NCAA Seedings Provide Some Clarity in Nike/USA Lacrosse D-I Women's Top 20

Northwestern reclaimed the Big Ten title Saturday night and heads into the NCAA tournament as the top seed and the No. 1 team in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Top 20.

The Wildcats have won 17 straight, their lone blemish coming on Feb. 11 — game one against Syracuse.

The remaining top five differ from the committee based on recent performance. Boston College retains the No. 2 spot despite being the three seed. The Eagles have won 10 consecutive games, including a last-minute win to secure the ACC’s top seed over previously perfect Syracuse, and the conference tournament title.

No. 3 North Carolina also beat Syracuse in a pivotal game, the ACC semifinals. The Heels are the No. 4 seed in the tournament, but a run to the tournament finals in the sport’s premiere conference has them looking less vulnerable than the Orange.

And then there’s the most controversial seed of the night: Denver, Division I’s lone unbeaten team. The Pios drew the fifth seed and Pac-12 champion USC. The Pioneers’ non-conference wins included ones over Boston College and Maryland, and they remained perfect during the most important time of the year. Denver’s perfect record now includes a Big East title, played on the road against UConn because of a pre-determined site.

The Pios are fourth in this week’s rankings. Syracuse is fifth. No. 6 Florida, No. 7 James Madison and No. 8 Loyola align with the committee’s seeds.

No. 15 Richmond is the week’s biggest mover after upsetting regular-season champion UMass in the Atlantic 10.

The hot takes (like mine) won’t mean much starting Friday when the tournament begins.

The goal? Winning it all on May 28. The next (and most important) Top 20 of the season will come out after championship Sunday.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION I WOMEN’S TOP 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Clemson (12-6), Marquette (15-3), Navy (13-6), UConn (12-6), Yale (11-6)

UPCOMING GAMES

No. 1 Northwestern 5/14 vs. No. 18 Michigan / Central Michigan
No. 2 Boston College 5/14 vs. No. 13 Penn / UConn
No. 3 North Carolina 5/12 vs. Sacred Heart
No. 4 Denver 5/12 vs. No. 14 USC
No. 5 Syracuse 5/12 vs. No. 20 Johns Hopkins / No. 16 UMass

No. 6 Florida 5/12 vs. Jacksonville
No. 7 James Madison 5/12 vs. No. 17 Army
No. 8 Loyola 5/12 vs. Fairfield
No. 9 Notre Dame 5/12 vs. Mercer
No. 10 Stony Brook 5/12 vs. No. 19 Penn State

No. 11 Maryland 5/12 vs. Drexel
No. 12 Virginia 5/12 vs. Albany
No. 13 Penn 5/12 vs. UConn
No. 14 USC 5/12 vs. No. 4 Denver
No. 15 Richmond 5/12 vs. Marquette

No. 16 UMass 5/12 vs. No. 20 Johns Hopkins
No. 17 Army 5/12 vs. No. 7 James Madison
No. 18 Michigan 5/12 vs. Central Michigan
No. 19 Penn State 5/12 vs. No. 10 Stony Brook
No. 20 Johns Hopkins 5/12 vs. No. 16 UMass

Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

HOT

Northwestern (no change)

The Wildcats haven’t stopped rolling since February and appear on a revenge tour. Regular-season title (won by Maryland in 2022)? Check. Tournament crown (also won by Maryland in 2022)? Also, check. Now, it’s on to the NCAA tournament, and we all remember what happened there last year. Northwestern doesn’t appear willing to let that happen again (the fact that the incomparable Izzy Scane has a stick in her hand rather than an iPad doesn’t hurt). 

Florida (+2)

The Gators may have seen their run of 11-straight conference regular-season titles end this season, but not their run atop the AAC. Florida turned back conference newcomer James Madison, who took the meeting between the two teams in March, for its fourth-straight AAC tournament crown. The Gators have won nine-straight conference tournaments overall.

The win was an impressive turnaround for a team that nearly lost to East Carolina in the semifinal. But a 10-save performance from Sarrah Reznick, including one in the final minute, headlined an impressive day on defense for the Gators. They head into the NCAA tournament as one of the nation’s hottest teams, having won 11 straight.

Richmond (+5)

Richmond is the week’s biggest movers. It’s not just because the Spiders beat UMass for their first A-10 crown since 2019. It’s how they did it. Eight different players scored for Richmond in a 20-13 win. It was the highest goal total allowed all season by UMass, which had entered the weekend fourth in Division I in scoring defense. Speaking of defense, Richmond held UMass’ leading goal scorer Fiona McGowan to one goal. The bid-stealing Spiders enter the NCAA tournament on a five-game winning streak.

NOT

UMass (-4)

UMass had been a model of consistency for the last three months. The Minutewomen entered the A-10 title game, played on their home turf, on a 15-game winning streak. They ranked fourth In Division I in scoring defense and sixth in scoring offense. But Richmond, a team UMass dominated 22-12 on March 11, picked apart the Minutewomen. In the second half, UMass only scored consecutive goals once. The Minutewomen’s otherwise pristine resume got them in as an at-large, but it’s safe to say they know they picked a bad day to have a bad day and will want to course-correct heading into this weekend.

James Madison (-1)

It’s hard to put JMU here after the team fell just one goal short of an AAC title against a formidable challenger in Florida. But the Dukes’ stock decreased because of it, going from No. 5 in the committee’s final pre-Selection Sunday seeding to No. 7 for the NCAA tournament. For the purpose of our Top 20, JMU falls one spot from No. 6 to No. 7.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 1: Feb. 13, 2023

• Week 2: Feb. 20, 2023

• Week 3: Feb. 27, 2023

• Week 4: March 6, 2023

• Week 5: March 13, 2023

• Week 6: March 20, 2023

• Week 7: March 27, 2023

• Week 8: April 3, 2023

• Week 9: April 10, 2023

• Week 10: April 17, 2023

• Week 11: April 24, 2023

• Week 12: May 1, 2023