame not to be able to follow the rules to finish your senior season. My guess is there is a lot of pressure on Starsia this year to run a tighter ship.

In other news, my spouse, boarding a plane in Chattanooga, saw the Duke laxers getting off a plane on their way to Jacksonville. Changing planes in Chattanooga--guess they don't get to fly non-stop charter like the basketball team. ;);)

[MCFinARL]

Yes, this is just sad. Not sure what the issue is, but whatever it is, they have been having problems with it all season. It seems a shame not to be able to follow the rules to finish your senior season. My guess is there is a lot of pressure on Starsia this year to run a tighter ship.

In other news, my spouse, boarding a plane in Chattanooga, saw the Duke laxers getting off a plane on their way to Jacksonville. Changing planes in Chattanooga--guess they don't get to fly non-stop charter like the basketball team. ;);)

Can't edit the post but wanted to note it wasn't as bad as it sounded--spouse was routed through Atlanta and saw the team there, not in Chattanooga.

[burnspbesq]

According to the Washington Post, (1) the Brattons missed practice on Tuesday, while the Ghitelman brothers, who were also excused from Monday's practice to attend Kevin Young's mother's funeral on Long Island, made it back, and (2) at least one of the previous suspensions was for aviolation of the team's alcohol policy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/cavaliers-journal/post/virginia-lacrosse-players-vote-to-suspend-bratton-brothers-after-numerous-violations/2011/04/29/AF0UaxEF_blog.html

[MCFinARL]

According to the Washington Post, (1) the Brattons missed practice on Tuesday, while the Ghitelman brothers, who were also excused from Monday's practice to attend Kevin Young's mother's funeral on Long Island, made it back, and (2) at least one of the previous suspensions was for aviolation of the team's alcohol policy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/cavaliers-journal/post/virginia-lacrosse-players-vote-to-suspend-bratton-brothers-after-numerous-violations/2011/04/29/AF0UaxEF_blog.html

One interesting part of the article is the part about how when they were suspended for the Stony Brook game the Brattons traveled to Long Island on their own, with their equipment, and showed up ready to play should they be permitted to. When Starsia declined, apparently the Brattons' older brother got in his face. This may be one of those situations where too many people have been telling the Brattons for too many years that they are so talented that the rules don't apply to them. A shame.

[burnspbesq]

Justin Turri's younger brother, who has signed with Duke, scored the winning goal for West Islip against Ward Melville in last week's battle between Long Island high school powers.

So what, you say?

Well, Turri the Younger is a goalkeeper. He grabbed a ground ball and went the length of the field to score.

[johnb]

One interesting part of the article is the part about how when they were suspended for the Stony Brook game the Brattons traveled to Long Island on their own, with their equipment, and showed up ready to play should they be permitted to. When Starsia declined, apparently the Brattons' older brother got in his face. This may be one of those situations where too many people have been telling the Brattons for too many years that they are so talented that the rules don't apply to them. A shame.

Another interesting part of the article was that they were voted off by their teammates.

[MCFinARL]

Justin Turri's younger brother, who has signed with Duke, scored the winning goal for West Islip against Ward Melville in last week's battle between Long Island high school powers.

So what, you say?

Well, Turri the Younger is a goalkeeper. He grabbed a ground ball and went the length of the field to score.

Awesome! Goals scored by goalies are one of lacrosse's rarest pleasures.

[jkidd31]

Another interesting part of the article was that they were voted off by their teammates.

That speaks volumes right there. Anyone who has played sports in college knows the teammates know whats really going on.

[MCFinARL]

That speaks volumes right there. Anyone who has played sports in college knows the teammates know whats really going on.

Agreed. I think I remember reading an interview with Starsia early in the season in which he said his policy was to have the players establish the team rules (presumably with some supervision and encouragement as needed), so it makes sense he would have the players enforce them as well. Clearly in this case they didn't find a reason to overlook or forgive violations of the rules they adopted themselves.

[mbd1mbd1]

In other news, my spouse, boarding a plane in Chattanooga, saw the Duke laxers getting off a plane on their way to Jacksonville. Changing planes in Chattanooga--guess they don't get to fly non-stop charter like the basketball team. ;);)

My friend was on that plane to Jacksonville with the team. She said she had forgotten how dumb college kids were.

[burnspbesq]

Last week's games didn't clarify much, but here goes.

One team is in: Bucknell, which gets the AQ from the Patriot League.

Five other conferences have AQs. I've listed them with the highest-RPI team in the conference in parentheses: America East (Stony Brook), Colonial (Hofstra), ECAC (Denver), Ivy (Cornell), and MAAC (Siena). Cornell, Denver, and Hofstra are in even if they lose in the tournament. Stony Brook probably has to win to get in, and Siena must win to get in.

I have eleven teams as locks: Syracuse, Notre Dame, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Denver, Villanova, Bucknell, Maryland, Virginia, and Hofstra.

I think there are seven bubble teams: Stony Brook, Penn, Colgate, Loyola, Carolina, UMass, and Yale. UMass and Yale probably have to win their conference tournaments to get in. Carolina pretty much has to beat Notre Dame to get in. The only other meaningful game outside conference tournaments is Hopkins-Army; an Army win won't get them in, but it would scramble the four through six seeds.

The other wild-card is that only two teams can fly to first-round games (flying is mandatory if the distance is more than 500 miles). That's more likely to affect matchups than who gets in, but it could be what puts Loyola in and Carolina out if they are the last two teams under consideration and Notre Dame or Cornell is the two seed.

With all that as background, here's my updated bracket.

1 Syracuse
16 Siena (AQ)

8 Bucknell (AQ)
9 Maryland

5 Duke
13 Penn

12 Stony Brook
4 Johns Hopkins

3 Cornell (AQ)
14 Colgate

6 Denver (AQ)
11 Hofstra (AQ)

7 Villanova
10 Virginia

15 Loyola
2 Notre Dame

Last four in: Loyola, Colgate, Penn, Virginia
First four out: Carolina, UMass, Yale, Delaware

[MCFinARL]

My friend was on that plane to Jacksonville with the team. She said she had forgotten how dumb college kids were.

Yes, well, I'm guessing being on a plane with 25-30 lacrosse players might bring it back in a hurry. :)

[MCFinARL]

Last week's games didn't clarify much, but here goes.

One team is in: Bucknell, which gets the AQ from the Patriot League.

Five other conferences have AQs. I've listed them with the highest-RPI team in the conference in parentheses: America East (Stony Brook), Colonial (Hofstra), ECAC (Denver), Ivy (Cornell), and MAAC (Siena). Cornell, Denver, and Hofstra are in even if they lose in the tournament. Stony Brook probably has to win to get in, and Siena must win to get in.

I have eleven teams as locks: Syracuse, Notre Dame, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Denver, Villanova, Bucknell, Maryland, Virginia, and Hofstra.

I think there are seven bubble teams: Stony Brook, Penn, Colgate, Loyola, Carolina, UMass, and Yale. UMass and Yale probably have to win their conference tournaments to get in. Carolina pretty much has to beat Notre Dame to get in. The only other meaningful game outside conference tournaments is Hopkins-Army; an Army win won't get them in, but it would scramble the four through six seeds.

The other wild-card is that only two teams can fly to first-round games (flying is mandatory if the distance is more than 500 miles). That's more likely to affect matchups than who gets in, but it could be what puts Loyola in and Carolina out if they are the last two teams under consideration and Notre Dame or Cornell is the two seed.

With all that as background, here's my updated bracket.

1 Syracuse
16 Siena (AQ)

8 Bucknell (AQ)
9 Maryland

5 Duke
12 Stony Brook (AQ)

13 Penn
4 Johns Hopkins

3 Cornell (AQ)
14 Colgate

6 Denver (AQ)
11 Hofstra (AQ)

7 Villanova
10 Virginia

15 Loyola
2 Notre Dame

Last four in: Loyola, Colgate, Penn, Virginia
First four out: Carolina, UMass, Yale, Delaware

For what it's worth, Virginia now has a higher RPI than Duke--they are number 5 in RPI to our number 6. I think they may get a home game.

Do you think the flight rule will, in fact, influence which teams get in, given that technically the bottom 8 teams are not seeded? Assuming Denver wins its conference tournament and gets a home game, someone will have to fly there. So that leaves only one flight for the rest of the field.

[burnspbesq]

For what it's worth, Virginia now has a higher RPI than Duke--they are number 5 in RPI to our number 6. I think they may get a home game.

Do you think the flight rule will, in fact, influence which teams get in, given that technically the bottom 8 teams are not seeded? Assuming Denver wins its conference tournament and gets a home game, someone will have to fly there. So that leaves only one flight for the rest of the field.

The thing that makes it hard (if you'll notice, I just edited the bracket) is that the distances from Stony Brook and Hempstead to Durham are just a hair over 500 miles. If Duke and Hopkins end up 5-4 and Stony Brook and Penn end up 12-13, those pairings will get flipped, and that will solve the problem. Loyola or Carolina could fly to South Bend. God help us all if Detroit wins the MAAC.

The bottom line for Carolina is really simple: beat Notre Dame and everything else is academic.

[devildeac]

The thing that makes it hard (if you'll notice, I just edited the bracket) is that the distances from Stony Brook and Hempstead to Durham are just a hair over 500 miles. If Duke and Hopkins end up 5-4 and Stony Brook and Penn end up 12-13, those pairings will get flipped, and that will solve the problem. Loyola or Carolina could fly to South Bend. God help us all if Detroit wins the MAAC.

The bottom line for Carolina is really simple: beat Notre Dame and everything else is academic.

Go Irish:D!

[IrishDevil]

Go Irish:D!

Couldn't have said it better myself :cool:

[burnspbesq]

Delaware beat Hofstra in the Colonial semis. Hofstra is in regardless, so either Delaware or UMass (which beat Penn State in the other semi) is going to take a spot away from an at-large team. Things just got even dicier for Loyola and Carolina.

[MCFinARL]

In a fascinating analysis on insidelacrosse.com, Terry Foy notes that it's actually good for Duke, in terms of tournament seeding, that their RPI went down to 6 while Virginia's went up to 5--because the seeding takes into account performance against teams with the 1-5, 6-10, and 11-20 RPIs. Duke now has 2 wins against teams in the top 5 (both UVA, which counts separately both times), where last week it had none. And the teams Duke lost to, some of which may be fighting over seeding position with Duke (Maryland, Denver, maybe Notre Dame) now have a win against a 6-10 team where they used to have a top 5 win last week.

It will be very interesting to see how the Hofstra loss figures in. While I agree it's likely they will still be in, I'm not sure it's a certainty, because their quality wins are all against 10-20 RPI teams, most (possibly all) of whom will not make the tournament themselves unless they win their conference tournaments. On the other hand Hofstra does boast a 13-2 record.

[burnspbesq]

Fairfield 10, Loyola 9.

[burnspbesq]

Harvard 12, Penn 8.

Things are coming together nicely for Carolina :-/

[MCFinARL]

Harvard 12, Penn 8.

Things are coming together nicely for Carolina :-/

Yes they are--and even though they tried hard to lose to Notre Dame, letting the Irish tie them up even though UNC had a four-goal lead half way through the last quarter, the Tarheels pulled out the victory in overtime. So they are set--might even sneak into a home game.

With their victory, Harvard at least put themselves into the conversation for a tournament bid and probably knocked Penn out of one. In the other Ivy semi, Yale got out to a lead over Cornell but then, apparently, both teams remembered who they were and Cornell went on to victory.

[burnspbesq]

YIn the other Ivy semi, Yale got out to a lead over Cornell but then, apparently, both teams remembered who they were and Cornell went on to victory.

First time i've seen the Big Red this year. They are really, really good. Yale's game plan was to make Pannell a feeder. He took what the defense gave him, which was five assists. Their defense is very solid. I really like Roy Lang. To the extent they have an Achilles heel, it's at the x. Yale dominated on faceoffs. If you can do that, and take care of the ball, you have a chance; a game plan of "make Pannell a spectator" is better than "make Pannell a feeder."

[jkidd31]

Harvard 12, Penn 8.

Things are coming together nicely for Carolina :-/

Beating ND last night really helped. Now the question is how far will ND fall?

[jkidd31]

First time i've seen the Big Red this year. They are really, really good. Yale's game plan was to make Pannell a feeder. He took what the defense gave him, which was five assists. Their defense is very solid. I really like Roy Lang. To the extent they have an Achilles heel, it's at the x. Yale dominated on faceoffs. If you can do that, and take care of the ball, you have a chance; a game plan of "make Pannell a spectator" is better than "make Pannell a feeder."

Pannell is a stud. We have got to know a kid who is going to play for Cornell next year and he can't wait to play with him.

[burnspbesq]

Denver wins the ECAC over Fairfield, 11-9. It was 10-3 after three quarters, but the Stags had one good quarter in them.

Did Denver's face-off guy play center on his high school football team? I've never seen a guy clamp and then pop the ball backwards through his legs.

[burnspbesq]

Now the question is how far will ND fall?

Four.

Colgate is in the process of playing its way off the bubble. They had a five-goal lead against the Turtles at the half, but Murlund has the first four goals of the third quarter. Red Raiders need to stop the bleeding, stat. And Hartford is hanging with Stony Book; it's 6-5 midway through the third quarter.

[burnspbesq]

Colgate 10, Maryland 8. That probably eliminates any chance the Turtles had of hosting a first-round game. Red Raiders root for Cornell tomorrow, because if Harvard gets the Ivy AQ, they are screwed.

Hartford, number 32 in the latest RPI, scores with one second to go to win the America East AQ. Buh-bye, Stony Brook.

Four meaningful games left: championship games in the Ivy (Cornell-Harvard), Colonial (UMass-Delaware), and MAAC (Siena-Detroit), plus Nova-Georgetown.

Ahh, the joys of parity.

[jkidd31]

Thanks for the rundown burnspbesq. This will be the farthest west a NCAA tournament game will hosted. This IMO is great for lacrosse.

[burnspbesq]

And of course, Nova has to confuse things even further by losing to Georgetown.

Delaware beats UMass for the Colonial AQ.

Trying to predict the bracket at this point is a fool's errand, but I'm a fool, so here goes.

1 Syracuse
Siena

8 Virginia
Maryland

5 Denver
Colgate

4 Notre Dame
Hofstra

3 Johns Hopkins
Delaware

6 Duke
Villanova

7 Bucknell
North Carolina

2 Cornell
Hartford

Last four in: Hofstra, Colgate, Villanova, North Carolina
First four out: Harvard, Penn, Stony Brook, UMass

Contingency planning: If Detroit beats Siena, they play Notre Dame in the first round. Syracuse would get Hartford, Cornell would get Delaware, and Hopkins would get Hofstra.

If Harvard beats Cornell, Harvard is in and Hofstra is out. Harvard plays Notre Dame. Hopkins moves up to number two and plays Hartford. Cornell moves down to number three and plays Delaware.

If Detroit beats Siena AND Harvard beats Hofstra, Syracuse plays Hartford. Hopkins plays Harvard. Cornell plays Delaware. Notre Dame plays Detroit. Hofstra is out.