NCAA Lacrosse Betting Odds & Picks: Best Bets for Ohio State-Cleveland State, Boston-Vermont, Army-UMass

NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse is in full swing this weekend with what is officially referred to as “Week 1.” I’ve got three bets for Saturday, including a play on a spread, moneyline and total.

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.

Boston University (-1.5) vs. Vermont

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook.

Boston University opens up the season as 1.5-point favorites against a Vermont team coming off a close loss to Syracuse. Syracuse was able to play the Orange tight thanks to some great goalie play from Matt Shaffer, who made a career-best 16 saves and allowed just seven goals to an Orange offense that scored 20 goals on Friday night.

They were also aided by Lacrosse Reference’s seventh overall faceoff specialist Tommy Burke, who went 9-for-16 at the faceoff dot. However, the Catamounts offense struggled to generate quality chances against Syracuse and was sorely missing their three leading scorers from 2022 in Thomas McConvey, Michael McCormack and Liam Limoges.

Burke will face some comparable competition this weekend in Boston’s Conor Calderone, who ranks 10th in Lacrosse Reference’s faceoff rankings. Calderone and the 14th-ranked Terriers enter the 2023 season fresh off their first Patriot League title and the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance. Boston University is returning the majority of its 2022 squad, including its staring attack line of Vince D'Alto, Timmy Ley and Louis Perfetto, who combined for an NCAA-best 214 points.

Boston University has the pieces on offense, defense and at the faceoff to give Vermont a lot of trouble on Saturday and 1.5 points is just too few for the Terriers to have to cover. Bet Boston University to win by a decent margin and cover the -1.5 (+110 on Caesars.)

Pick: Boston University -1.5

Ohio State (-11.5) vs. Cleveland State

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Ohio State takes on Cleveland State following the Buckeyes’ 15-7 win over Air Force. Ohio State is an 11.5-point favorite in its second game of the season.

While we could easily see the Buckeyes hang double digits on Cleveland State again this year, their defense looks to be even better than last year, thanks in large part to the return of Big Ten Freshman of the Year Bobby Van Buren and Army transfer, Marcus Hudgins. I expect this defense to keep Cleveland State in check while dictating the pace of the game. After one week, Ohio State ranks first in time of possession and last in offensive pace during settled offense, opting to initiate 67.2 seconds into the shot clock on average.

While the Buckeyes will have a chance to cover this large spread, the smarter play is to bet on Ohio State's defense to keep this total under 24.5 goals. (-125 on DraftKings.)

Pick: Under 24.5

Army (-1.5) vs. UMass

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

My final pick comes in the Army-UMass game. Last season, UMass took Army down to the wire as 3.5-point underdogs, losing by a goal in their 14-13 season opener.

UMass was streaky last year, dropping a close contest to Yale and upsetting Vermont, Brown and Delaware, yet also losing to Fairfield and narrowly beating a handful of weaker opponents. This year’s team returns midfielders Jack Gump and Tim Hoynes and attackers Gabriel Procyk and Jackson Cummings.

Additionally, UMass not only returns starting netminder Matt Knote, but also added some key defenders in Chris Campbell, Giuseppe Chiovera and Ryan Sharkey via the transfer portal.

As for Army, it’ll be without its 2022 leading scorer Brendan Nichtern, who set the program’s single-season records for points (101) and assists (60) last year. While Army will remain competitive under head coach Joe Alberici, its matchup with the Minutemen will be a tough test.

Bet UMass to not only cover, but to win outright at even money or better (+105 on DraftKings.)

Pick: UMass ML