College Lacrosse Schedule for March 9, 2014

I was looking ahead to the coming week this morning and came across something potentially miserable: Virginia-Notre Dame, a marquee game for Division I lacrosse this season, will face-off next Sunday at 5:00 on ESPNU; CBS will announce the field for NCAA basketball tournament next Sunday at 6:00. Lacrosse's season has traditionally struggled to draw eyeballs against hoopyball, and having one of its most-anticipated regular season games conflict with the biggest moment of the year for (most) college sports fans creates a heavy sigh of "You've got to be kidding me!" There's no way that the ACC, Virginia, or Notre Dame could have turned down the opportunity to play on ESPNU, but there is a high likelihood that the heat that the game could have drawn with a better timeslot is greater than standing in conflict with the announcement of the participants in the NCAA's dump truck full of money.

Anyway, here is your highlight for today:

• Duke at Loyola: The entire weekend has been building toward this: Duke, coming off of a tough loss to Maryland last weekend at Byrd Stadium, travels north to face Loyola, a team that is playing as well as any in the nation at this point in the season. These are frighteningly compatible teams that should bring a show to a national audience this evening. There are poll implications inherent in this game, but there is something more pressing: Early-March is almost complete and the pressure to develop continues to mount; a strong showing for both clubs today is necessary for clarity in purpose.

Here's Sunday's full schedule. If there are errors, please let me know. I'll fix/populate links to live stats and video as the day progresses (if necessary).

This is your open thread for Sunday. Cream cheese should be a food group. People will be around to yak about whatever is tickling their fancy.

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