Men's Lacrosse Hosts Ohio St., Noon Today, B1G Tournament

#19 men’s lacrosse hosts the hated and reviled Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the Big Ten tournament at noon today. The game will only air on BTN+ Ocho so if you have any interest in this game and are local you better go down and see it in person. And be advised that there are a number of other sporting events going on so traffic and parking might be difficult.

Here we go again…again. For the second straight year, Michigan will need consecutive wins over Ohio State to keep their season and AQ dreams alive. In 2023, Michigan knocked off the Buckeyes in the regular season finale, then beat them again in the conference tournament the following week, then upset Penn State in the semis and annihilated Maryland in the finals to gain their first-ever berth in the NCAA tournament. But they didn’t stop there: Michigan went on to shock Cornell to claim its first-ever NCAA tournament win, and eventually fell to future finalist Duke.  

So, the question is: Can they do it again?  I think they can! Re-Tourneyquest: Return to the Tourney, Part II: The Sequel - ONWARD HO!

Michigan has the pieces to make this happen. They have an excellent faceoff man (Wietfelt, 1st team B1G), a deadly finisher (Tiernan, also All-B1G), some disruptive defenders (Pederson, All B1G, Roberts somehow not All-B1G) and a goalie (Taylor) who is capable of getting hot. If they can cut down on turnovers and shoot efficiently, they can do it. 

Ohio State is very well-coached so they always have a high floor. They’re never bad, always tough and sometimes very good. This year’s team is not great and they’re in the same boat as Michigan, needing to win out. They have a strong defense and a great goalie but like Michigan are also a poor shooting team. Last week, Michigan exorcised some demons and shot well and, despite a butthole-clenching last quarter, were up easy on the Buckeyes the whole game, at one point holding a 13-6 lead. Their 297-pound goalie nicknamed “Big Tasty” did not have his best game, which was a godsend for a Michigan team that was coming off 15% and 14% shooting performances. Seeing the ball go in the net could be big for this team. 

So, it all comes down to this: an elimination game against our archrivals. If Michigan gets past the Buckeyes, they get a date with the red hot Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, currently ranked #3 in the country. But here goes nothing!  GO BLUE!!!

Win the whole f'in thing (youtube.com)