NCAA Lacrosse Tournament Preview: Cornell ESSENTIALS What: #9 Michigan (9-6) vs. #8 Cornell (11-3) Where: Schoellkopf Field, Ithaca, New York When: 2:30 PM, Sunday The Line: DraftKings Cornell (-2) (there’s a line for this game???) Television: ESPNU OVERVIEW In 1763, during the French and Indian War, a band of local Ojibwa Indians staged a lacrosse game outside of Fort Michilimackinac at the northern end of Michigan’s lower peninsula. The game was sacred to Native Americans who often used it for training for war and medicinal purposes. But, the game also served as the centerpiece for social occasions. The British colonists were also gathered at the fort that day to celebrate King George III's birthday and many soon found themselves intrigued - and distracted - by the local curiosity known as "little brother of war". The way history buffs with a fondness for lacrosse like to tell the story is that Pontiac’s forces Trojan Horse’d it by tossing the ball over the fort’s walls. And once they were let in to retrieve it, it was game over for the British as the Indians stormed the fort and took it over. It became known as Pontiac's Rebellion. Lacrosse is nothing new in the state of Michigan. It’s fitting that Michigan’s 12-year lacrosse odyssey would ultimately land them in Ithaca for their first NCAA appearance. The picturesque upstate New York college town is also home of the Cornell Big Red, champions of the very first NCAA lacrosse tournament in 1971. To say it’s been a long, strange trip for Michigan would be an understatement. Nevertheless, they’ve made it. And now it’s time to let everyone know.