Polls (4/17/23): Media #12 / Coaches #13

[OrangeXtreme]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/men-s-di-media-poll-syracuse-takes-a-big-jump/61204

With top-ranked Notre Dame idle, the No. 1 is the same for back-to-back weeks for the first time since Week 5.

Still, the familiar faces right behind the Irish played some key matchups. Duke comes in at No. 2 after beating Virginia, and No. 4. Maryland moves up a spot to No. 3 after its Big Ten Sunday Night win.


Penn State, Cornell, Johns Hopkins and Army (nudged down from tied for seventh to eighth) essentially all held serve in the rankings. Georgetown keeps sneaking up, as does Denver. Those two, combined with Villanova, means three Big East teams are bundled near each other from 9-13.

But the biggest story of the poll might be Syracuse. The youthful Orange moved up five spots to No. 12 and earned their highest ranking of the season following a dramatic win vs. North Carolina. The Orange have Virginia and Duke on the road — two teams in the Top 5 of both the rankings and the RPI.

Men’s DI Media Poll — Week 10
1. Notre Dame (19)
2. Duke
3. Maryland
4. Virginia
5. Penn State
12. Syracuse

Check out the full men’s DI Media Poll here.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Syracuse Moving Up Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20

Suddenly surging Syracuse swapped places with the team it beat over the weekend.

www.usalaxmagazine.com

	April 17, 2023​	W/L​
1	Notre Dame	8-1
2	Duke	11-2
3	Maryland	8-3
4	Virginia	8-3
5	Penn State	8-3
14	Syracuse	8-5

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Quint Kessenich’s Top 20: April 17, 2023

Drama in the ACC and near catastrophic losses in the Big East defined the weekend. Rivalry week is ahead and Quint Kessenich is ready.

laxallstars.com

15) Syracuse​

“Head, heart, and hustle” rallied late to defeat North Carolina and in the process pumped their RPI to #20. 3,111 fans at Good Counsel HS in Olney, MD, enjoyed this rare neutral site ACC showdown.


You can feel it. You can see it. Syracuse has turned the corner and is headed back towards the top. They currently hold Top 20 wins over Vermont, UNC, and Princeton. This proud program hasn’t won a playoff game since 2017 and haven’t been to Championship Weekend since 2013. So the UNC victory was a baby step in the right direction.


Freshmen Joey Spallina and Michael Leo were clutch. Leo, the freshman from St. Anthony’s bagged the game winner with :12 on the clock. The Orange showed mental toughness after being outplayed severely early in the contest. UNC led by two, and should have been up by five. Syracuse made halftime adjustments, they fixed the clear which was a major issue. Five failed clears in the first half morphed into a 9/10 second half stat. They also tightened the faceoff. UNC shot the ball poorly all day. Maybe Syracuse goalie Will Mark got in their head. The shooting disparity was real. UNC took 50 shots while Syracuse hit on 15 of 36. Coach Gary Gait and his staff are seeing the fruits of their labor with consecutive wins over Princeton and North Carolina.


Spallina’s smarts and savvy were on display. His ability to process game data, to probe and survey, to experiment and adapt were on full display as he saved his best and most decisive dodge for the final six minutes. Spallina has 61 points after 13 games. His rookie season stacks up historically. He leads the country in EMO goals.


Most Points for an ACC Freshman All-Time by School

UVA – Connor Shellenberger (2021) 79

MD – Bob Boniello (1979) 79

SU – John Zulberti (1986) 74

Duke – Zack Greer (2005) 72

UNC – Nicky Galasso (2011) 56

ND – Pat Walsh (2003) 52


Otto (8-5) and Virginia have a date on Saturday at 2:00pm (ESPNU). It feels as if the Orange need one more win to leap into the postseason discussion. The Syracuse RPI is now #20 dragged down by games against Holy Cross, St. Bonaventure, and Hobart. Not playing Army and Cornell hurt.

 

[Laxfanshutt]

Quint Kessenich’s Top 20: April 17, 2023

Drama in the ACC and near catastrophic losses in the Big East defined the weekend. Rivalry week is ahead and Quint Kessenich is ready.

laxallstars.com

15) Syracuse​

“Head, heart, and hustle” rallied late to defeat North Carolina and in the process pumped their RPI to #20. 3,111 fans at Good Counsel HS in Olney, MD, enjoyed this rare neutral site ACC showdown.


You can feel it. You can see it. Syracuse has turned the corner and is headed back towards the top. They currently hold Top 20 wins over Vermont, UNC, and Princeton. This proud program hasn’t won a playoff game since 2017 and haven’t been to Championship Weekend since 2013. So the UNC victory was a baby step in the right direction.


Freshmen Joey Spallina and Michael Leo were clutch. Leo, the freshman from St. Anthony’s bagged the game winner with :12 on the clock. The Orange showed mental toughness after being outplayed severely early in the contest. UNC led by two, and should have been up by five. Syracuse made halftime adjustments, they fixed the clear which was a major issue. Five failed clears in the first half morphed into a 9/10 second half stat. They also tightened the faceoff. UNC shot the ball poorly all day. Maybe Syracuse goalie Will Mark got in their head. The shooting disparity was real. UNC took 50 shots while Syracuse hit on 15 of 36. Coach Gary Gait and his staff are seeing the fruits of their labor with consecutive wins over Princeton and North Carolina.


Spallina’s smarts and savvy were on display. His ability to process game data, to probe and survey, to experiment and adapt were on full display as he saved his best and most decisive dodge for the final six minutes. Spallina has 61 points after 13 games. His rookie season stacks up historically. He leads the country in EMO goals.


Most Points for an ACC Freshman All-Time by School

UVA – Connor Shellenberger (2021) 79

MD – Bob Boniello (1979) 79

SU – John Zulberti (1986) 74

Duke – Zack Greer (2005) 72

UNC – Nicky Galasso (2011) 56

ND – Pat Walsh (2003) 52


Otto (8-5) and Virginia have a date on Saturday at 2:00pm (ESPNU). It feels as if the Orange need one more win to leap into the postseason discussion. The Syracuse RPI is now #20 dragged down by games against Holy Cross, St. Bonaventure, and Hobart. Not playing Army and Cornell hurt.

He forgot Mikey

 

[Cuse All-In]

I hope all of us can appreciate the improvement in the team's performance and acknowledge the efforts of the coaching staff and the previous staff's (Desko) recruiting of this freshman class. This illustrates just how much Cuse has been hurt by not getting top recruits for several years while UVA, Duke, ND, MD etc. were regularly getting multiple stars. As we have discussed many times on here, the advantages those schools have had due to their higher academic standards have hurt us big time.

We will most likely lose the next 2 games to UVA and Duke but that does not diminish the positive trends we are seeing. With stronger fogo play, this can truly be a top 10 team next season and well may be a top 4 or 5.

I think the most encouraging sign is the fact that we lost the fogo battle by a wide margin but found a way to beat UNC. UNC did have a poor shooting day which helped but Quint's comment captures it: "You can feel it"

 

[CousCuse]

UVA is not as strong as they have been in the last few years. Losing to Duke last week could really focus them on coming out hard against the Orange. It's going to be a good game.

 

[fieldystick]

UVA is not as strong as they have been in the last few years.

Did UVA look like the favorite to win the natty at any point in 19 or 21 regular seasons? Virginia finished last in the ACC in 2021.

And they are better than last year, without question.

So I don’t really agree that they are not as good.

 

[Orangello]

Must cut down on the turnovers particularly, offensive and unforced. If I could fix just one thing it's this.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Did UVA look like the favorite to win the natty at any point in 19 or 21 regular seasons? Virginia finished last in the ACC in 2021.

And they are better than last year, without question.

So I don’t really agree that they are not as good.

They didn’t deserve to win in ’19. Maryland was cheated.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Must cut down on the turnovers particularly, offensive and unforced. If I could fix just one thing it's this.

While I do think there have been games where we needed to tighten up on turnovers in crunch time, it is relevant that we turn the ball over at the second lowest rate in the nation. We have been at times the very best team in that category, and we average a full two turnovers less than the team with the 5th best rate. Some bad moments saturday but it is not part of a bigger problem and the stats back that up:

NCAA College Men's Lacrosse DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

While I do think there have been games where we needed to tighten up on turnovers in crunch time, it is relevant that we turn the ball over at the second lowest rate in the nation. We have been at times the very best team in that category, and we average a full two turnovers less than the team with the 5th best rate. Some bad moments saturday but it is not part of a bigger problem and the stats back that up:

NCAA College Men's Lacrosse DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

I think the frustrating part is that, even though the overall turnover rate is low, some of the turnovers that Cuse does have are completely avoidable. Like when Mark threw a clearing pass right to UNC or an unnecessary BTB pass by Spallina (I think; might have been someone else) went into the ground and was scooped by UNC. When you’re not good on faceoffs or the wings, ANY turnovers are incredibly painful. Possessions are too precious. So I think that’s where everyone’s frustration comes from.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I think the frustrating part is that, even though the overall turnover rate is low, some of the turnovers that Cuse does have are completely avoidable. Like when Mark threw a clearing pass right to UNC or an unnecessary BTB pass by Spallina (I think; might have been someone else) went into the ground and was scooped by UNC. When you’re not good on faceoffs or the wings, ANY turnovers are incredibly painful. Possessions are too precious. So I think that’s where everyone’s frustration comes from.

I hear you there. Just think that when you step back and look at the stats you realize that no D1 team is currently capable of turning the ball over less than we do. They do hurt us more due to faceoffs and gb troubles, but there are a gazillion passes every game and even the cleanest most disciplined D1 teams have their fair share of drops and dumb moments.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I think the frustrating part is that, even though the overall turnover rate is low, some of the turnovers that Cuse does have are completely avoidable. Like when Mark threw a clearing pass right to UNC or an unnecessary BTB pass by Spallina (I think; might have been someone else) went into the ground and was scooped by UNC. When you’re not good on faceoffs or the wings, ANY turnovers are incredibly painful. Possessions are too precious. So I think that’s where everyone’s frustration comes from.

This, also many of SU's turnovers are at the most inopportune times. Two led directly to UNC goals htis past Saturday. Against JHU SU had 4 in a row that completely swung the game. The numbers overall are good but sometimes the issues are deeper then that.

 

[JeremyCuse]

UVA is not as strong as they have been in the last few years. Losing to Duke last week could really focus them on coming out hard against the Orange. It's going to be a good game.

UVA is definitely a very strong team, I wouldn't read to much into their struggles with Duke. UVA's defense has taken a step back, they are susceptible at SSDM and their secondary poles have also struggled at times. They are extremely deep offensively and have one of the best FOGO's in the country when he doesn't go rogue.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Powellfan]

13. Syracuse (15) Through the Notre Dame game, Syracuse’s season had gone almost exactly as I had expected. Wins over Princeton and North Carolina the last two weeks are really impressive (though Princeton hasn’t met my preseason expectations for them). There are two things about those wins that stand out to me most: first, the fact that the freshmen seem to be holding up physically and emotionally to the toil of an ACC schedule. Second, the fact that they learned how to win games in two different ways — holding onto a lead and coming back.

That said, as far as qualifying for the NCAA Tournament is concerned, the Orange haven’t really bolstered their case the last two weeks, they’ve just avoided damaging it. With wins over Virginia and Duke, I think they’re almost a lock. At 1-1, I think their odds of getting in are less than 50%, but still decent. Either way, they’ve shown great improvement in Gary Gait’s second year and are well positioned going forward.

 

[UrbanaOrange]

I hope all of us can appreciate the improvement in the team's performance and acknowledge the efforts of the coaching staff and the previous staff's (Desko) recruiting of this freshman class. This illustrates just how much Cuse has been hurt by not getting top recruits for several years while UVA, Duke, ND, MD etc. were regularly getting multiple stars. As we have discussed many times on here, the advantages those schools have had due to their higher academic standards have hurt us big time.

We will most likely lose the next 2 games to UVA and Duke but that does not diminish the positive trends we are seeing. With stronger fogo play, this can truly be a top 10 team next season and well may be a top 4 or 5.

I think the most encouraging sign is the fact that we lost the fogo battle by a wide margin but found a way to beat UNC. UNC did have a poor shooting day which helped but Quint's comment captures it: "You can feel it"

I agree with most of your post, Most of it is spot on IMO, but I don't think there is a disparity in academic standards with MD. Fortunately, I was able to attend both schools.

 

[nyclax]

That said, as far as qualifying for the NCAA Tournament is concerned, the Orange haven’t really bolstered their case the last two weeks, they’ve just avoided damaging it.

kind of a weird argument here from terry foy. i guess if you are speaking in very macro terms then yes, they were on the outside of the bubble two weeks ago and are still outside of the bubble now. but the resume has indisputably improved from that point. the RPI has increased, they earned a top 20 win over north carolina, and vermont jumped into the top 20, netting them an additional win (that probably won't last, by the way). if the orange do defy the odds and end up making the tournament, the last two weeks and the win over carolina in particular will have helped get them there.

 

[Cuse All-In]

I agree with most of your post, Most of it is spot on IMO, but I don't think there is a disparity in academic standards with MD. Fortunately, I was able to attend both schools.

I don't think there is a very large difference between MD and Cuse academics but as an example, the average SAT scores of the MD students are 100 pts higher than Cuse. Parents look at that stuff.

 

[tbonezone]

feels like we're knockin' on heavens door...


one more win.