Ohio St Ping Pongs back to the Top
Ohio St had a great week, then a tough one after the loss to Penn St. Now they rebound with another solid top 20 win against a very strong Johns Hopkins team. Who is Ohio St??? They look talented, let's see if they can overcome playoff inexperience in the Big 10 and NCAA tournaments.
Maryland
The Terps are legit! They pass the eye test and really might be one of the best teams in the country. They are certainly clicking now. I personally predict them to make it to the final four. Unfortunately, at this point, they are still lacking quality wins and took a tough loss to Villanova. With their remaining schedule and the mid-week test vs Albany, the Terps are going to have the opportunity to show just how strong of a juggernaut they are.
Duke is on the Rise
The Dukies are true to form this year; getting better as the season goes on. After a shaky start where fear crept into the heart of Blue Devils fans across the country, Duke goes out and beats a tough opponent in Norte Dame. This comes on the heels of a one-goal loss in the Dome vs Syracuse. Duke now looks like a serious contender to make a run.
My Final Four Predictions
The teams that I can see making it to the final four are Notre Dame, Maryland, Denver and.... this is where there is an open spot and a lot of qualified candidates. Maryland, Denver and Notre Dame all have the X-factors that I feel are imperative when it comes to making playoff runs: Goalie, Face-Off, Coach, Experience. The rest is good to have, but you need these pieces of the puzzle to really make a splash.
This is where the teams above fit the bill. They have all been-there-done-that, they have strong goalie play, face-offs, and outstanding coaches. Duke and Syracuse are the next two teams that have all of these pieces. With Fowler turning it on, Duke now looks legit. I am a diehard Cuse fan, and in the old days, you were guaranteed to see them there. Lately, I have been left hurt by early playoff exits. This inconsistency won't allow me to put Cuse in just yet.
Can Ohio State make the run? Or maybe Penn St, or Albany??? Maybe, but they do not have the experience in the playoffs of Cuse or Duke and their coaches do not have the same level of playoff experience as Desko and Danowski.
With all of this being said, I could see UVA make a run... It has been a crazy year and there will be upsets out there. It is going to be a lot of fun to see how this season pans out.
In Your Face Laxcast!
Shout to In Your Face Laxcast for mentioning our rankings last week!!! Click on the link below to listen to last weeks Podcast! Ryan and Andy deliver some of the best insight in the game and are highly entertaining in the process!
| Team | Quality Wins | Losses | This Week | Rationale | |
| 1 | Cuse | Albany, UVA, Hopkins, Duke, ND | Army | W 17-11 Hobart | Still only team with 5 quality wins |
| 2 | Ohio St | Denver, Towson, Hopkins | ND, Penn St | W 13-9 Hopkins | Another strong win this week and loses are to very strong teams |
| 3 | Duke | Loyola, Richmond, UNC, ND | Air Force, Denver, Cuse | W 11-8 ND | 4 quality wins, close loss to Cuse, Air Force L is holding them back |
| 4 | Denver | ND, Towson | UNC, Ohio St | W 16-11 Nova | ND & Towson wins are strong |
| 5 | ND | Maryland, UVA, OSU | Denver, Cuse, Duke | L 11-8 Duke | Might have a grip to be ahead of Denver but lost the head-to-head |
| 6 | Maryland | UNC, Mich, Penn St | ND, Nova | W 15-11 PSU | Penn St w was great for Maryland, but needs a couple more big wins |
| 7 | Hofstra | UNC,Princeton | 0 | W 11-9 Delaware | UNC & Princeton are not as strong of wins as the teams ahead of them |
| 8 | Penn State | Ohio St | Maryland | L 15-11 Maryland | One very good win |
| 9 | Army | Cuse | Rutgers | W 11-10 BU | Comparable to Penn St but Maryland L is not as bad as Rutgers L |
| 10 | Albany | 0 | Cuse | W 10-5 UMBC | Plays Maryland mid week, much needed big game for them |
| 11 | Rutgers | Army, Princeton, Mich | UDel, Hopkins | W 14-7 Mich | One W vs a team in front of them and 2 L's to teams behind them |
| 12 | Towson | Hopkins | Loyola, Ohio St, Denver | W 11-8 UMass | L's are vs solid teams & Hopkins w is strong |
| 13 | Princeton | Hopkins | Hofstra, Rutgers, Yale | W 13-11 Stony Brook | Very close to Towson |
| 14 | Yale | Princeton | Maryland, Bryant, UMass | W 13-6 Dartmouth, W 23-7 St John's | Beat Princeton but still has 2 bad L's |
| 15 | Hopkins | Loyola,UNC, UVA, Rutgers | Towson, Princeton, Cuse, OSU | L 13-9 OSU | Has played 8 top 20 teams! |
| 16 | Richmond | UNC | Duke, UVA | W 12-9 Mercer | Beat UNC, only L's to top 20 teams |
| 17 | UNC | Denver, UVA | Hofstra, Hop, Rich, Maryland, Duke | W 15-12 UVA | UVA win was solid, only L's to teams in front of them |
| 18 | UVA | Loyola, Richmond | UPenn, Cuse, ND, Hop, UNC | L 15-12 UNC, CSU 20-7 | On the door step of being one of the best teams |
| 19 | Loyola | Towson | UVA, Hopkins, Duke, Bucknell | W 14-5 Lehigh | Bucknell L is dragging them down |
| 20 | Michigan | 0 | ND, Maryland, Rutgers | L 14-7 Rutgers | Have won all of the games they should & lost the ones they shouldnt |
| In the mix | |||||
| Providence | 0 | Hofstra, BU | W 13-7 Gtown | ||
| Binghamton | 0 | Marsit | W 10-9 Hartford | ||
| Boston U | Providence | Bucknell, Lehigh, Army | L 11-10 Army | ||
| Marquette | 0 | OSU, Richmond, Nova | W 17-9 St John's | ||
| Just out of the Mix | |||||
| Delaware | Rutgers | Buck,Navy,Binghamton, UMass, Hofstra | L 11-9 Hofstra | ||
| Villanova | Maryland | Monmouth, Yale, Penn St, Del, Denver | L 16-11 Denver | ||
| UPenn | UVA | Michigan, Penn St, Prince, Yale, Brown | L 11-8 Brown |
Blue Star Lacrosse Camps!
Have A Blast!
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