Ohio State Oozes Poise, Stands Out in Patrick Stevens' Men's Top 20

Ohio State is going to savor its rally to beat Michigan 10-8 for a long, long time.

The Buckeyes surged to a rivalry victory and their first Big Ten regular-season title since the league began sponsoring lacrosse in 2015. Both of those things have immense value for their program.

But a five-goal run in the final 5:23 in Ann Arbor to finish the job after what had been a trying day offensively should provide an immense degree of assurance as Ohio State navigates May.

The Buckeyes’ offense had gone 10 consecutive possessions without a goal. They had taken a meager five shots in 24-plus minutes, committing six turnovers in that span.

And then: Goal. Goal. Goal. Goal. Goal. Game.

Ohio State oozed poise as it closed out that game, a trait that should serve it well in postseason lacrosse as well.

Patrick Stevens is a longtime USA Lacrosse Magazine contributor. This is his weekly submission to the USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20.

PATRICK STEVENS' TOP 20

1. Cornell (11-1)

The Big Red are always a threat to go off, but their 20-goal outburst against Harvard was their most potent against an Ivy League opponent since dropping 22 on Dartmouth in 2018. CJ Kirst goes for the career goals record Saturday in Cornell’s regular-season finale in Ithaca. (Last week: 1)

2. Maryland (10-2)

The Terrapins beat Johns Hopkins in the regular season for the first time in three years on Friday, an 11-8 victory that locked up the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. Maryland gets next weekend off before facing Penn State or Johns Hopkins in the conference semifinals. (LW: 2)

3. Princeton (10-2)

The Tigers’ winning streak is at six after eventually shaking off Penn 12-8. Princeton goes for its sixth in a row in its series against Yale to wrap up the regular season at Class of 1952. (LW: 3)

4. Army (11-1)

The Black Knights thumped Bucknell 20-11, their largest output against a Patriot League opponent since 2003 against Lafayette. It should not go unnoticed that Army did that after recalibrating emotionally from its overtime defeat of rival Navy a week earlier. That’s not easy for either service academy to do.  (LW: 4)

5. Ohio State (12-2)

The Buckeyes have a well-earned bye into the Big Ten semifinals after locking up an outright regular season title. They’ll see Michigan or Rutgers on May 1. (LW: 5)

6. Notre Dame (7-3)

The Irish had three shots on goal in the entire first half, didn’t score in the first 29 minutes … and it didn’t matter thanks to a dominant second half at North Carolina. The 12-6 victory over the Tar Heels was quite the statement from the two-time defending champs. (LW: 10)

7. North Carolina (9-3)

On the flip side, what in the world happened to the Tar Heels in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame? It will be worth keeping an eye on how Carolina scraps back this week when it visits the Dome to play Syracuse. (LW: 6)

8. Penn State (9-3)

The Nittany Lions held Rutgers scoreless for a stretch of 35:11, spanning the entire second and third quarters as well as parts of the other two. They head into the Big Ten tournament on a three-game winning streak and have yielded just 16 goals in that stretch. (LW: 8)

9. Duke (10-4)

The Blue Devils had scored plenty of useful victories — Richmond, Michigan, Saint Joseph’s, Boston U — but not a true needle-mover until taking down Syracuse 11-7 on Saturday. Eric Malever scored five times against the Orange. (LW: 12)

10. Syracuse (9-4)

The Orange head into their regular-season finale far from assured of playing at home in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and actually a little vulnerable to getting squeezed out of the postseason field if things get hairy elsewhere in the next two weeks. That’s far from likely, but it is still an unexpected place for Syracuse to find itself in considering the preseason hopes of a breakthrough year. (LW: 7)

11. Richmond (10-3)

The Spiders throttled UMass 14-5 and will be the top seed in May’s Atlantic 10 tournament. Dan Chemotti’s bunch is going to be an unwelcome first-round visitor for somebody if they can make it back to the NCAA tournament after a one-year absence. (LW: 11)

12. Harvard (9-3)

The Crimson nearly reeled Cornell in early in the second half, rallying from down six to pull within 12-11 before the Big Red went on an eight-goal streak. Harvard won’t win the Ivy regular season, but it can get to 10 victories Saturday when it visits Brown.  (LW: 9)

13. Michigan (7-6)

The Wolverines will rue the final six minutes of their loss to Ohio State, but at least they know they can win the Big Ten tournament the hard way — having won three in a row in back-to-back seasons. Best of all, they won’t have to go anywhere; the Wolverines will be at home however long they’re alive in the league tournament, starting Saturday against Rutgers. (LW: 13)

14. Georgetown (8-4)

Think the Hoyas were upset about scoring three goals a week earlier against Denver? Georgetown scored nine times in the first quarter while clobbering St. John’s 21-8. The top seed in the Big East tournament is at stake when Villanova visits Friday. (LW: 18)

15. Boston U (9-4)

The Terriers head into the final weekend of the regular season with a chance to earn Patriot League tournament hosting rights. They need to beat Colgate, and they need some help (Loyola would have to win at Army), but it’s still a possibility after a 12-7 defeat of Lehigh. (LW: 19)

16. Villanova (7-5)

The Wildcats pulled an Easter weekend bunny out of their hat, scoring three times in 41 seconds late in the fourth quarter to edge Marquette 14-13 and remain undefeated in league play. A trip to Georgetown is next. (LW: Not ranked)

17. Towson (8-5)

The Tigers have an interesting luxury this weekend. They’ve already clinched the outright CAA title thanks to a 14-9 victory over Fairfield, and the other three teams in the league tournament have already sealed their spots. Towson visits Hofstra and has little incentive to be anything but vanilla when it could see the Pride again within a week. (LW: Not ranked)

18. Fairfield (11-2)

An uncharacteristically sloppy day for the Stags, who had a season-high 23 turnovers in a loss at Towson. They’ll close the regular season against Monmouth before heading back to Towson for the CAA tournament next week. (LW: 14)

19. Saint Joseph’s (9-4)

The Hawks scored twice in the final 33 minutes of their 11-9 loss at High Point. Instead of playing for the top seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament on Friday against Richmond, they’ll be trying to avoid sinking under .500 in league play. (LW: 16)

20. Denver (7-6)

The Pioneers were buried early in a 10-6 loss to Providence, and while they won’t win the Big East regular season, they still have hosting rights to the event. They just have to get there, something that will require a victory at Marquette on Friday. (LW: 17)

Also considered: Johns Hopkins (6-7), Rutgers (6-8), Sacred Heart (10-2), UMass (9-4)