2021 NCAA Tournament Bracket (PDF)
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – All five Atlantic Coast Conference men’s lacrosse programs have earned bids to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, as the 16-team field was announced Sunday evening by the NCAA. The ACC’s five selections are the most of any conference and more than twice as many as any other league.
After a strong regular season, ACC teams picked up four of the top six national seeds. The ACC’s 2021 co-champions, North Carolina and Duke, were chosen as the tournament’s top two seeds, with UNC earning the No. 1 seed and Duke taking the No. 2 seed. Virginia claimed the No. 4 seed, while Notre Dame earned the No. 6 seed. Syracuse also picked up an at-large bid to the field.
North Carolina and Virginia will serve as two of the four first-round host sites and will play host to a pair of games. Denver and Maryland also will host first-round games.
The tournament’s top seed for the first time since 1993, North Carolina (11-2) is playing in its 33rd NCAA Tournament and making its first NCAA appearance since 2017. The Tar Heels will host Monmouth (8-2) at noon Saturday. UNC has won six national championships, with the latest coming in 2016.
Duke (12-2) earned its 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 24th all-time NCAA bid. The Blue Devils play High Point (8-5) in the first round in Chapel Hill at 5 p.m. Sunday. The Blue Devils have captured three NCAA championships, with the last coming in 2014.
Virginia (10-4) will make its ACC-leading 40th appearance in the NCAA Championship. The Cavaliers will play host to Bryant (9-3) at noon Sunday. UVA won the last NCAA Championship in 2019 and owns six NCAA crowns.
Making its 15th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, Notre Dame (7-3) takes on Drexel (10-2) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Denver, Colorado. Notre Dame has been selected to 25 NCAA Tournaments all-time.
Syracuse (7-5) is making its 13th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and is in the field for the 39th time in program history. The Orange travel to College Park, Maryland, to play No. 5 seed Georgetown for their first-round matchup at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Syracuse is a 10-time NCAA champion, with the last two coming consecutively in 2008 and 2009.
All Division I first-round games will be televised on ESPNU. The quarterfinal games will all be televised on ESPNU on May 22 at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York and May 23 at Arlotta Family Lacrosse Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Division I semifinal and championship games, and the Division II and III championship games, will be held at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut, May 29-31 and hosted by Fairfield University. The Division I semifinals will be televised live on ESPN2 starting at noon on May 29. The championship game will be televised live on ESPN2 starting at 1 p.m. on May 31.
At least one current ACC member team has advanced to the national semifinals in 39 of the last 40 years and the current five ACC teams have combined for 24 national championships.
2021 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship – First-Round Games
Saturday, May 15
Monmouth at No. 1 North Carolina – Noon | ESPNU
Drexel vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (at Denver, Colorado) – 5 p.m. | ESPNU
Syracuse vs. No. 5 Georgetown (at College Park, Maryland) – 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU
Sunday, May 16
Bryant at No. 4 Virginia – Noon | ESPNU
High Point vs. No. 2 Duke (at Chapel Hill, North Carolina) – 5 p.m. | ESPNU