It’s the greatest rivalry in college lacrosse history. Two historic programs going at it for the 116th time in a series that dates back to a meeting in 1895.

The defending national champion, Maryland, travels to Homewood Field to meet Johns Hopkins. The two programs have met for 89 of the past 91 years, some games holding greater significance than others.

As for Saturday afternoon’s matchup, the implications are extremely high. With both teams sitting at 3-1 in the Big Ten, the winner will take home the conference regular season crown and hold the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament. It’s the fourth straight season that the regular season champion came as a result of the Maryland/Johns Hopkins matchup. The two teams shared the title in 2015, and the Terps won it outright in 2016 and 2017.

Although Johns Hopkins leads the all-time series 71-43-1, Maryland has a 5-4 record against its rival since John Tillman took over.

NO. 5 MARYLAND AT NO. 7 JOHNS HOPKINS
WHEN: Saturday, April 28, 2 p.m.
WATCH: ESPNU

And the Terps will enter Homewood with a bit of chip on their shoulders after Ohio State held them in check at College Park last weekend. Maryland lost the rematch of the 2017 title game 12-10.

Tewaaraton candidate Connor Kelly did all he could in the loss, contributing four goals and an assist. He leads the team with 36 goals and 29 assists, solidifying his place among the 25 semifinalists for the year-end award. He dropped four goals in a 12-5 victory over Johns Hopkins last season.

Kelly has been the quarterback of the Terps offense — the only Division I team to score 10 or more goals in each game this season. He’s helped sophomore Jared Bernhardt blossom into a standout offensive player, sitting behind Kelly with 30 goals, seven of which came on the man-up.

Talk about consistency. Outside of a 16-goal performance against High Point, Maryland has scored between 10-13 goals in every game this season. 

It will meet a revamped Blue Jays defense that has held opponents under 10 goals six times this season. Patrick Foley leads the team with 13 caused turnovers, followed by SSDM Daniel Jones with 12.

The Johns Hopkins offense compares nicely with its opponent. The Blue Jays have scored fewer than 10 goals just once this season — a 12-5 loss to Loyola —and averages 12.8 goals per game. They have shown the ability to drop big numbers on opposing defense, with three games of 15 or more goals.

The Blue Jays are led by a quartet of veterans, including top-scorer Joel Tinney (43 points), Cole Williams, Shack Stanwick and Kyle Marr. When they need a goal, it usually comes from one of the four.

Marr has been particularly clutch of the past few games. He scored the game-winner with 14 seconds left to down Rutgers in Piscataway on April 1, and followed it up with another winner at Michigan with 31.1 seconds left last weekend.

However, Johns Hopkins will meet a Maryland defense that has allowed more than 10 goals in four games. Bryce Young anchors the defensive unit that held the No. 2 offense in Division I, Albany, to 11 goals. It will meet another top 10 offense in the Blue Jays on Saturday.

This game could boil down to a couple vital matchups. It starts in the cage for Johns Hopkins, where Brock Turnbaugh has stopped 49.8 percent of his shots this season, up nine percent from last year. He may have to make a few big saves against a Maryland unit that sits fifth in Division I, scoring on 36.5 of its shots.

Another battle that could determine the outcome of this game comes at the faceoff x. Hunter Moreland ranks 12th nationally, winning 61.4 percent of faceoffs for Johns Hopkins. He’ll go up against a Maryland duo of Justin Shockey (54 percent) and Austin Henningsen (48.3 percent). They combined to go 9-for-26 against Ohio State’s Justin Inacio last week.

It’s another edition of The Rivalry, this time with a Big Ten regular season title on the line. Grab your popcorn.

Other games highlighting the weekend include:

• ACC Tournament
  
  In a season where the ACC has looked less than spectacular, only two teams have most likely solidified their spot in the NCAA tournament.
  
  No. 1 Duke and No. 12 Syracuse (coincidentally, the Orange take the ACC's top seed), should be in the field come next weekend. However, the two other teams fighting for the ACC final are also hoping to pick up the win that might vault them into the NCAA tournament.
  
  As of our latest bracketology, both Virginia and Notre Dame are in the tournament field — but not by a large margin. A Virginia loss to Syracuse, or a Notre Dame loss to Duke, and the fate is out of their hands.

The 2018 #ACCMLAX Championship is set!
READ: https://t.co/FVpUlvpyvA pic.twitter.com/JI60jSQshU

— ACC Men's Lacrosse (@ACCMLax) April 21, 2018

If either team scores an upset and advances to the ACC final, it will be tough to keep it out of the NCAA tournament.

Duke dominated Notre Dame 8-2 in South Bend a couple weekends ago, and Syracuse shocked Virginia on a Tucker Dordevic goal with 13 seconds left on March 4. As is the case with many conference tournaments, the conference title isn’t the only thing on the line.

• Patriot League Tournament
  
  The Patriot League’s best will go at it at Ridley Athletic Complex on Friday and Sunday.
  
  The host Greyhounds have the top seed and figure to have already done enough to make the NCAA tournament. They’ll be up against a Boston U team that shocked at-large contender Bucknell on Wednesday night. The only way the Terriers make the tournament is by running the table. Loyola took down Boston U. 23-9 less than two weeks ago. The Greyhounds have beaten each remaining team (Navy and Lehigh) by at least six goals this season.
  
  As for the other matchup, NCAA tournament implications make it a must-win for both No. 10 Navy and Lehigh. Fresh off a shocking win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, the Midshipmen still didn’t crack the latest projected bracket. With an RPI that ranks No. 16, it might be tough for Navy to grab an at-large bid, so winning against Lehigh (who it beat 10-7 earlier this season) and then taking the Patriot League final might be the only route to the big dance. For the Mountain Hawks, we know winning the Patriot League tournament is the only way to extend their season. 

• No. 9 Rutgers at No. 19 Ohio State
  
  Another game with massive at-large implications, as Rutgers sits firmly on the bubble after taking down Penn State and Ohio State is looking to make a miraculous late-season rally after shocking No. 2 Maryland last weekend. Both teams sit at 2-2 in Big Ten play and could clinch a berth with a victory. They could fall as high as the No. 2 seed, and as low as watching from home.
  
  The Scarlet Knights know too well the dangers of not getting it done in conference play. Last season, they started 8-0, only to stumble in the Big Ten and miss the conference tournament and ensuing NCAA tournament.
  
  Now in our the tournament field in our latest bracketology, Rutgers will look to head into the Big Ten tournament with some momentum. Ohio State controlled possession against the Terps last weekend, winning 17 of 26 faceoffs. It will meet a Rutgers tandem of Joe Francisco (50.8 percent) and Alex Schoen (50 percent).

MORE GAMES ON OUR RADAR

All times are listed in ET. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV listing page, presented by Nationwide.

FRIDAY, APRIL 20

4:30 p.m.

No. 6 Loyola vs. Boston U., Patriot League Semifinals (CBS Sports Network)

5 p.m.

Hofstra at No. 18 UMass (Lax Sports Network)

6 p.m.

No. 1 Duke vs. No 15 Notre Dame, ACC Semifinals (ESPNU)

7:30 p.m.

No. 10 Navy vs. Lehigh, Patriot League Semifinals (CBS Sports Network)
Drexel at Delaware (Lax Sports Network)

8:30 p.m.

No. 12 Syracuse vs. No. 13 Virginia- ACC Semifinals (ESPNU)

SATURDAY, APRIL 21

11 a.m.

Michigan at No. 14 Penn State (Big Ten Network)

1 p.m.

Marquette at No. 3 Denver (DenverPioneers.com)
No. 4 Albany at Hartford (America East TV)
No. 8 Cornell at Princeton (Ivy League Network)
No. 16 Georgetown at St. John’s (Big East Digital Network)
Providence at No. 17 Villanova (Fox College Sports Atlantic)
Saint Joseph’s at Robert Morris (NEC Front Row)

3 p.m.

Harvard at No. 2 Yale (Ivy League Network)

SUNDAY, APRIL 22

12 p.m.

Loyola/Boston U. vs. Lehigh/Navy, Patriot League Final (CBS Sports Network)
Duke/Notre Dame vs. Syracuse/Virginia, ACC Final (ESPNU)