The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse quarterfinals continue on Sunday with Penn State and Army traveling to Annapolis for their matchup. Penn State is between a 1.5- and 2.5-point favorite depending on the sportsbook while the total is 24.5 at most books. Let’s take a look at my favorite plays for Penn State vs. Army.
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 bet.
Penn State (-1.5) vs. Army
| Penn State Odds | -210 |
| Army Odds | +160 |
| Total | 24.5 |
| Day/Time | Sunday · 12 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPNU |
Odds via BetMGM
Army enters fresh off a one-goal upset over Maryland, a match in which the Black Knights were a multi-goal underdog. On the flip side, Penn State erased an early 7-2 deficit in its opening-round matchup with Princeton to pull out a one-goal victory.
I don’t want to take anything away from Army’s victory over the Terps — the offense showed up despite injuries and Knox Dent was a brick wall in net. That said, Army shot a season-high 50% and benefitted from a rattled Brian Ruppel, who struggled mightily for Maryland in net.
I think we’ll see some negative regression against a stout Penn State defense, especially if Paul Johnson is out of the lineup again. The Nittany Lions defense, which ranks sixth in defensive efficiency, showed the ability to make adjustments on the fly when they switched from man-to-man to zone in their game against Princeton.
Meanwhile, Army's defense gave up a season-high 15 goals to Maryland. Before last week, the Black Knights defense hadn’t allowed more than 13 goals and were allowing an average of just 8.67 goals per game, and just 22.8% of their defensive possessions led to opponent goals, according to Lacrosse Reference. While this defense will face another Big Ten roster deep with offensive talent, I think we’ll see them play much better.
I like both defenses to step up and recommend betting the total to stay under 24.5 goals (-115) on BetMGM.
I’ll also be betting a player prop in the form of under 3.5 points for Matt Traynor. He has played well in his freshman season, but a four-point performance is a lot to ask against Army.
Traynor has only surpassed 3.5 points in two of 14 games this season, and both came in February. Yes, you read that right … he’s gone over 3.5 points in just 14% of his games. With a price of -125, this is an absolute smash spot. I recommend betting at least two units on this one.
Picks: Under 24.5; Matt Traynor Under 3.5 Points (2 units)
