The NCAA tournament bracket is here.
So, what does that mean for the Nike / US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20? Well, not much — at least for now.
If nothing else, it helped us eliminate a few teams from the “also considered” section — teams like Penn State and Ohio State that had intriguing resumes based on their conference-only schedules but ultimately didn’t do enough to secure their places in the field of 29 teams.
Every team in the Top 20 is bound for the tournament. The top five teams in the rankings have occupied their respective positions for several weeks, and the committee also deemed them worthy of the first five national seeds in the same order.
As the NCAA tournament progresses, there will almost certainly be shakeups to this Top 20. For now, it’s mostly status quo outside of a five-spot jump for a James Madison team that upset Drexel in the CAA championship game.
Nike / US Lacrosse
Division I Women’s Top 20
May 10, 2021 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 18-0 | 1 | 5/16 vs. No. 11 Johns Hopkins/No. 15 James Madison |
| 2 | Northwestern | 13-0 | 2 | 5/16 vs. No. 14 Stanford/No. 17 Denver |
| 3 | Syracuse | 14-3 | 3 | 5/16 vs. No. 9 Loyola/No. 20 Hofstra |
| 4 | Boston College | 13-3 | 4 | 5/14 vs. Fairfield |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 9-6 | 5 | 5/14 vs. Robert Morris |
| 6 | Stony Brook | 14-2 | 6 | 5/14 vs. Towson |
| 7 | Duke | 9-7 | 7 | 5/14 vs. Mount St. Mary's |
| 8 | Florida | 16-2 | 8 | 5/14 vs. Mercer |
| 9 | Loyola | 11-2 | 9 | 5/14 vs. No. 20 Hofstra |
| 10 | Maryland | 9-6 | 11 | 5/14 vs. High Point |
| 11 | Johns Hopkins | 8-6 | 12 | 5/14 vs. No. 15 James Madison |
| 12 | Drexel | 13-2 | 10 | 5/14 vs. No. 19 Rutgers |
| 13 | Virginia | 8-8 | 13 | 5/14 vs. UConn |
| 14 | Stanford | 11-0 | 14 | 5/14 vs. No. 17 Denver |
| 15 | James Madison | 11-4 | 20 | 5/14 vs. No. 11 Johns Hopkins |
| 16 | Jacksonville | 11-1 | 15 | 5/14 vs. Vanderbilt |
| 17 | Denver | 15-1 | 17 | 5/14 vs. No. 14 Stanford |
| 18 | UMass | 15-2 | 18 | 5/14 vs. Temple |
| 19 | Rutgers | 6-8 | 16 | 5/14 vs. No. 12 Drexel |
| 20 | Hofstra | 6-6 | 19 | 5/14 vs. No. 9 Loyola |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Colorado, Louisville, Ohio State, Penn State, Temple, UConn, Vanderbilt
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
James Madison (+5)
The Dukes have been on a hot streak, but it took a season-best performance from Molly Doughtery in the cage to lift James Madison to the CAA championship. She made 16 saves, including overtime stops and several of the highlight variety.
JMU is battle-tested and has NCAA tournament experience in its core. It’s a young team compared to years past, though.
Denver (no change)
Denver is peaking at the right time. The Pios are winners are 15 straight after a season-opening 14-7 loss to Colorado, including a 10-7 win over the Buffs to close the regular season. In the Big East championship game, Denver dispatched a UConn team that proved pesky in two tries during the regular season.
And now that UConn is a tournament team — in one of Sunday night’s big surprises — that win means a little more for Denver.
NOT
Drexel (-2)
Both of Drexel’s losses this season came against NCAA tournament teams (Loyola and James Madison), so while Sunday’s loss to JMU in the CAA championship game warrants a drop, it doesn’t warrant a complete nosedive.
The Dragons are still a strong team with an excellent RPI and five wins over tournament teams.
Rutgers (-3)
Rutgers’ tumble is due in large part to the success of other teams who played and won conference championships. Rutgers is still an NCAA tournament team for the first time since 1999 and the second time in program history.