NCAA men’s lacrosse betting odds, picks: Best bets for college lacrosse Week 2

Richmond University (-2.5) vs. Bucknell

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

We start Saturday off with a matchup between Richmond and Bucknell. After pummeling Mercer in its opening matchup, Bucknell lost to Robert Morris, 12-9. Now it’ll take on a Richmond team that suffered a tough, but admirable loss to then top-ranked Maryland. 

Bucknell’s defense struggled mightily against Robert Morris, using three different goalies and only stopping five of 17 shots. The Bison are also without last year’s starting faceoff specialist, Nick Crovatto, and have deployed a faceoff trio that went a combined 37.5% against Robert Morris last week. They’ll have their work cut out for them against Richmond’s Jared Chenoy, who went 51.8% last season and 45% against one of the top faceoff men in the nation in Maryland’s Luke Wierman in their first game.

On the flip side, Richmond’s offensive efficiency against Maryland was dismal, scoring on just 10.3% of its possessions. Yet, a poor performance is to be expected against a Terps defense that ranks 12th in defensive efficiency. In fact, the Spiders actually outshot the Terps, but saw 78.9% of their shots saved. This is a good “buy low” spot on a team that got its toughest opponent out of the way and had two weeks to prepare for Bucknell. Bet Richmond to cover the 2.5-point spread (-115 on DraftKings.)

Pick: Richmond -2.5

Maryland (-4.5) vs. Syracuse

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.

In arguably the biggest matchup of the weekend, Syracuse travels to take on the 10th-ranked Terps in their first meeting since 1997. The Orange are looking to improve to 4-0 on the season, while Maryland looks to get back in the win column following its first loss in 20 games.

Syracuse has looked impressive to start the season, but this matchup with Maryland will be its biggest test yet. While the Syracuse defense has looked the best it has in years, it’ll have its work cut out against a Maryland offense that should get a lot of opportunities thanks to its faceoff advantage. The Orange have only faced off at 49.27% in their three games against unranked opponents and will face Lacrosse Reference’s second-overall ranked faceoff specialist Luke Wierman, who’s gone 71.8% at the stripe through two games.

Additionally, Syracuse’s two biggest weaknesses are its 20.5% turnover rate (10th worst) and time of possession, which ranks just 36th despite playing three unranked teams. The Orange are going to have to make the most of their possessions when facing a Maryland defense that has allowed an average of just 8.9 goals per game in its past 20 games.

Maryland will be without starting goalie Logan McNaney, who will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. Yet, backup Teddy Dolan, who started for three seasons at Binghamton and posted a 55.1 save percentage, should be more than capable as McNaney’s replacement.

Maryland’s loss to Loyola was an ugly one, but it still managed to dominate in numerous categories, including outshooting the Greyhounds 42-26. Where Maryland really struggled was getting shots on net, and when shots did hit the cage, they were stuffed by Luke Staudt, who stopped 73.1% of the Terps shots.

Ultimately, I think we’ll see some positive regression for Maryland and negative regression for ‘Cuse. I like the Terps to be able to build a lead and win handedly against a young Syracuse team. Bet Maryland -4.5 (-110 on Caesars.)

Pick: Maryland -4.5

Ohio State (-1.5) vs. North Carolina

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

The weekend wraps with a Sunday matchup between two undefeated teams in the Ohio State Buckeyes and North Carolina Tar Heels.

Both teams have displayed offensive outbursts, yet when you consider their opponents, those offensive performances are less impressive. We shouldn’t be surprised the Buckeyes hung 15 and 19 goals on Air Force and Cleveland State respectively, or that the Tar Heels handed Mercer a 25-3 loss to open the season. However, it’d also be foolish to expect those types of team totals in a game featuring two of Division I’s top defenses.

The Buckeyes defense has held its opponents to an average of just 9.5 goals through two games and that still feels like a relatively higher than expected amount for a defense that features Bobby Van Buren and Marcus Hudgins.

As for UNC, the Collin Krieg-led defense has allowed an average of five goals in two games and held opponents to just a 9.1% efficiency. UNC’s stout defense, paired with an equally formidable Buckeyes defense and Ohio State’s slowest ranked offensive pace, should keep this total below 26.5. Bet under 26.5 at -120 on DraftKings.

Pick: Under 26.5