Men's lacrosse team seeking berth in NCAA Tourney
Shawn Gauby
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Sports
Even though the Dragons have a better record now than at this same point last year, they are in an even worse situation this time around when it comes to making the big dance. In 2007, they had a marquee win against then No. 1 Virginia. This year, however, the Dragons do not have that signature win as they dropped decisions against highly-ranked Notre Dame and Virginia. Additionally, the rest of Drexel's non-conference schedule is suspect because they play Division-I bottom-feeders like Saint Joseph's and Saint John's. Their best non-conference win was against Albany and the Great Danes were 0-4 when the Dragons played them.
To build on that, the rest of the CAA is weaker when compared to last season. Sacred Heart is the only team in the conference to improve by more than a game, but their 6-5 record is merely a smoke screen. Five of their six wins were against the bottom 15 teams in Division-I.
All those factors combined spell trouble for the Dragons, as that 11-3 mark now looks tarnished. If they take care of business against Villanova, they will likely face the Wildcats again in the first round of the CAA Tournament. Villanova is 5-8 overall, but they shocked last year's regular season champion Towson and they potentially knocked the Tigers out of postseason play.
"It is going to be a tough game and they're a good team," Bickford said.
Even if the Dragons beat the Wildcats in the regular season finale and the first round of the postseason, it may not be enough to earn an at-large berth.
After the Dragons' most recent win against Sacred Heart and asked whether his team has done enough to make the NCAA Tournament, Bates responded: "No. Given the landscape, I'm at halftime checking the scores. Outcomes like Loyola beating Georgetown don't help us because then Georgetown is going to steal an at-large bid. There's really only three at-large bids left, but we control our destiny. We're trying for that automatic qualifier so we don't have to worry about it."
To build on that, the rest of the CAA is weaker when compared to last season. Sacred Heart is the only team in the conference to improve by more than a game, but their 6-5 record is merely a smoke screen. Five of their six wins were against the bottom 15 teams in Division-I.
All those factors combined spell trouble for the Dragons, as that 11-3 mark now looks tarnished. If they take care of business against Villanova, they will likely face the Wildcats again in the first round of the CAA Tournament. Villanova is 5-8 overall, but they shocked last year's regular season champion Towson and they potentially knocked the Tigers out of postseason play.
"It is going to be a tough game and they're a good team," Bickford said.
Even if the Dragons beat the Wildcats in the regular season finale and the first round of the postseason, it may not be enough to earn an at-large berth.
After the Dragons' most recent win against Sacred Heart and asked whether his team has done enough to make the NCAA Tournament, Bates responded: "No. Given the landscape, I'm at halftime checking the scores. Outcomes like Loyola beating Georgetown don't help us because then Georgetown is going to steal an at-large bid. There's really only three at-large bids left, but we control our destiny. We're trying for that automatic qualifier so we don't have to worry about it."
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