It’s now (mostly) in the hands of conference play.

Sure, there are a few gems left outside of league schedules. Cornell’s encounters with Syracuse and Notre Dame spring to mind. But with the Big Ten and Colonial beginning conference play this weekend and the Big East diving in after this weekend’s appetizer (Marquette’s victory at Georgetown), just about everyone will burnish their postseason profiles over the next six weeks against familiar foes.

The highlight of the next week is Penn State’s visit to Maryland, but it’s hardly the only fascinating game. Syracuse-Notre Dame is a pairing of teams that already have an ACC loss. Yale-Penn is a clash of teams unbeaten in Ivy League play. And Rutgers-Ohio State is a game that almost always goes in an unexpected direction.

In short, expect another rankings shakeup before long. Conference play has a way of delivering that.

Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Men’s Top 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Boston University (7-3), Delaware (7-2), Georgetown (7-2), Hobart (7-1), Marquette (5-3), Richmond (6-3)

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

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

HOT

Virginia (+4)

The Cavaliers have won five in a row for the first time since a 6-0 start to the 2014 season, and might have taken the next step in their evolution Saturday. Rather than squeaking out a victory in the final minutes of regulation or in overtime, they posted their most lopsided road victory ever over Johns Hopkins, delivering a 16-11 triumph.

Virginia now owns victories over Hopkins, Syracuse and Notre Dame, and its only losses were a thumping at Loyola and a midweek setback at home against High Point. The Cavaliers are home for two games this weekend, as Richmond and Utah pay a visit to play a team that looks more cohesive by the week and a bit more energized at the defensive end as well.

Army (+4)

The Black Knights’ cast-of-thousands approach worked yet again, with five players scoring multiple goals in a 13-8 defeat of Colgate. Army has won three in a row since its loss to Lehigh early.

Sean O’Brien scored three goals to reach 10 for the year; he’s the fifth Black Knight to reach that figure, which might not seem overly impressive until considering Army has 95 goals in nine games. The Black Knights spread the wealth and lock down on defense (yielding just 6.6 goals a contest), and they’re already closing in on a Patriot League tournament berth. A victory Saturday at Bucknell coupled with a Holy Cross loss checks that item off the to-do list.

UMass (+4)

Maybe there’s a feeling of déjà vu in Amherst. The Minutemen opened last season 1-4, then rattled off 11 consecutive victories to claim the Colonial Athletic Association and a place in the NCAA tournament. This year, UMass followed a 1-3 start with a five-game winning streak as it heads into league play, the latest triumph a 14-7 drubbing of Brown.

Unlike last year, when outsiders were a bit surprised by the Gorillas’ jump forward, this was easy to see coming. UMass continues to lock down on defense, giving up only 5.6 goals a game during its winning streak, and its offense has played well in nearly every game. The Minutemen will be a tough out for any CAA team.

Syracuse (+4)

You can’t chalk the Orange’s 9-8 overtime defeat of Duke up to Dome magic, since the Carrier Dome was occupied by an NCAA women’s basketball tournament subregional. Nonetheless, Syracuse rallied from a four-goal deficit in the final six minutes of regulation before Brendan Curry’s game-winner with 41 seconds left in the extra period.

The Orange’s seven-game homestand to open the season is final over, and John Desko’s team owns one extremely useful victory (Duke) and a few more with the potential to be valuable in May (Army, Johns Hopkins and Rutgers). Now comes the matter of winning elsewhere. Syracuse is guaranteed six more regular season games, and only one is at home.

NOT

North Carolina (-6)

Saturday’s 16-9 loss at Maryland was the first time the Tar Heels were blasted this spring, but the score itself was one of several unfavorable signs for a team with four consecutive ACC games on the horizon. Carolina was 7 of 29 on faceoffs and didn’t reach double figures in goals for the first time all season.

Only one of the six teams North Carolina has defeated owns a winning record (Marist) and just one other one sits at .500 (Harvard). The Tar Heels have some work to do over the next month if they are to return to the NCAA tournament after a one-year hiatus.

High Point (-5)

One of the weekend’s more fascinating results came at Division I’s southernmost outpost: Jacksonville bagged a 12-10 victory over High Point to deal the Panthers their first Southern Conference loss of the season.

High Point went more than 20 minutes without scoring in the second half, and the Dolphins capitalized by building a four-goal lead. The Panthers still own victories over Duke and Virginia, but if they are to maintain at-large NCAA tournament hopes, they probably can’t allow many more games to slip away.

Cornell (-5)

There isn’t much of a secret to the Big Red: They are going to probably score somewhere in the teens and dare opponents to do better. The only problem for Cornell is three of them already have.

Penn became the latest team to sink the Big Red, securing a 16-15 victory in Ithaca. The Quakers managed seven goals in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner in the final minute. Cornell remains as dangerous an offensive team as there is, but it has yielded at least 31 shots on goal in each of its losses. That’s a lot of chances to provide a capable opponent.

IN

Penn

Even though the Quakers opened the year 0-3, the actual results weren’t terrible — one-goal losses to Maryland and Penn State sandwiched around a 10-goal drubbing at Duke. So while Penn had missed out on its usual early-season upset, it was plenty competitive.

Since then, the Quakers have rattled off victories over Villanova, Saint Joseph’s, Princeton and Cornell, scoring an average of 15.3 goals during the run. They’ll get a shot at Yale on Saturday when the Bulldogs visit Franklin Field.

OUT

Georgetown (previously No. 15)

The Hoyas trailed Marquette by seven goals in the third quarter of their Big East opener before scrambling to make things interesting in a 9-8 loss. Still, Georgetown matched its lowest scoring total of the season. Dating back to last season, the Hoyas have won 11 in a row when they’ve reached double figures — and getting there Saturday against Denver will not be an easy chore.