In just its third year of existence, the Detroit Titans Men’s Lacrosse Team has a legitimate shot at making the NCAA Tournament. They currently sit atop the MAAC conference, and if they can maintain that standing and win the conference tournament (at Canisius the first weekend of May), it’s off to The Big Dance.
So, with a couple weeks left in the regular season, let’s take a look at the conference standings. Only the top 4 MAAC teams make the conference tournament:
| Team | Conf. Record | Ovr. Record | Still To Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit* | 4-1 | 5-8 | @Marist |
| Siena | 3-1 | 9-3 | @Canisius, VMI, Albany (OOC) |
| Canisius | 2-2 | 2-8 | Siena, @Manhattan |
| Marist | 2-2 | 5-6 | @Manhattan, @Holy Cross (OOC), Detroit |
| Manhattan | 2-2 | 3-11 | Marist, Canisius |
| Jacksonville | 2-3 | 4-8 | @VMI, Duke |
| VMI | 0-4 | 2-9 | Jacksonville, @ Siena |
With only one game to play in the regular season – they have this weekend off for Easter – the Titans are also the only MAAC team to clinch a playoff berth. VMI’s next loss will make them the first team eliminated from the playoffs (though if they beat Jacksonville, a win by any 2 of Canisius, Marist, and Manhattan would eliminate both).
As for how the rest of the season will play out, the most important game remaining from the Titan perspective is their contest against Marist. Win, and they’re the #1 seed. Lose, and Siena’s remaining conference games will help determine the conference champion. Per LaxPower (not an infallible source by any stretch of the imagination), Marist will probably be a favorite against the Titans, especially in Poughkeepsie. Siena, on the other hand, has 2 of the 3 worst-rated teams in the league remaining. This race isn’t decided yet.
If my calculations are correct, the worst Detroit can be seeded is third, since they can finish behind Siena (5-1 for the Saints) and tied with Marist in the standings (both at 4-2), with a head-to-head loss to the Red Foxes. The only other team with a head-to-head advantage over UDM is Jacksonville, but they cannot reach the Titans. After this weekend, every team in the conference with have only 1 MAAC game remaining, and the conference picture will be much more clear.
Unprecedented success is the perfect time for the local news to pick up on Titan Mania:
(I wonder what cross streets the campus is on! One more time? Please?). Re: Holtz’s assertion that Detroit’s 26 players from the Great Lax State is “probably 10 times as much” as the next Division-1 team, he should have looked at my list of D-1 players who are native Michiganders. He was pretty close:
- Bellarmine is second with 4 Michigan natives on its roster.
- Mount St. Mary’s has 3 Michigan natives on its roster.
- Penn State, Quinnipiac, and Georgetown (not listed) all have a pair.
Jamie Hebden (Brother Rice) and Brad Janer (Detroit Catholic Central) also do a little talkin’ in the news piece. There are some epic staged dodges in the B-Roll as well.