It’s March Madness, so everyone will be watching college basketball for the next month. In the past few days since the bracket was announced we have seen brackets made up saying “what if it were college football teams?” which is an interesting exercise. But what if it was lacrosse teams?
This is tougher because most of the teams on this bracket would be in the MCLA, which at times is much lower level than NCAA lacrosse. But, we decided to do it anyways to see what would happen. All of this is guesswork, no computers or anything and just meant to be fun, not taken seriously. Upsets are not always taken into account because of the predictability issues. We welcome your ideas in the comments and on social media.
South Bracket
Florida (MCLA) vs Albany
Colorado (MCLA) vs Pittsburgh (MCLA)
VCU (NCLL) vs Stephen F Austin (MCLA)
UCLA (MCLA) vs Tulsa (MCLA)
Ohio State vs Dayton (MCLA)
Syracuse vs Western Michigan (MCLA)
New Mexico (MCLA) vs Stanford (MCLA)
Kansas (MCLA) vs Eastern Kentucky (NCLL)
This bracket has three teams in the NCAA; Albany, Ohio State and Syracuse. Syracuse is a lacrosse power house while Ohio State and Albany have actually struggled much of this season. Syracuse is 4-2, Albany 2-3 and Ohio State 1-5.
In the MCLA, Pittsburgh is 3-1 and Western Michigan 0-1 in the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association. Dayton is 7-0, Kansas 2-1, UCLA 5-3, Tulsa 0-3, New Mexico 0-7, Stanford 5-2, Florida 1-6, SFA 0-3 and Colorado 5-2.
Virginia Commonwealth and Eastern Kentucky are in the NCLL. Eastern Kentucky is 2-0 and VCU 0-1. Now, onto the game results.
Albany would beat Florida, even if the Gators were an NCAA team, they are 0-6. Colorado vs Pittsburgh sees Colorado with a higher winning percentage, divisional record and higher in their division standings, so they also move on. VCU and SFA becomes interesting, because they are in different leagues and both winless. VCU’s loss came to the Duke club team (4-3) while SFA’s losses are to Lafayette, Tulane and St. Edwards. However, they have just six goals and have given up 50 so they are just plain terrible. VCU wins on that account.
UCLA at 5-3 beats Tulsa at 0-3. Ohio State, while having a terrible year at 1-5, plays the MCLA team Dayton. Ohio State’s lone win is against 2-5 Marquette, while they have lost to every other team they have played over .500. Meanwhile, Dayton has won in every way possible with 14-13 and 24-2 wins over their competition. However, despite their record, Dayton has beaten only one team over .500 in Kennesaw State. And honestly, are Jesse King and Greg Dutton going to fall to Dayton? Ohio State has to take this one on strength of opponents and league.
Syracuse defeats the winnless Western Michigan. Stanford beats the 0-7 New Mexico, and Eastern Kentucky has to top Kansas without the loss and the fact they are in a division above the MCLA.
East Division
Virginia vs Coastal Carolina (MCLA)
Memphis (NCLL) vs George Washington (MCLA)
Cincinnati (NCLL) vs Harvard
Michigan State (MCLA) vs Delaware
North Carolina vs Providence
Iowa State (MCLA) vs North Carolina Central
Connecticut (MCLA) vs St. Josephs
Villanova vs Milwaukee (GLLL)
Virginia is 6-2 in the NCAA this season while Harvard is 4-3. Delaware is 5-3, North Carolina 6-2 and ranked seventh in the nation while Providence sits at 3-4. St. Josephs is 5-2 and Villanova 1-5.
On the MCLA side, Coastal Carolina is 3-5 in MCLA division two, in second place in their conference behind Charleston. George Washington is 1-3 and in fifth place in their conference. Michigan State is 4-2 and in second place in their conference, with Iowa State at 1-4. Connecticut is 3-0.
This division is a lot different with so many other teams. First, Milwaukee is in the Great Lakes Lacrosse League, about the same level as the NCLL, and they haven’t played a game yet. Then for the NCLL teams is Memphis at 2-3 while North Carolina Central doesn’t have a team at any level.
Virginia tops Coastal Carolina easily in the first game. Then Memphis beats George Washington because of winning percentage. Cincinnati, an NCLL team, hasn’t played a game yet so Harvard, the NCAA team, beats them. Delaware with their 5-3 record beats the MCLA Michigan State, and North Carolina beats Providence in an NCAA game.
Iowa State wins since they play a team that doesn’t exist. Then St. Joseph’s beats the undefeated Connecticut based on league play. Lastly, Villanova beats the GLLL Milwaukee who has not played a game.
West Division
Arizona (MCLA) vs Weber State
Gonzaga (MCLA) vs Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (MCLA) vs North Dakota State (MCLA)
San Diego State (MCLA) vs New Mexico State
Baylor (MCLA) vs Nebraska (MCLA)
Creighton (MCLA) vs Louisiana
Oregon (MCLA) vs BYU (MCLA)
Wisconsin (MCLA) vs American University
This is probably the worst division in the bracket with no one outside of the MCLA. Several teams don’t exist, like Weber State and Oklahoma State (who used to have teams), New Mexico State, Louisiana and American University. Arizona is 7-2, Gonzaga 3-0, San Diego State 7-1, Creighton hasn’t played a game and Wisconsin is 1-1. Those teams all get wins.
North Dakota State at 3-1 tops the 2-5 Oklahoma Sooners. After that, 6-5 Nebraska beats 2-5 Baylor. 8-2 BYU then proceeds to beat Oregon with their 4-3 record. Some good MCLA teams come out of this division.
Midwest Division
Wichita State vs Cal Poly (MCLA)
Kentucky (MCLA) vs Kansas State (MCLA)
Saint Louis (MCLA) vs North Carolina State (MCLA)
Louisville (NCLL) vs Manhattan
Massachusetts vs Tennessee (MCLA)
Duke vs Mercer
Texas (MCLA) vs Arizona State (MCLA)
Michigan vs Wofford (MCLA)
There are five MCLA teams in this bracket; Manhattan, Massachuesetts, Duke, Mercer and Michigan. Duke is 7-2 and ranked third in the country. Massachusetts is 6-2 and in 11th. Manhattan is 1-7, Michigan 4-5 and Mercer 3-3.
The first game is between Cal Poly at 5-2 and the nonexistant Wichita State, so Cal Poly wins. Kansas State at 0-3 falls to the 1-6 Kentucky due to winning percentage. NC State is 5-2 to the 1-0 of Saint Louis, so they take home their game. Manhattan, despite their bad record, wins over Louisville because they haven’t played a game.
Tennessee is 4-4, so they fall to the 11th ranked UMass. Duke beats Mercer easily in an NCAA game. Texas is 7-2, but they lose to the 8-0 Arizona State in a terrific matchup. Lastly, Michigan defeats the 0-7 Wofford.
Round Two, Three and Four- South Division
Albany vs Syracuse
Eastern Kentucky vs UCLA
Stanford vs VCU
Colorado vs Ohio State
Syracuse would have to beat Albany, who has struggled all season long. That leaves an interesting NCLL vs MCLA game with Eastern Kentucky and UCLA. UCLA with the five wins have to top the 2-0 Eastern Kentucky club.
A similar situation with Stanford and VCU, but 5-2 Stanford beats the 0-1 Rams. Then it is 1-5 Ohio State, who barely got by Dayton, against Colorado. At 5-2, Colorado is going to take that victory.
That means next round, we have the following;
Colorado vs Syracuse
Stanford vs UCLA
The western battle with Stanford and UCLA is so interesting because UCLA is 5-3 and Stanford 5-2. This is going to go to Stanford because UCLA has the extra loss and the Cardinal have a perfect division record to the 1-1 record from the Bruins.
Syracuse is going to have to beat Colorado as an MCLA team, but the Buffaloes had a terrific run. This leaves the final game as:
Syracuse vs Stanford
And while it would be awesome for the MCLA Stanford to advance, it is only logical for the NCAA Orange to move on to the final four.
Rounds Two, Three and Four- East Division
Delaware vs Virginia
Harvard vs Villanova
St Josephs vs Iowa State
George Washington vs North Carolina
Virginia would beat Delaware anytime, and Harvard would top Villanova in those NCAA games. Then with the MCLA and NCAA matchups. St. Joseh’s at 5-2 has to defeat the 1-4 Iowa State. The Cyclones only made it since they played a team that didn’t exist. And North Carolina is a dominant team, so they would defeat George Washington, which leaves:
Harvard vs Virginia
St. Joseph’s vs North Carolina.
North Carolina and Virginia both easily win those games, which means that they face each other in the elite eight. This was a tough one, with the same record, so we went to LaxPower.com which ranks North Carolina higher, so they will be the team to move on to the Final Four.
Round Two, Three and Four- West Division
Arizona vs North Dakota State
Nebraska vs Wisconsin
BYU vs Creighton
Gonzaga vs San Diego State
Here’s that weird division again without an NCAA representative. First, Arizona beats the 3-1 North Dakota State Bison. After that, 6-5 Nebraska is a no brainer over 1-1 Wisconsin Badgers. BYU with their dominant season defeats the Creighton Blue Jays, who are yet to play a game. Lastly, 7-1 San Diego State beats 3-0 Gonzaga. That leaves for the sweet sixteen:
Nebraska vs Arizona
San Diego State vs BYU
Arizona beats Nebraska no questions asked. But then 7-1 San Diego State plays 8-0 BYU. BYU has to win that game because this is all statistics based, but that would sure be a fun game to watch. This means BYU will face Arizona in the elite eight.
This game is the same as the last where BYU has to win for statistical consistency, but it would be a great game. Arizona is 7-2 to the 8-0 of BYU.
Rounds Two, Three and Four- Midwest Division
Cal Poly vs Michigan
Manhattan vs Duke
North Carolina State vs Massachusetts
Arizona State vs Kentucky
If Michigan was as bad as they were the last two years, they lose to Cal Poly. However, at 4-5 in the NCAA, that’s good enough to beat an MCLA team. Duke then beats Manhattan, as would happen in a real NCAA game. Massachusetts has to beat North Carolina State because they are a ranked NCAA team, and 8-0 Arizona State tops Kentucky.
This now leaves Arizona State at Michigan and Massachusetts at Duke. Time to give the MCLA some love as Arizona State’s dominant 8-0 record might be enough to beat Michigan, so they move on. The Duke beats Massachusetts, leaving those two teams against each other.
As great as it would be to see Arizona State move on, Duke is 7-2 and that couldn’t happen. So Duke heads on to the Final Four.
Final Four
The south plays the east so that means Syracuse and North Carolina face off, while the midwest plays the west so it is BYU against Duke.
Again, despite BYU being a terrific team, they can’t beat a 7-2 Duke team so the Blue Devils make it to the final. Then North Carolina defeats Syracuse who still are just 4-2. The championship is between Duke and North Carolina.
This is where we leave; we came to a final game that is reasonable and predictable, but we’ll leave it to the readers to decide who wins this game.
