Utah Lacrosse Heads East To Take On Duke In NCAA First round
THE GAME
The Utah Lacrosse team is set to take on the No. 2-seed Duke Blue Devils in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday, May 11. The game will start at 12:30 p.m. MT.
HOW TO WATCH
The game against Duke will air on ESPNU with Kevin Fitzgerald and Mark Dixon on the call. Links to the stream and live stats are also available on the Utah Lacrosse schedule page on UtahUtes.com.
FOLLOW US!
Get inside access to the Utes this season by following along on social media on Instagram (@UtahLacrosse), Twitter (@UtahLacrosse) and Facebook (Search University of Utah Men's Lacrosse Program).
UTAH LACROSSE: NEED TO KNOWS
• Utah is in its third season in the ASUN, winning at least a share of the regular season title each year, and back-to-back ASUN tournament titles (2023, 2024).
• Utah ranks in the top-10 in the NCAA in seven different statistical categories, including points per game (5th, 24.19), scoring margin (3rd, +4.94) and scoring offense (3rd, 15.31).
• Utah also ranks in the top-15 in the nation in both ground balls per game (14th, 34.38) and caused turnovers per game (8th, 10.00).
• Utah is the only team in the ASUN and one of four in Division I Men's Lacrosse that is averaging over 15 goals per game this season.
• Utah is in its sixth year as a Division I program, accumulating 46 wins during that period.
WINNING WAYS
In just three seasons in the ASUN, Utah Lacrosse has claimed at least a share of the regular season title each year - including being outright champs in 2022 and 2023. The Utes have also won back-to-back ASUN Championships in the tournament (2023, 2024) to earn spots in the NCAA Championships.
• 34 of Utah's 46 program wins have come in the last three seasons.
• The Utes are 22-1 in regular season ASUN games and is 46-8 all-time against the current members of the league.
• Utah has had three straight seasons with 10+ wins, including tying the school record for single-season wins with 12 in 2023 and 12 this season so far.
• Utah set the school record for consecutive wins in 2023, coming away victorious in 11 straight heading into the NCAA Championships.
YEAR 6
The Utes are in their sixth year as a Division I program after making the transition from a club team in 2019.
• Utah is 46-33 all-time as a Division I team with 33 of those victories coming under the direction of head coach Andrew McMinn.
• McMinn is in his third year with the program and has a career record of 110-78 and a record of 34-13 at Utah.
• Since 2022, Utah has broken over 80 school records, including single-season points, goals, assists, ground balls, faceoff wins and team wins.
CAUSING CHAOS
Utah's defense continues to be known for its sticky sticks, recording 10.00 caused turnovers through 16 games this year.
• The Utes rank eighth in the NCAA and first in the ASUN in caused turnovers per game with their 161 total CTOs setting the single-season record at Utah.
• Utah has had eight-or-more caused turnovers in 13 of the 16 games this season.
• The Utes also have 10-or-more in eight games this season, including in five straight.
• Six of Utah's single-game caused turnover marks this season rank in the top-10 all-time in program history.
• Utah had 16 caused turnovers in back-to-back games (at Cleveland State, vs. Queens), tying for second all-time in program history.
• Utah is the only team in the NCAA that has two players ranked in the top-12 nationally in caused turnovers per game.
• Nikko DiPonio is eighth with 2.06 per game with Joey Boylston sitting at No. 11 with 1.88.
• Boylston and DiPonio have continued to trade the all-time single-season CTO record back-and-forth this season with DiPonio currently holding the record at 32 total with Boylston recording 31.
HELPING HAND
Through 16 games in 2024, Utah is averaging 8.88 assists per game, which ranks second in the ASUN and seventh in the NCAA.
• Through the first eight games, Utah was only averaging 7.00 assists per game. In the last eight games, Utah has been averaging 11.00.
• Utah has seven games this season with 10+ assists, including in three of the last four.
• Utah's 15 assists against Detroit Mercy was a new school record with the Utes tying it with their 15 against Cleveland State in the ASUN Semifinal game.
• Senior Tyler Bradbury leads the Utes with 27 assists this season, needing just six more to tie his own program single-season record of 33 (2022).
SUCCESS FROM THE GROUND UP
Utah's ground ball game has been atop the ASUN since joining the league in 2022, and continues to be a spot of success in 2024.
• The Utes rank second in the ASUN and 14th nationally with 34.38 ground balls per game.
• Utah averaged 36.22 ground balls in ASUN play and has had 40+ in three of the last four games (Cleveland State - regular season, Queens, Cleveland State - ASUN semifinals).
• Utah has had 30-or-more ground balls in 13 of its 16 games this season, including hitting the 40 mark in five.
• Utah has 32 games in the McMinn era with 30+ ground balls, which includes 16 games with 40+.
• Utah is 26-6 since 2022 when producing 30-or-more ground balls.
• The school record for single-game ground balls is 55, which took place against Westminster in 2021.
POINTS ON THE BOARD
Heading into the NCAA Championships, the Utes are averaging 24.19 points and 15.31 goals per game.
• Utah leads the ASUN in scoring offense (15.31) and ranks third in the NCAA, also ranking second in the league and fifth in the NCAA in points per game (24.19).
• The Utes have scored 30-or-more points in six games this season and have had 20-or-more goals in five.
• Utah's 39 points against Queens in the regular season finale was a new school record, beating the 38 that was set against Robert Morris in 2023.
• The Utes were only averaging 19.50 points per game in the first eight games of the season, but have averaged 29.13 in the last eight.
• Utah has also averaged 19.16 goals per game in the last six.
2024 RECORDS
As the Utes are set to play in their 17th game of the season on Saturday, the program has broken 11 single-game and single-season school records.
• Team single-game points (39 vs. Queens), assists (15 vs. Cleveland State & Detroit Mercy) and fewest goals allowed (5 vs. Cleveland State & Lindenwood).
• Individual single-game caused turnovers (Nikko DiPonio, 6 vs. Cleveland State).
• Team single-season assists (144), caused turnovers (161) and wins (12).
• Individual single-season points (Ryan Stines, 64), caused turnovers (Nikko DiPonio, 32), man-up goals (Jared Andreala, 8) and saves (Colin Lenskold, 180).