May 26, 2023 – Cary NC – The second to last round of the NCAA tournament is upon us and four of the top teams in the nation are battling tonight to determine who will be playing in the championship finals this upcoming Sunday, May 28th at 12 pm EST.
#1 Northwestern vs #5 Denver
Northwestern has consistently been nationally ranked in the top 5 for the entirety of this 2023 season. Coming in with a “bye-week,” the Wildcats continued to do what they do best through the entirety of the season and beat Michigan (8-7) in the second round and Loyola (16-6) in the third round of tournament. Before the tournament, Northwest ended the regular season with a 19-1 record after they lost their first game to Syracuse back in February.
Denver, coming in as the underdogs, has wowed everyone watching as they secured themselves a spot in the tournament and had three big wins (USC 10-7; UAlbany 8-6; UNC 5-4) to get to the final four. Being the only undefeated team in the nation and ending with a 22-0 record, the Pios are coming in with guns blazing and strong momentum behind them to take on the Wildcats.
You can watch Northwestern play Denver tonight at 3 pm EST on ESPNU.
#3 Syracuse vs #2 Boston College
It was a toss-up as to whether Syracuse or Boston College were to be ranked in the tournament as second, and when it came out as BC, the Orange knew they had something else to prove. Having an 18-2 record, Syracuse lost to Boston College in the regular season with a 17-16 final. The Orange beat Hopkins (25-8) and James Madison (13-7) to clinch their spot in the final four. This is their third year in a row making it this far in the tournament, losing in the final four to Northwestern in 2022 and ending as a national runner-up to Boston College in 2021.
Boston College, entering the tournament as the second seed behind Northwestern secured their spot in the semifinals after beating Penn (9-7) and Notre Dame (20-6). They had a strong regular season, with an ending record as 18-3, losing to Northwestern, North Carolina, and Denver, early in the season. The Eagles won the national championship in 2021 and with freshman, Shea Dolce, in cage the strength of the team has only improved since.
Syracuse and Boston College play tonight at 5:30 pm EST on ESPNU.