Toughest lacrosse schedule 2024???

[Laxfan23]

I was glancing at hopkins 2024 season and thought their schedule was pretty “tough”. Was wondering if, when, where, and how a “strength of schedule” is determined. Some conferences have very good teams pretty much top to bottom and there are a few very good teams in weaker conferences who are not helped much by conference wins. If there is a strength of schedule ranking great, if not, preseason: “who do you think has the toughest lacrosse schedule this coming year??

[PulpExposure]

Hopkins has a tough schedule for sure. So does Maryland, where every team on it has been in the NCAA tournament last year or the year before. No cupcakes.

[Njlaxx11]

02/17 @ Monmouth
02/20 vs Manhattan
02/24 @ Maryland
03/01 @ North Carolina
03/03 @ Duke
03/10 @ Rutgers
03/16 vs Cornell
03/23 @ Harvard
03/30 vs Dartmouth
04/02 vs Lehigh
04/13 @ Brown
04/20 vs Penn
04/27 @ Yale

princeton has a rough 3 game stretch there away against Maryland, UNC and Duke. Ivy league is always a blender too.

[10stone5]

I was glancing at hopkins 2024 season and thought their schedule was pretty “tough”. Was wondering if, when, where, and how a “strength of schedule” is determined. Some conferences have very good teams pretty much top to bottom and there are a few very good teams in weaker conferences who are not helped much by conference wins. If there is a strength of schedule ranking great, if not, preseason: “who do you think has the toughest lacrosse schedule this coming year??

SoS explanation,

https://laxmath.com/men/ex_sos.php

[coda]

Hopkins has a tough schedule for sure. So does Maryland, where every team on it has been in the NCAA tournament last year or the year before. No cupcakes.

I dont remember all of them, but I saw a post asking the hardest schedule in the Big 10.
I thought Maryland was easily the hardest schedule (Richmond, Loyola, Cuse, Princeton. ND, Brown, Virginia in non-con)

Hopkins was a step below. The interesting thing about looking at the Big 10 is how many games Virginia plays vs the Big 10

UVa plays Michigan, Ohio State, Hopkins, and Maryland in the non-con.. That is going to have a major affect on tournament seedings.

Virginia and Maryland is a good argument for the toughest schedule. Hopkins is definitely a step below those, lots of solid team in the non-con, but only 1 real top 5 caliber team (based on prevailing opinions)

[JeremyCuse]

Hopkins has a tough schedule for sure. So does Maryland, where every team on it has been in the NCAA tournament last year or the year before. No cupcakes.

I dont remember all of them, but I saw a post asking the hardest schedule in the Big 10.
I thought Maryland was easily the hardest schedule (Richmond, Loyola, Cuse, Princeton. ND, Brown, Virginia in non-con)

Hopkins was a step below. The interesting thing about looking at the Big 10 is how many games Virginia plays vs the Big 10

UVa plays Michigan, Ohio State, Hopkins, and Maryland in the non-con.. That is going to have a major affect on tournament seedings.

Virginia and Maryland is a good argument for the toughest schedule. Hopkins is definitely a step below those, lots of solid team in the non-con, but only 1 real top 5 caliber team (based on prevailing opinions)

I tend to agree with this, Maryland has zero show up and win games, which is a little surprising. Tough to ask a team to play a good team week in and week out. I'd add Cornell and Syracuse to the mix with Maryland and UVA.

The Big Red has Denver, Ohio State, Penn State, ND and Cuse in the OOC plus Hobart which is historic rival/matchup.

Syracuse has Maryland, Army, Utah, Vermont, Hopkins, Delaware and Cornell and the same Hobart squad (another long term matchup where weird S happens).

Have to think Maryland, UVA, Cuse, and Cornell are the top 4 SOS with OSU in the mix as well as they play Cornell, ND, Denver and UVA OOC as well. Hop right behind.

[HopFan16]

Hopkins and Virginia have lots of overlap in their schedules. These are the teams that are unique to each schedule:

Virginia:
Richmond
Hopkins
Robert Morris
Albany
Drexel
Harvard
Duke
Notre Dame

Hopkins:
Denver
Georgetown
Loyola
Virginia
Navy
Rutgers
Penn State

Not sure how that's "a step below." Hop's schedule is clearly deeper with just as many high-end games (especially if you count playing Virginia).

[coda]

Hopkins and Virginia have lots of overlap in their schedules. These are the teams that are unique to each schedule:

Virginia:
Richmond
Hopkins
Robert Morris
Albany
Drexel
Harvard
Duke
Notre Dame

Hopkins:
Denver
Georgetown
Loyola
Virginia
Navy
Rutgers
Penn State

Not sure how that's "a step below." Hop's schedule is clearly deeper with just as many high-end games (especially if you count playing Virginia).

Basically Virginia is playing 3 of the top 4 in the Big 10 and all the ACC
Hopkins is playing 1 of the 4 in the ACC and all the Big 10

UVA misses PSU, but Hopkins misses ND and Duke. 5 top 10 teams on USA Lax mags top 10 and 4 of the top 6.
While Gtown, Denver, and Loyola are all solid teams, I dont think any of them are contenders for the final 4. 4 top 10 teams and 3 of the top 6

[HopFan16]

While Gtown, Denver, and Loyola are all solid teams, I dont think any of them are contenders for the final 4.

Maybe not, but they are certainly much more difficult games than Robert Morris, Drexel, and Albany.

[coda]

While Gtown, Denver, and Loyola are all solid teams, I dont think any of them are contenders for the final 4.

Maybe not, but they are certainly much more difficult games than Robert Morris, Drexel, and Albany.

they are, but also much easier games than ND and Duke. I have Hopkins in the next group of toughest schedules, so probably 3-5.. Its not like I think it is a weak schedule. RPI is going to love the Hopkins schedule, I am just giving more credit to playing elite teams.

[nyjay]

While Gtown, Denver, and Loyola are all solid teams, I dont think any of them are contenders for the final 4.

Maybe not, but they are certainly much more difficult games than Robert Morris, Drexel, and Albany.

they are, but also much easier games than ND and Duke. I have Hopkins in the next group of toughest schedules, so probably 3-5.. Its not like I think it is a weak schedule. RPI is going to love the Hopkins schedule, I am just giving more credit to playing elite teams.

RPI could bite UVa pretty hard if they lose any of those softer games. Risk/reward in scheduling them doesn't really make a lot of sense. But, I guess, credit to Lars for being willing to take that risk.

[coda]

While Gtown, Denver, and Loyola are all solid teams, I dont think any of them are contenders for the final 4.

Maybe not, but they are certainly much more difficult games than Robert Morris, Drexel, and Albany.

they are, but also much easier games than ND and Duke. I have Hopkins in the next group of toughest schedules, so probably 3-5.. Its not like I think it is a weak schedule. RPI is going to love the Hopkins schedule, I am just giving more credit to playing elite teams.

RPI could bite UVa pretty hard if they lose any of those softer games. Risk/reward in scheduling them doesn't really make a lot of sense. But, I guess, credit to Lars for being willing to take that risk.

They have a lot of elite teams, so that is not likely an issue. I do agree on the RPI. Given how important RPI is in lacrosse (total joke). The sweet spot is to schedule a lot of solid teams (from lower conferences), that represent solid wins, but are not big threats to give an L.

[Terpslax1991]

In contrast, Duke schedule is super soft

[wgdsr]

While Gtown, Denver, and Loyola are all solid teams, I dont think any of them are contenders for the final 4.

Maybe not, but they are certainly much more difficult games than Robert Morris, Drexel, and Albany.

they are, but also much easier games than ND and Duke. I have Hopkins in the next group of toughest schedules, so probably 3-5.. Its not like I think it is a weak schedule. RPI is going to love the Hopkins schedule, I am just giving more credit to playing elite teams.

cuse is playing 7 of the top 10. of course, they get uva while uva gets cuse (preseason ranks). then they get another *top 5* if expectations hold and they make the acc tourney. plus they have cornell and army.

[coda]

I didn’t even look, but you make a hell of a point

[HopFan16]

While we're on the topic of weaker schedules — Penn State only plays 12 games, and coming off the FF appearance I thought they might beef it up a bit, find a way to get an ACC team on there or at least an Army/Georgetown/Denver/Princeton type of team, but they actually went in the opposite direction by dropping Penn. Doesn't leave much room for error as there's a real lack of quality win opportunities outside the conference. They only have two (Cornell and Yale) while Hopkins and Maryland both have six. Doesn't feel like the schedule of a team with title game aspirations. It's more of a Rutgers schedule. It's wild that neither of those teams play an ACC. Rutgers should play Cuse and Penn State should play Notre Dame.

[MDralphie]

Really don’t understand Duke. Is it confidence? They are certainly a favorite to reach FF. Danowski always has a couple softer opponents but…