Our weekly rankings are in!
Well, we’re officially out of the true regular season as this is the last poll that takes places without at least one conference tournament happening. The Big Ten starts this weekend after its 10-game regular season. Then you have the ACC, which won’t play a tournament this year, but man could we use one to make some sense out of what’s happening there.
Public ballots and weekly rankings are nothing without praise and shame, so here is our scoreboard:
Ryan Conwell’s picks aligning with the national poll: 3
Nick Zoroya’s picks aligning with the national poll: 4
Everyone agreeing: 2
If you’d like to see our previous polls, you can find them here:
Week 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10
Key
RC’s Ballot – NZ’s Ballot
National Poll
2021 NCAA DI Men’s Weekly Rankings – Week 11 Top 20
Note: The following are the official Inside Lacrosse Media Poll ballots are from Lacrosse All Stars’ Ryan Conwell and Nick Zoroya.
1 Maryland (RC) – Maryland (NZ)
National Poll: Maryland (10-0)
Maryland needed a late comeback to avoid its first loss of the year at Hopkins, but it did it. At this point, the Terps are a lock for making the NCAA Tournament but could make things interesting if they lose in the Big Ten Tournament.
2 Duke (RC) – Duke (NZ)
National Poll: Duke (12-1)
Duke has now played five ACC games, lost one, and came out on top in overtime in three of its four wins. The Blue Devils are definitely not as dominant as Maryland, but sitting at the end of April with a single loss is living up to their preseason hype.
3 Rutgers (RC) – North Carolina (NZ)
National Poll: North Carolina (10-2)
I’m still the crazy one with Rutgers up here at No. 3 in my weekly rankings, but Nick and the other voters have UNC. They’re my No. 4, so I won’t fight that one much. The Tar Heels get a second shot at Duke, this time on their home field to try and claim the ACC title.
4 North Carolina (RC) – Notre Dame (NZ)
National Poll: Notre Dame (6-3)
While I have North Carolina here, Nick and the other voters dropped the Irish to this spot in their rankings following their bad week of losing to both Duke and North Carolina back-to-back, also known as “pulling a Denver.” OK, bad joke, but still true.
5 Notre Dame (RC) – Georgetown (NZ)
National Poll: Lehigh (9-0)
Now is when we all start splitting. I have Notre Dame here in my weekly rankings, one spot behind everyone else (I don’t lose sleep over one spot). Nick kept Georgetown where it was from a week ago while the Mountain Hawks are not a top-five team to us as they stay undefeated in Patriot play.
6 Lehigh (RC) – Lehigh (NZ)
National Poll: Georgetown (10-1)
LAS agrees that Lehigh should be at No. 6, just one spot behind the national poll, while the Hoyas climb up a spot due to Virginia’s fall. Georgetown is looking primed for its third-straight Big East title at the moment if it can continue to fend of Denver.
7 Denver (RC) – Rutgers (NZ)
National Poll: Virginia (10-4)
I have Denver a spot ahead of Georgetown, which has to be in the minority. Nick has Rutgers still higher than the national poll at No. 7, but this is where UVA fell to, still ahead of Syracuse by a mere two votes.
8 Georgetown (RC) – Denver (NZ)
National Poll: Syracuse (6-4)
Syracuse goes up to No. 8 nationally after its second win over the Hoos, whereas Nick and I put our respective Big East No. 2 here. It makes sense, because these spots in the poll nationally (No. 7-9) are separated by just three points.
9 Syracuse (RC) – Richmond (NZ)
National Poll: Rutgers (8-2)
I bumped the Orange up to No. 9 in my weekly rankings, and Nick put the Spiders into his top 10 as they edge closer to locking up the SoCon for good.
10 Virginia (RC) – Syracuse (NZ)
National Poll: Denver (10-3)
Nationally, Denver fills in the No. 10 spot, sliding in behind the UVA/Syracuse/Rutgers logjam. For myself and Nick, the logjam is still taking up this spot.
11 Richmond (RC) – Virginia (NZ)
National Poll: Army (6-3)
So, for No. 11, Nick and I both have Virginia teams, but man, they could not be much more different. Nick had UVA at No. 8 last week, so it’s not a huge drop for the Cavs even though it seems like it nationally. The national poll has Army here, higher than both of us.
12 Drexel (RC) – Drexel (NZ)
National Poll: Navy (5-2)
We agree again! Drexel kept Hofstra in the midst of its now three-game losing skid, which is keeping the Dragons near the top of the CAA heap at the moment. Nick and I basically swapped Navy and Drexel for the No. 12/13 spots in our weekly rankings.
13 Navy (RC) – Navy (NZ)
National Poll: Drexel (7-2)
While Drexel has had sustained success, Navy has had to claw into the national picture following a midseason Covid shutdown. But this win over Army was massive for the Midshipmen and shows they do belong in the conversation for the Patriot league.
14 Army (RC) – Army (NZ)
National Poll: Delaware (9-2)
This was a bigger fall for Army in both of our ballots, as it picked up its third loss of the year. The Black Knights still don’t have any bad losses but are looking like they will need a Patriot AQ to see the NCAAs.
15 Ohio State (RC) – Delaware (NZ)
National Poll: Richmond (6-4)
I have Ohio State still a few spots above others, but the Buckeyes are still solidly the No. 3 team in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, it’s looking more and more like that will be all they can claim this year if they don’t find a way to beat Maryland and/or Rutgers.
16 Delaware (RC) – UMBC (NZ)
National Poll: Villanova (6-3)
I have Delaware a spot behind Nick and two behind the national poll, but that’s just because it hovered this week for me. Nick bumped UMBC up a few spots following its Stony Brook win, while Villanova is gaining some voting momentum.
17 Loyola (RC) – Stony Brook (NZ)
National Poll: Albany (7-3)
I still have Loyola ranked, but I do get why the Greyhounds are falling off the radar (looking at you, Nick). With Navy’s rise, Loyola’s looking like the No. 4 team in the Patriot, which is not a great spot to be. The America East continues to make very little sense, which is why its teams are all sprinkled through this 15+ range of the rankings.
18 Villanova (RC) – Villanova (NZ)
National Poll: UMBC (7-2)
I finally added ‘Nova to my weekly rankings. The Wildcats definitely deserve it. But how high they can go is still to be seen. Do they have what it takes to knock off Georgetown and Denver in the Big East Tournament?
19 Stony Brook (RC) – Albany (NZ)
National Poll: Stony Brook (8-4)
Stony Brook stumbles a little after its loss this past weekend, but it’s still doing enough to stay ranked in my book. It’s also made easier with Vermont dropping off.
20 Albany (RC) – Ohio State (NZ)
National Poll: Saint Joseph’s (7-3)
The pride of the NEC makes the No. 20 spot in the national poll, but we’re not in agreement there. I still have a few teams in front of St. Joe’s, while Albany is hanging on by the skin of its teeth.
RC’s Dropped Out:
Hofstra (18), Vermont (19)
NZ’s Dropped Out:
Towson (18), Vermont (20)
RC’s Next Teams In:
These are the ones with the best shot at making the top 20 in the coming weeks, not in order: High Point, Towson, UMBC, Saint Joseph’s.
NZ’s Next Teams In:
High Point, Loyola
RC’s Who Did I Leave Out?
UMBC (18), Saint Joseph’s (20)
NZ’s Who Did I Leave Out?
Saint Joseph’s (20)
