2024 top 20

[ICGrad]

I've yet to see a single lacrosse game in which the offensive coordinator was thrown out in addition to a 3 minute non-releasable penalty.

Given that he was suspended for the following game for contact with an official, I don't think there was anything controversial about that penalty.

And even well after that penalty, Syracuse extended their lead multiple times out to 6 goals, including in the second half. The penalty did little to sap Syracuse's early momentum in that game; they just wilted in the second half.

And yes, Colgate are not a bottom feeder, and congrats to them on a great season, but they're not top 20 RPI, either.

[CU88a]

Cornell loses to ND by 1 and beats Syracuse and barely moves. UVA loses to ND and Syracuse and solidifies its at large resume.

Sadly, loses don't count towards anything. I really like Cornell, but this ranking makes sense to me.

Outside of #3 Cuse, Cornell doesn't have a top 10 win. Wins over #12 Princeton and #13 Yale.

Losses to #1 ND, #4 Denver, #9 Penn State, and #16 Penn.

I'd put Penn State above Cornell tbh.

I am not saying that you are wrong, but using your approach, how is UVA ranked higher than CU at this stage of the season?

My heartburn is that UVA is on a three (3) game losing streak. This is no longer "pre or early season". They are what their field performance says they are today, Monday April 29th.

How can this string of losses have them sitting so high; unless people are telling us that there are indeed "good losses"; but only for UVA...

Serious question. Why do you think Cornell should be ranked above Uva? Records are essentially the same. UVA has played a tougher schedule.

If I had to pick NC contenders. UVa would be in the list with ND, Duke, Cuse, Hopkins and PSU..

A valid and great question Coda, and while I am a Cornell "homer"; I don't think that they are deserving to be ranked higher that UVA. I see them as equals and a coin-toss to separate them between 6-10; along with Maryland, Duke and Gtown.

SOS delta is really splitting hairs between UVA and CU. UVA has seen theirs rise during these last three losses, while Cornell SOS has dropped with their last 2-1 games. The SOS argument lends credence to "Good Losses" theory.

Not poking you, but I no longer see UVA in the NC contenders list. I am a UVA fan, had a coworker with kid on COVID era squad and it was wonderful to see him celebrate in 2021.

[coda]

I always love when people cherry pick the ND game, but dont mention the PSU game.

I think it's more the overall body of work, and seeing that one outlier in the larger picture.

I mean, you have PSU in your list of contenders, and yet...Colgate? Again that one outlier doesn't define their season, and I agree with that, but would extend the same consideration to Cornell, whose other 3 loses were by one goal each and who don't have a loss to a Colgate on their resume.

I get it. I believe you need to be a complete team to win a title. I do not see that with Cornell. Couple years ago people were saying Maryland had one of the best offenses ever and they rode the goalie and defense to a title. ND won their first title last year. I would say the biggest overlooked reason was their FOGO going 61% in the final 4, nobody saw that coming. That was with an excellent offense, defense, and Goalie play. Cornell can beat anyone on a given day, because they have a great offense. I dont think they can run the tournament having a questions on defense. In order to overcome that hole, they would probably need to ride great goalie play and faceoffs. Knust has been good. Faceoffs have been an issue at 47.1% on the year. I just see too many holes to string together 4 wins over top programs. Those holes usually get exposed in the tournament.

[coda]

Cornell loses to ND by 1 and beats Syracuse and barely moves. UVA loses to ND and Syracuse and solidifies its at large resume.

Sadly, loses don't count towards anything. I really like Cornell, but this ranking makes sense to me.

Outside of #3 Cuse, Cornell doesn't have a top 10 win. Wins over #12 Princeton and #13 Yale.

Losses to #1 ND, #4 Denver, #9 Penn State, and #16 Penn.

I'd put Penn State above Cornell tbh.

I am not saying that you are wrong, but using your approach, how is UVA ranked higher than CU at this stage of the season?

My heartburn is that UVA is on a three (3) game losing streak. This is no longer "pre or early season". They are what their field performance says they are today, Monday April 29th.

How can this string of losses have them sitting so high; unless people are telling us that there are indeed "good losses"; but only for UVA...

Serious question. Why do you think Cornell should be ranked above Uva? Records are essentially the same. UVA has played a tougher schedule.

If I had to pick NC contenders. UVa would be in the list with ND, Duke, Cuse, Hopkins and PSU..

A valid and great question Coda, and while I am a Cornell "homer"; I don't think that they are deserving to be ranked higher that UVA. I see them as equals and a coin-toss to separate them between 6-10; along with Maryland, Duke and Gtown.

SOS delta is really splitting hairs between UVA and CU. UVA has seen theirs rise during these last three losses, while Cornell SOS has dropped with their last 2-1 games. The SOS argument lends credence to "Good Losses" theory.

Not poking you, but I no longer see UVA in the NC contenders list. I am a UVA fan, had a coworker with kid on COVID era squad and it was wonderful to see him celebrate in 2021.

I can see people doubting UVa. I cant put my finger on it, but something does seem to be missing there. They were the lone exception to my list (defense #13 and offense #5). I just couldnt leave them off, so much individual talent. Nobody would be shocked if they came together and won the tournament.

[Gobigred]

I always love when people cherry pick the ND game, but dont mention the PSU game.

I think it's more the overall body of work, and seeing that one outlier in the larger picture.

I mean, you have PSU in your list of contenders, and yet...Colgate? Again that one outlier doesn't define their season, and I agree with that, but would extend the same consideration to Cornell, whose other 3 loses were by one goal each and who don't have a loss to a Colgate on their resume.

Also has Hopkins on his list, loser to Navy. Hypocrisy...or wilful ignorance.

[norcalhop]

Cornell loses to ND by 1 and beats Syracuse and barely moves. UVA loses to ND and Syracuse and solidifies its at large resume.

Sadly, loses don't count towards anything. I really like Cornell, but this ranking makes sense to me.

Outside of #3 Cuse, Cornell doesn't have a top 10 win. Wins over #12 Princeton and #13 Yale.

Losses to #1 ND, #4 Denver, #9 Penn State, and #16 Penn.

I'd put Penn State above Cornell tbh.

I am not saying that you are wrong, but using your approach, how is UVA ranked higher than CU at this stage of the season?

My heartburn is that UVA is on a three (3) game losing streak. This is no longer "pre or early season". They are what their field performance says they are today, Monday April 29th.

How can this string of losses have them sitting so high; unless people are telling us that there are indeed "good losses"; but only for UVA...

Serious question. Why do you think Cornell should be ranked above Uva? Records are essentially the same. UVA has played a tougher schedule.

If I had to pick NC contenders. UVa would be in the list with ND, Duke, Cuse, Hopkins and PSU..

A valid and great question Coda, and while I am a Cornell "homer"; I don't think that they are deserving to be ranked higher that UVA. I see them as equals and a coin-toss to separate them between 6-10; along with Maryland, Duke and Gtown.

SOS delta is really splitting hairs between UVA and CU. UVA has seen theirs rise during these last three losses, while Cornell SOS has dropped with their last 2-1 games. The SOS argument lends credence to "Good Losses" theory.

Not poking you, but I no longer see UVA in the NC contenders list. I am a UVA fan, had a coworker with kid on COVID era squad and it was wonderful to see him celebrate in 2021.

I can see people doubting UVa. I cant put my finger on it, but something does seem to be missing there. They were the lone exception to my list (defense #13 and offense #5). I just couldnt leave them off, so much individual talent. Nobody would be shocked if they came together and won the tournament.

If anything Hopkins has serious questions on faceoffs and offense. They simply look better on paper vs some of the other teams. Against UVa, it would be a coinflip.

[coda]

Cornell loses to ND by 1 and beats Syracuse and barely moves. UVA loses to ND and Syracuse and solidifies its at large resume.

Sadly, loses don't count towards anything. I really like Cornell, but this ranking makes sense to me.

Outside of #3 Cuse, Cornell doesn't have a top 10 win. Wins over #12 Princeton and #13 Yale.

Losses to #1 ND, #4 Denver, #9 Penn State, and #16 Penn.

I'd put Penn State above Cornell tbh.

I am not saying that you are wrong, but using your approach, how is UVA ranked higher than CU at this stage of the season?

My heartburn is that UVA is on a three (3) game losing streak. This is no longer "pre or early season". They are what their field performance says they are today, Monday April 29th.

How can this string of losses have them sitting so high; unless people are telling us that there are indeed "good losses"; but only for UVA...

Serious question. Why do you think Cornell should be ranked above Uva? Records are essentially the same. UVA has played a tougher schedule.

If I had to pick NC contenders. UVa would be in the list with ND, Duke, Cuse, Hopkins and PSU..

A valid and great question Coda, and while I am a Cornell "homer"; I don't think that they are deserving to be ranked higher that UVA. I see them as equals and a coin-toss to separate them between 6-10; along with Maryland, Duke and Gtown.

SOS delta is really splitting hairs between UVA and CU. UVA has seen theirs rise during these last three losses, while Cornell SOS has dropped with their last 2-1 games. The SOS argument lends credence to "Good Losses" theory.

Not poking you, but I no longer see UVA in the NC contenders list. I am a UVA fan, had a coworker with kid on COVID era squad and it was wonderful to see him celebrate in 2021.

I can see people doubting UVa. I cant put my finger on it, but something does seem to be missing there. They were the lone exception to my list (defense #13 and offense #5). I just couldnt leave them off, so much individual talent. Nobody would be shocked if they came together and won the tournament.

If anything Hopkins has serious questions on faceoffs and offense. They simply look better on paper vs some of the other teams.

PSU and Hopkins both have faceoff issues. My model has Hopkins offense ranked 10th, so they just squeaked in (Massey has them at 11). Only exception I had to the top 10 defense/offense rule was UVa, which I explained above. PSU and Hopkins are both getting very good goalie play. Offense and defensively fit the criteria. none of this has to do with a singular game data point.

[Gobigred]

Cornell loses to ND by 1 and beats Syracuse and barely moves. UVA loses to ND and Syracuse and solidifies its at large resume.

Sadly, loses don't count towards anything. I really like Cornell, but this ranking makes sense to me.

Outside of #3 Cuse, Cornell doesn't have a top 10 win. Wins over #12 Princeton and #13 Yale.

Losses to #1 ND, #4 Denver, #9 Penn State, and #16 Penn.

I'd put Penn State above Cornell tbh.

I am not saying that you are wrong, but using your approach, how is UVA ranked higher than CU at this stage of the season?

My heartburn is that UVA is on a three (3) game losing streak. This is no longer "pre or early season". They are what their field performance says they are today, Monday April 29th.

How can this string of losses have them sitting so high; unless people are telling us that there are indeed "good losses"; but only for UVA...

Serious question. Why do you think Cornell should be ranked above Uva? Records are essentially the same. UVA has played a tougher schedule.

If I had to pick NC contenders. UVa would be in the list with ND, Duke, Cuse, Hopkins and PSU..

A valid and great question Coda, and while I am a Cornell "homer"; I don't think that they are deserving to be ranked higher that UVA. I see them as equals and a coin-toss to separate them between 6-10; along with Maryland, Duke and Gtown.

SOS delta is really splitting hairs between UVA and CU. UVA has seen theirs rise during these last three losses, while Cornell SOS has dropped with their last 2-1 games. The SOS argument lends credence to "Good Losses" theory.

Not poking you, but I no longer see UVA in the NC contenders list. I am a UVA fan, had a coworker with kid on COVID era squad and it was wonderful to see him celebrate in 2021.

I can see people doubting UVa. I cant put my finger on it, but something does seem to be missing there. They were the lone exception to my list (defense #13 and offense #5). I just couldnt leave them off, so much individual talent. Nobody would be shocked if they came together and won the tournament.

If anything Hopkins has serious questions on faceoffs and offense. They simply look better on paper vs some of the other teams.

PSU and Hopkins both have faceoff issues. My model has Hopkins offense ranked 10th, so they just squeaked in (Massey has them at 11). Only exception I had to the top 10 defense/offense rule was UVa, which I explained above. PSU and Hopkins are both getting very good goalie play. Offense and defensively fit the criteria. none of this has to do with a singular game data point.

Blah blah blah. I don't buy it. You picked the usual suspects based on reputation and then justified it...except, of course, for the exceptions you had to explain away. :

[CU88a]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ents/63246