College Lacrosse Week 8 Picks & Preview

Preview of the best Week 8 games and betting locks.

Top Games of the Weekend:

#16 Duke vs # 9 North Carolina

  • With the college basketball Final Four matchup at night, the UNC and Duke lacrosse teams will get their fans ready with an exciting top 20 matchup during the day. North Carolina holds the edge winning 43 of the 77 total meetings in this heated rivalry. 
  • Chris Gray is on a 49-game point scoring streak and sits just 23 points away from breaking the all-time points record in Division 1 lacrosse. Chris Gray has 57 points on the year which is third in all division one this year. 
  • Duke is coming off an upset loss to Syracuse in which they fell behind 5-1 after one quarter and was not able to come back against the orange. Brennan O’Neil scored three goals and eclipsed the 100-point mark in his career, doing it in 29 games, the third fastest to hit the mark in Duke’s history.

#4 Penn vs # 8 Yale

  • This Ivy league matchup will feature two of the top teams in the league, both off huge wins against Princeton and Cornell. No team has put themselves above the rest in the league, and this matchup could dictate who the top team entering the Ivy League tournament will be.
  • Two of the last three matchups have been tied after regulation and needed overtime to settle the game. The teams have not met since 2019 where they played three times in that year.
  • Both teams have veteran leaders on their offenses with Penn being led by Sam Handley who has 29 points through 6 games, and Yale being led by Matt Brandau who has 34 points through 6 games.

#15 Notre Dame vs # 18 Syracuse

  • These two teams meet in a matchup of the two most disappointing teams in the ACC so far this year. Notre Dame has been underwhelming this season and looks to be in a rebuilding year with just two wins on the year. Syracuse has just four wins but is coming off their biggest win of the year against Duke.
  • Syracuse’s Tucker Dordevic is one of the best shooters in the game and he is consistently filling the stat sheet with five goals in five different games already this year.
  • Other than against Detroit Mercy, the Irish offense has not lived up to their potential yet this year. Kevin Corrigan has the pieces to make up one of the best offenses in the nation, but it seems the lack of experience has hurt them in tight games against strong competition.

# 3 Georgetown vs #17 Denver 

  • A Big East matchup that features a rematch of the conference finals last year, in which we saw Georgetown capture their third straight championship 10-9 over the Pioneers. 
  • Georgetown rebounded from a surprising loss to Princeton with three straight wins against Richmond, Utah and Lehigh. The offense has been extremely balanced with three players who have 28 or 29 points on the year. 
  • Denver is on a two-game win streak after beating Ohio State and Towson in the last two weeks. The Pioneers have one of the oldest offenses in college lacrosse with exclusively upperclassmen in their top six scorers.

Weekend Best Bets:

Harvard -3.5 over Colgate

  • Harvard is part of a loaded ivy league and has compiled a 6-1 record with big wins against Brown, BU and Michigan. Colgate is having a tough year so far and it won’t get much easier against Harvard in this one. Roll with Harvard to bring the juice in this matchup and win this game by 5+

Maryland -6.5 over Michigan

  • No one has been able to play with Maryland this year and I don’t think that will change against Michigan this weekend. The Terrapins are loaded on offense and can put up 20+ goals with ease. Luke Wierman is facing off close to 70% and if he can dominate his matchup, this game will be a breeze for Maryland.

Dog of the Weekend: High Point +2 over Jacksonville

  • This matchup is very intriguing as Jacksonville has been the early season surprise thus far beating Duke on their way to a 8 – 2 record. Asher Nolting should have his fingerprints all over this game and if he plays how he normally does, look for High Point to win this one. 

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