NCAA Lax Quarter-Finals

Question

Had some good luck with this last year, and went 3-0 last weekend (posted in the Baseball Forum), so here goes:

My early guesses:

Virginia -2 (Hopkins)

Princeton -2.5 (Cornell)

Duke -3.5 (UNC)

Syracuse -2.5 (Maryland)

Actual Lines:

Virginia -1 -110 (Hopkins +1 -130)

Princeton +135 (Cornell -175)

Duke -2 -130 (UNC +2 -110)

Syracuse -2.5-130 (Maryland +2.5 -110)

Virginia -1 is better than Johns Hopkins. Flat out. More talent. More ways to beat you. Both defenses are so-so, but I think UVa's is better. It's about a wash in the faceoff circle. Coaching edge to Hopkins, but I'm not a huge fan of either of these guys as game managers. These two always play close to one another, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not that close 14-10 Virginia.

Duke -2 is playing the best lacrosse in the country, having recently destroyed the most talented team in the country, Virginia, twice. Carolina hadn't won an ACC game since the Nixon Administration until beating Maryland in the ACC tourney. They are good, and Billy Bitter is as fun to watch as anyone in the country, but Duke's just better. Devils beat them twice in Chapel Hill, by 4 and by 2. They'll beat'em again in Annapolis. 14-9.

I thought Princeton would be a favorite over Cornell, but they wind up a slight dog in a pick'em. I've seen both teams twice, and have been far more impressed with the Tigers. However, Cornell is much more experienced, and figures to have a tremendous edge in the faceoff circle, where Princeton is laughable. There won't be tons of goals, so that faceoff edge may not kill Princeton. Cornell won the first one 11-7 in Ithaca, where it had a 14-5 faceoff advantage. Should be close. 9-8 Tigers. No play.

The only spread I got right has Maryland +2.5 against Syracuse. The Terps are sort of my pet team. I thought they were one of the best 4-5 teams in the country all year, but they sure didn't play like it for most of the season. Perhaps getting jobbed by the refs in the 7OT loss at Virginia took a lot out of them. Whatever the reason, they finally put it all together last week at Notre Dame. The Orange will like the fake turf at Hofstra, and figure to score 10+. Maryland will probably need to keep it in the single digits. 11-9 Orange. No play.

MaineRoad · Answer

Had some good luck with this last year, and went 3-0 last weekend (posted in the Baseball Forum), so here goes:

My early guesses:

Virginia -2 (Hopkins)

Princeton -2.5 (Cornell)

Duke -3.5 (UNC)

Syracuse -2.5 (Maryland)

Actual Lines:

Virginia -1 -110 (Hopkins +1 -130)

Princeton +135 (Cornell -175)

Duke -2 -130 (UNC +2 -110)

Syracuse -2.5-130 (Maryland +2.5 -110)

Virginia -1 is better than Johns Hopkins. Flat out. More talent. More ways to beat you. Both defenses are so-so, but I think UVa's is better. It's about a wash in the faceoff circle. Coaching edge to Hopkins, but I'm not a huge fan of either of these guys as game managers. These two always play close to one another, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not that close 14-10 Virginia.

Duke -2 is playing the best lacrosse in the country, having recently destroyed the most talented team in the country, Virginia, twice. Carolina hadn't won an ACC game since the Nixon Administration until beating Maryland in the ACC tourney. They are good, and Billy Bitter is as fun to watch as anyone in the country, but Duke's just better. Devils beat them twice in Chapel Hill, by 4 and by 2. They'll beat'em again in Annapolis. 14-9.

I thought Princeton would be a favorite over Cornell, but they wind up a slight dog in a pick'em. I've seen both teams twice, and have been far more impressed with the Tigers. However, Cornell is much more experienced, and figures to have a tremendous edge in the faceoff circle, where Princeton is laughable. There won't be tons of goals, so that faceoff edge may not kill Princeton. Cornell won the first one 11-7 in Ithaca, where it had a 14-5 faceoff advantage. Should be close. 9-8 Tigers. No play.

The only spread I got right has Maryland +2.5 against Syracuse. The Terps are sort of my pet team. I thought they were one of the best 4-5 teams in the country all year, but they sure didn't play like it for most of the season. Perhaps getting jobbed by the refs in the 7OT loss at Virginia took a lot out of them. Whatever the reason, they finally put it all together last week at Notre Dame. The Orange will like the fake turf at Hofstra, and figure to score 10+. Maryland will probably need to keep it in the single digits. 11-9 Orange. No play.

rod_steel · Answer

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NCAA Lax Quarter-Finals

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