2011 NCAA Lacrosee Open Thread: (6) Denver at (3) Johns Hopkins

UPDATE: Game will start at 3:01.

You guys!

It's the new school versus the old school.  New money versus old money.  Something else that's contemporary versus something else that isn't as contemporary.

They're not going to settle it with a dance-off. Instead, they'll settle it with face-offs and stuff.

It's Johns Hopkins and Denver, each battling for a spot in the national semifinals next week in Baltimore, Maryland.  The Blue Jays are seeking their 29th trip to the insanity that is Memorial Day Weekend while the Pioneers are looking for their first. It won't be easy for either team: Johns Hopkins is going to have to deal with one of the most-potent offenses in the country while Denver will need to crack one of the toughest defensive nuts in the land.

It should be a doozy and the opening draw is scheduled for 2:30. ESPN2 has your television coverage.

Here's a quick comparison table for the game:

DENVER-HOPKINS:  OLD IS NEW

METRIC	DENVER	HOPKINS
Fun Factor	6.40 (5th)	6.40 (6th)
Pace	66.68 (30th)	64.56 (41st)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency	36.96 (1st)	32.55 (10th)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency	26.07 (19th)	22.76 (5th)
Adjusted Efficiency Margin	10.89 (4th)	9.79 (6th)

For the record, this game rates as a 6.4023 on the "Fun Factor" scale, the second-best rating of the weekend.  A big reason for that is that each of these teams are rolling out some studs:

DENVER-HOPKINS: STEALTHY GOOD

PLAYER	TEAM	O/R	A/R	T.O.V.
M. Matthews	Denver	7.72	3.86	11.58 (5th)
A. Demopoulos	Denver	5.09	4.74	9.82 (14th)
C. Flint	Denver	4.21	1.75	5.96 (129th)
E. Law	Denver	2.46	2.11	4.56 (191st)
J. Noble	Denver	2.28	2.11	4.39 (199th)
C. Boland	Hopkins	5.97	2.99	8.96 (28th)
Z. Palmer	Hopkins	4.10	4.48	8.58 (37th)
K. Wharton	Hopkins	5.78	1.49	7.28 (81st)
J. Ranagan	Hopkins	3.17	2.43	5.60 (147th)
J. Greeley	Hopkins	2.61	2.24	4.85 (182nd)

O/R = Offensive rating (goals per 100 offensive possessions).
A/R = Assist Rate (assists per 100 offensive possessions).
T.O.V. = Total Offensive Value (points per 100 offensive possessions).

Justin is live from Hofstra today and will have some comments on the game.  Your comments are valuable as well, so leave all of those beautiful bon mots in the handy dandy commenting device.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

Profile: Denver Pioneers
Profile: Johns Hopkins Blue Jays 
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