First off, a rapid rundown of the chase for the seven automatic berths:
* UMBC handled Albany on Saturday, outlasting a 35-minute lightning delay as well as the Great Danes to remain perfect in the America East. If the Retrievers upend either Vermont or Hartford --- in recent years, the AE's weaker siblings --- in the next two weeks, they'll play host to the league tournament and probably receive another shot at Albany.
* The CAA is a bit of a mess, but DREXEL can secure home field throughout the conference tournament with victories over Sacred Heart and Villanova. If the Dragons lose, Hofstra would likely slide into the No. 1 spot; the Pride's only remaining league game is against Robert Morris.
* LOYOLA is a weird team. How else to explain a dominant early victory over Towson, double-digit thrashings of Massachusetts and Rutgers, an upset of Georgetown ... and an unsightly home loss to Siena. But the Greyhounds are in control of the ECAC, and need only defeat either Fairfield or Hobart in the next two weeks to head to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
* The looming showdown in the GWLL features OHIO STATE and DENVER in Columbus on Saturday. Both are 3-0, and the winner will be in good shape to earn the No. 1 seed in next month's league tournament.
* In the Ivy League, CORNELL, BROWN and PRINCETON are unbeaten in conference play and will take turns playing over the next three weekends. First up: Cornell-Princeton, a game the Tigers desperately need just so they have a quality win on their resume.
* CANISIUS and PROVIDENCE are rolling along in the always unpredictable Metro Atlantic, but a curious third option has emerged: VMI. The Keydets are making a play for a spot in next month's conference tournament, and former Maryland defenseman Jeff Shirk's team would have to feel pretty comfortable if it poached Canisius when the Golden Griffins visit this weekend.
* It's a three-way tie at the top in the loss column in the Patriot League. NAVY failed to wrap up home-field advantage for the league tournament when it lost to ARMY. Meanwhile, BUCKNELL will get to play host to the four-team tournament with a win over Colgate and an Army defeat of Lafayette.
So with that in mind, here's a 16-team field based on the results to date --- and with an attempt to meet the NCAA's travel restrictions. Ties in the loss column in conference play are broken by the RPI, courtesy of laxpower.com.
The Duke and Virginia quadrants funnel into Annapolis for the quarterfinals. The Syracuse and Cornell quadrants funnel into Ithaca for the quarterfinals. And since teams with losing records aren't eligible, Johns Hopkins will have to wait at least a week to get into this field.
(1) Duke vs. CAA/Drexel
(8) Georgetown vs. Navy
(5) North Carolina vs. UMBC
(4) IVY/Cornell vs. Ohio State
(3) Virginia vs. ECAC/Loyola
(6) Maryland vs. Bucknell
(7) PATRIOT/Army vs. GWLL/Denver
(2) Syracuse vs. MAAC/Providence
