Does Maryland Repeat As National Champions In 2023?

[gymman1031]

If you say yes, feel free to give your reasons.
If you say no, feel free to give your reasons and who you think will win it all.

[FannOLax]

Not if the selection committee lets in NOTRE DAME!

[ICGrad]

Prior to last season of I had bet on Maryland v. The Field, (which is essentially what this question is), I would have picked The Field.

I think a number of teams have closed the gap (even if only slightly) with Maryland going into this coming season, and I fully expect Virginia to bounce back from a somewhat disappointing campaign. So I would pick The Field again, and even moreso than last season.

[Essexfenwick]

They make the final four every year. Best defense, goalie, face off with 6 experienced offensive players back.

Number 1 for now.

[ICGrad]

They make the final four every year. Best defense, goalie, face off with 6 experienced offensive players back.

Number 1 for now.

Ok, but not really answering OP's question.

[jrn19]

The best odds you could give any team, even one with Maryland’s track record, to win the title at the beginning of the year; is probably…20%? Winning a title is so hard and only one team does it. If I had to choose right now I might pick them to win the title, but if it’s them vs. the field you gotta ride with the field.

[1766]

Repeating is very hard. They are number 1 until someone proves they aren't though. Will the repeat? Unlikely but it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. I'd take the field, but I also wouldn't be surprised if I lost the bet.

[rolldodge]

They certainly will be in the picture, but they will be mere mortals this year compared to last. They lost a ton on offense and some at the d mid. My money is on them not repeating, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some new faces step up and they do.

[keno in reno]

For similar odds, any bettor would take the field. Md, uva, Duke, notre dame and georgetown have near identical talent levels (recruiting rankings would say Duke should have the best team). Then there's Cornell, Princeton, Loyola, Navy, Rutgers that can beat any of them. So just mathematically, the top teams in the first group would have maybe a 20% chance of winning it all.

So answer should be no, but who the hell knows 6 months before the season begins

[pcowlax]

Repeating is very hard. They are number 1 until someone proves they aren't though. Will the repeat? Unlikely but it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. I'd take the field, but I also wouldn't be surprised if I lost the bet.

Repeating is very hard because it isn’t the same thing as being the best team 2 years in a row. That is hard enough but we have all seen years where what looked to be a title favorite lost in the tourney to a team they would almost certainly beat 9/10 times. It is single elimination though. The “best team” doesn’t always win (though they sure did last year), the champion wins. Very hard to be that two years in a row. I would take field this year but still not by a large margin, maybe -125

[HooDat]

Repeating is hard, because it is more than just being the "best" team 2 years in a row. "Stuff" happens during a season and particularly during a post-season.

Terps gotta be the favorite, but not against the field.

If you set up a poll: "Does Maryland Make the Final Four Again in 2023", and I bet you get near 100% affirmatives....

[Drcthru]

For similar odds, any bettor would take the field. Md, uva, Duke, notre dame and georgetown have near identical talent levels (recruiting rankings would say Duke should have the best team). Then there's Cornell, Princeton, Loyola, Navy, Rutgers that can beat any of them. So just mathematically, the top teams in the first group would have maybe a 20% chance of winning it all.

So answer should be no, but who the hell knows 6 months before the season begins

How do you drop Navy and Loyola in there?

[keno in reno]

For similar odds, any bettor would take the field. Md, uva, Duke, notre dame and georgetown have near identical talent levels (recruiting rankings would say Duke should have the best team). Then there's Cornell, Princeton, Loyola, Navy, Rutgers that can beat any of them. So just mathematically, the top teams in the first group would have maybe a 20% chance of winning it all.

So answer should be no, but who the hell knows 6 months before the season begins

How do you drop Navy and Loyola in there?

Feel free to take em out. Doesn't change the point.

[Essexfenwick]

50-50 against the field .

[Terpslax1991]

Yup

2 elite defenders
Elite goalie
Elite LSM
Elite FO guy
Balanced scoring.

It won’t be easy but a FF trip seems to be the norm. Stay healthy and they are the favorite.

[HopFan16]

I'll take the field, though if I had to pick one team to win I'd go with Maryland. Well coached, no weaknesses, history of success, very strong up the middle, lose some key talent but plenty left in the cupboards.

The difference between this year and the last few years, IMO, is the lack of true star power on offense. They went from Rambo to Kelly to Bernhardt to Wisnauskas, all of whom were Tewaaraton-level players. Malever, Long, and Murphy are all good players but I don't think any of them rise to that level and there's some wishful thinking involved in assuming one or two of them will become that type of player simply because there will be more opportunity with Wisnauskas/Khan/DeMaio/Donville out of the picture. From what I've seen on film none of them project as guys who will be in the Tewaaraton conversation. Maryland fans will say Malever, but I'm skeptical. The Terps can win another title by committee but it's going to be harder without a Kavanagh/Shellenberger/O'Neill/Kirst/Myers/Brandau capable of taking over games.

[Essexfenwick]

I'll take the field, though if I had to pick one team to win I'd go with Maryland. Well coached, no weaknesses, history of success, very strong up the middle, lose some key talent but plenty left in the cupboards.

The difference between this year and the last few years, IMO, is the lack of true star power on offense. They went from Rambo to Kelly to Bernhardt to Wisnauskas, all of whom were Tewaaraton-level players. Malever, Long, and Murphy are all good players but I don't think any of them rise to that level and there's some wishful thinking involved in assuming one or two of them will become that type of player simply because there will be more opportunity with Wisnauskas/Khan/DeMaio/Donville out of the picture. From what I've seen on film none of them project as guys who will be in the Tewaaraton conversation. Maryland fans will say Malever, but I'm skeptical. The Terps can win another title by committee but it's going to be harder without a Kavanagh/Shellenberger/O'Neill/Kirst/Myers/Brandau capable of taking over games.

Since Tillman came … from day one they had quick passing with no drops and low turnovers. That is the offensive star except for the Bernhardt year where he was truly truly a guy who took over games.

[wgdsr]

50-50 against the field .

i'm in. pm me.

[keno in reno]

I'll take the field, though if I had to pick one team to win I'd go with Maryland. Well coached, no weaknesses, history of success, very strong up the middle, lose some key talent but plenty left in the cupboards.

The difference between this year and the last few years, IMO, is the lack of true star power on offense. They went from Rambo to Kelly to Bernhardt to Wisnauskas, all of whom were Tewaaraton-level players. Malever, Long, and Murphy are all good players but I don't think any of them rise to that level and there's some wishful thinking involved in assuming one or two of them will become that type of player simply because there will be more opportunity with Wisnauskas/Khan/DeMaio/Donville out of the picture. From what I've seen on film none of them project as guys who will be in the Tewaaraton conversation. Maryland fans will say Malever, but I'm skeptical. The Terps can win another title by committee but it's going to be harder without a Kavanagh/Shellenberger/O'Neill/Kirst/Myers/Brandau capable of taking over games.

Since Tillman came … from day one they had quick passing with no drops and low turnovers. That is the offensive star except for the Bernhardt year where he was truly truly a guy who took over games.

Not so sure about the day one claim. His early teams were overmatched offensively and were pretty famous for holding the ball for excruciatingly long periods of time.

[MoralTerpitude]

The field, by a mile. But I would say Maryland has the best shot at winning the title.