Conference Champion Picks

[slumdogmillionaire]

ACC - Virginia or ND, I give the toss up to ND. They are a notch more physical and GB hungry. Entenmann when he is on is the best goalie in the last decade. Likely will have 3 At-Large Bids.

America East - Sorry NJIT, I simply can’t see a major breakthrough this year, maybe within the next 2 to 4 however. Albany is hot and Piseno is a two-way force. You can never count out Bryant as they have had a well oiled machine these last few years but its Albany’s to lose.
(UMBC???)

ASUN - Bellarmine. Severely underrated team. When Playstead and Higginbotham are on point, they could upset a team in the first round. HM to Utah and Jacksonville

A-10 - Richmond. Most well-balanced team in the conference and could have easily beaten Maryland and held their own against a, when hot, unbeatable Duke team. St. Joes is having too many issues with goalies and the loss of Zach Cole. HPU’s duo of Mayea and Vanoverbeke could have a say

Big East - Georgetown over Denver in a very close one. Loser will still make the tourney in an at-large. G'town has an argument against them to keep them out of tourney however.

Big Ten - Biggest toss up here. I think PSU’s loss to MD yesterday shows that they will get them back in the tourney. Nittany Lions all the way. Possible at larges to MD and JHU.

CAA - Delaware. They looked good against Cuse and have too much talent. Towson is nipping at their heels however. Single-bid conference here.

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance. Since the Ivy’s keep taking each other out, I could see the conference only getting 1 to 2 At larges, I would give those to Penn and Cornell.

MAAC - I’m glad Quinnipiac got their loss out of the way. Now I think they’ll cruise to victory in the conference. Maybe they get a little trouble from Marist.

Patriot - AQ goes to the winner of Army and Boston U. I predict Army to win the league but Boston could also make some noise later on in the tourney if the selection committee loses their hard-on for the ACC and Ivy League. They have an argument to be in there for sure.

[gymman1031]

ACC - Virginia or ND, I give the toss up to ND. They are a notch more physical and GB hungry. Entenmann when he is on is the best goalie in the last decade. Likely will have 3 At-Large Bids.

America East - Sorry NJIT, I simply can’t see a major breakthrough this year, maybe within the next 2 to 4 however. Albany is hot and Piseno is a two-way force. You can never count out Bryant as they have had a well oiled machine these last few years but its Albany’s to lose.
(UMBC???)

ASUN - Bellarmine. Severely underrated team. When Playstead and Higginbotham are on point, they could upset a team in the first round. HM to Utah and Jacksonville

A-10 - Richmond. Most well-balanced team in the conference and could have easily beaten Maryland and held their own against a, when hot, unbeatable Duke team. St. Joes is having too many issues with goalies and the loss of Zach Cole. HPU’s duo of Mayea and Vanoverbeke could have a say

Big East - Georgetown over Denver in a very close one. Loser will still make the tourney in an at-large. G'town has an argument against them to keep them out of tourney however.

Big Ten - Biggest toss up here. I think PSU’s loss to MD yesterday shows that they will get them back in the tourney. Nittany Lions all the way. Possible at larges to MD and JHU.

CAA - Delaware. They looked good against Cuse and have too much talent. Towson is nipping at their heels however. Single-bid conference here.

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance. Since the Ivy’s keep taking each other out, I could see the conference only getting 1 to 2 At larges, I would give those to Penn and Cornell.

MAAC - I’m glad Quinnipiac got their loss out of the way. Now I think they’ll cruise to victory in the conference. Maybe they get a little trouble from Marist.

Patriot - AQ goes to the winner of Army and Boston U. I predict Army to win the league but Boston could also make some noise later on in the tourney if the selection committee loses their hard-on for the ACC and Ivy League. They have an argument to be in there for sure.

Agree with almost everything you said. However, I think Sacred Heart has proven to be a serious contender in the MAAC, too.

[ICGrad]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

[Ice1570]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

By Princeton, he must have meant Yale

[rasheed]

I have no idea if UVa wins the conference. I do, however, think that they have a major chip on their shoulder re ND. They dominated ND all season last year and literally through the semis away. I imagine the Hoos will be driven by heart wrenching “payback.”

Having said that, UVa will likely lose to Duke yet again.

[slumdogmillionaire]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

I couldve worded that better. That 2020 Princeton team was 5-0 when covid hit and was on a war path led by Michael Sowers, Chris Brown, and Connor McCarthy. Mind you Sam English and Jake Stevens were second line/rotation middies. That team was a lock for the conference imo. People talk about Cuse's perfect season getting ruined by Covid but Princeton's end was a bit more devastating

[coda]

I have no idea if UVa wins the conference. I do, however, think that they have a major chip on their shoulder re ND. They dominated ND all season last year and literally through the semis away. I imagine the Hoos will be driven by heart wrenching “payback.”

Having said that, UVa will likely lose to Duke yet again.

Right now I have ND.. Shelly is banged up again. That is will lower the ceiling for UVA. ND is my clear NC favorite. They do not have any holes.

[coda]

ACC - Virginia or ND, I give the toss up to ND. They are a notch more physical and GB hungry. Entenmann when he is on is the best goalie in the last decade. Likely will have 3 At-Large Bids.

America East - Sorry NJIT, I simply can’t see a major breakthrough this year, maybe within the next 2 to 4 however. Albany is hot and Piseno is a two-way force. You can never count out Bryant as they have had a well oiled machine these last few years but its Albany’s to lose.
(UMBC???)

ASUN - Bellarmine. Severely underrated team. When Playstead and Higginbotham are on point, they could upset a team in the first round. HM to Utah and Jacksonville

A-10 - Richmond. Most well-balanced team in the conference and could have easily beaten Maryland and held their own against a, when hot, unbeatable Duke team. St. Joes is having too many issues with goalies and the loss of Zach Cole. HPU’s duo of Mayea and Vanoverbeke could have a say

Big East - Georgetown over Denver in a very close one. Loser will still make the tourney in an at-large. G'town has an argument against them to keep them out of tourney however.

Big Ten - Biggest toss up here. I think PSU’s loss to MD yesterday shows that they will get them back in the tourney. Nittany Lions all the way. Possible at larges to MD and JHU.

CAA - Delaware. They looked good against Cuse and have too much talent. Towson is nipping at their heels however. Single-bid conference here.

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance. Since the Ivy’s keep taking each other out, I could see the conference only getting 1 to 2 At larges, I would give those to Penn and Cornell.

MAAC - I’m glad Quinnipiac got their loss out of the way. Now I think they’ll cruise to victory in the conference. Maybe they get a little trouble from Marist.

Patriot - AQ goes to the winner of Army and Boston U. I predict Army to win the league but Boston could also make some noise later on in the tourney if the selection committee loses their hard-on for the ACC and Ivy League. They have an argument to be in there for sure.

I think the IVY and Big 10 are similar. You could name 3-4 teams to win the their conference tournament and I would not have a major argument. Some good teams in both leagues, but all of them have at least one major flaw. That can lead to total chaos come tournament season.

[cmbtp88]

I have no idea if UVa wins the conference. I do, however, think that they have a major chip on their shoulder re ND. They dominated ND all season last year and literally through the semis away. I imagine the Hoos will be driven by heart wrenching “payback.”

Having said that, UVa will likely lose to Duke yet again.

Right now I have ND.. Shelly is banged up again. That is will lower the ceiling for UVA. ND is my clear NC favorite. They do not have any holes.

Shelly is not banged up again....not sure where you heard that

[coda]

I have no idea if UVa wins the conference. I do, however, think that they have a major chip on their shoulder re ND. They dominated ND all season last year and literally through the semis away. I imagine the Hoos will be driven by heart wrenching “payback.”

Having said that, UVa will likely lose to Duke yet again.

Right now I have ND.. Shelly is banged up again. That is will lower the ceiling for UVA. ND is my clear NC favorite. They do not have any holes.

Shelly is not banged up again....not sure where you heard that

I heard prior to the Harvard game that he was dealing with an injury. I assumed it was just some nagging type of thing. Given Shelly went out and had his worse game in quite some time, I will believe that the color I got was pretty solid or that was one hell of a coincidence.

[Comeonman]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

I couldve worded that better. That 2020 Princeton team was 5-0 when covid hit and was on a war path led by Michael Sowers, Chris Brown, and Connor McCarthy. Mind you Sam English and Jake Stevens were second line/rotation middies. That team was a lock for the conference imo. People talk about Cuse's perfect season getting ruined by Covid but Princeton's end was a bit more devastating

Let’s not forget Cornell was also 5-0 when the music stopped in 2020. I’m not so sure Princeton was a lock that year.

You sure have strong opinions. Your comment above on Entenmann being the best goalie in the last decade “when he’s on” is silly. A goalie needs to be on all the time to be considered the best. Despite the great save he made Sunday, let me remind you he was only 40% in that game. In addition, he is currently sitting at .534, good for 25th best in D1. In seven games so far this year, he is above 50% in only three, including the opener against Cleveland State. A very good goalie yes, and a National Champion, but certainly not the best or even the most consistent since Galloway.
Regardless, Idolatry comes with playing for ND. This season the press has added him to the Holy Trinity along with the Jesus Brothers.

[slumdogmillionaire]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

I couldve worded that better. That 2020 Princeton team was 5-0 when covid hit and was on a war path led by Michael Sowers, Chris Brown, and Connor McCarthy. Mind you Sam English and Jake Stevens were second line/rotation middies. That team was a lock for the conference imo. People talk about Cuse's perfect season getting ruined by Covid but Princeton's end was a bit more devastating

Let’s not forget Cornell was also 5-0 when the music stopped in 2020. I’m not so sure Princeton was a lock that year.

You sure have strong opinions. Your comment above on Entenmann being the best goalie in the last decade “when he’s on” is silly. A goalie needs to be on all the time to be considered the best. Despite the great save he made Sunday, let me remind you he was only 40% in that game. In addition, he is currently sitting at .534, good for 25th best in D1. In seven games so far this year, he is above 50% in only three, including the opener against Cleveland State. A very good goalie yes, and a National Champion, but certainly not the best or even the most consistent since Galloway.
Regardless, Idolatry comes with playing for ND. This season the press has added him to the Holy Trinity along with the Jesus Brothers.

You honestly do bring up a good point and the "Jesus Brothers" name is actually hilarious. But to combat your points, Entenmann has been above 50% in 4 games and Galloway graduated in 2011. The only other goalies who have been both proven champions (Sorry Bernlohr, Riorden), are Rode and McNaney. Also, Yale and Duke both won championships in the 2010's with goalies that weren't starters by the time they graduated. McNaney is a beast, but looked replaceable when Ruppell stepped in because of his injury. Am I saying all those goalies weren't integral to their team's success? Heck no. But none of them have been quite as consistent, clutch, and game-altering quite like Entenmann has these last 4 years. Entenmann's position as starter has never been in jeopardy and the team would be nowhere near the number 1 ranking without him. I stand by what I said saying he is the best goalie in college lacrosse's last 10 years if you take into count both performance and ability to win.

[cmbtp88]

I have no idea if UVa wins the conference. I do, however, think that they have a major chip on their shoulder re ND. They dominated ND all season last year and literally through the semis away. I imagine the Hoos will be driven by heart wrenching “payback.”

Having said that, UVa will likely lose to Duke yet again.

Right now I have ND.. Shelly is banged up again. That is will lower the ceiling for UVA. ND is my clear NC favorite. They do not have any holes.

Shelly is not banged up again....not sure where you heard that

I heard prior to the Harvard game that he was dealing with an injury. I assumed it was just some nagging type of thing. Given Shelly went out and had his worse game in quite some time, I will believe that the color I got was pretty solid or that was one hell of a coincidence.

I believe you are talking about Cormier not Shellenberger. Cormier was hit below the waist(knee are) in the Drexel game and left and did not play the 4th qtr. He played in the Harvard game and left the field after he was hit in the B___s during a offensive possession, I think that is what you are referring to...Shellenberger never let the field. Harvard did hold Shelly scoreless though, I think he had 2 assists....

[coda]

I have no idea if UVa wins the conference. I do, however, think that they have a major chip on their shoulder re ND. They dominated ND all season last year and literally through the semis away. I imagine the Hoos will be driven by heart wrenching “payback.”

Having said that, UVa will likely lose to Duke yet again.

Right now I have ND.. Shelly is banged up again. That is will lower the ceiling for UVA. ND is my clear NC favorite. They do not have any holes.

Shelly is not banged up again....not sure where you heard that

I heard prior to the Harvard game that he was dealing with an injury. I assumed it was just some nagging type of thing. Given Shelly went out and had his worse game in quite some time, I will believe that the color I got was pretty solid or that was one hell of a coincidence.

I believe you are talking about Cormier not Shellenberger. Cormier was hit below the waist(knee are) in the Drexel game and left and did not play the 4th qtr. He played in the Harvard game and left the field after he was hit in the B___s during a offensive possession, I think that is what you are referring to...Shellenberger never let the field. Harvard did hold Shelly scoreless though, I think he had 2 assists....

It was Shelly.. Keep in mind "he is dealing with an injuy and not 100%" could be almost anything. Likely a nagging thing. He did have 6 turnovers, which is unheard of for him.

[Comeonman]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

I couldve worded that better. That 2020 Princeton team was 5-0 when covid hit and was on a war path led by Michael Sowers, Chris Brown, and Connor McCarthy. Mind you Sam English and Jake Stevens were second line/rotation middies. That team was a lock for the conference imo. People talk about Cuse's perfect season getting ruined by Covid but Princeton's end was a bit more devastating

Let’s not forget Cornell was also 5-0 when the music stopped in 2020. I’m not so sure Princeton was a lock that year.

You sure have strong opinions. Your comment above on Entenmann being the best goalie in the last decade “when he’s on” is silly. A goalie needs to be on all the time to be considered the best. Despite the great save he made Sunday, let me remind you he was only 40% in that game. In addition, he is currently sitting at .534, good for 25th best in D1. In seven games so far this year, he is above 50% in only three, including the opener against Cleveland State. A very good goalie yes, and a National Champion, but certainly not the best or even the most consistent since Galloway.
Regardless, Idolatry comes with playing for ND. This season the press has added him to the Holy Trinity along with the Jesus Brothers.

You honestly do bring up a good point and the "Jesus Brothers" name is actually hilarious. But to combat your points, Entenmann has been above 50% in 4 games and Galloway graduated in 2011. The only other goalies who have been both proven champions (Sorry Bernlohr, Riorden), are Rode and McNaney. Also, Yale and Duke both won championships in the 2010's with goalies that weren't starters by the time they graduated. McNaney is a beast, but looked replaceable when Ruppell stepped in because of his injury. Am I saying all those goalies weren't integral to their team's success? Heck no. But none of them have been quite as consistent, clutch, and game-altering quite like Entenmann has these last 4 years. Entenmann's position as starter has never been in jeopardy and the team would be nowhere near the number 1 ranking without him. I stand by what I said saying he is the best goalie in college lacrosse's last 10 years if you take into count both performance and ability to win.

I get that he’s a winner, but does that make him the best? Are we defining best by pure talent, athleticism, ability to do things outside of the cage, clearing, leading a defense, longevity, consistency, being the starter on a championship team, or a combination of all? I’d argue the latter. Regardless, I know Galloway graduated in 2011; I just used him as the most recent example of someone with all of the above attributes, and an undisputed all-time great. Also, here are the game stats for Liam so far this year:

Cleveland State - 80%
Marquette - 43%
Georgetown - 42%
Maryland - 61%
Ohio State - 50%
Michigan - 61%
Syracuse - 40%

That’s only three OVER 50%, like I stated. Not four.

The season is only half over, and Liam is coming to the end of an excellent college career. I will wait until the end of the year to further analyze his place among the best of the last decade (and another Natty would go a long way), but he surely has some work to do to improve his numbers. Best of luck to him.

[44WeWantMore]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

I couldve worded that better. That 2020 Princeton team was 5-0 when covid hit and was on a war path led by Michael Sowers, Chris Brown, and Connor McCarthy. Mind you Sam English and Jake Stevens were second line/rotation middies. That team was a lock for the conference imo. People talk about Cuse's perfect season getting ruined by Covid but Princeton's end was a bit more devastating

Let’s not forget Cornell was also 5-0 when the music stopped in 2020. I’m not so sure Princeton was a lock that year.

You sure have strong opinions. Your comment above on Entenmann being the best goalie in the last decade “when he’s on” is silly. A goalie needs to be on all the time to be considered the best. Despite the great save he made Sunday, let me remind you he was only 40% in that game. In addition, he is currently sitting at .534, good for 25th best in D1. In seven games so far this year, he is above 50% in only three, including the opener against Cleveland State. A very good goalie yes, and a National Champion, but certainly not the best or even the most consistent since Galloway.
Regardless, Idolatry comes with playing for ND. This season the press has added him to the Holy Trinity along with the Jesus Brothers.

You honestly do bring up a good point and the "Jesus Brothers" name is actually hilarious. But to combat your points, Entenmann has been above 50% in 4 games and Galloway graduated in 2011. The only other goalies who have been both proven champions (Sorry Bernlohr, Riorden), are Rode and McNaney. Also, Yale and Duke both won championships in the 2010's with goalies that weren't starters by the time they graduated. McNaney is a beast, but looked replaceable when Ruppell stepped in because of his injury. Am I saying all those goalies weren't integral to their team's success? Heck no. But none of them have been quite as consistent, clutch, and game-altering quite like Entenmann has these last 4 years. Entenmann's position as starter has never been in jeopardy and the team would be nowhere near the number 1 ranking without him. I stand by what I said saying he is the best goalie in college lacrosse's last 10 years if you take into count both performance and ability to win.

I get that he’s a winner, but does that make him the best? Are we defining best by pure talent, athleticism, ability to do things outside of the cage, clearing, leading a defense, longevity, consistency, being the starter on a championship team, or a combination of all? I’d argue the latter. Regardless, I know Galloway graduated in 2011; I just used him as the most recent example of someone with all of the above attributes, and an undisputed all-time great. Also, here are the game stats for Liam so far this year:

Cleveland State - 80%
Marquette - 43%
Georgetown - 42%
Maryland - 61%
Ohio State - 50%
Michigan - 61%
Syracuse - 40%

That’s only three OVER 50%, like I stated. Not four.

The season is only half over, and Liam is coming to the end of an excellent college career. I will wait until the end of the year to further analyze his place among the best of the last decade (and another Natty would go a long way), but he surely has some work to do to improve his numbers. Best of luck to him.

I know I am able to forget some of Jesse Schwartzman's sub-par 2007 regular season outings.

[ICGrad]

Ivy - I think Princeton is fully back to their “pre-covid” dominance.

What now?

I couldve worded that better. That 2020 Princeton team was 5-0 when covid hit and was on a war path led by Michael Sowers, Chris Brown, and Connor McCarthy. Mind you Sam English and Jake Stevens were second line/rotation middies. That team was a lock for the conference imo. People talk about Cuse's perfect season getting ruined by Covid but Princeton's end was a bit more devastating

Thanks for the clarification.

Not sure I'd agree re: Princeton. Their best OOC win is against UNC, who can look very good and then look pretty mediocre. I think they'd have to show me something against Yale and Penn before I'd declare them to be back.

Also interesting that you don't mention Yale; possibly the most dangerous team in the Ivies.

That said, an entertaining exercise that's sparked some interesting discussion. Nothing wrong with that!