Battle Royale
No. 16 High Point vs. No. 20 Denver
Friday, 4 p.m., at No. 1 seed Maryland
High Point is having one of its best seasons with just two losses on the year – only by four to second-seed North Carolina and by two to third-seeded James Madison – earning its fourth NCAA tournament appearance. Last year, the Panthers upset Towson in the first round for its first-ever tournament win. Denver meets High Point for the third time, winning both previous meetings, the last in 2014, but the Panthers can make a strong case for another tournament win. High Point has the second-best scoring defense and fifth-best scoring offense in Division I.
No. 13 Penn vs. No. 17 Penn State
Friday, 5 p.m., at No. 5 seed Stony Brook
The in-state rivals join the Syracuse-Princeton quarter of the bracket, which is perhaps the toughest of the four. While they are close to each other, this game is only the second between the two programs in the last decade. Penn is fueled by its loss to Princeton in the Ivy League final, while the Nittany Lions are 1-5 in their last six games. But that one win for Penn State was a big 21-16 upset over Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament. Which team will prevail? Penn State boasts the No. 14 scoring offense, while Penn is ranked 23rd. The winner will then square off with undefeated Stony Brook on Sunday.
No. 10 Navy vs. No. 19 Johns Hopkins
Friday, 7 p.m., at No. 8 seed Loyola
Navy and Johns Hopkins are just 35 miles apart, but Friday’s game is the first time the two programs have met. The Patriot League champion is likely feeling another Cinderella run to the final four, while the Blue Jays, which are still riding its 14-11 win over Loyola from February, are looking for a breakthrough. The Midshipmen’s No. 3 scoring offense, led by two 100-point scorers in Kelly Larkin and Kenna Collins, and No. 3 draw controls per game, with a team-high 91 from Jenna Collins, will be tough to defeat.
Upset Potential
No. 15 Virginia Tech vs. Georgetown
Friday, 3 p.m., at No. 2 seed North Carolina
Denver upset the Hoyas in the Big East tournament without one of Georgetown's key players Francesca Whitehurst, but they still earned their first NCAA bid since 2014. Virginia Tech is making its first NCAA appearance and is hoping to continue proving that its program has been turned around. Both the Hoyas’ and Hokies’ are matched fairly evenly, with the No. 45 and 47 scoring offenses, No. 64 and No. 37 scoring defenses, and No. 56 and No. 53 draw controls per game, respectively.
No. 14 Colorado vs. Jacksonville
Friday, 4 p.m., at No. 6 seed Florida
The Buffs are 13-5, aiming to rebound from its Pac-12 championship loss to Stanford in its second NCAA tournament appearance, and the Dolphins are 16-3, repeating as Atlantic Sun champions. Jacksonville is 1-0 all-time against Colorado, dominating the Buffs 20-13 in 2014, and sit in the top five nationally in scoring offense (No. 1), assists per game (No. 2), caused turnovers per game (No. 2), points per game (No. 2) and draw controls per game (No. 5).
No. 11 Stanford vs. Virginia
Friday, 6 p.m., at No. 3 seed James Madison
Virginia may not be ranked in the final edition of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, but it is eager for redemption, according to the Daily Progress. The Cavaliers can compete, yet didn’t finish against the top four seeded teams (Maryland, North Carolina, James Madison and North Carolina). Meanwhile, with its Top 10 scoring defense and 11th-ranked scoring offense, Stanford is hoping to continue to shine after winning the first-ever Pac-12 crown. Friday’s game marks the first between the two teams.
Rounding Out the First Round
Top 20 teams Northwestern, Towson and Loyola are the favorites to win their respective first-round games, but their opponents are all conference champions looking to survive and advance.
No. 8 Towson vs. Wagner
Friday, 3 p.m., at No. 7 seed Towson
Wagner upset Bryant 12-11 in double overtime for the NEC title and then went on to defeat SoCon champion Mercer 13-9 in the NCAA tournament’s play-in game.
No. 12 Loyola vs. Fairfield
Friday, 4 p.m., at No. 8 seed Loyola
With the top two seeds knocked out of the MAAC tournament, No. 3 seed Fairfield defeated No. 4 seed Canisius 14-10 to go dancing.
No. 7 Northwestern vs. Richmond
Friday, 6 p.m., at No. 7 seed Towson
Richmond upset UMass 12-11 in overtime to earn the Atlantic-10 crown and NCAA automatic bid.