The 2024 NCAA men’s lacrosse season gets underway this weekend and multiple books have title odds. I have my eyes on two of the college lacrosse betting favorites and give a dark horse pick to bet ahead of opening weekend. So, let's get to the best men's lacross title future to bet.
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.
NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Title Future to Bet
Expect last year’s champion, Notre Dame, and its finals opponent, Duke, to both be in the mix for a national championship once again.
After winning the 2023 NCAA men's Llcrosse championship, the first in program history, it's easy to see Notre Dame returning to the title game. The majority of the Fighting Irish's roster returns, including starting goalie Liam Entenmann and Pat Kavanagh — both of which are expected to be first-round picks in the 2024 Premier Lacrosse League College Draft.
Other staples of the Irish offense, such as Chris Kavanagh, Eric Dobson and Jake Taylor, also return and Notre Dame will get some more offensive firepower in former Brown captain and 2023 points leader Devon McLane, a grad transfer. Notre Dame has a great chance to win it all again, and that’s reflected in their +500 odds at Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel.
For as good as Notre Dame is expected to be, Duke make have benefited even more from the transfer portal. Tewaaraton Award winner and 2023 World Lacrosse Championship MVP Brennan O'Neill returns to headline a Duke offense that added attackmen Alex Slusher and Josh Zawada via the transfer portal. Both Slusher and Zawada were centerpieces at their previous schools and join O’Neill, Dyson Williams and Andrew McAdorey. Jake Naso also returns as the team’s faceoff specialist and defender Kenny Brower headlines a seasoned defense.
Duke opened as long as +800 on DraftKings, but has since been bet down and is priced more in line with ACC counterparts Notre Dame and Virginia at no longer than +500.
So, which of these teams is best to bet right now? The answer is complicated.
There are reasons to wait on one or both. Last season, Duke was still as long as +600 and Notre Dame was +400 in early April. If you missed Duke at +800 when it opened, I'd caution you to either wait on both or bet just one of these teams. The chances of both teams' odds being drastically shorter by the time they face off on April 7 are slim. Be patient and see how the first month of the season plays out. If either of these teams drop a game and rises above +650, that’s the time to strike.
As for the best NCAA title future on the board … it's Penn State at +1600 on FanDuel.
After being just a controversial overtime goal away from going to their first NCAA men's lacrosse championship, the Nittany Lions are back with largely the same roster.
While Penn State will miss Jack Traynor, star attackman TJ Malone returns to lead an offense that returns 72.8% of its offensive production last season, according to Lacrosse Reference. On the other end, Jeff Tabroni’s defense returns the majority of its core and will again be backstopped by Jack Fracyon.
While Penn State will still have to contend with the likes of Maryland and Johns Hopkins at the top of the Big Ten, its schedule gives the Nittany Lions a great chance at an at-large bid, even if they aren't able to win the Big Ten tournament. Last year, Michigan's upset of Maryland in the Big Ten title game led to four Big Ten schools making the NCAA Tournament. We should see at least three Big Ten teams make it again and my money is on Penn State being one of them.
The Nittany Lions are as low as +850 at Caesars, which is closer to where I'd set their preseason odds. Their odds on FanDuel have moved from +2000 to +1600, but I think that price is still too long. If you make just one NCAA title bet prior to the start of the season, bet Penn State.
Pick:Penn State to Win NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship at +1600
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2024 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship Odds
| Preseason Ranking | Team | DraftKings | FanDuel | Caesars | BetMGM |
| 1 | Notre Dame | +500 | +500 | +500 | +400 |
| 2 | Duke | +500 | +500 | +400 | +400 |
| 3 | Virginia | +475 | +500 | +400 | +500 |
| 4 | Penn State | +1400 | +1600 | +850 | +1200 |
| 5 | Maryland | +650 | +650 | +750 | +750 |
| 6 | Johns Hopkins | +1500 | +1200 | +1600 | +1500 |
| 7 | Cornell | +1300 | +1500 | +1200 | +1200 |
| 8 | Army | +2500 | +3000 | +1500 | +2000 |
| 9 | Syracuse | +1800 | +1800 | +1200 | +2000 |
| 10 | Yale | +2000 | +3000 | +1600 | +2000 |
| 11 | Denver | +3000 | +3000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| 12 | Georgetown | +1600 | +1500 | +1600 | +2000 |
| 13 | Michigan | +2500 | +3000 | +2800 | +2000 |
| 14 | Princeton | +2000 | +3000 | +2500 | +2000 |
| 15 | Rutgers | +2500 | +3500 | +1600 | +2000 |
| 16 | Delaware | +5000 | +6000 | +3500 | +3000 |
| 17 | Penn | +2000 | +3000 | +2800 | +2000 |
| 18 | Boston University | +3000 | +5000 | +3500 | +3000 |
| 19 | North Carolina | +2000 | +3000 | +2500 | +3000 |
| 20 | Richmond | +5000 | +10000 | +4000 | +5000 |
