May Madness has finally arrived! After adding +1.8 units betting the play-in games on Wednesday, it’s time to look at which teams have the best chance of making a deep run and who comes out with a win in the opening round. Let’s dive into my favorite futures ahead of the tournament, a team I expect to cover on Saturday and three player props I’m betting.
Note: The odds presented below are those at the time when Hutton sends his picks out to DubClub subscribers and are subject to change. Subscribe to Hutton Jackson’s lacrosse picks on DubClub so you never miss out on the best odds for these picks. As soon as Hutton places a bet, you’ll immediately get a notification with both the pick and brief analysis. Picks are sent out at least 20 minutes in advance of articles published on Bet On Lacrosse.
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2025 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament Futures
The parity in college lacrosse has never been higher and that’s evident when looking at the efficiency metrics of the tournament teams ahead of this weekend. In my article on what makes a college lacrosse championship contender earlier in the year, I laid out that +8.5% net efficiency is the benchmark, and all but four teams are above this standard.
Team | Adj. Off. Efficiency | Adj. Def. Efficiency | Net Efficiency | Adj. Faceoff % |
No. 1 Cornell | 42.50% | 27.8% | +14.7% | 61.6% |
No. 2 Maryland | 36.5% | 19.7% | +16.8% | 56.4% |
No. 3 Princeton | 38.6% | 24.9% | +13.7% | 50.5% |
No. 4 Ohio State | 35.8% | 21.6% | +14.2% | 54.0% |
No. 5 Penn State | 36.2% | 25.1% | +11.1% | 63.6% |
No. 6 Syracuse | 38.5% | 23.8% | +14.7% | 66.2% |
No. 7 Duke | 36.2% | 22.8% | +13.4% | 56.5% |
No. 8 North Carolina | 37.2% | 25.3% | +11.9% | 69.4% |
Air Force | 34.6% | 30.0% | +4.6% | 47.4% |
Albany | 34.0% | 29.3% | +4.7% | 45.7% |
Colgate | 35.3% | 27.5% | +7.8% | 46.7% |
Georgetown | 35.0% | 25.2% | +9.8% | 57.2% |
Harvard | 38.8% | 28.9% | +9.9% | 41.4% |
Notre Dame | 40.0% | 24.3% | +15.7% | 59.9% |
Richmond | 37.3% | 22.9% | +14.4% | 51.8% |
Towson | 33.3% | 29.7% | +3.6% | 51.2% |
Maryland currently has the best adjusted net efficiency in the nation at +16.8%. They’re followed by Notre Dame (+15.7%), Syracuse (+14.7%), Cornell (+14.7%), Richmond (+14.4%) and Ohio State (+14.2%). Princeton (+13.7%) and Duke (+13.4%) aren’t far behind and North Carolina (+11.9%) and Penn State (+11.1%) can overcome their net efficiency disadvantages thanks to the first and fifth-best adjusted faceoff percentage in the nation. Georgetown (+9.8%) and Harvard (+9.8%) meet the established threshold, but given their path, it would be better to bet these teams game-by-game as underdogs than in the futures market. Colgate (+7.8%) just misses the mark, but a similar game-by-game strategy would be best for them as well. Avoid Air Force, Albany and Towson completely.
The Terps’ defense is the most efficient among tournament teams and their offense ranks 8th in offensive efficiency. They also have a fairly favorable draw. The Terps beat every out-of-conference team they faced and would avoid any potential rematch with Penn State or Ohio State until the championship. Their championship odds are the second-shortest, but considering their potential path and ability to beat teams in a variety of ways, I still like a 0.5-unit bet on Maryland to win the national championship at +500 on DraftKings if you haven’t bet it already.
With all that said, I think teams like Syracuse, Notre Dame, Duke and North Carlina are much closer to Maryland and Cornell than these odds indicate. With all four of those ACC teams in separate regions and the potential for an all-ACC Final Four, I think there is a great opportunity to bet an ACC team to win the title. I think North Carolina matches up fairly well with Cornell if they advance, Notre Dame is flying under the radar and Duke and Syracuse have upset potential if facing Maryland. Rather than pick one or two ACC teams to win it all, I recommend betting a unit on an ACC team to win the national championship at +260 on FanDuel.
If that market is not available for you, then I’d bet 0.2 unit on Syracuse to win the championship at their current title odds of +900 on DraftKings. Not only do they rank in the Top 10 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, their adjusted faceoff percentage is 3rd-best in the nation. Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke have the potential to go on deep runs, but got tough draws in the first round. While the Orange lost to Harvard earlier in the season, I expect them to get past the Crimson this time around and think they’d matchup well against the winner of Princeton-Towson and are playing well enough to upset Maryland (or Duke) in a potential rematch.
Finally, I’ve spoken about the potential for Richmond to make it to the Final Four in the past. Beating North Carolina or Cornell won’t be easy, but they’ve shown that they’re good enough to hang and potentially upset both teams. The Spiders led the Big Red for most of the game earlier in the season, losing by just a goal. Replicating that performance against the most-efficient offense in the nation in Cornell would be tough, but the odds are good enough to bet them to do so. Bet 0.2 unit on Richmond to advance to the Final Four at +800 on FanDuel.
Picks: Maryland to Win Championship, ACC Team to Win Championship OR Syracuse to Win Championship, Richmond to make the Final Four
Now let’s dive into my best bets for the Saturday games…
