Duke men's lacrosse sneaks into NCAA Tournament unseeded

Uncertainty was expelled by hope last night when Duke lacrosse was selected as one of the final two teams to qualify for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships.

The Blue Devils will face off against 4-seed Richmond in the first round and, with a win, would meet either No. 5 Virginia or Georgetown.

Duke is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and enters the bracket unseeded for just the fifth time in program history. They are 1-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament games as an unseeded squad.

The Blue Devils head into postseason play boasting a 9-4 overall record, with losses to No. 7 Syracuse, No. 16 Virginia, No. 7 Cornell, and No. 1 Notre Dame, all of whom are currently ranked no lower than No. 7 in RPI (rating percentage index).

What kept Duke’s resume afloat was key victories over No. 18 Saint Joseph’s, No. 14 Denver, and No. 3 North Carolina.

Many in the lacrosse community consider the team’s upset road win over UNC in the final game of the regular season to be the primary reason the Blue Devils were able to sneak into the field of 18.

The first round meeting with Richmond will not be the first time the two programs have met on the big stage. The Blue Devils downed the Spiders 12-11 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament en route to a Final Four appearance.

Duke is 44-24 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and has advanced to the Championship Weekend 14 times, bringing home three NCAA titles. All of those titles came over a five-year span that saw the program reach no worse than a Final Four appearance from 2010 to 2014.

The program’s pursuit of a fourth title will begin Saturday with a trip to the ‘River City’ for a first-round road matchup with the 4-seed Richmond Spiders. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed on ESPNU.

This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Duke men's lacrosse sneaks into NCAA Tournament unseeded