Schooling Schooler: Countdown to the End
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
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| "Paging Dr. Kevorkian. Paging a Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The patient is ready." |
'Schooling Schooler' is a Men's Collegiate Lacrosse
Association pick 'em competition between LMO's Jac Coyne and Nick
Schooler, a current marine biology Master’s candidate at UC
Santa Barbara as well as a former All-American and two-time
national champion for the Gauchos. Coyne and Schooler will be
picking games from the MCLA every week during the course of the
season.
It’s time to put this thing to bed. For good.
It’s one last hurrah for Nick to prove he knows something
about MCLA lacrosse because, honestly, after his sorry performance
in the regular season, there are serious questions about his
proficiency. But once he again fails this task, we’ll have to
give a call to the Dr. Kevorkian of pick 'em contests.
My abilities? Bordering on flawless, and likely making some
scientists wishful they could map my genome, but that’s what
you’ve come to expect.
Since a marine biologist has been no contest for me, I probably
should put out a feeler to Stephen Hocking or some other big brain
to compete against next year, if only to close the gap a little
bit.
Nick and I will be picking the first round of the MCLA Division I
tournament (my picks for Division II are below), which begins on
Tuesday at 3 p.m. EDT and finishes up on Saturday evening.
I’ll be heading out to Denver on Thursday morning, so this
will be the last competition of the year.
Also, before I forget, if you’re interested in catching a
little MCLA action, the Division I semifinals on Friday
night and the two championship games on Saturday night will
all be televised on Fox College Sports. Check it out. You
won’t be disappointed.
On to the games…
No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 8 BYU, 7
p.m.
SCHOOLER: I have the Spartans winning this game
for one reason only: I want to see them play Michigan one more
time. The third time will be the charm. And having the Wolverines
fall in the quarters will be like the good old days. Also, BYU has
struggled this season. I saw them play against UCSB and was not
impressed. I like the match up, but don't see BYU pulling this one
out.
COYNE: Kind of a tough choice here. I picked BYU at the
beginning of the year to win it all and I have a fading crush on
Sparty, so this will be an emotional decision for me. Everybody
else in this league seems to think that Colorado is the best team
since the Gait-led Syracuse squads, and BYU handled them in the
last outing, so maybe something has clicked for the Cougars. As
Nick said, BYU has been less than impressive this season, but I
think they’re playing a little bit better than State right
now. I’ll take the Cougs by two in a low-scoring affair.
No. 10 Simon Fraser vs. No. 7 Florida State,
7 p.m.
SCHOOLER: One of the few upsets of the first
round. I know that I said I would never pick Simon Fraser to win
again this season, but this is the postseason. They definitely put
a lot of work into scheduling tough this season and I see that
paying off big. Especially since the tough scheduling is what got
them the nod over UCSB. Florida State has slid under the radar all
season, hitting a low point with their loss to Texas and not
suffering in the polls for it. I think they might get caught
looking ahead to the Chapman game. I see SFU winning by at least
two goals.
COYNE: I think this game will have the highest
entertainment value of any of the opening round match-ups. Not only
will there be lots of goals, but I think the final score will be
very close. Fraser lost their edge in the PNCLL tourney game. They,
like the rest of America, probably didn’t know that they
didn’t have to get to the .500 mark to earn a bid, so once
they were assured of that, they let their foot off the gas
pedal and Oregon worked them. Now they need to get that fire
back. Florida State has already gone through that once this season
and will know how to dial it back up after the embarrassment in the
first round of the SELC tourney. Give me the ‘Noles by a
deuce.
No. 11 Colorado vs. No. 6 Oregon, 7
p.m.
SCHOOLER: I would love to see Colorado pull off
the upset here. Jac's head will probably explode if this happens.
For some reason, Jac has drawn this imaginary line that keeps any
team with a sub .500 record out of nationals regardless of how well
they have done or how many top 10 teams they have beaten (including
a team that hasn't lost in two years, Michigan). It’s a
typical response from a person who has never played the game of
lacrosse.
These guys are for real. They had some problems internally but seem
to have cleared that up. I do not condone firing your coach
mid-season, but in this case, it seemed warranted. They were really
having some problems early, but turned it on late. I feel bad for
Oregon. I would not want to play the Buffs in the first round. I
see Colorado winning with a slight home field advantage by two
goals.
COYNE: At one time I would have risen to the bait Nick is
fishing with above, but, frankly, I’ve moved past that
debacle. I can lead a horse to water, but I cannot make it
drink.
As for the game, assuming both teams play at their best, it’s
probably a toss-up, but that’s a big assumption. Does playing
near home help or hinder the Buffs? Do the Ducks play better or
worse at night? There are plenty of variables out there and,
regardless of whether you believe my assessment of their tournament
worthiness, I think everyone can agree that CU has been
inconsistent this year. In the end, I think the seeds will hold and
the Oregon attack will be able to take advantage of the physical
play by the Colorado close defenders and score one or two more
goals.
No. 12 Florida vs. No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth,
7 p.m.
SCHOOLER: Damn you, Florida! If they had just let
FSU handle them, I would have been picking UCSB to win it all this
season. So because of that, the Gators are going down. Duluth has
been prepping all season for Nationals, with only three losses
coming against the Nos. 1, 2, and 3 teams. They will not let us
down in the first round. I see the Bulldogs winning by two goals in
this one.
COYNE: An upset here wouldn’t shock me. Florida is
playing very well right now and the Gators should have a lot of
confidence coming off their run to the SELC crown. Add to that the
Bulldogs haven’t played a competitive game in a month, and
there is definitely room for trouble. I’m not seeing it,
though. Duluth is a veteran team that should be able to handle the
lay-off and will advance to the quarterfinals before being
eliminated.
No. 13 Illinois vs. No. 4
Chapman, 4 p.m.
SCHOOLER: I rode the Fighting Illini bandwagon for most of
the season while Jac has clung to some hope that Lindenwood would
turn it on at the end. While Jac may be able to pick the winners of
obscure matchups I know how these conference and national
tournaments work. But I can't go with Illinois in this one. Partly
because of my loyalty to the SLC and partly because Illinois has
not seen a team of Chapman's caliber all season. I see Chaptown
winning by at least seven in this one.
COYNE: It’ll be closer than seven goals because the
Illini have a decent goalie, but Chaptown will advance. And, for
the record, I was pulling for the Hawkeyes to make a magical
run in the GRLC playoffs. I think they would have done it if they
didn't have to play any of the other teams.
No. 14 Cal Poly vs. No. 3 Arizona State, 4
p.m.
SCHOOLER: Peaking early and dominating the WCLL,
some have Cal Poly pulling off the upset, but I don't. I can't
claim SLC loyalty here because I am pretty loyal to the WCLL, as
well. After seeing the epic SLC championship game against Chapman,
ASU is going to be tough for any team to take down. They have a lot
of depth and some real ballers on their team. I see the Sun Devils
going deep into their bench and winning by at least seven
goals.
COYNE: Ballers? If you say so, “bro.” The Sun
Devils have flaws, but they won’t be exposed until at least
the semifinals, and even then ASU might have enough offensive
weapons to offset the holes. I really liked what I saw in that game
against Chapman in the SLC championships, and if they can mirror
that they should beat Poly by five.
No. 15 Boston College vs. No. 2 Colorado State,
4 p.m.
SCHOOLER: I think that Jac and I can agree on one
thing: CSU = National Champs. Enough said.
COYNE: The Rams are certainly the logical pick if someone
is going to end Michigan’s run, but they’ll have their
hands full in this game. Will they lose? No, but I bet
they’ll probably get a little queasy when they look up in the
third quarter and see they aren’t winning by as much as they
thought they would. I’ll take Colorado State by three.
No. 16 Texas State vs. No. 1 Michigan, 4
p.m.
SCHOOLER: Not much to say here. Texas State would
not be a tournament team without winning the AQ. An LSA team has
not won a tournament game since Texas A&M back in 2003 or 2004.
I'm going with the Wolverines in a snoozer. Michigan by eight,
at the least. Probably giving some of their backups and seniors
some glory.
COYNE: It's always nice to see new blood in the tourney,
but unfortunately when we get it, it typically comes in the form of
a No. 16 seed. That being said, Texas gave the Wolverines a wake-up
call in this game last year, so it might be interesting for a
little while. Michigan by at least five.
Nick has it in his mind that somehow he’ll be able to pick
better in the playoffs, so he wanted the world to know his
predictions for the rest of the bracket. Below that are my picks
for the first round of the MCLA Division II tournament.
Nick’s Bracket
Quarterfinals
Michigan State over Michigan by 1 [COYNE: Go
Sparty!]
Chapman over Duluth by 4
Colorado State over Simon Fraser by 2
Arizona State over Colorado by 2
Semis
Chapman over Michigan State by 3
Colorado State over Arizona State by 1
Finals
Colorado State over Chapman by 1
Jac’s MCLA Division
II picks
No. 9 Grove City
vs. No. 8 Western
Oregon, 1 p.m.
This game should be a beauty. I wonder how much of a
factor the altitude will play for these two teams with relatively
thin numbers. I’m going with WOU in a tight one.
No. 10 Westminster vs.
No. 7 Elon, 1 p.m.
I think Westminster will race out early and then fend off
a powerful late surge by Elon for the victory, 10-9.
No. 11 SCAD vs. No. 6 St. John’s, 1
p.m.
The St. John’s close defenders make life easy for
whichever goalie is in the net for the Johnnies and miserable for
the opponent. I think the Bees will have trouble manufacturing
goals. SJU, 9-4.
No. 12 Western Washington
vs. No. 5
Davenport, 1 p.m.
When I watched the Vikings play St. John’s, it took
them about a half to find their legs and poise. If they do that
again – and I think they will – they’re toast.
Panthers comfortably.
No. 13 Cal State
Fullerton vs. No. 4
Grand Valley
State, 10 a.m.
Too much firepower for the Lakers and not enough defense
for the Titans. GVSU, 16-9.
No. 14 Briarcliffe vs. No. 3 Utah
Valley, 10 a.m.
Briarcliffe is the mystery team because no one outside of
the PCLL has seen them play. There might have been a chance for an
upset against a lesser team, but UVU is a powerful squad.
Wolverines by four.
No. 15 Missouri State vs.
No. 2 Dayton, 10
a.m.
The Bears have perfected their defensive game, so
they’ll probably keep the Flyers under their average, but Mo
State will have serious trouble converting their own scoring
opportunities. Dayton big.
No. 16 Sam Houston
State vs. No. 1 St.
Thomas, 10 a.m.
Nothing like a 10 a.m. game to kick off your title
defense. Even if they don’t get off on the good foot –
and St. Thomas has a history of slow starts in the tourney –
the Tommies will be able to rebound for an easy win.
Previous Schooling Schoolers
Weekend of Feb.
13
Weekend of Feb.
20
Weekend of Feb.
27
Weekend of March
6
Weekend of March
13
Weekend of March
20
Weekend of March
27
Weekend of April
3
Weekend of April
10
Weekend of April
17
Weekend of April
24
Weekend
of May 1
