It’s going to be business as usual when the NCAA lacrosse committee convenes late Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis to select and seed the 17-team Division I tournament field.
Or so it hopes, anyway.
Brandon Macneill, Denver’s deputy athletic director and the committee’s chairman, remembers all too well the backlash from last year’s Selection Sunday and the calls for a revamped process.
That hasn’t happened yet, and the RPI — the metric everyone loves to hate — remains the NCAA’s primary sorting tool. Still, the committee is determined to use it with as much nuance as possible.
The RPI takes a team’s winning percentage and multiplies it by .25, its opponents’ winning percentage and multiplies it by .5 and its opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage and multiplies it by .25. Each team’s ranking is based on a sum of those three numbers.
Entering Friday’s games, Duke sits at No. 1 at .7079, according to Lacrosse Reference, followed by Virginia (.6793), Notre Dame (.6781), Maryland (.6453) and Johns Hopkins (.6423). The gap between No. 6 Cornell (.6290) and No. 11 Denver (.6065) is smaller than the space between Denver and No. 12 Boston U (.5763).
Hence Macneill’s scrutiny of what he calls “banding” during the selection process.
“Last year, the difference between Maryland and Georgetown was the same as [No. 3] Princeton to 9,” Macneill said. “People see the No. 1 and No. 2, and 8 and 12, but 8 and 12 could be a lot closer than 3 and 4. That’s something I know we’re trying to focus more on is, ‘Let’s look at the banding of the numbers as opposed to simple No. 1, No. 2, No. 3.’”
Another long-time variable facing the committee is an NCAA guideline to limit air travel in the first round, though Macneill is optimistic there could be some more flexibility.
He also is hopeful the committee can largely avoid any regular-season rematches in the first round. Last year’s opening weekend featured two rematches (Princeton-Boston U and Cornell-Ohio State).
“Sometimes that’s out of our hands, but I want if at all humanly possible to not have a repeat of regular season matchups between different conferences, especially in that first round,” Macneill said. “Just from the student-athlete experience, you want to play someone else. That’s sort of on the back end of it, but that’s something we’ll take into account if we can.”
This year’s committee is composed of Macneill, Delaware deputy athletic director Jordan Skolnick, Rutgers senior associate athletic director Matthew Colagiovanni, North Carolina coach Joe Breschi and St. Bonaventure coach Randy Mearns.
A look at the state of play through Thursday’s games, with all data courtesy of Lacrosse Reference.
AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (9)
Maryland (10-4) Big Ten
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
4
|
4
|
2-2
|
3-2
|
7-3
|
at Loyola (27)
|
Cornell (11-2) Ivy
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
6
|
23
|
0-0
|
20-1
|
3-1
|
at Harvard (33)
|
Georgetown (11-3) Big East
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
7
|
14
|
0-2
|
0-3
|
3-3
|
—
|
Boston U (10-3) Patriot
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
12
|
33
|
0-0
|
0-1
|
1-1
|
at Vermont (25), at Navy (43)
|
Bryant (11-4) America East
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
17
|
44
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0-1
|
3 losses of 21+
|
Utah (10-4) ASUN
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
19
|
37
|
0-1
|
0-1
|
0-3
|
Vermont (25)
|
Richmond (10-4) A-10
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
23
|
35
|
0-2
|
0-3
|
0-3
|
at Saint Joseph's (29)
|
Delaware (11-4) CAA
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
21+L
|
32
|
46
|
0-1
|
0-1
|
0-3
|
at Towson (40)
|
Marist (9-7) MAAC
RPI
|
SOS
|
T5
|
T10
|
T20
|
26+L
|
44
|
64
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0-1
|
6 losses of 21+
|
Maryland’s victory over Johns Hopkins means the Terrapins are well-positioned to land the No. 4 or No. 5 seed. The top of the Terrapins’ profile includes victories at Virginia and Johns Hopkins, as well as a home defeat of Penn State. … Cornell’s seeding situation is something to watch over the next few days. The Big Red open Ivy League tournament play Friday against Yale. …
Georgetown had little trouble dispatching Providence in the Big East semifinals, and the Hoyas head into Selection Sunday with the benefit of no bad losses. That’s a nice asset in case a surprise winner emerges in the Big Ten (Michigan) or Ivy (Princeton) tournaments. … Boston U’s attempt to win consecutive Patriot League tournaments begins Friday at home against Loyola. …
With Vermont bounced on its own field by Albany, Bryant is the top remaining seed in the America East tournament. The Bulldogs can earn their sixth NCAA berth since 2013 with a victory Saturday. … Utah meets Bellarmine in the first Atlantic Sun semifinal Friday. The Utes won the regular-season meeting 15-8 on March 18; it was their fewest goals in a conference game this year. …
Richmond is the top seed left in the Atlantic 10 after High Point toppled Saint Joseph’s on Thursday. The Spiders will meet High Point at home on Saturday, with a victory securing their fifth NCAA nod in 10 seasons as a Division I program. … Delaware avenged its loss to Towson in the regular-season finale and can earn a second consecutive CAA title with a victory over Stony Brook on Saturday. …
Less than a week after shellacking Quinnipiac for 29 goals, Marist dropped 19 on Mount St. Mary’s in the MAAC final. The Red Foxes are the top remaining seed in their tournament after Siena beat regular season champ Manhattan to extend its winning streak to four.