The 2022 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship is almost here, and Maryland and Cornell sit one win away from each program’s fourth NCAA championship. A Cornell upset would be one of the biggest in college lacrosse history. Top-ranked Maryland, the favorite to win the title all year, is undefeated and opened at -1600 on the moneyline. The Terps also opened as 7.5-point favorites against seventh-seeded Cornell, but the spread has since moved to 6.5 on both DraftKings and BetMGM.
Let’s discuss the early line movement and how to ultimately bet the 2022 NCAA Men’s Division I Lacrosse Championship.
If you’re an avid bettor who’s new to lacrosse or a lacrosse fan who’s new to betting, check outmy guide on how to bet on lacrosse for some tips to use when placing a lacrosse bet.
Maryland (-6.5) vs. Cornell
| Maryland Odds | -1300 |
| Cornell Odds | +700 |
| Total | 26.5 |
| Time | Monday, 1 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN2 |
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Terps are one more win away from a perfect season and their second championship in five years. This game has a David vs. Goliath feel, and a potential Cornell upset would be akin to the 2007 New York Giants taking down the then-undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. That’s how heavily favored Maryland is.
And yet, the public is backing Cornell against the spread enough to move the opening line from 7.5 to 6.5 in fewer than 24 hours. While 6.5 points is an unprecedented number for a team to be favored by in the championship game, the Terps have continuously covered high spreads all season.
While the Terps failed to cover this same number on Saturday against Princeton, they enter Monday’s championship with a 14-3 record against the spread and have won by seven goals or more in 10 of their last 12 games. Furthermore, the Terps have won their games by an average of more than nine goals per game this season!
While Cornell’s defense has played very well during its playoff run, the Big Red have yet to face an offense like Maryland’s. Led by the program’s top goal-scorer Logan Wisnauskas, the Terps offense is the most efficient in the country, according to Lacrosse Reference.
Whether it’s Wisnauskas, Keegan Khan, Jonathan Donville or one of Maryland’s other offensive weapons getting it done, the Big Red defense is going to have its hands full on Monday. Additionally, the Maryland defense ranks in the top five in nearly every defensive category and has allowed an average of just 9.19 goals per game this season.
Finally, Luke Wierman’s impact at the faceoff stripe can’t be understated. Wierman ranks second in Faceoff Percentage, winning 66.5 percent of his draws this season and ranks second in Expected Goals Added (EGA) on Lacrosse Reference. While Cornell’s top faceoff athlete Angelo Petrakis is no slouch, if Wierman performs like he has all season, the Terps should gain a possession advantage and ultimately have more opportunities to cover this spread.
In the end, everything is pointing toward a big Maryland win, and as high as a 6.5-point spread is, the Terps have often covered this number with ease this season. I think they win by seven or more goals on Memorial Day and hoist the trophy for their program’s fourth time.
Take Maryland -6.5 against Cornell and feel free to include Maryland -1300 as an extra leg in any of your parlays on Monday. The 2022 Terps will go down as one of the best college lacrosse teams of all time and may just be the best college lacrosse team against the spread when all is said and done.
Pick: Maryland -6.5
