Balt Sun: Q&A with ESPN men's lacrosse analyst Paul Carcaterra

[OrangeXtreme]

Was there a seeded team that was undervalued?

I think [No. 8 seed] Syracuse was. Syracuse won the [Atlantic Coast Conference tournament], which is the toughest conference in college lacrosse. They put together a nice weekend in Georgia two weeks ago and put it together against Colgate this past weekend. I think the [10-9 overtime] loss to Cornell [on April 12] did the Orange in. I think the committee valued bad losses and put some stock into that. But still as the ACC champs with four losses and three of them by one goal and in overtime, this is a team that took care of business in the toughest conference. To give them the 8 seed was a tough pill for them to swallow. Just as importantly, I wouldn’t be happy if I was Maryland. If they get to the quarters – which they should – they have to deal with Syracuse. If you look at the teams below them, they all have easier quarterfinal games.


Part 1 of Q&A with ESPN men's lacrosse analyst Paul Carcaterra

 

[PeteCalvin]

F Maryland. #headhearthustle #gocuse #turtlesoupisgoodinmay

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Would you say No. 1 seed Maryland has the toughest road to championship weekend in Philadelphia?

I would. Obviously, the first round shouldn’t be too difficult for Maryland. But the quarterfinal matchup with [No. 8 seed] Syracuse, absolutely. If someone told you last week that was the national championship game, you wouldn’t think that was crazy. So to have those two teams play in the quarterfinals, that’s really tough. I think that’s going to be the thing that tilts the tournament. I think that game could be the deciding factor on who wins the national championship. I’m not saying one of those teams definitely will, but it’s going to be a tough run for Syracuse to deal with Albany, a really good team, and then Maryland and then get to the Final Four. That’s a brutal path.

Part 2 of Q&A with ESPN men's lacrosse analyst Paul Carcaterra