Question: Have the four Atlantic Coast Conference teams and Syracuse separated themselves from the rest of the pack?

Paul Carcaterra: "I think so, and not only from a talent standpoint, but also when you look at their credible wins. Even a team like Duke which has four losses, they beat No. 1 Virginia, they beat Brown which is kind of surging right now, and they beat Loyola which is a top-8 team in the country right now. It would be hard to discount Duke – even with four losses – to not be in that top five. And I think the other four teams’ resumes speak for themselves."

Q: After No. 2 Virginia defeated No. 3 Maryland in the ACC Tournament championship final on Sunday, Terps coach Dave Cottle said the Cavaliers deserved the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Agree or disagree?

PC: "I agree. Their one loss, they avenged. They play in the toughest conference in lacrosse, and I think the only other team you would potentially argue getting that No. 1 seed is Syracuse and they beat them head-to-head. So I can’t see how Virginia wouldn’t be a No. 1 seed, and they deserve that right."

Q: In the next breath, Cottle said his team should be the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Agree or disagree?

PC: "I would agree. When you look at what they’ve done over the course of the year, they lost to Virginia twice and they lost to North Carolina, but they dominated the Tar Heels last Friday [13-5 in the ACC Tournament semifinals]. So I think heading into the playoffs, they’ve established themselves as certainly a top-4 seed. Avenging that loss in kind of the same way that Virginia avenged that loss to Duke, I think it’s only logical for them to slip in as the No. 3 seed."

Q: Even if No. 6 Loyola was to lose to No. 18 Denver on Sunday and miss out on the Eastern College Athletic Conference regular-season championship and the automatice qualifier, is the Greyhounds’ resume strong enough to warrant an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament?

PC: "Yes, and the reason why I feel that way is, if you look at the other teams who are kind of in a similar mix to Loyola, I think they’ve established themselves as strong playoff contenders regardless of Sunday’s outcome. How could you justify putting Georgetown, which doesn’t get an AQ and is obviously hoping for an at-large, over the Greyhounds when Loyola dominated them within the last two weeks? I just don’t see how Loyola gets left home for the playoffs. It’s a bigger game, I think, for Denver. Denver needs this win more than the Greyhounds. Now, I don’t think Loyola’s coaches or players want to put it up to the committee to see who is an at-large. I think they’re going to go out there and try to take care of business, but I think they’re in pretty good shape. This may sound crazy, but their win over Towson looks better and better because Towson’s won five in a row and is one of the hottest teams in the country."

Q: If Johns Hopkins finishes with a 7-7 record, does that team deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament?

PC: "I think it’s more than just them winning their final two games. I think some things have to happen. I think Loyola has to beat Denver and then Hopkins has to beat Loyola. And I think Towson has to beat Hofstra Saturday and win their conference tournament because that would then make those Hopkins’ wins much more credible. If Loyola goes out and loses to Denver and Towson loses to Hofstra and doesn’t win their tournament, what good are those two wins? Obviously, Hopkins must win the last two games, but Loyola must beat Denver and Towson has to beat Hofstra and win the conference tournament so that Hopkins has something to hang their hat on. They can say, ‘Towson was a great win. Look, they beat Hofstra and then won their tournament.’"