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Message: [QUOTE="OrangeXtreme, post: 5331061, member: 41"] [MEDIA=twitter]1883892292257558640[/MEDIA] [HEADING=3]Tewaaraton[/HEADING] [B]Casey Vock: Joey Spallina, Syracuse[/B] This should be really competitive this year, and some contenders could come right out of the rhubarb, but this guy's played as much high-level lacrosse as humanly possible by this point in his life. That should be quite obvious this season. What's festering around him could become a kind of horror movie for opposing defenses. "We are here encountering the Orange. ... Cuseferatu." [B]Craig McMichael: Joey Spallina, Syracuse [/B] The second time is a charm for my pick. Spallina has reenergized the Orange and led them back to the quarterfinals last year. That is something that Syracuse hasn't done in a while; that's progress. Spallina can beat you, shooting or passing; pick your poison. Spallina spent the summer playing box in Ontario and at the World Lacrosse Championships to continue to refine and tinker his craft. Look for those results to pay dividends as he continues to draw the toughest matchups and helps lead the Orange back to Championship Weekend. [HEADING=3]Final Four[/HEADING] [B]Matt Kinnear: Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia, Cornell[/B] Virginia is the outlier from the group here. The Cavs will have some growing pains replacing their alphas, but I like McCabe Millon taking charge and I think the cultural spillover from the last several years of UVA lacrosse carries them. [B]Kevin Brown: Notre Dame, Syracuse, Penn, Cornell[/B] Defense wins in May and the Quakers and Irish have two of the best. Joey Spallina is ready for his NCAA Tournament breakthrough to Championship Weekend and CJ Kirst and Co. have some '23 Notre Dame vibes after being left out of the big dance last year. [B]Terry Foy: Notre Dame, Syracuse, Cornell, Yale[/B] I went 1-for-4 last year, with three teams I picked losing in the Quarterfinals. I’m picking these four because I had a Top 10 assistant tell me this week he thought these were the four best teams, and I don’t have a better reason to pick anyone else. [B]Dan Aburn: Syracuse, Cornell, Princeton, Notre Dame[/B] The Fighting Irish look once again too strong to be denied a spot on Championship Weekend. I think a much more experienced Syracuse squad finds a way to get there as well. Princeton and Cornell have elite offenses and depth capable of getting past tough opponents. [B]Casey Vock: Notre Dame, Syracuse, Cornell, Maryland[/B] It feels like this season could bring some major surprises. I don't have a crystal ball handy to predict them, but there's plenty of sensible evidence to support why these four teams could be considered preseason contenders. Any matchup between highly-ranked teams should be not only decisive but revealing. [B]Craig McMichael: Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Yale [/B] The ACC, Big Ten, and Ivy League secured[URL='https://www.insidelacrosse.com/league/DI/polls'] 15 of the 20 spots in the initial media poll[/URL]. The Terps and the Jays will be the class of the Big Ten. They will be joined by a lone representative from the ACC, Syracuse, and Yale from the Ivy League. The road to Boston will be tough, with a very deep and even field. My list doesn't even include the teams ranked 1, 3, 4, 6, or 7. Maybe I'm wrong; either way, it will make for a fantastic season and tournament. [B]Dan Kaplan: Army, Princeton, Cornell, Notre Dame[/B] Notre Dame returns a ton of talent on a quest to three-peat that doesn't seem particularly improbable. While they have some questions to answer and a Tewaaraton winner to replace, the returning pieces should be plenty capable of rising to the occasion. Cornell and Princeton both have opportunities out of the Ivy League to make strong postseason pushes should they remain healthy. With the talent level from top to bottom at Princeton and the offensive firepower at Cornell, I could see each of them enter the NCAA field a battle-tested championship-level team. Army was in my selection to make the final four last year, and they remain there for 2025. With more parity than we have seen in previous years, the opportunity for a team like Army to check every box and walk away with a title feels more possible than ever. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?