DURHAM, N.C. -- The Duke men's lacrosse team has received the No. 1 seed for the 2008 NCAA Tournament and will host Loyola on Saturday at Koskinen Stadium. Face-off is set for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be televised live on ESPNU.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and children and may be purchased online at GoDuke.com or by calling the Duke Athletic Ticket Office at 1-877-375-DUKE.

The top-ranked Blue Devils, winners of eight in a row and owners of a 16-1 overall record, will make their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Duke made previous trips to the postseason in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2007 and owns an all-time tournament record of 12-11. The Blue Devils have reached the national semifinals three times (1997, 2005 & 2007) and advanced to the championship game in both 2005 and 2007.

The No. 1 seed is the second for the Blue Devils, who served as the top seed a year ago.

All-America attackmen Matt Danowski and Zack Greer headline Duke's offense and rank one-two nationally in scoring. Danowski paces the country with 84 points on 36 goals and 48 assists while Greer has 78 points on 56 goals and 22 assists. Teammate Max Quinzani has tossed in 52 markers and Ned Crotty spearheads the midfield line with 30 points on 17 goals and 13 assists as the Blue Devils are tops in the nation in scoring offense by averaging 15.4 goals per outing.

Duke's defense is led by goalkeeper Dan Loftus, who owns a 39-7 career record in the net. This year, Loftus, who was named the ACC Tournament MVP after Duke claimed its second straight title, has a save percentage of .633 and a goals against average of 6.78.

Loyola earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by capturing the ECAC championship. The Greyhounds compiled a regular season record of 7-6 and are led in scoring by Shane Koppens' 42 points on 19 goals and 23 assists.

Duke and Loyola met back on March 8 in Baltimore, with the Blue Devils posting a 21-8 victory behind Greer's four-goal, four-assist outing.

Virginia earned the number two seed, followed by Syracuse (3), North Carolina (4), Johns Hopkins (5), Notre Dame (6), Maryland (7) and Cornell (8). During the regular season, Duke posted a combined 6-0 ledger versus the eight seeded teams in the tournament.

2008 NCAA Tournament

First Round -- Saturday, May 10

Denver at (7) Maryland, 12 noon
Loyola at (1) Duke, 2:30 pm
Ohio State at (8) Cornell, 5 pm
Navy at (4) North Carolina, 7:30 pm

First Round -- Sunday, May 11

Colgate at (6) Notre Dame, 12 noon
Hofstra at (5) Johns Hopkins, 2:30 pm
UMBC at (2) Virginia, 5 pm
Canisius at (3) Syracuse, 7:30 pm