Power Ranking Top 5 Conferences Heading into 2015 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Season
The 2015 season is less than two weeks away for eager college lacrosse fans. It's time to take a look at the conferences that project to be the best this spring.
This article ranks the top five conferences heading into the season, projecting the most likely team to win each conference crown.
Now, let's take a look at lacrosse's own "Power Five."
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1. Atlantic Coast (ACC)
Favorite to Win: Duke
No conference in all of college lacrosse packs a more powerful punch than the ACC. Although the conference features only five members, all five are ranked among the top 10 teams in the USILA preseason coaches poll. It would be a surprise for one of the five teams to miss the national tournament at the end of the season.
No. 2 Notre Dame is the highest-ranked team in the preseason poll, but Duke is coming off back-to-back national championships. Until someone knocks off the reigning champions, it's the Blue Devils' conference to lose.
This is the first year without Maryland in the ACC, so the door is open for both the Fighting Irish and No. 4 Syracuse to further establish their new membership in the nation's best conference.
2. Ivy League
Favorite to Win: Cornell
For classic clashes of historically dominant teams, the Ivy League is college lacrosse's go-to conference. These prestigious schools take a back seat to the five exceptional ACC squads, but that's no knock on the Ivy League. More than half of the Ivy League's seven teams landed in the preseason poll.
The highest-ranked team is No. 10 Cornell, followed by No. 11 Harvard. No. 13 Penn and No. 15 Yale are also in the mix, as are Princeton and Brown, both of which received votes but ultimately fell just outside the preseason poll.
With the talent in this league so tightly packed, every team has a chance to get hot and win it.
3. Big Ten
Favorite to Win: Johns Hopkins
Make room for the new guy on the block. Formed for the 2015 season, the Big Ten is an established athletic conference that's just now trying to gain a foothold in college lacrosse. The two teams helping the new conference gain legitimacy in its first year are top-10 programs: No. 5 Johns Hopkins and No. 8 Maryland.
Hopkins joins the Big Ten after years of dominance as an independent team, while Maryland hops in as an ACC renegade. No. 14 Penn State could make some noise, but the rest of the teams are long shots to win the conference. Although Ohio State received votes in the preseason poll, the Buckeyes, the Wolverines and the Scarlet Knights are at least a year away from being true contenders.
As a whole, the Big Ten is a tremendous addition to college lacrosse.
4. Patriot League
Favorite to Win: Loyola
The Patriot League is no cakewalk. Some of the toughest teams in all of college lacrosse call this conference home. Don't believe me? Take it up with the future servicemen at Army or Navy.
No. 7 Loyola is the cream of the conference, as the Greyhounds are the Patriot's only top-10 program in the preseason poll. They're also the last team not named Duke to win the national championship. With nine teams, the Patriot is the largest conference in Division I lacrosse. But No. 18 Lehigh and No. 20 Army were the only other teams to squeak into the preseason poll.
Teams that received votes in the poll, such as Navy and Bucknell, must turn some heads during the season for the Patriot League to move up in this ranking.
5. Big East
Favorite to Win: Denver
Even though the Big East ranks fifth on this list, the 2015 national champion may hail from this conference. That's because the team that tops the preseason poll plays in the Big East.
However, No. 1 Denver is the only legitimate force keeping the floundering Big East afloat. The conference lost Syracuse (ACC) last year and will lose Rutgers (Big Ten) this year. If the Pioneers don't live up to the hype, it could be a long season for this conference.
The Big East's only other sparks of hope are St. John's (N.Y.) and Villanova, both of which received votes in the preseason poll. There's also a chance Marquette makes strides in its third season as a varsity program.
Honorable Mention: Colonial (CAA)
Favorite to Win: Drexel
A few teams from the Colonial Athletic Association could help boost this conference's reputation. No. 16 Drexel and No. 17 Hofstra both crashed the preseason poll, and vote-getters Massachusetts, Towson and Fairfield could be next to create havoc in the rankings.
Best Team Not from One of These Conferences
Albany (America East)
The America East has only one representative that received so much as a vote from the coaches in the preseason poll. No. 12 Albany is armed with the co-recipient of the 2014 Tewaaraton Trophy, though. Can attackman Lyle Thompson keep the Great Danes relevant without brother Miles?
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinBoilard
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