College Lacrosse Schedule for May 3, 2013

Today is like this, but backwards:

Here are your highlights for the day:

• CAA Championship: Penn State and Towson will light each other on fire today to decide which team will represent the toughest confeence in America in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers only real path to The Big Barbecue involves a win today, but Penn State's future is a little more fluid: A loss today may or may not create trouble for the Nittany Lions on Sunday when the field is announced. Penn State's RPI is through the roof but it's strength of schedule ranking isn't quite as high as its overall RPI mark. The Nittany Lions are in a decent spot with wins over Denver, Bucknell, and a handful of wins that could become RPI top 20 victories at the end of the weekend, but taking care of business today -- at home -- erases any anxiety Penn State may have. The Nittany Lions are 67.08%-32.92% favorites according to a Log5 analysis, but the Tigers look stronger than that.
• Johns Hopkins at Army: The Jays aren't in the greatest shape relative to the NCAA Tournament, but Hopkins isn't out of the picture quite yet: The Blue Jays are currently 17th in the RPI, are around the top dozen in strength of schedule, and have RPI top 20 wins against Virginia (20) and Maryland (8). The team's profile is far from bulletproof despite the fact that Hopkins is arguably among the 16 strongest teams in the country, but a win today at Michie Stadium keeps the Blue Jays in the conversation. A loss? If Johns Hopkins loses, it may be best to avoid Homewood Field for a while.
• MAAC Tournament: The best thing about the MAAC Tournament is that it could spontaneously combust into a thousand pieces of flaming bits, leaving only the residue of what were expectations smoldering in the dirt. Marist is the favorite, but let's be clear: A favorite only exists in the MAAC Tournament because that word has a sponorship deal with things and needs to be mentioned. There's an infographic to satiate your need for visuals and specific words about Detroit-Marist and Siena-Jacksonville.
• Ivy League Tournament: Get on a conference call with your corporate acquisitions attorney, decant a bottle of wine that costs more than tuition to a MAAC school, and enjoy the tennis club gossip show that is the Ivy League Tournament. There's an infographic for your perusal because reading is for nerds. Specific words about Princeton-Cornell and Pennsylvania-Yale are here and here.

Here's today's full schedule with links to things so that you can monitor the carnage (Wagner isn't in action today because sweaters aren't going to fold and pack themselves up for the summer):

Leave your notes about the games or anything else (QUERY: There are now plants in my apartment; what's the best way to kill them?) in the comments below.