We only got one game tonight, but it does feature the #1 team in the country (according to some very reputable sources) so it does have significance. Below is today’s Big Board. Clicking on the team name will take you to that team’s homepage. Clicking on the Stream cell will take you to the broadcast of that game, while the Live Stats cell will take you to the live stats of that game. Let’s go to the Big Board!!

Game Preview.

Duke’s coming off a monster win over Air Force last weekend. Their star senior Justin Guterding had a stellar game with 10 points against the Falcons and looks like he is already in midseason form. This will be High Point’s first game of 2018 and the Panthers will be led on offense by their senior duo Connor Robinson and Jason Ashwood, who both enter their last year ranked in the top career points rankings at High Point.

Duke has won their three games versus High Point by an average of 10 goals per game, but there was that close one back in 2015 between the two that actually went down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Duke ended up winning the 2015 contest 16-13, but if High Point can come up with a similar strong effort tonight, we could be in for a pretty good game.

Skittles Scale

Duke’s favored by quite a bit tonight.

(Ed. Note: For information/entertainment purposes only! #WeDoNotEndorseGambling).

Attachments.

Citrus TV breaks down Syracuse’s opening weekend game versus Binghamton on Saturday.

WE DID IT!!!: Lax Emoji approved by Unicode, to be available on phones by fall.

It’s official. The lacrosse emoji will hit phones later this year. Rejoice lacrosse world!

Yes, you read that correctly. The lacrosse emoji will be officially added to the Unicode 11.0 update, which may reach phones by September or October. The Unicode Technical Committee met late in January to decide the fate of over prospective emojis, and the lacrosse emoji (labeled U+1F94D LACROSSE STICK AND BALL) made the cut with approximately 157 that will hit iPhones across the world this year.

Along with the lacrosse emoji, iPhone users will see a softball and flying disc among sports emojis approved. Here’s the full list of emojis for Unicode 11.0.

The lacrosse emoji, according to the Emoji subcommittee, was “prioritized for encoding” among eight potential sports emojis based on the “well formed proposal” and the fact that it was one of the most requested emojis in 2017.

Way to go, Lacrosse Twitter.

BOSS PETRO!!

The tide has turned: “‘Majority’ of Syracuse players expected to wear helmets in 2018 season.”

At Syracuse’s Ensley Athletic Center on Tuesday, SU’s women’s lacrosse team ran through a routine practice. The ball was passed around the perimeter of the offensive zone as players shot on the far goal. Nothing about the lacrosse was out of the ordinary.

What wasn’t routine was the helmets on most of the players’ heads.

“I didn’t take a poll or ask anyone,” Gary Gait said, “but I assume if they’ve been wearing them all preseason they feel pretty comfortable in them and will wear them on the weekend.”

When No. 7 Syracuse takes on Connecticut on Friday in its season-opener, there’s an expectation among the Orange that helmets will take on a prominent role, at least in appearances. It’ll be the first time SU players wear helmets in-game. Gait said he hasn’t seen a change in the play styles of those wearing helmets in practice, so the mechanics of the game may not change. Both veterans and freshmen have given rave reviews of the helmet and it looks to potentially be a permanent shift in the women’s game.

“I love the helmet,” Taylor Gait, a redshirt-senior midfielder, said. “I think it elevates the game. You don’t get scared when you dodge in. You play with more confidence. And I’m not nervous that I’m gonna get hurt.”

Get to know more about the Robert Morris Colonials

Have you heard Ryan & Jake’s Big East and Patriot League Preview podcast yet? You should!