The brackets were officially unveiled for the 2022 NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse tournaments Sunday night, with a few surprises. Here’s what you need to know:
Who’s in?
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In the 18-team men’s field, Maryland received the No. 1 overall seed after going 14-0 and beating Rutgers, 17-7, in the Big Ten Tournament championship. Here’s a look at the teams and their resumes, including Rating Percentage Index (RPI), which takes into account strength of schedule:
No. 1 seed Maryland: 14-0, Big Ten champion, 1st in RPI
No. 2 seed Georgetown: 15-1, Big East champion, 2nd in RPI
No. 3 seed Penn: 10-4, Ivy League champion, 4th in RPI
No. 4 seed Yale: 11-4, Ivy League finalist, 6th in RPI
No. 5 seed Princeton: 9-4, 5th in Ivy League, 3rd in RPI
No. 6 seed Rutgers: 13-3, Big Ten finalist, 5th in RPI
No. 7 seed Cornell: 11-4, Ivy League semifinalist, 8th in RPI
No. 8 seed Brown: 10-5, Ivy League semifinalist, 10th in RPI
Boston University: 12-4, Patriot League champion, 12th in RPI
Delaware: 11-5, Colonial Athletic Association champion, 25th in RPI
Harvard: 8-4, 6th in Ivy League, 15th in RPI
Manhattan: 8-6, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, 48th in RPI
Ohio State: 10-5, Big Ten semifinalist, 14th in RPI
Richmond: 11-4, Southern Conference champion, 13th in RPI
Robert Morris: 10-5, ASUN Conference champion, 29th in RPI
Saint Joseph’s: 14-3, Northeast Conference champion, 16th in RPI
Vermont: 11-6, America East champion, 35th in RPI
Virginia: 11-3, Atlantic Coast Conference champion, 9th in RPI
In the 29-team women’s tournament, Atlantic Coast Conference champion North Carolina secured the No. 1 seed, while ACC runner-up Boston College received the No. 3 seed. Maryland, which won the Big Ten Tournament title for the first time since 2018, got the No. 2 seed. Here’s a look at the teams and their resumes:
No. 1 seed North Carolina: 18-0, ACC champion, 1st in RPI
No. 2 seed Maryland: 16-1, Big Ten champion, 2nd in RPI
No. 3 seed Boston College: 16-3, ACC finalist, 3rd in RPI
No. 4 seed Northwestern: 13-4, Big Ten semifinalist, 4th in RPI
No. 5 seed Syracuse: 13-5, ACC quarterfinalist, 6th in RPI
No. 6 seed Loyola Maryland: 19-1, Patriot League champion, 8th in RPI
No. 7 seed Florida: 15-4, American Athletic Conference champion, 5th in RPI
No. 8 seed Stony Brook: 14-2, America East regular-season champion*, 9th in RPI
Central Michigan: 12-7, Mid-American Conference champion, 74th in RPI
Connecticut: 13-4, Big East finalist, 14th in RPI
Denver: 17-2, Big East champion, 10th in RPI
Drexel: 11-7, Colonial Athletic Association champion, 42nd in RPI
Duke: 15-3, ACC quarterfinalist, 13th in RPI
Fairfield: 12-6, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, 38th in RPI
Jacksonville: 13-4, ASUN Conference champion, 21st in RPI
James Madison: 13-4, CAA regular-season champion*, 11th in RPI
Johns Hopkins: 10-8, Big Ten semifinalist, 15th in RPI
Massachusetts: 16-3, Atlantic 10 finalist, 20th in RPI
Mercer: 13-4, Big South champion, 39th in RPI
Michigan: 10-6, 4th in Big Ten, 18th in RPI
Mount St. Mary’s: 15-4, Northeast Conference champion, 45th in RPI
Notre Dame: 9-9, ACC semifinalist, 16th in RPI
Princeton: 13-3, Ivy League champion, 12th in RPI
Rutgers: 15-3, Big Ten finalist, 7th in RPI
Saint Joseph’s: 14-6, Atlantic 10 champion, 30th in RPI
Southern California: 13-4, Pac-12 semifinalist, 17th in RPI
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Stanford: 12-6, Pac-12 champion, 27th in RPI
Vermont: 14-4, America East champion, 33rd in RPI
Virginia: 9-9, ACC semifinalist, 19th in RPI
*- Stony Brook and James Madison were not allowed to participate in their conference tournaments because of their universities’ decisions to leave the America East and the Colonial Athletic Association, respectively, beginning the 2022-23 academic year.
Who got left out?
Here’s a look at some of the notable teams on the men’s side who didn’t make the cut:
Duke: 11-6, 3rd in ACC, 7th in RPI
Notre Dame: 8-4, 2nd in ACC, 11th in RPI
Army West Point: 12-4, Patriot League finalist, 18th in RPI
Jacksonville: 14-3, Southern Conference finalist, 24th in RPI
Villanova: 9-6, Big East finalist, 19th in RPI
Denver: 9-6, Big East semifinalist, 20th in RPI
Johns Hopkins: 7-9, Big Ten semifinalist, 21st in RPI
North Carolina: 8-6, 4th in ACC, 17th in RPI
Syracuse: 4-10, 5th in ACC, 30th in RPI
When do the games start?
Opening-round games begin for the men’s tournament on Wednesday, while the women’s tournament gets underway Friday. Here’s a look at the schedule:
MEN
Opening round
Manhattan at Vermont, Wednesday, 6 p.m.
Robert Morris at Delaware, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
First round
Boston University at No. 5 seed Princeton, Saturday, noon
Richmond at No. 3 seed Penn, Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
Saint Joseph’s at No. 4 seed Yale, Saturday, 5 p.m.
Virginia at No. 8 seed Brown, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Manhattan/Vermont at No. 1 seed Maryland, Sunday, noon
Harvard at No. 6 seed Rutgers, Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
Ohio State at No. 7 seed Cornell, Sunday, 5 p.m.
Delaware/Robert Morris at No. 2 seed Georgetown, Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
WOMEN
First round
Drexel at No. 8 seed Stony Brook, Friday, noon
Rutgers vs. Saint Joseph’s, Friday, 2:30 p.m. (at Stony Brook, New York)
Duke vs. Johns Hopkins, Friday, 3 p.m. (at College Park)
Mount St. Mary’s at No. 6 seed Loyola Maryland, Friday, 3 p.m.
Denver vs. Vermont, Friday, 4 p.m. (at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts)
Fairfield at No. 5 seed Syracuse, Friday, 4 p.m.
Southern California vs. Virginia, Friday, 5 p.m. (at Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Mercer at No. 7 seed Florida, Friday, 5 p.m.
Central Michigan at No. 4 seed Northwestern, Friday, 5 p.m.
Massachusetts vs. Princeton, Friday, 7 p.m.
Connecticut vs. James Madison, Friday, 7 p.m. (at Loyola Maryland)
Jacksonville vs. Stanford, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (at Gainesville, Florida)
Notre Dame vs. Michigan, Friday, 8 p.m.
Second round
Southern California/Virginia at No. 1 seed North Carolina, Sunday, noon
Duke/Johns Hopkins at No. 2 seed Maryland, Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
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Denver/Vermont at No. 3 seed Boston College, Sunday, 1 p.m.
How can I watch?
ESPNU will broadcast all of the men’s tournament games leading up to the quarterfinals. The semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN2, and the championship game will be televised on ESPN.
The first and second rounds of the women’s tournament will be livestreamed on ESPN+. ESPNU will broadcast the quarterfinals and semifinals, and the championship game will be televised on ESPN.
When and where is championship weekend?
As is tradition, the champions will be crowned on Memorial Day weekend.
The men’s semifinals and championship game will be held Saturday, May 28, and Monday, May 30, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
The women’s semifinals and championship game will take place Friday, May 27, and Sunday, May 29, at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field in Baltimore.