It’s conference tournament time! A redemptive time of year when all of one’s flaws from the regular season and conference play can be washed away with a little two-game winning streak. Chris started the ball rolling last week with the ACC Tournament preview. This week the nation’s attention turns from North Carolina to the Garden State as Penn State, Maryland, & Johns Hopkins travel to the great state of New Jersey to play in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament hosted by Rutgers. Directly below is the bracket for this week. The semifinal round is Thursday evening and the title game is on Saturday night. OFFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH: If it weren’t for the fact that Grant Ament existed in the same timline as Pat Spencer, Ament would probably be the undisputed best college lacrosse player in the country. Ament leads the nation in Points/Game, averaging 7.3 points a contest and has been playing some of his best lacrosse in conference play. While he only have two assists in Penn State’s win over Maryland in limited action, he was consistently excellent versus the rest of the Big Ten. Ament scored 8 points versus OSU (2Gs, 6As), another 8 versus Michigan (1G, 7As), 7 against Johns Hopkins (4Gs, 3As), and another 7 versus Rutgers on Sunday (0Gs, 7As). 30 points is a decent year for many players and Ament got that in four games against Big Ten defenses. It’s tough to find a college lacrosse player better than Pat Spencer in 2019. But if you had to pick one, Grant Ament might be the guy. One quick note about the PSU offense in general, they don't need a ton of shots to be effective. During the Penn State vs. Rutgers game this weekend a stat showed that PSU was 44th in the country in shots with 490 but still first in the nation in goals with 210. Penn State’s shooting percentage this year (42%) is one of the things that separates this team from some of the other greats in years past. Penn State is deadly when they can fire away with impunity, but they can do plenty of damage with only 30-35 shots in a game as well, as they showed against Rutgers when they had 14 goals on 37 total shots (26 on goal). DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH: Team captain Chris Sabia leads the Penn State defense. Sabia usually draws the opponent’s best offensive player, and is third on the team in GBs (27) & first in caused turnovers (16). Sabia has been a starter ever since he stepped on Penn State’s campus and if the Nittany Lions can keep playing the next four weeks like they have played the last three months, Sabia may finish his Penn State career in Philly for the Final Four. Tune in as Mitch Gerber caught up with senior captain Chris Sabia following the Big Ten regular season title celebration. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/t6UO91J00C — Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) April 28, 2019 PENN STATE WINS IF: Penn State wins if they can keep Rutgers under 12 goals. The Scarlet Knights were the only Big Ten team to have a good day offensively versus Penn State. Maryland got 10 goals when they played the Nittany Lions, but the Terps were down 8-0 after one quarter and Maryland didn’t really put up a fight until after Ament left the game in the second quarter due to an injury. Ament returned in the second half but he did not register a point the rest of the game. When Penn State plays defense like they did against Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, or Hopkins, they look unstoppable. Nevertheless, things get trickier when the Nittany Lions get into a shootout. Penn State is 3-1 when an opponent scores 13 or more goals. However, three of those games were decided by a single goal (Yale 14 vs. PSU 13, PSU 15 vs. Penn 14 and PSU 14 vs. Rutgers 13). Outside of beating Cornell 19 to 13 the Nittany Lions have had trouble with teams that can keep up with them offensively. I don’t know if Rutgers can have a repeat performance this Thursday like they did over the weekend, but if it becomes another shootout, Penn State could be in a precarious situation going into the fourth quarter. One more ⏮playback ⏮ to Saturday. We need you for the rematch on Thursday. : https://t.co/yodrlXlawA pic.twitter.com/XHXjWI55Rz — Penn State Men’s Lacrosse (@PennStateMLAX) April 29, 2019 OFFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH: The wunderkind Joey Epstein has been a blessing for Hopkins fans this season. I don’t know where the Jays would be this year were it not for Epstein’s 53 points (35Gs, 18As). Epstein is the only player with 30 or more goals on JHU and leads the team in assists. Epstein had a quiet game against Penn State last week, but he delivered on Saturday versus the Terps, as he finished with 6 points on the night (4Gs, 2As). The wunderkind Joey Epstein has been a blessing for Hopkins fans this season. I don’t know where the Jays would be this year were it not for Epstein’s 53 points (35Gs, 18As). Epstein is the only player with 30 or more goals on JHU and leads the team in assists. Epstein had a quiet game against Penn State last week, but he delivered on Saturday versus the Terps, as he finished with 6 points on the night (4Gs, 2As). DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH: Patrick Foley is JHU’s best defenseman. Hopkins has struggled on defense this year, but the unit stitched together a 3-2 conference record and had the best defensive performance of the year when they needed it most versus Maryland. Foley leads the team in caused turnovers (12), always has to face the opponent’s best player, and still found the time to get four points on the season (1G, 3 As). Patrick Foley is JHU’s best defenseman. Hopkins has struggled on defense this year, but the unit stitched together a 3-2 conference record and had the best defensive performance of the year when they needed it most versus Maryland. Foley leads the team in caused turnovers (12), always has to face the opponent’s best player, and still found the time to get four points on the season (1G, 3 As). JOHNS HOPKINS WINS IF: JHU will win over Maryland if Cole Williams can get rolling. Teams have been putting their best defender on Joey Epstein the last several weeks as Epstein’s has become JHU’s most dangerous threat on offense. That means Cole Williams has to step up and be the goal scorer Hopkins needs right now. Williams is a great player and one who I thought was going to do really well after his stellar sophomore year. However, he has had seven games with one (4) or zero goals (3) this season. Most of those were towards the start of the season when Epstein didn't draw as much attention as he does now. As teams have focused on Epstein more, Cole has had more time and space to play. When Cole Williams has time and space, very good things happen for Johns Hopkins. in his last four games versus Rutgers, Ohio State, Penn State, & Maryland, Williams has had three hat-tricks and played with a lot more confidence. JHU went 2-2 in those games, but outside of the Penn State game and the second half of the Ohio State game, the Blue Jays offense looked much more formidable and efficient than they did earlier in the season. That has a lot to do with Cole Williams connecting more on his shots and being the offensive threat many expected him to be going into the 2019 season. If Hopkins is going to beat Maryland, they are going to need Cole Williams to step up. Well... this weekend was pretty fun, huh? We hit the ⏪⏪ button to an unforgettable Saturday night in College Park. #GoHop #WeWantMore pic.twitter.com/Glbz4HzMzj — JHU Men's Lacrosse (@jhumenslacrosse) April 29, 2019 OFFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH: I was going to go with Jared Bernhardt here, but Logan Wisnauskas doesn’t get the credit he is due. Let's be clear here, Bernhardt is absolutely a great player and probably one of the top offensive players in the country. However, Wisnauskas has been having a wonderful year as well. Indeed, presently, Logan leads the team in points (69), is second to Bernhardt in goals with 38 to Bernhardt’s 42, & leads the team in assists with 31. Wisnauskas has really turned it on in the last third of the season, averaging 5.16 points/game in his last six games. I was going to go with Jared Bernhardt here, but Logan Wisnauskas doesn’t get the credit he is due. Let's be clear here, Bernhardt is absolutely a great player and probably one of the top offensive players in the country. However, Wisnauskas has been having a wonderful year as well. Indeed, presently, Logan leads the team in points (69), is second to Bernhardt in goals with 38 to Bernhardt’s 42, & leads the team in assists with 31. Wisnauskas has really turned it on in the last third of the season, averaging 5.16 points/game in his last six games. DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH: Curtis Corley has helped to lead a defensive unity that up until conference play had only given up more than nine goals twice in eight games. Corley is also second on the team in caused turnovers (8). The 2018 USILA Honorable Mention All-American has been one of the key parts of the Maryland defense this season. Nick Brozowski is also someone to watch on the Maryland defense. Brozowski doesn’t start, but the LSM leads the team in caused turnovers (9) and is 5th on the team in GBs (28). His energy helps to make the most of his limited time. MARYLAND WINS IF: Maryland should beat Hopkins if Danny Dolan has a good game. You hate to put it all on the goalie, but when Danny Dolan is on his game, Maryland is tough to beat. However, Maryland is vulnerable if Danny is having a below-average or bad day. Dolan has been solid in the net for the Terp this season, however there have been a couple major hiccups, namely versus Notre Dame earlier in the season and Penn State several weeks ago. Moreover, Dolan hasn’t had the best stretch of play in conference, as Michigan found the back of the net a dozen times when they played Maryland. Rutgers went off for nine goals in the first half of their game versus Maryland, before the Terps turned it around for the 16-13 win. Dolan had 10 saves in the Terps 10-9 overtime win over Ohio State a couple of games ago, but then gave up 16 versus Hopkins on Sunday. Again, when Dolan is on, Maryland’s tough to beat. But Maryland is not the same team when opponents get to him early or if he is off his game. OFFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH: Kieran Mullins is the engine that motors this Rutgers offense. Adam Charalambides is a great player and extremely fun to watch, but Mullins is the key on the offensive side of the ball for Rutgers. Mullins is tied for the team lead in points (59), second in goals (23), & first in assists (36), despite having played in only 12 of RU’s 14 games, Mullins has been on a tear, averaging 4.875 points/game in his last 8 contests. If Mullins can play in the Big Ten Tournament like he has the last two months, RU might have a chance to take home the AQ. Kieran Mullins is the engine that motors this Rutgers offense. Adam Charalambides is a great player and extremely fun to watch, but Mullins is the key on the offensive side of the ball for Rutgers. Mullins is tied for the team lead in points (59), second in goals (23), & first in assists (36), despite having played in only 12 of RU’s 14 games, Mullins has been on a tear, averaging 4.875 points/game in his last 8 contests. If Mullins can play in the Big Ten Tournament like he has the last two months, RU might have a chance to take home the AQ.<doc-sep>The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team earned the most Big Ten season honors ever on Tuesday since joining the conference. Adam Charalambides, Kieran Mullins, and Max Edelmann were all named to the First Team All-Big Ten, which is also a program best. All three players are team captains. Edelmann was also named Co-Specialist of the Year along with Justin Inacio of Ohio State. In addition, Kyle Pless was named Second Team All-Big Ten, while Owen Mead was given the Sportsmanship Award for Rutgers. “I’m very happy for the student-athletes who earned these postseason honors,” head coach Brian Brecht said. “They have all made a major impact on our team and been a big part of our success. I am very proud of their individual accomplishments and all of their contributions to our program this year.” Edelmann led the country with a 14.83 saves per game average and his 57.2% save percentage was tops in the Big Ten, as well as fourth best nationally. He produced at least 17 saves in a game six times this season. The redshirt senior allowed just 11.08 goals per game in 12 contests. Charalambides has been outstanding in his return after missing the past two seasons due to injury. He led the team with 45 goals this season, third most all-time on the program’s single-season record list. He averaged 3.2 goals per game this season, which is seventh most in the country and he has scored at least four goals in a game six times this season. Charalambides also scored a Big Ten best 18 goals in five conference regular season games. The redshirt sophomore’s 59 points overall this season is a career high as well. Mullins tied Charalambides with a team best 59 points but his 3.0 assists per game average was second most in the Big Ten and sixth best in the nation. His 4.92 points per game average was 12th best nationally. The junior produced 6 goals and 3 assists in a win over St. John’s earlier this season, earning him US Lacrosse National Player of the Week honors. Pless was second in the conference with a 1.64 caused turnovers per game average and picked up 32 ground balls this season. The senior was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week four times this season. Rutgers is the no. 4 seed in Thursday’s opening round of the Big Ten Tournament and will take on no. 1 seed Penn State at 5 p.m. The Scarlet Knights are hosting the postseason event at Highpoint.com Stadium and are looking to avenge last Saturday’s one goal loss against the Nittany Lions, who remain the top ranked team in the nation. Our full preview of the semifinal matchup can be read here.<doc-sep>
Judgement day has arrived for the Rutgers men’s lacrosse team. Despite an uneven and somewhat disappointing season so far, albeit based on high expectations, they have still done enough to have the opportunity to control its own destiny. The Scarlet Knights went 2-3 in Big Ten play and their upset road victory of then-no. 4 Ohio State ensured a fourth place finish, punching their ticket to the conference tournament in which they are hosting at Highpoint.com Stadium. Rutgers will take on no. 1 seed Penn State in Thursday’s opening round of the Big Ten Tournament at 5 p.m. No. 2 seed John’s Hopkins takes on rival and no. 3 seed Maryland in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. The winner’s will play in the championship game on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. All of the games will air live on the Big Ten Network, as well as streamed live here. It’s been a strange season for Rutgers, who enter Thursday’s contest with a 7-7 record overall and a RPI ranking of 22nd. All seven losses came against ranked foes. Their lone ranked win came against the Buckeyes, who are now ranked no. 15 and have an RPI of 13th. The Scarlet Knights held leads in the fourth quarter against three teams currently sitting in the top ten of this week’s Inside Lacrosse poll and RPI rankings, which are Syracuse, Maryland, and Penn State. That demonstrates how close they were to being in a much better position for an NCAA Tournament berth. Instead, they either win the Big Ten Tournament to earn an automatic berth or their season will be over. The Scarlet Knights have three of the best players not only in the Big Ten, but in the country with Adam Charalambides (3.2 goals per game; 7th best nationally), Kieran Mullins (4.92 points per game; 12th best nationally) and Max Edelmann (14.83 saves per game; 1st nationally). That was reaffirmed on Tuesday when all three were named First Team All-Big Ten, which was a program best since joining the conference. Kyle Pless was also named Second Team All-Big Ten and has been a defensive stalwart all season. Penn State is the highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 17.23 goals per game. They are led by Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Grant Ament (71 assists; 88 points), First Team selection Mac O’Keefe (51 goals; 65 points) and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Chris Sabia. In Saturday’s meeting, Ament had 7 assists in the one goal victory over Rutgers, while O’Keefe had 5 goals and 2 assists. For the Scarlet Knights, Charalambides had 2 goals and 4 assists, while Mullins had just 1 goal and 1 assist. They’ll need their dynamic duo to at least keep pace with the stars of PSU, as Rutgers benefited from a career game from Tommy Coyne, who scored 6 goals on Saturday after only having 10 goals entering the season finale. Of course, an unsung hero could emerge as well. Don’t forget about Rutgers’ Ryan Gallagher either, who has had a solid season with 21 goals and 19 assists. While it’s been frustrating to see Rutgers come so close multiple times to knocking off highly ranked teams this season, they should have confidence entering Thursday’s semifinal against no. 1 Penn State. The Scarlet Knights went toe to toe against the top ranked Nittany Lions last Saturday on the road. They held one goal leads twice against them in the fourth quarter and outshot PSU 46-37 in the game. The biggest issue was with face-off’s, as Penn State held an 18-11 advantage and is an area Rutgers needs to improve on in the rematch. The optimistic view is that it was unrealistic for RU to beat the top team in the nation twice in less than a week. Thursday’s rematch is the far more important game. The Nittany Lions, who went undefeated in conference play and have lost just once this season, produced an average margin of victory of 7.3 goals against the other four Big Ten opponents. The Scarlet Knights came so close to beating Penn State on the road and now face them on their home turf. After playing so many close games this season and falling just short, Rutgers is hopefully due to finally breakthrough. The group of seniors will leave Piscataway with the most wins of any class in program history, regardless of what happens on Thursday. However, this group has an opportunity to do something special this weekend.