NCAA Lacrosse Betting Odds & Picks: Best Bets for Syracuse-Vermont, Denver-Utah, Jacksonville-Johns Hopkins

NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse returns Saturday and I’ve got three bets to start off the season. I’m picking two favorites to cover relatively small spreads and backing an underdog to cover in a potential upset spot. 

If you’re an avid bettor who’s new to lacrosse or a lacrosse fan who’s new to betting, check outmy guide on how to bet on lacrosse for some tips to use when placing a lacrosse bet.

Syracuse (-2.5) vs. Vermont

We get things started in the dome with a matchup between Syracuse and Vermont.

The Orange enter this season without last year’s leading scorers Tucker Dordevic (transferred), Brendan Curry (graduated) and Owen Seebold (graduated). Yet, they effectively reloaded with grad transfers Cole Kirst and Alex Simmons joining the program this offseason, Owen Hiltz returning from injury and top recruit Joey Spallina. I think the Orange effectively replaced the production lost from last season and will be able to build on what was a solid first season from head coach Gary Gait and his staff in 2022.

As for Vermont, it’ll be without some key pieces from last year’s squad with first overall pick in the 2022 NLL Entry Draft Thomas McConvey now at Virginia and Michael McCormack, Liam Limoges and Ryan Cornell all graduated. The trio of McConvey, McCormack and Limoges contributed to 235 of Vermont’s 251 points in 2022.

If Syracuse ends up being as good as many expect, there may not be many chances to bet them to cover a spread as small as 2.5. You might as well back the Orange against this short spread while you still can.

Pick: Syracuse -2.5

Denver (-2.5) vs. Utah

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

For my second pick, we head out west for the annual matchup between Utah and Denver. Denver has escaped with a one-goal win in the past two matchups between these teams and I expect another close one as the Pioneers host the Utes.

Denver enters this season without two of its top scorers in Jack Hannah (graduated) and Alex Simmons (transferred), while Utah is returning its 2022 leaders in scoring, ground balls and caused turnovers. Denver head coach Bill Tierney loves to play a slow-paced, grind-it-out game, which favors a low-scoring and potentially tight contest. Denver will have the advantage at the faceoff stripe in Alec Stathakis, but Utah faceoff man Cole Brams held his own in the past two meetings, going a respectable 44.4% against one of the nation’s top faceoff specialists.

While Utah has been unable to steal an outright win, both of the past meetings have been tight. I think this is a great spot to back Utah to cover the spread and think the Utes have a chance to win outright and spoil coach Tierney’s final season opener.

Pick: Utah +2.5

Jacksonville (-1.5) vs. Johns Hopkins

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Our final weekend pick is a primetime matchup between Jacksonville and Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays enter as 1.5-point underdogs, but no game has seen more line movement than this one. Jacksonville opened at -155 on the moneyline, but is now sitting at -115 and the game is listed as a pick ‘em.

Why?

Ultimately, I think the line movement says way less about these teams and more about the public’s affinity for this historic Hopkins program. When it comes to schools like Hopkins, Maryland, Duke and Syracuse, there’s often going to be line movement in their favor given bettors’ expectations for these lacrosse power houses.

While this 2023 Johns Hopkins squad should be better than last season, I don’t expect it to pull off an upset against Jacksonville. The Dolphins have continued to exceed expectations each year. They knocked off a then-No. 2 ranked Duke squad last February and went 14-2 before falling a goal short their first NCAA playoff berth.

The Johns Hopkins offense will face Dolphins netminder Luke Millican, whose 8.27 goals-against average last season was the best in the country. While Jacksonville’s defense lost some key pieces to graduation, I still expect Millican to put up similar numbers this season.

Overall, I think the 18th-ranked Dolphins should be able to secure a win. I like betting Jacksonville -1.5 at +135 on DraftKings. If laying the points makes you a bit uneasy, I also like Jacksonville on the moneyline at the short price of -115.

Pick: Jacksonville -1.5