It’s the final countdown before Selection Sunday, and teams are hoping to make the most of their last bit of work before the committee doles out its bids to the big show in May. Bates continues to rule the roost from the No. 1 spot with its still-unblemished record, while Salisbury impressed in the CAC tournament, routing then-No. 5 York to close its schedule tidily at 17-1. No. 4 Denison is also done with just one loss against its ledger, having captured the NCAC crown Sunday with a lightning-delayed rout of Ohio Wesleyan.

There is still work to be done for much of the rest of the squads ranked in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20, as they hope to secure AQ bids to the NCAA tournament, or at least shore up their chances for a solid at-large nod should they stumble. Middlebury, far outside of the rankings all season but still dangerous, made a huge impact in the NESCAC, upsetting Amherst in the league’s quarterfinals to earn a shot against Bates, while Tufts managed to earn a date against Wesleyan in the other semifinal after suffering its fourth straight loss earlier in the week. Nazareth also made noise from outside the top 20, handing Stevens its fourth loss of the season and booking a date against No. 13 Ithaca in the Empire 8 semifinals.

The next seven days will decide the bulk of the 24 automatic qualifiers in DIII men’s lacrosse, and the committee will sort out the rest — so there’s one final chance to make a play for a spot in the tournament. It should make for some great lacrosse.

Also considered: Catholic, Clarkson, Elizabethtown, Keene State, Middlebury, Ohio Wesleyan, Ursinus, Vassar, Washington and Lee

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

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

Hot

Franklin & Marshall (+5)

The Diplomats quietly put together a fantastic regular season, outscoring opponents by an average 15-8 score and finishing unbeaten in Centennial Conference play to earn the league’s top seed and a semifinal date against Swarthmore. Their offense is driven by the attack duo of Kevin Mollihan and Sean Rogers, who both passed the 70-point mark this week.

Gettysburg (+2)

Winners of the last two Centennial Conference tournament titles, the Bullets appear to be hitting their stride just at the right time, having won their last four since a loss against unranked Swarthmore back in early April. Their first-round tournament date is against No. 12 Dickinson, which Gettysburg got its current streak started against with an 11-9 victory.

Not

Stevenson (-6)

An up-and-down season for the Mustangs takes a downturn just before postseason action gets underway, as they slide to the outer edge of the rankings with a loss to Stevens this week — which looks all that much worse due to the Ducks taking a loss to unranked Nazareth over the weekend. On the upside, every one of Stevenson’s losses is to a currently ranked team, so there’s no reason to doubt it can go on a run if they can get things together in the next week and a shot at the tournament.

Amherst (-4)

Falling to a .500 Middlebury team in the NESCAC quarterfinals is a tough blow for Amherst, which now must sit and wait in hopes of an at-large bid. Unfortunately, its biggest resume-building win at this point is against Tufts, which has lost some value of late with the Jumbos losing four straight to close the regular season before rebounding to win its quarterfinal contest against Bowdoin.

New

Bowdoin

A midweek victory over Tufts was marred by a loss to the Jumbos just days later in the NESCAC quarterfinals, but the Polar Bears earn their spot in the penultimate top 20 before the NCAA tournament.

Out

Ohio Wesleyan

A narrow win over Wittenburg got the Bishops a second chance against Denison in the North Coast Athletic Conference finals on Sunday, but their loss to the No. 4 Big Red leaves them with no wins over a ranked team as their regular season comes to a close.