When this bracket was first being announced, I thought the biggest shocker would be that Notre Dame was given the top seed instead of Syracuse. As the seedings and matchups rolled in, this debate faded quickly. The biggest theme to this bracket is simply the number of first round rematches, potential second round rematches, and potential 2014 tournament rematches.
But first off, the seeded teams:
- Notre Dame (10-2)
- Syracuse (12-2)
- North Carolina (12-3)
- Denver (13-2)
- Duke (12-5)
- Maryland (12-3)
- Virginia (10-4)
- Cornell (10-5)
There are not too many surprises there. It was virtually a lock that all ACC teams, Maryland and Denver would be hosting a game. The biggest questions were the order and who would be the eight seed. As mentioned before, Notre Dame getting the top seed was a bit of a surprise, but it wasn’t unjustified. Notre Dame had a fantastic year and the committee is supposed to look at the entire body of work. According to them, the head to head win over Syracuse is what put them over the top, even considering Syracuse’s ACC tournament title. Cornell getting the eighth seed is a very big surprise. A five loss team in the ivy beating out teams like Albany, Yale, and Brown was a little surprising, but they did beat two of those head to head as well.
Now onto the matchups:
#1 Notre Dame vs. Towson (11-5)/High Point (10-6)
To start, Towson and High Point play on Wednesday for the rights to face Notre Dame in the first round. Towson was 1-1 against tournament teams this year , with close games both times, while High Point was 0-3. Towson also has the second best scoring defense in the country. Whoever winds up winning this should be no match for Notre Dame though. The Irish had a really bad game against Duke to open the ACC tournament and they hopefully got that out of their system. They recently topped Army 17-8, who had never lost a game by more than three all year or given up more than 12 goals. You could say Notre Dame woke up again.
#2 Syracuse vs. Bryant (8-9)/Marist (13-3)
The only tournament team Marist played this year was Brown, who they lost to in overtime. Bryant on the other hand, played five in Colgate, Yale, North Carolina, Albany, and Brown. While they did lose to them all, several of them were very close and it also makes their losing record not look as bad after the first glace. Bryant is dangerous. If they can beat the quietest 13 win team in the country, it sets up a 2014 opening round rematch in Syracuse where the Bulldogs upset the Orange. The lacrosse world is begging for this game to happen again.
#3 North Carolina vs. Colgate (10-5)
Colgate has come on stronger as of late and gave Syracuse all they could handle this past weekend. They will not be intimidated by the Tar Heels. They played very tough defense, have a great goalie and can score. The biggest questions are whether or not they can handle North Carolina’s elite attack unit or find a way past their punishing defense. I would expect North Carolina to win this, but it won’t be easy.
#4 Denver vs. Brown (12-4)
This game could turn into one of the most exciting matchups in the opening round. Denver likes to score and they do so often. Brown also plays an up-tempo brand of lacrosse which saw them hit the 22 goal mark twice this season. They also are coming off a six goal output against Yale in the opening round of the Ivy League tournament, which they were hosting. More than anything, this game is about which Brown team shows up. Denver will be dangerous at home and they are playing for the ability to essentially host the second round, which is being played a whole six miles from their home field. You can bet they’ll be motivated to make it there.
#5 Duke vs. Ohio State (11-6)
Duke has only lost to the teams seeded higher than they are, and they lost to them all. Ohio State’s two games against those four teams were a 0-9 loss to Notre Dame and a 13-11 win over Denver. Duke is playing fantastic lacrosse right now and Coach John Danowski knows how to get his team ready for the tournament. If the Ohio State team that lost to Detroit, Marquette, and Rutgers shows up, they’ll be making summer plans a little earlier than they wanted. If the team that beat Maryland, Hopkins, and Denver takes the field, an upset it possible and reasonable.
#6 Maryland vs. Yale (11-4)
Rematch number one. Maryland is on a two game skid right now after not having lost since February 21 when they were on the road visiting Yale. The Bulldogs scored the 10-6 win. Momentum would actually tip the scales in favor of the Bulldogs. Three of their four losses are by a single goal and they are coming off an Ivy Tournament title. Maryland still has one of the best defenses in the country, so they are going to give Yale all sorts of trouble. Maryland has not been playing well as of late, but a potential second round game only 30 minutes down the road has to be enticing.
#7 Virginia vs. Johns Hopkins (9-6)
Rematch number two. On March 21, these two squared off at Homewood Field in Baltimore and it went into overtime. Virginia was the winner and has only lost to ACC teams this season. Hopkins on the other hand took full advantage of joining a conference this past offseason. In the first year of the B1G, Hopkins won the tournament and earned the automatic qualifier that came with it. Any other year, Hopkins likely would have been watching the tournament from home. I like Virginia in this matchup, but Hopkins has been strong as of late and can absolutely score the upset. The Jays are also fighting history as they haven’t seen championship weekend since the Paul Rabil-led version of the team was in the title game in 2008.
#8 Cornell vs. Albany (15-2)
Rematch number three. In what was Albany’s second game of the year and Cornell’s fourth, these two saw each other on a snow-covered field in Dallas, Texas in late February. Cornell came out on top by seven. Albany has been riding an explosive offense all year long and only has losses to Cornell and Syracuse. They also have wins over fellow tournament teams Yale and Bryant. Cornell has topped Albany, Yale, and Colgate while losing to Syracuse, Virginia, and Brown from the tournament pool. Cornell is more battle tested, but is also much less consistent. This may not be an upstate New York rivalry, but expect a ton of Purple and Yellow in the stands down in Ithaca. The stadium is only an hour from the Onondaga Nation, where Lyle Thompson calls home.
Once those games are played, there are some great potential second round storylines to keep in mind if you are looking for rooting interests. As mentioned before, a Bryant/Syracuse rematch would be epic. Syracuse has used that exact loss (#2 seed losing to play-in winner Bryant) as motivation for the entire season. Bryant returns all the key pieces from that team. If Syracuse wins there, a rematch with either Hopkins or UVA would be waiting. All three programs are swimming is a rich history measured in final four appearances and championships. They have a total of 24 championships combined. With a trip to Philadelphia on the line, there’s no way this game would be a letdown.
Another matchup to hope for would be Notre Dame and Albany. Not only would it give Lyle Thompson a chance to chase history a little bit more with his scoring totals, but it would be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game. Notre Dame staged an epic comeback and won in overtime, which was one of the most exciting games in the entire tournament. The Irish scored six goals in five minutes in the fourth quarter to force overtime and advance to the final four.
In the other corner of the bracket, a win by Denver would mean a rematch with either Duke or Ohio State. Duke they beat to open their season, Ohio State they did not. Brown would be a total wild card if they advanced to this round. Also at stake is Duke’s final four streak. They currently have eight consecutive appearances, which is the longest active streak in the country.
Get your TV ready for next weekend, unless you are near any of the host sites. All games are on ESPNU over Saturday and Sunday. While there are definitely some heavy favorites, last year proved that anything can happen. Keep checking back here as our writers will continue to breakdown the bracket and the individual matchups.
