College Lacrosse Betting Odds and Picks: Best Bets for Opening Weekend

Opening weekend for the 2024 NCAA men’s lacrosse season is finally here. I’ve broken down the title odds and given out my favorite win total bets, but now it’s time to bet on this week’s slate of games.

There are 30 teams in action on Saturday and I have bets for five of the games to start the college lacrosse season.

If you’re an avid bettor who’s new to lacrosse or a lacrosse fan who’s new to betting, check out my guide on how to bet on lacrosse for some tips to use when placing a lacrosse bet.

High Point vs. Mercer

Odds via FanDuel

High Point hosts Mercer in the first game of the season at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday. The Panthers are 4.5-point favorites at most sportsbooks with a total of 25.5

Admittedly, this game was flying under my radar until a Bet On Lacrosse listener brought it up on a Twitter Space, so I decided to dig a bit deeper, and it ended up being one of my favorite angles of the weekend.

The Panthers had an average season last year, finishing one game above .500. They mostly beat teams they were supposed to and struggled against the better ones.

They had one of the weakest defenses in Division I men’s lacrosse, ranking 66th out of 76 teams in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing goals on 34.8% of competitive possessions (excluding garbage time), according to Lacrosse Reference. Yet, their offense ranked 13th in adjusted efficiency, scoring on 34.9% of possessions and was bolstered by strong faceoff play by Collin Hoben.

High Point returns 73% of its offensive production and will face a Mercer team that ranked 54th in overall defensive efficiency last season and didn’t fare any better on offense, ranking 63rd in offensive efficiency.

Mercer’s lone bright spot was Ashton Wood, who won 64% of his faceoffs. The team as a whole ranked 11th in adjusted faceoff percentage, but they didn’t make the most of their possessions.

Wood graduated at the end of last season, so Mercer is now without its biggest strength and faces a High Point team that boasted an 18th-ranked adjusted faceoff percentage themselves.

High Point should be able to play "make it, take it" for most of the game and win by margin on Saturday morning.

Pick: High Point -4.5 (-110 at BetMGM or FanDuel)

Ready to get in on the High Point betting action in North Carolina? You’ll be able to join in on NC sports betting very soon, as the state is expected to come online on March 11.

No. 5 Johns Hopkins vs. No. 13 Denver

Odds via BetMGM

While the Blue Jays opened at -2 in late December, they are favored by as much as 3.5 now at one sportsbook. The total is sitting at 23.5 across all sportsbooks.

Johns Hopkins enters this season with high expectations. Don’t forget, this is largely the same Blue Jays team that covered as 3.5-point favorites against eventual champion Notre Dame in the quarterfinals last season — and there’s a good chance this 2024 Hopkins squad could be even better. According to Lacrosse Reference, 96% of the Jays' offensive production is returning and they found the perfect replacement for Tim Marcille in the form of former Cornell netminder Chayse Ierlan.

Last year, the Jacob Angelos- and Russell Melendez-led offense ranked 13th in adjusted efficiency and had the third-best adjusted shooting percentage during competitive situations (excluding garbage time) with 35.1%. The defense was also impressive, ranking seventh in efficiency, allowing goals on just 25.7% of possessions. Denver was less impressive last season, ranking 28th and 24th in offensive and defensive efficiency, respectively. 

The one area where the Pioneers have a significant edge is at the faceoff dot. Denver’s Alec Stathakis finished with a 60.8% win rate last season (eighth in the nation) and has the ability to give Denver a possession advantage. However, Hopkins rolled out a one-two punch in the form of faceoff duo Matt Nareweski and Tyler Dunn last year, and while Nareweski has since graduated, Dunn should be able to hold his own against Stathakis. Hopkins will likely also utilize Logan Callahan, who got a healthy amount of live reps last year.

Denver should fare fine this year under new head coach Matt Brown, but it will have its hands full in the season opener. Expect the Hopkins band to play early and often and bet the Blue Jays to cover.

Pick: Johns Hopkins -2.5 (-110 on BetMGM)

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No. 20 Richmond vs. No. 6 Maryland

Odds via BetMGM

Not too far from Baltimore, the Terps will host Richmond to open their season for the second straight year. Maryland enters its matchup with the Spiders as a 5.5-point favorite, but I think the total is the best way to play this game.

The Terps will be getting starting goalie and 2022 national champion Logan McNaney back in net after he suffered an ACL injury early last year. The totals of Maryland’s games averaged around 20.25 in their four games with McNaney, and the Terps defense allowed just 8.25 goals during that span. This included holding Richmond to just four goals in a 15-4 win.

Without McNaney, Maryland’s games averaged around 24.17 goals and the defense allowed an average of 10.75 goals through those 12 games.

McNaney is not the only player who will be entering the season healthier. Banged up for most of last season, defenseman Ajax Zappitello returns healthy, which will provide the Terps defense with another boost. Although the defense lost two key pieces in Brett Makar and John Geppert, this version should be able to replicate its early season success of last year.

Richmond’s defense was nothing to scoff at last year, either. The Spiders ranked 16th in adjusted efficiency, according to Lacrosse Reference, allowing goals on just 27.6% of possessions.

The pacing of both offenses should also help this total stay well under. Maryland’s average possession length during competitive action ranked 57th in 2023, averaging 47.3 seconds per possession. Richmond’s pace was even slower, ranking 70th with an average possession of 50.9 seconds.

While I expect Richmond to have a bit more success than their last meeting with Maryland, this total should still stay under. 

Pick: Under 24.5 (-130 on BetMGM)

Merrimack vs. Bucknell

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

This game is the most obscure game on my betting card. Bucknell had a 2023 season it would like to forget, finishing with a 3-10 record and missing the Patriot League tournament. Merrimack took another step forward in just its third full season as a Division I program, ending the season 7-7 with some good performances against top teams.

Yet Bucknell enters this game as a 1.5-point favorite on the road, despite ranking behind Merrimack in many metrics from last season. Both Merrimack and Bucknell’s offenses were very inefficient in 2023, ranking 59th and 46th in adjusted efficiency, respectively. They were also doomed by poor faceoff play, both ranking in the bottom 10 in adjusted faceoff percentage.

Merrimack was able to overcome its inefficiencies on offense and at the faceoff with a solid defense that ranked 23rd in efficiency. Meanwhile, Bucknell struggled largely due to poor goaltending and ranking 39th in defensive efficiency.

Merrimack also got an offensive boost in the form of Ewan Temple, a transfer from Washington College who scored a career-high 74 points last season at the Division III level. He should help an offense that retains 83.5% of its production from last season and should make further strides this year.

Merrimack gets the slight edge on paper, but the sportsbooks didn’t price this game that way. Don’t bother with the spread and bet Merrimack to win outright.

Pick: Merrimack ML (+145 on BetMGM or DraftKings)

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No. 9 Syracuse vs. Vermont

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

The largest spread of the opening weekend that I'm betting is in Syracuse’s home opener against Vermont. For the second straight year, I’ll be laying the points with the Orange, this time as 5.5-point favorites.

Syracuse acquired a ton of talent in the transfer portal and is poised to take another step forward this season. Sportsbooks have accurately accounted for that in making a public team like Syracuse a 5.5-point favorite compared to the 2.5-point favorite the Orange were against Vermont last season.

However, I think this spread should be even bigger and that Vermont’s losses are being underestimated.

Vermont will be without one of the top faceoff specialists in the nation in Tommy Burke, who transferred to Ohio State. His ability to win possessions and stifle Syracuse runs was part of the reason Vermont was able to keep the game close last year. The Catamounts defense also held the Orange largely in check but will be without starting goaltender Matt Shaffer and defensemen Colin Sharkey and Jackson Canfield this time.

Syracuse’s additions at the midfield are massive with former Princeton middies Sam English and Jake Stevens joining the Orange. One of the sneakiest acquisitions, though, was former Tufts faceoff man Mason Kohn, who should help a 'Cuse team that had a big Achilles heel last year at faceoff (ranked 52nd in adjusted faceoff percentage.)

Not to mention, star attackman Joey Spallina was held to 1-for-15 shooting in the first game of his college career last year. Spallina went on to average 4.79 points per game in his next 14 games. Don’t expect the Syracuse centerpiece to have a poor showing in this one.

Pick: Syracuse -5.5 (-130 on Caesars)

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