February 18 College Lacrosse Picks and Predictions

Last weekend was full of massive upsets. Teams were dropping left right and center. The slate for this weekend is absolutely massive. I boiled it down to my two absolutely favorite picks this weekend. Let's get right into it

Rutgers -3.5 (-385) vs Army (+265) O/U 24.5

The battle of the Knights goes down this Saturday in West Point, New York. Rutgers is looking for their third win of the season while the troops are in the hunt for their first. With the large number of games taking place this weekend I have a feeling this will not be on a lot of bettors’ cards. The Black Knights of Army have won 15 of the previous 20 meetings between these two teams and are 60-24 all time. I am definitely leaning towards the troops and the points but that is not my official pick here. The over/under is set at 24.5 and in their last 20 games they’ve only gone over that number once. Army is living in a post Brendan Nichtern world and that can come with some growing pains. Rutgers is also working on replacing some once familiar faces. With all that being said I am going with the Under here.

The Pick: Under 24.5

Loyola Maryland -1.5 (-130) vs Johns Hopkins (+100) O/U 22.5

There are four Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse teams within the city of Baltimore. Johns Hopkins and Loyola just so happen to be two of them and they are only 2 miles apart. Hopkins is 49-9 against the Greyhounds and with both of these teams coming out of major upsets last weekend, there is bound to be magic. Loyola defeated the reigning national champion Maryland Terrapins 12-7. Johns Hopkins beat Georgetown 13-12. I am aware of the fact that Hopkins lost to UNC earlier this week but they showed plenty of good within that loss. This Blue Jay team looks revitalized in a way many were hoping to see again. It is attributed to their new “positionless offense” thanks to new offensive coordinator and alum, John Crawley. Their goalie Tim Marcille is going to be one of the biggest factors in this game. If he can erase possessions like he has been, they will be hard to overcome. He currently boasts a .604 save percentage, not to mention a goal of his own. The Greyhounds on the other hand have only played one game this season but it just so happens to have been one of the biggest upsets in recent history. For me, only seeing one game it's hard to say whether that represents what Loyola is going to look like this year or they just so happened to catch the champs napping. I know Hopkins is coming off of a loss but they have a bigger sample size having played three games. I like the Blue Jays here. They feel like the more complete team at this point. I’m ok with being proven wrong but 49-9 all time is quite telling. When it comes to claiming Baltimore, I am rolling with Hop straight up.

The Pick: Johns Hopkins (+100)

Stay tuned for another blog dropping soon with my predictions for next time. If you like my picks, or disagree with me, let me know on Twitter @t_hohenshelt. As always lets have ourselves a weekend and make some money, responsibly.