Q&A with ESPN analyst Mark Dixon

ESPN analyst and former Johns Hopkins midfielder Mark Dixon will be providing commentary on Saturday at noon when No. 20 Johns Hopkins (6-7) visits No. 12 Loyola (9-3) in what will be a pivotal game for both teams. Dixon talks about the Johns Hopkins-Loyola showdown, Towson's berth in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament and UMBC's hopes of capturing a third straight America East Tournament crown.

Question: Johns Hopkins must beat Loyola on Saturday to be eligible for consideration for the NCAA Tournament, but is the game a must-win situation for the Greyhounds, too?

Mark Dixon: "I would definitely say that Loyola needs to beat Hopkins. They lost to Denver in the ECAC, so the Pioneers get the automatic qualifier [AQ]. Loyola was ranked sixth, and their RPI [Ratings Percentage Index] was in the top 10 [sixth] last week. If you look at Loyola, they beat Georgetown, and that win could loom large because you have the Hoyas out there circling around for an at-large berth, but they've got to knock Hopkins off. They've got to put the dagger through the Blue Jays' heart because if they lose, then Hopkins is in play for an at-large berth. If Loyola can take care of Hopkins, that's one less team that they've got to worry about on Selection Sunday."

Q: If Johns Hopkins wins on Saturday, is Loyola's resume impressive enough to warrant an at-large bid?

MD: "They're definitely on the bubble. There's just so much going on. Denver winning the ECAC and the AQ not only hurt Loyola, but also so many other bubble teams, including Hopkins. What's going to happen in the CAA [Colonial Athletic Association]? I think both Hopkins and Loyola are really rooting for Towson to win the CAA [Tournament] because both of them beat Towson. When you look at the Ivy League, they want either Princeton or Cornell. They're looking for a nice, clean Ivy League championship where either Princeton or Cornell goes to the Ivy League championship game, one of them takes the title and the AQ, and then the other one goes in as the second Ivy League team. If either Brown or Yale gets through, that creates a lot of mayhem. And last but not least, Stony Brook in the America East because if one of those other three teams [UMBC, Albany or Vermont] wins it, Stony Brook is a strong contender for an at-large berth. So unfortunately for Loyola and for Hopkins, Loyola had destiny in their hands prior to face-off on Sunday against Denver, and they can only control what they can control. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other parameters to consider, and there's a lot that will come into play."

Q: With Towson losing its last two games, how concerned would you be if you were coach Tony Seaman?

MD: "He's got two things going for him. One, he's in the [CAA] tournament and number two, he's got the No. 1 seed. Towson's in a situation where they have to win the CAA to get in. The CAA has been a circus all year long. Towson, who started the season 1-5, is the No. 1 seed and has home-field advantage. [No. 2 seed] Delaware was left for dead a couple weeks ago and now they're playing great lacrosse. UMass and Drexel have both lost two out of their last three, and then you have Hofstra, the preseason favorite, not even in the tournament, and they can still get an at-large. So it's crazy, but if you're Towson, what you're talking about is beating UMass. You're talking about trying to get off to a quick start, getting UMass down early, and then playing strong and winning and getting to that championship on Saturday."

Q: How is it possible that Hofstra, which did not qualify for the CAA Tournament, could still get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament?

MD: "Everybody plays everybody. There's no hiding from anyone. If you want to be rewarded, it's high risk, high reward. You've got to play a competitive schedule. You've got to play top teams. And if you lose, there's really no such thing as a good loss. But if you win, you can go a long way. Look at Notre Dame. This is a team that started 3-0, but has gone 4-6 since with losses to Fairfield and Rutgers, and they're still in the equation because of a win they had on Feb. 20 against Duke. It's just the way it is. Would I like to see more teams come in? Yes, but that's a whole other ball of wax and a discussion for another day. But with Hofstra, they beat Hopkins head-to-head, and if Hopkins beats Loyola, they [Hofstra] are in play for an at-large berth. They were helped out a great deal by Army winning the Patriot League [Tournament] because they smoked Army, 17-2, and that will help their RPI [Ratings Percentage Index]."

Q: Does UMBC have a chance at winning the America East Tournament and that conference's AQ? 

MD: "Stony Brook is the hands-down favorite, but UMBC has been to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and this is a much different team than the ones Don Zimmerman has had in the last couple of years. They've had a lot of internal things on with [senior defenseman Bobby] Atwell leaving the team, and it's an emotional time right now for UMBC. The Retrievers lost to Hartford on Saturday, and they were dominated at the face-off, which was really the difference in the game. I think UMBC has the tools to make a run. They've got a nice midfield with [junior Jamie] Kimbles and [senior Kyle] Wimer and [senior] Maxx Davis. I think defensively, they've got some concerns, and they really don't have an attackman who can break defenses down. If they get past Albany, then they're going to have to face Stony Brook, and that's when the defense and goalie are really going to have to come to play."

Q: Will it seem weird not to see Navy in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003?

MD: "Navy was the kingpin of the Patriot League for a long time, so for your Bucknells and your Colgates and your Lafayettes, that was your benchmark. That was whom you were chasing. This year, Navy had some problems. Tim Paul went down with a season-ending knee injury, and they had some defensive problems. [Sophomore R.J.] Wickham, the goalie, was terrific, but their defense struggled a lot. [Matt] Vernam's only a sophomore and [junior Michael] Hirsch was coming back from a knee injury. [Senior Gordon] Lawson hadn't played a whole lot until this year. They had some injuries to the long-stick midfield position, [senior Jaren] Woeppel in particular. So it was an odd year for Navy, but they went in as the No. 2 seed, and they had a second chance against Army, but they didn't beat them. Army's a pretty good team. So yeah, it's a little bit weird, but I'm not shocked. The Patriot League is getting players, and they're all after Navy."