Polls for Feb 12: Media #5 / Coaches #7 / USALAX #8

[OrangeXtreme]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/nd-s-lead-narrows-in-men-s-week-1-media-poll-syracuse-enters-top-5/62569

Early-to-mid February is a perplexing time for the polls.

With teams’ opening games staggered and no universal start date in men’s lacrosse, some voting choices are still informed by preseason expectations, while others are already incorporating significant results.


Notre Dame holds the top spot in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll by a narrow margin. The Fighting Irish make their 2024 debut vs. Cleveland State on Wednesday.

On their heels are ACC rivals Duke, which is 2-0 with a plus-20 goal-differential, and Virginia, which dispatched Michigan on Saturday. Those two teams have received lots of positive attention, while 14 teams are yet to play their first game.

Syracuse is the team that most benefitted from early-February lacrosse. They are 3-0, the offense is on a roll, and they've risen into the Top 5. They play No. 4 Maryland on Saturday in one of the marquee matches of the month.

Penn State dropped to No. 13, with the Lions’ opening loss to Colgate accounted for for the first time since the preseason. Loyola enters the poll after a 1-1 start, Georgetown exits, and most of the other shuffling is minor with idle teams mixed with others.

Check out the full Inside Lacrosse Media Poll here.

Rank	Team	Points	Prev
1	Notre Dame (0 - 0)	461 (12)	1
2	Duke (2 - 0)	460 (9)	2
3	Virginia (1 - 0)	447 (3)	3
4	Maryland (2 - 0)	400	6
5	Syracuse (3 - 0)	355	9

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Re-Ordering in Middle of USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20

All was quiet in the top 10, but there was was re-ordering in the middle of the Top 20.

www.usalacrosse.com

USA LACROSSE DIVISION I MEN'S TOP 20
1. Notre Dame, 0-0 (Prev: 1)
2. Duke, 2-0 (Prev: 2)
3. Virginia, 1-0 (Prev: 3)
4. Maryland, 2-0 (Prev: 4)
5. Cornell, 0-0 (Prev: 5)
6. Army, 1-0 (Prev: 6)
7. Denver, 2-0 (Prev: 7)
8. Syracuse, 3-0 (Prev: 8)
9. Johns Hopkins, 2-1 (Prev: 9)
10. Yale, 0-0 (Prev: 10)
11. Penn State, 1-1 (Prev: 13)
12. Princeton, 0-0 (Prev: 14)
13. Rutgers, 2-0 (Prev: 15)
14. Michigan, 0-1 (Prev: 11)
15. Loyola, 1-1 (Prev: 12)
16. Delaware, 1-0 (Prev: 16)
17. Penn, 0-0 (Prev: 17)
18. Boston U, 2-0 (Prev: 18)
19. North Carolina, 1-0 (Prev: 20)
20. Richmond, 1-1 (Prev: NR)

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Quint Kessenich’s Top 20: Feb 12, 2024

We jump into the storm with February rankings, my Top 20 presented by SPIRE Lacrosse, always a treacherous exercise. Love the enthusiasm and spirit that

laxallstars.com

5) Syracuse​

It appears as if Syracuse has dramatically improved their face-off unit, both draw and wings. Front running wins over Vermont, Colgate and Manhattan set up Saturdays showdown with Maryland. The offense has been humming with Joey Spallina. The skillful sophomore and the excellent passing offense are shredding opponents. I love the new FOGO Mason Kohn from D3. The middle of the field play has vastly improved. The biggest questions marks remaining are twofold. Who’s the #1 cover defender? And how do the shorties match up with elite midfield talent? We find out this week.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[cuselaxss26]

Think 7 is reasonable for cuse n think 5 little high but get it in way. This weeks game vs maryland will be real first test what this team is. I hope they win of course but more importantly or say what i’d least like if don’t win. I hope it’s a competed game meaning last two times played them yes were close in score but never felt cuse was capable of winning or let alone even taking lead at time. So if lost would be happy but if they lost after game went back n forth for most of it would feel very good bout team at that point. As means they actually chance to of won not just a close score. But totally be absolutely thrilled if they pulled out win as maryland is my 2nd all time hated team behind duke.

 

[cuselaxss26]

ment to say in part if lost “wouldn’t be happy” not would be happy

 

[Moontan]

Ugh. Some of us will be on site, rooting for the hoops team to beat GA Tech at this time.

 

[Powellfan]

5. Syracuse Joey Spallina put up 10 points in a 16-3 win over Manhattan on Friday night. He’s the first Syracuse player to do that since Ryan Powell which, yes, means Mike Powell didn’t do it. He’s got 26 points through three games.

The Orange host Maryland at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and I hope the crowd looks like a Carmelo-era Syracuse basketball game.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[All4SU]

Syracuse leads nation in:

Assists per game

Ground Balls per game

Scoring margin


Assists per game -Spallina

Points per game - Spallina


2nd in points per game

4th in scoring defense

3rd in scoring offense

Kohn - 4th in Face-off percentage

 

[Zack80]

My ranking for this week.

1) Duke
2) Notre Dame
3) Maryland
4) Cornell
5) Syracuse
6) Virginia - I had UVa #8 in preseason due to graduation losses. UVa looked nice against Michigan.
7) Army
8) Yale
9) Penn State - Really bounced back nice against Villanova
10) Denver
11) Hopkins
12) Loyola
13) Delaware
14) Princeton
15) Michigan
16) Richmond
17) Colgate
18) UNC
19) Rutgers
20) BU