Maryland men’s lacrosse received an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament Sunday night.
The Terps earned the No. 7 seed and will host Princeton Saturday night at SECU Stadium. The seed is Maryland’s lowest since 2019, when it was unseeded.
The Terps enter the tournament with five losses for the second straight year. They fell to three seeded teams and once to Big Ten tournament champion Michigan.
Maryland has failed to win either the Big Ten’s regular season or conference tournament title in each of the past two campaigns. The program’s eight wins this season marks its fewest entering the NCAA tournament since 1994.
The Terps’ inconsistent campaign started with four straight wins, including a victory over No. 4 seed Syracuse. They then endured a 1-3 stretch before ending the season with three wins in their final five games.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse earns No. 4 seed in NCAA tournament]
Coach John Tillman’s squad suffered a 19-9 defeat to Penn State in the Big Ten tournament semifinals on Thursday. It was the program’s largest margin of defeat since 2006.
Maryland faced the sixth-most difficult schedule in the nation, according to NCAA rankings. Its RPI, which combines wins, losses and strength of schedule, was seventh-highest among all Division I schools.
The NCAA tournament appearance will be the program’s 46th and its 21st consecutive season in the field, the longest active streak among all Division I schools. The Terps have made the tournament in every full season under Tillman.
Princeton enters the tournament as the champions of the Ivy League and winners of four straight. The Tigers boast a top-20 unit both offensively and defensively.
Maryland and Princeton faced each other in the regular season. The Terps topped the Tigers, 13-7, behind a four-goal outing from Eric Spanos.
If Maryland wins and advances to the second round, it will face the winner of No. 2 seed Duke and Utah.
