NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Betting Odds, Picks: Best Bets for College Lacrosse Week 2

The 2024 NCAA men’s lacrosse season continues this weekend with 36 Division I games. Last week, our college lacrosse best bets went 7-1 for +5.7 units, bringing our 2024 record to 12-4 for +7.85 units through two weeks. This week, I have six bets across as many games. Let’s take a look at my best bets for college lacrosse Week 2.

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.

No. 19 Penn vs. Georgetown

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

Georgetown’s season got off to a slow start with losses to both Loyola (Md) and Johns Hopkins. Yet, slow starts are nothing new for the Hoyas, who began their eventual 13-4 season last year with three straight losses. They played Loyola tighter than the final 18-10 score indicated and mounted a late comeback against Hopkins before falling, 11-9. This week, they enter their matchup with Penn as a 1.5-point underdog, though I think they’re undervalued.

Georgetown’s game against Loyola was one to forget. Freshman goalie Anderson Moore really struggled, but several Loyola goals were scored on broken plays and second chances. Moore and the Hoya's defense followed up their season opener by holding a highly efficient Hopkins to just 11 goals. Moore also stopped half of the 22 shots he faced in that game. Georgetown was able to keep its game with Hopkins close despite facing off at 36.6%.

Meanwhile, Penn opens the season with questions surrounding the faceoff. Ethan Costanzo won just 38.0% of his draws last year and while Penn added UVA’s Mac Eldridge in the transfer portal, his 44.9% win rate, albeit a limited sample size, doesn’t suggest he’ll be that big of an upgrade. Penn will also be without Sam Handley, its leading scorer from the past three full seasons. According to Lacrosse Reference, Handley accounted for 18% of the team's shots and 26% of their assists last season. 

Penn’s defense should be solid this year, but Georgetown’s offense has played well through two games. Georgetown’s offense has scored on 30.6% of its possessions, which ranks slightly above average in comparison to other Division I teams.

I’d make the Hoyas a slight favorite in this game, so I recommend betting the Georgetown moneyline at +105 on Caesars.

Pick: Georgetown Moneyline

UAlbany vs. Colgate

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

Colgate has had a strong start to the season, knocking off Penn State as an 9.5-point underdog, playing Syracuse tough and most recently defeating Hobart. Colgate’s defense has been exceptional, ranking 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency when excluding garbage time and allowing goals on just 23.6% of defensive possessions. Their high amount of time spent in the penalty box (particularly against Syracuse) makes this mark even more impressive.

As 3.5-point favorites, I’m hesitant to back them against a UAlbany team that we’ve yet to see play this season, but I trust Colgate’s defense to do its part to keep this total low.

We don’t have any 2024 data on the Great Danes, but I expect UAlbany’s defense to perform just as well as it did last season. UAlbany will be without last year’s starting netminder, Nick Karnes, but returns most of its defenseman, including pro prospect Jake Piseno. Last season, the Great Danes defense ranked 12th in defensive efficiency when excluding garbage time and allowed goals on just 27.4% of possessions, according to Lacrosse Reference. Furthermore, UAlbany’s offense ranked 57th in adjusted offensive efficiency in competitive situations last season.

Colgate’s offense has been slightly above average in terms of efficiency, but its struggles at the faceoff could limit the amount of possessions. Trust the defenses to perform well and bet this game to stay Under 25.5 at -115 on Caesars.

Pick: Under 25.5

No. 9 Johns Hopkins vs. No. 20 Loyola (Md)

Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook

Johns Hopkins hosts Loyola on Saturday and is a 3.5-point favorite against their Baltimore rival. Loyola opened the season with a big win over Georgetown before dropping a game to Maryland. Hopkins is coming off a game against the Hoyas that was closer than the Greyhounds’ win the week prior.

Yet, I’m not sold on Loyola’s upset potential in this game.

For the same reason we faded Loyola against Maryland last week, we’re going to fade them against the Blue Jays. After their 18-10 win against Georgetown that saw them score on 55.7% of their possessions, Loyola fell to the Terps, 11-4 and scored on just 16.4% of their possessions. The expectation for this offense is surely somewhere in the middle of these two polarizing performances, but I don’t expect a breakout performance against Hopkins.

The Blue Jays defense ranks 18th in defensive efficiency, allowing goals on just 24.3% of possessions. The story of their season so far though has been squandering away leads in the fourth quarter, with a late-game loss to Denver to open the season and a near-failed cover against Georgetown last week. Yet, it should be easier for them to build and maintain a lead against Loyola this week. 

The Greyhounds defense has been even more efficient than Hopkins, but they’ll face a Blue Jays offense that has picked up where they left off last year, scoring on 33.8% of their possessions. Hopkins will have a significant advantage at faceoff as well, with Logan Callahan facing off at 59.7% this season. Hopkins’ adjusted faceoff percentage is even better at 64.1% (13th) and they’ll face a Loyola faceoff unit that has an adjusted faceoff percentage of just 42.3% (42nd).

Expect Hopkins to be able to build a lead and maintain it en route to a 3.5-point cover. Bet Hopkins -3.5 at -115 on BetMGM

Pick: Johns Hopkins -3.5

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Utah vs. No. 6 Denver

Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook

Denver opened as a 1.5-point favorite and has since moved to as high as a 2.5-point favorite at some sportsbooks. The Pioneers have gotten off to a 2-0 start under first-year head coach Matt Brown and their success should continue against Utah. 

Utah has played just one game so far this season, but their glaring weakness at faceoff is apparent. Their four-year starter at faceoff Cole Brams, who won 57.3% of his draws last year, transferred to Rutgers this offseason. The result was the Utes getting dominated at the faceoff dot in their opening game against Ohio State, winning just 39.1% of their draws.

Utah will likely have an equally tough time against Denver faceoff man Alex Stathakis, who’s facing off at 62% this season. While Utah returns many of their starters on an offense that was highly efficient last season, they scored on just 15% of their possessions against the Pioneers in their 2023 meeting. In their opening game against Ohio State, the Utes managed to score on just 20.6% of their possessions according to 

Meanwhile, Denver’s defense ranks a modest 22nd in efficiency, allowing goals on just 26.1% of possessions according to Lacrosse Reference. Their offense has been even better, ranking 20th in the nation and scoring on 33.1% of their possessions. While the Pioneers failed to cover last week against Air Force, the Falcons defense ranked 5th in defensive efficiency last season and is 17th so far in 2024. That close win has set us up with a great price to bet Denver -1.5 (-115 on BetMGM) this week against an overmatched Utah.

Pick: Denver -1.5

No. 10 Yale vs. Villanova

Odds via FanDuel

Yale opens its season against Villanova for the third straight time and does so with high expectations this year. The Bulldogs came close to upsetting Georgetown in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last year and most of their roster returned for the 2024 season. Yale opened as a 4.5-point favorite before moving to -5.5 across sportsbooks.

I still like Yale at this number given how much of their roster is returning and how much Villanova lost this offseason. 

Villanova’s first game saw them lose 18-10 to a Penn State team that was upset by Colgate just a week earlier and had star attackmen TJ Malone exit with an injury midway through the game. Villanova’s defense allowed goals on 43.9% of their possessions, which ranks 61st among Division I teams in raw defensive efficiency on Lacrosse Reference. The offense didn’t do any better, scoring on just 13% of their possessions that didn’t occur during garbage time.

Meanwhile, Yale comes into the season with all three of last year’s starting attackmen (Matt Brandau, Chris Lyons and Leo Johnson) that helped Yale earn the fourth-best adjusted offensive efficiency of 37.8%. This offense is going to score a lot of goals this season and gets a great matchup with Villanova to start the season.

Yale’s biggest weakness last season was a defense that ranked 52nd in adjusted defensive efficiency. Yet, head coach Andy Shay is a defensive-minded coach and we can expect improvement from this unit. Furthermore, Yale managed to win by six goals against a stronger Villanova team last year, despite allowing 14 goals.

Bet Yale to build and maintain a big lead en route to covering the 5.5-point spread at +100 on FanDuel.

Pick: Yale -5.5

No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 5 Syracuse

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

The biggest game of the weekend is No. 5 Syracuse hosting No. 4 Maryland on Saturday night. The Orange are 3-0, while the Terps are 2-0 to begin the season.

Syracuse's high-powered offense has been the story of its season, but the Orange's defense has been having just as good a start. The Orange rank 11th in defensive efficiency and are allowing goals on just 20.8% of defensive possessions. They should have similar success against a Maryland offense that's still trying to find its footing.

The Orange offense certainly deserves a ton of praise as its scoring on 37.2% of its possessions, but two of the defenses they’ve played (Vermont and Manhattan) rank 55th and 60th in defensive efficiency during competitive situations. While they scored 18 on a very good Colgate defense, four of those goals came on 10 extra man opportunities. This week, they’ll face a Maryland defense that held Loyola to four goals last week and Richmond to 11 the week prior. The Terps defense ranks fifth in defensive efficiency, allowing goals on just 16.8% of possessions according to Lacrosse Reference. 

Furthermore, the pace at which both teams play is slower than you may expect. Maryland takes an average of 38.8 seconds to take its first shot in a possession, the 55th-slowest pace in Division I. Syracuse tends to play faster, but is still taking 31.7 seconds to get its first shot off (17th in the nation). I don’t expect either team to have a significant possession advantage, which should force both to value their possessions more.

Expect a slower-paced game and for these defenses to be the story of the night. Bet this total to stay Under 25.5 goals at -110 on DraftKings.

Pick: Under 25.5