2013 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships Panel

Happy May from all of us at All Sports Discussion.  It’s that time of year when spring football practice is over – and spring sports are heading toward playoff time!!

The patented panel is back!!! This time, we’re going to be discussing the 2013 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships.  First, our panelists will give us their evaluation of the selection committee’s job (e.g. who was snubbed).  Second, they will give us a team that might make a surprise run in the tournament.  Third, the panelists will the panelists will present their NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Final Four – and who wins the tournament.  Finally, our panelists will take a long term look at the future of NCAA Lacrosse, specifically expansion, in the Atlantic Coast Conference, other BCS size universities, and at some elite mid-majors.  Let’s get this panel started!!

Tell us a little bit about yourselves.

• @TerrapinNation: Scott Greene. Maryland alum and the publisher and editor of Terps Insider. Still a self-proclaimed expert on all things Maryland basketball.

• @BH_Orange44:  Brian Harrison is 2005 Syracuse alumnus and a 2009 Western New England University School of Law graduate.  He blogs about Syracuse Athletics at Orange 44 and writes about NCAA Lacrosse for SB Nation’s site, College Crosse.

• @bosborne13: Brandon Osborne is a graduate of Radford University with a degree in Media Studies/Journalism.

Let’s get things started – give is your evaluation of the selection committee’s job for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships (e.g. which team was snubbed the hardest)?

• @TerrapinNation: Honestly, you can dispute some of the seedings, but I don’t think anyone really got snubbed this year. Of the teams left on the outside looking in, Bucknell probably had the strongest case with their win at Cornell and no really bad losses.

• @BH_Orange44: They did a great job of sticking to the criteria. With 8 auto-bids and 8 at large teams in, the committee got the 8 at large bids right. No team was snubbed. Everyone that was left out should have been (specifically Hopkins). The only glaring error on the bracket at all is seeding UNC below the top 4 seeds. UNC is a hot team, winning the “ACC Tournament”, and I think have earned a top 4 seed.

• @bosborne13: I felt the selection committee did a great job at the selection of teams. The 8 at-large teams were the best 8 remaining but you could make an argument that Bucknell belonged. The seeding was a bit confusing as the Tar Heels winners of their last 9 games including the ACC tournament, were given the 5th seed. UNC should’ve been at least a 3 seed.

Give us a team that could surprise the media prognosticators in the 2013 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships – and make the Final Four in Philly – be wordy for those who don’t follow lacrosse as much as you.

• @TerrapinNation: Seeing that they are unseeded, I’d have to say Cornell. While the Big Red don’t really have a signature win this season, they came within a goal of beating the top seeded Orangemen in the Carrier Dome and they also won 12 games. Cornell also has Rob Pannell, arguably one of the best attackmen of all-time, on their roster. And Pannell has been on this stage before. If the Big Red Machine can get by the Terps, and that’s a big ‘if’, I see no reason they can’t be playing on Memorial Day weekend in Philly.

• @BH_Orange44: This is the first season that there are no teams with less than 3 losses in the Tournament. That means there is no one dominant team that will surely run the table. While there are very few teams that would be a massive shock to make it to Philly, Albany and Cornell are the unseeded teams that have a good chance to make it to Memorial Day Weekend. Albany is the surprise team of the season, starting the season by shocking Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. They have the best scoring attack in the nation with a trio of Thompsons (two brothers and a cousin) and have the offensive prowess to make a nice run in this tournament. Cornell, while not as powerful on offense, has shown the ability to score in bunches and they have the Ivy League’s all time leading scorer in Rob Pannell. If he gets hot in a game, the other team will have a hard time stopping the fury.

• @bosborne13: This years tournament will be exciting as there is no favorite to win it all. It really could be any team from the top seed Syracuse Orange to a team like Cornell will start on the road. The team i would keep an eye on is Loyola as they were the preseason favorite but after falling in the ECAC tournament, they were one of the last teams in. They lost 2 games by a goal and another by 2. If they can regain that championship form from last season look out.

Who is your 2013 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships Final Four and who wins the title?

• @TerrapinNation: Syracuse, UNC, Maryland and Notre Dame. And while I think UNC might be the deepest and most talented team in the field, it’s tough to pick against Desko in the Final Four. On the other side, I like the Terps offensive firepower versus the Domers’ defense. Third time’s a charm for the Terps in the title game as they defeat the Orange for the 2013 National Championship.

• @BH_Orange44: I’ll pick Syracuse, North Carolina, Cornell, and Notre Dame to make the Final Four. It may be a homer pick, but I’ll take Syracuse to win their 12th National Championship. Syracuse is on a four game winning streak, playing the best lacrosse they have all season, including two dominant performances against the 2 seed Notre Dame. Being the 1 seed doesn’t matter at all, but I like their chances to cut another net down.

• @bosborne13: I’ll take Syracuse, UNC, Maryland and Notre Dame to make it to the final four. For the championship I like the Tar Heels to play the Irish in a rematch from March 2nd, however, I like the Tar Heels to get revenge and win the 2013 NCAA Lacrosse championship.

Let’s take a long-term look at the future of NCAA Men’s Lacrosse.  A couple of questions here.  First, the landscape of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is changing immensely.  In the near future, Syracuse and Notre Dame will be joining the conference (the conference will be at five men’s lacrosse teams, as Maryland will be in the Big Ten).  Which ACC school should add a men’s lacrosse program so that the conference can obtain an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament?  Also, give us some recommendations for BCS-type conference schools that should add men’s lacrosse – and a few mid-major schools that might do the same.

• @TerrapinNation: Honestly, with the history and talent of the current and future ACC members, I really don’t think an AQ is something any of these teams are worried about. Boston College and NC State have had varsity programs in the past, but I don’t see either school adding men’s lacrosse again anytime soon. With one of the biggest operating budgets in college athletics and being located in a state where the sport is exploding on the high school level, I think Florida State both makes the most sense and is also the most likely to add the sport. As far as mid-majors go, one school that recently dropped men’s lacrosse that I could see bringing it back is Butler. Joining the new Big East, Fox Sports 1 is looking for inventory and men’s lacrosse will be televised. They could use the sport to try and raise their profile even more. I could also see maybe an entire mid-major conference emerging on the west coast, say a conference like the WCC.

• @BH_Orange44: Boston College makes the most sense to add a men’s lacrosse team. Massachusetts is a major lacrosse hot bed in terms of growth of programs, and joining a league like the ACC is a no brainer. There are obviously logistical problems preventing Boston College from doing that in the near future, but that makes the most sense. If you want a darkhorse pick for a program adding lacrosse, look to see Louisville review the possibility. Both BC and Louisville already have women’s lacrosse, and finding the Title IX space is a major hurdle, but with the expansion of lacrosse westward, and other midwest teams like Ohio State, Michigan, and Marquette adding teams and succeeding, Louisville would be a nice team to add. In terms of other schools, the ACC is interesting because as good as ACC Lacrosse is, ACC Baseball is almost as widely regarded. Most ACC schools support their baseball programs and haven’t really looked to add lacrosse, not only because of Title IX, but because they just don’t feel the need to add a new team. A team like Pittsburgh, coming into the ACC would be an interesting team to add lacrosse. Northeast teams find it more expensive to have a baseball team and spend a lot to just get fields ready for play. Lacrosse is a little less expensive, have comparable scholarship numbers, and men’s lacrosse is the #3 sport for the NCAA in terms of revenue. Personally it seems to me to be a no brainer to switch sports or at least add lacrosse. But I’m biased of course. Otherwise, some non-BCS teams that could jump I think will be in California. CA, I think, is the next biggest boom in terms of teams being added. San Diego State is another school with a women’s team that would not be a shock to add men’s.

• @bosborne13: I feel that Boston College would be a great addition to the ACC in lacrosse. They currently have a team that participates on the MCLA. This season they are currently 13-0 heading into the MCLA National Championships. I also feel that Massachusetts is a great state to recruit for lacrosse talent. I also think Virginia Tech would be a strong candidate to add. As for BCS-type schools I would like to see schools like Michigan State, Connecticut, UCLA, and several others that currently field teams in the MCLA. There are several BIG 12 teams also that would make great additions, however, I don’t see those schools wanting to spend the money on a lacrosse program. As for some mid-majors Boston University, Northeastern,Sonoma State and UC Santa Barbara would seem like strong additions.

All of us at All Sports Discussion thank our panel participants!!!  We look forward to a great tournament!!!

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