Editor’s Note: Guest post by Hayden King
Another week, another 5 losses on my picks. Went for 17 games last weekend, making the total 12-5. Wanted the perfect week (and my parlay for “Games of the Week” delivered–Check it out below) but still came out wanting more.
We’re going to get a perfect week before the end of the season. Total for the season (121 games picked) is now at 81-40 (~67%). I knew the Ivy’s would be a mess, but last week came with some surprises.
Yale got absolutely obliterated by Cornell.
After seeing Yale play well against UMass and Denver, and Cornell dropping one to Penn State, I thought Yale would win this matchup. With the return of Michael Long, the Big Red showed why they were a wagon last year. Betting on them to beat Penn this weekend.
Princeton losing to Penn was also something I should’ve seen coming. Penn has a good team, but with how they started the season I wasn’t riding high on them. Coupled with Princeton needing a win, I bet on the Tigers for this matchup.
The game went to overtime, with Sam Handley scoring the game winner for his second game in a row. Handley’s seeming to hit his stride, and this Penn team is scary if they can keep games close.
Penn State got upset by Marquette which should come as a big surprise, but I guess anything slides during March Madness season. Ohio State lost to Denver, who seem to be making a strong case for Tierney’s final season after starting off slow.
Finally, Colgate lost to Lafayette. I was riding high on Colgate after watching most of their games, so losing to Lafayette was a huge surprise to me. Haven’t watched the game yet, but Colgate’s season is off to a rough start at 1-4.
Wins for the week: Duke, Hopkins (over Navy), Air Force, Georgetown, Army, Harvard, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Jacksonville, Maryland, Loyola, and Hopkins (over Delaware).
Games of the Week: Week 6 (Review)
All 3 games of the week HIT. Duke beat UNC, by a score of 15-8. I said Duke had a fantastic team this year and would beat them by 5+, which they outspread by 8. What a day for the Blue Devils.
Harvard also beat Brown, but this one went to overtime. I said Harvard was going to come out hot after losing to Michigan, and would capitalize on the Brown seniors still being suspended. I also said I thought this would be one of the biggest spreads of the week.
Brown showed out, and Harvard showed they might not be the team of ‘22. Brown (while still missing those seniors) pushed the game into OT, and made Harvard work for the win. Even with this win, I’d rank Brown over Harvard in the Ivy rankings.
Now for the big one. Maryland beating Virginia. I posted a poll on Twitter, and most people were picking Virginia. I think they might have forgotten about last year.
Maryland and John Tillman have Virginia and Lars Tiffany’s number. Regardless of the firepower Virginia brings out, Maryland always finds a way to stop them and counter them. I’d argue Maryland controlled the pace throughout most of this game.
I said Virginia would have high emotions heading into this game after last year’s loss. However, I also mentioned Maryland’s emotions may equal that after losing to Notre Dame. Maryland wants to be the top dog, and when Tillman’s coaching they have that capability.
I do want to mention, freshman goalie Brian Ruppel is a stud. I was nervous for the Terp’s when I heard about McNaney’s season ending injury. This kid has stepped up and showed out, and deserves a ton of credit for this overtime win over the #1 ranked ‘Hoo’s.
Games of the Week: Week 7 Preview
As mentioned, the parlay of Games of the Week hit last week. I’ll be parlaying these picks again this week if you would like to cash in!
First up, I’m going with Cornell beating Penn on Sunday. I’m still not sold on Penn, and with Michael Long back Cornell looks like the Big Red of 2022. If this one goes to OT, I think Penn will pull another W out. However, if the Big Red control the game they’ll come out with a win.
Second, I’m taking Rutgers over Ohio State on Sunday. Rutgers is 7-1, with their only loss to Army in February. Ohio State on the other hand is 4-4 with a recent loss to Denver. I honestly don’t think Ohio State should be in the top 20, and with a loss to Rutgers I’d be surprised if they stay ranked.
Finally, I’m taking Notre Dame over Virginia. I’ll be honest with all of you, I’m picking this game based solely on my heart. Virginia has controlled Notre Dame for the last 5 years, with Notre Dame not winning a game since 2018. Similar to Tillman having Tiffany’s number, I think Tiffany has Corrigan’s number.
With that, this Notre Dame team is a lot different than they were in 2022 when they lost to Virginia by 4. There was no Chris Kavanagh in that game, who’s averaging 3.5 goals per game in 2023. His presence alone should be enough to tie this game up.
Factoring Chris into the picture is only a fraction of the difference for Notre Dame. Transfers like Tevlin have also added scoring power and balance to this offense. With that, big defensive transfer Chris Fake has been anchoring this defense to make them the second most efficient defense in the country.
Don’t doubt this: Saturday will be a close game and in my opinion, the Game of the Year. Won’t be surprised to see Virginia come out on top after dropping one to Maryland. I’m riding with the Irish in 2023 because: IT’S THE YEAR OF THE FIGHTING IRISH!
Week 7 Picks:
- Army vs. Loyola (Saturday)–Loyola
- Saint Joseph’s vs. Duke (Saturday)–Duke
- Georgetown vs. Lehigh (Saturday)–GTown
- Lafayette vs. Boston U (Saturday)–Boston
- North Carolina vs. Providence (Saturday)–UNC
- Notre Dame vs. Virginia (Saturday)–ND
- Colgate vs. Bucknell (Saturday)–Bucknell
- Syracuse vs. Hobart (Saturday)–Syracuse
- Princeton vs. Yale (Saturday)–Princeton
- UMass vs. Brown (Saturday)–Brown
- Air Force vs. Lindenwood (Saturday)–Air Force
- Hofstra vs. Delaware (Saturday)–Delaware
- Dartmouth vs. Harvard (Saturday)–Harvard
- Maryland vs. Penn State (Saturday)–Maryland (won’t be surprised for Penn State to pull the upset)
- Michigan vs. Johns Hopkins (Saturday)–Hopkins
- Cornell vs. Penn (Sunday)–Cornell
- Ohio State vs. Rutgers (Sunday)–Rutgers
Follow Hayden on Twitter.
