People are going to be upset about this one.... but Cuse is still my number one team in the Nation, narrowly. Cuse has a very strong resume of wins, taking a one goal loss to a top twenty team does not hurt that much.
The only team right now with a shot of dethroning the Orange is Maryland. This is where people will be upset... Maryland beat up rival Hopkins this week and Syracuse lost this week. Maryland's wins match up really well with Syracuse's wins, the loss to Villanova is the difference maker. Nova is dangerous and peaking at the right time but they are still not a team the Maryland or Syracuse should lose to. If Maryland picks up a big win or two in the Big Ten Tournament, they have a very good shot of finishing the regular season as the #1!!!
UNC is really good! They have been backed into a corner and fought their way out by beating two of the best teams in the Nation and winning their conference tournament. UNC does not get an AQ from the ACC because they only have five participating members. This means that UNC's fate is still TBD by the selection committee. I think that with the addition of these two wins, they will get in.
Anyone that took UNC out of their poll this year was making decisions based on emotion. They were more upset with UNC's perceived underperformance than they were about gauging UNC's actual ability.
UNC does not have a loss outside of the top 20. They now have 4 big wins, 3 are against Top Ten Teams! I have been preaching in past blogs that UNC would beat just about any team behind them (I know, Richmond but that was an "upset," most betting people would have picked UNC).
Who did people put ahead of UNC? Think about it. Playing a very difficult schedule should not be penalized! Strong schedules give us great games! They also allow the best to play the best on a regular basis and prove themselves on the field!
If UNC gets into the NCAA Tournament, they will most likely be on the road, what a treat that is going to be for a highly seeded team. In all likely hood, they are going to send UNC far away (because they always do), Denver, OSU, or maybe right down the road to see the Dukies???
Blue Star Lacrosse Camps are designed to be fun for everyone involved (that includes counselors too!) There are a lot of reasons to go to camp but at the end of the day we want campers to leave feeling exhausted and excited for the next day. We strive to create an environment that cultivates a player's passion for the game - we have found over 25+ years of camps that passion and attitude are the biggest future drivers of success!
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Team
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Quality Wins
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Losses
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This Week
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Rationale
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1 |
Cuse
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Albany, UVA, Hopkins, Duke, ND, UNC
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Army, UNC
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L 16-15 UNC
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Even in a 1g loss, they have the strongest resume
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2 |
Maryland
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UNC, Penn St, Albany, Rutgers, Hopkins
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ND, Nova, OSU
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W 12-5 Hopkins
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Nova loss is the difference between Maryland & Cuse
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3 |
ND
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Maryland, UVA, OSU, UNC, Duke
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Denver, Cuse, Duke, UNC
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L 14-10 UNC, W 7-6 Duke
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Banged Up and still beat Duke, 2 games in 2 days was too much for injured team
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4 |
Ohio St
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Denver, Towson, Hopkins, Maryland
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ND, Penn St, Rutgers
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L 12-11 Rutgers
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Stronger wins than Denver and head-to-head win
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5 |
Denver
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ND, Towson, Air Force, Duke
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UNC, Ohio St
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W 16-8 Marquette
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solid
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6 |
Duke
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Loyola, Richmond, UNC, ND, UVA
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Air Force, Denver, Cuse, ND
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L 7-6 ND
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very good resume, wins not as strong as teams ahead of them
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7 |
Hopkins
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Loyola,UNC, UVA, Rutgers, Penn St
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Towson, Princeton, Cuse, OSU, Maryland
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L 12-5 Maryland
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They really wish they had Towson & Princeton back
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8 |
Penn State
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Ohio St, Nova, Rutgers
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Maryland, Hopkins
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W 17-12 Mich
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Behind Hopkins, infront of Rutgers
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9 |
UNC
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Denver, UVA, ND, Cuse
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Hofstra, Hop, Rich, Maryland, Duke, Cuse, ND
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W 14-10 ND, W 16-15 Cuse
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4 really strong wins, no bad losses. Had to survive & they did
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10 |
Rutgers
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Army, Princeton, OSU
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UDel, Hopkins, Maryland, PSU
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W 12-11 OSU
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Better Wins than Albany
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11 |
Albany
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Yale
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Cuse, Maryland
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W 16-10 Hartford
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They are really good but dont play a strong enough schedule, 1g losses to Cuse & Mary hold them up
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12 |
Towson
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Hopkins, Hofstra
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Loyola, Ohio St, Denver, Fairfield
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W 10-8 Hofstra
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Added a second strong win
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13 |
Hofstra
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UNC,Princeton
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Drexel, Towson
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L 10-8 Towson
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Behing Towson
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14 |
Loyola
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Towson, Army, Army
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UVA, Hopkins, Duke, Bucknell, BU
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W 13-4 Army, W 13-3 Holy Cross
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Peaking at the right time
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15 |
Richmond
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UNC
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Duke, UVA, Air Force
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W 13-4 Furman
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UNC win is looking much better now!
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16 |
UVA
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Loyola, Richmond
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UPenn, Cuse, ND, Hop, UNC, Duke, UPenn
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L 17-11 UPenn
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Beat the two teams ahead of them but have a lot of losses
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17 |
Army
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Cuse, BU, BU
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Rutgers, Navy, Loyola, Loyola
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L 13-4 Loyola, W 10-7 BU
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Not as good as Loyola, better than BU
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18 |
Air Force
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Duke, Richmond
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Denver, Marist, BU, Marquette, Furman
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W 16-11 High Point
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Losses to Marist, Marquette and Furman are tough
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19 |
Boston U
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Loyola, Air Force
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Bucknell, Lehigh, Army
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W 10-4 Lehigh, L 10-7 Army
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Beat two teams ahead of them!
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20 |
Yale
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Princeton, Nova
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Maryland, Bryant, UMass, Albany, Harvard
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L 9-8 Harvard
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They are really good but have a lot of losses, head scratcher
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In the Mix
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Princeton
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Hopkins
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Hofstra, Rutgers, Yale, Lehigh, Cornell
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L 18-17 Cornell
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Villanova
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Maryland
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Monmouth, Yale, Penn St, Del, Denver
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W 15-7 Providence
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Monmouth
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Nova
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St Joe's, Del, Hofstra
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W 7-3 Manhatten
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