Weekender: Seeding Frenzy
Opinion
| Dayton
| Florida
| FGCU
| Florida State
| Georgia
| Georgia Tech
| GVSU
| Indiana
| Miami (FL)
| Michigan State
| Montana
| Northeastern
| Oregon
| Rhode Island
| Simon Fraser
| South Carolina
| St. Thomas
| Va. Tech DII
| Western Washington
| W&M
(Photo by Bob White)
by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The first week of April is when things start to get serious.
The MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance is well within sight and the conference tourneys are right around the corner. The SELC Division I tournament starts next weekend.
SCHEDULE: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
A part of the march toward deciding a conference championship involves not only qualifying for the league playoffs, but also finding the easiest route toward an automatic bid. That often involves jockeying for the best seeds.
In six-team tournaments, the bye into the semifinals is coveted. Putting yourself out there two times instead of three obviously reduces the chances of getting beat. It’s less important in leagues like the WCLL and ALC that have a week break between the first round and the semifinals.
But for a lot of leagues, a first-round bye means not having to play three games in three days. It is most glaring in the power conferences. Depending on what happens this weekend in Ohio, either St. Thomas or Grand Valley State – or perhaps both of them – will have to win three games in as many days at the UMLC-II tournament for the title.
What is the MCLA Division II Game of the Week for the period ending April 7. #mcla24
— 2024 MCLA National Tourney (@MCLA_Tournament) April 1, 2024
LSA-I is the only tournament that features a true, eight-team field, and this year they’ve gone with the three-day approach. Their format is more egalitarian because every team has to play the same amount, but it creates a larger possibility of upsets.
While Texas is a considerable favorite, very few D-I teams have done a three-in-three weekend during the course of the season. The variables go through the roof when the scenario is introduced. The seeding takes a backseat to conditioning.
Eleven of the 18 conference tournaments are your garden variety, four-team playoffs. Almost all of them are two-day affairs, with SLC-I sneaking in a Saturday personal day between the Friday semifinals and championship Sunday.
For all of those, it’s just a matter of making the tournament. The SLC is particularly cutthroat, with just four of seven D-I members qualifying while D-II allows four of 11.
The RMLC-I will be particularly exciting because the regular-season conference schedule is nearly completely backloaded. All six of the teams are still mathematically alive for the four-team tourney.
What is the MCLA Division I Game of the Week for the period ending April 7. #mcla24
— 2024 MCLA National Tourney (@MCLA_Tournament) April 1, 2024
A lot of the time, we’re just waiting for the results from the head-to-head conference games to shape the tournaments. Like Jame Madison-Liberty and Virginia Tech-Tennessee in the two ALC subdivisions or the Michigan State-Indiana tilt that will go along way in setting the UMLC bracket.
Most importantly, a good portion of the yellow-dot games you might glance over on the schedule while chasing all of the Top 25 matchups can hold an immense importance for those players involved.
It could mean a spot in the second season, or planning for new one.
GAMES I’M FOLLOWING
No. 2 St. Thomas at No. 14 Dayton, 5 p.m. - Friday
I’ll drop this one in here out of respect for the champs, but unless they’ve figured some things out over the last couple of weeks – which, to be fair, is entirely possible – this could be a tough one for the Flyers. Dayton has to grab at least one this weekend, and Friday is a perfect time for an upset.
No. 21 Western Washington at No. 20 Montana, 1 p.m. – Saturday
At the beginning of the season, you would have banked on the PNCLL-II North being the strongest of the two divisions, but that’s not even close to being the case currently. Northwest Nazarene looks like a wagon right now, so the winner of Vikings-Griz (presumably) plays College of Idaho in the conference semis. But the Yotes are no picnic this year. The Griz need this one a little more to keep a tether to the at-large discussion.
No. 19 Oregon at No. 20 Simon Fraser, 1 p.m. – Saturday
One could say this is a preview of the PNCLL title game that will provide the conference its only representative in Round Rock, but Boise State still has a regular season date with the Ducks, so it’s probably a little soon to declare that. The game itself should be interesting with Oregon’s prolific offense against a Red Leaf defense that held BYU to just 11 goals.
No. 24 Georgia at No. 10 Georgia Tech, 2 p.m. – Saturday
The Yellow Jackets have now lost three of their last four and are leaking oil. In the first two setbacks, Tech couldn’t score. In the last one, they couldn’t stop South Carolina from scoring. Georgia has been off its form this year, granted they played a stiff schedule. And they have the knowledge they dropped 19 on the Wreck in ’23. Along with bragging rights, the winner gets to sleep in their own beds next weekend and host Auburn while the losers head to Gainesville to play the frisky Gators.
Virgnia Tech D-II at William & Mary, 2 p.m. – Saturday
You have to dig into the ALC-II weeds to appreciate this bout, but it has the very real potential to be an elimination game. Or at least set up elimination down the road. Making the conference tournament in their first season would be a feather in either of these young programs, but it looks like only one can go.
No. 2 St. Thomas vs. No. 4 Grand Valley State, 3 p.m. - Saturday
An absolute prize fight that should harken back to 2012 and 2016 when the Tommies and Lakers met for the whole enchilada. My instinct is this result will have considerably more goals than those championship game grinders. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of this year’s matchup is the weather calls for 55 degrees and partly sunny. This regular season game should always be played in sleet and/or snow.
Michigan State at No. 24 Indiana, 4 p.m. – Saturday
Does the Hoosiers’ fairytale season continue or does the defending conference champ beat down any resistance fighters? State has been on a five-game hot streak since losing a gritty road affair against San Diego State. Indiana is unblemished, but the best win would probably be a one-goal triumph over Pittsburgh. Even in Bloomington, Johnny Rioux and the Spartans are going to be handful.
No. 7 South Carolina at No. 22 Northeastern, 6:30 p.m. – Saturday
This will have the feel of a Monday #4-#13 matchup at nationals because Northeastern will be throwing everything in the bag at the Gamecocks in hopes of grabbing a second Top 10 win. That's what they’ll need at this point after the lost weekend in Utah. The schedule assists the Huskies as South Carolina plays Boston College on Friday, and that game will likely be heated because of…reasons. A sweep for the Cocks followed by an SELC crown and USC has to be Top 5.
No. 17 Florida at No. 14 Florida State, 7 p.m. – Saturday
Always a fun game, but it should be electric with a bye into the SELC semifinals in the balance. The Seminoles have the advantage of playing at their home field. The Gators have the advantage of having played five of the Top 7 teams in the country – including three on the road – so talent-wise, FSU won’t intimidate Florida. As with any rivalry game, it’s not always about talent. This is a borderline must-see contest.
No. 2 St. Thomas at No. 5 Rhode Island, 10 a.m. – Sunday
Both teams will be undertaking their third game in three days, so this will be a nice test of stamina and depth – both key factors in any nationals run. We probably won’t witness the best brand of lacrosse considering the fatigue, but it could shape one of these team’s entire weekend.
Florida Gulf Coast at Miami, 12 p.m. – Sunday
We’ll get into the depths of SELC-II with this choice. Assuming FGCU loses to No. 9 Florida Atlantic on Saturday – a relatively safe bet – this contest could trigger a fun, three-way tie for the second conference tournament bid. The Eagles would have to defeat the Hurricanes to make that happen, but it could make for a breezy, Sunday afternoon follow.
SLIDES & RIDES
- If you’d like to check out the brackets of the nine conference tournaments, including scheduling and seeded teams when they become locked in, visit HERE. You can also see the scheduling and field usage for the 2024 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance.
- A month and a day to the start of nationals.
- Taking nominations for Warrior Player of the Week and PEARL Goalie of the Week all the way up until Monday at noon.