With an uptempo pace, crafty stick-handling and precise shooting, the No. 1-ranked Duke lacrosse team has an uncanny knack for scoring and a variety of offensive weapons as it enters the first round of the 2008 NCAA men's lacrosse tournament today.

Duke coach John Danowski, in his second season with the Blue Devils, compares what they do to basketball strategy, where teammates distribute the ball and use multiple angles to secure open looks.

Danowski said it's the Devils' balance this season that has made them even more dynamic than last year, when they reached the championship game of the NCAA Tournament and fell 12-11 to Johns Hopkins.

The Devils, seeded atop the 16-team field for the second season in a row, play 18th-ranked Loyola (7-6) at 2:30 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.

Duke (16-1) boasts the top scoring offense in the nation, one that is so potent -- averaging 15.4 goals -- that it is being considered by some observers as perhaps the greatest attacking offense of all time, compared with goal-grabbing Cornell teams of the mid-1970s.

"I can't remember an attack that is as good as this Duke group, other than that Cornell group, which won two national championships and had a 42-game winning streak at one point," said Jack Emmer, the former Army coach, who in 36 seasons collected the most collegiate coaching victories in NCAA Division I history.

"One of the best teams that the game has seen," Loyola coach Charley Toomey said about the Devils.

Danowski refrains from such lofty comparisons. He said changes in the rules make it difficult to judge teams against one another, although he would agree that Devils should be appreciated for their ability to attack from all places on the field.

Their powerful attack is led by the trio of Matt Danowski, Zack Greer and Max Quinzani, though the offense can flow through anyone in their half.

"When you step over that midfield line on the offensive end, you're an offensive player. Doesn't matter how big your stick is," said senior attackman Danowski, who is just three points shy of first place on the NCAA all-time scoring chart with 340 career points. He has 48 assists and 36 goals this season.

Last season, Danowski was named player of the year. His father, John Danowski, said he's playing better this year, even though less of the offense is run through him.

Fellow attackman Greer, who leads the nation in goals with 56, broke the NCAA all-time record for goals in the Devils' final regular-season game. In the 16-9 victory over St. John's, he scored seven goals and broke N.C. State's Stan Cockerton's 28-year-old NCAA record of 193 career goals. Greer now has 197 goals in 64 games.

Greer and Quinzani (52 goals) are just the third duo in NCAA history to score 50 or more goals in a season.

Duke players swarm the goal in transition, after face-offs, in loose-ball situations.

"It's not just six on six," John Danowski said. "We involve our draw guys, our goalies. The referee even. When they make a call, we call 'Beat the whistle offense,' where we try to make plays really quick before the defense gets organized."

Virginia coach Dom Starsia said the Devils are one of the most creative teams he's seen recently, particularly with how they score during loose-ball situations. He kidded that they should just throw the ball on the ground to start the play because they are so skilled at scooping, identifying an open player and scoring.

Quinzani, who is usually stationed inside near the goal, has become a master of improvisation, silently communicating with players like midfielder Michael Ward.

"We read each other's eyes," he said. "We see each other's body language. That's really what's so attractive to me about this offense."

Most times there is no play called.

Quinzani added, "I love to see him come down, look at the net, peek out of his peripherals at me hanging on the left post or right post. If he can see that split second of daylight, he'll zing me the ball right on the post."

The Devils excel in transition and will look to run at Loyola at every turn. Players say transition plays break opponents from their six-on-six sets.

"We like to get up and down the field, which a lot of teams don't do anymore," Greer said. "Especially in the second half. Sometimes that will start to wear on teams where they're not used to playing at that pace."

Emmer, who is now an analyst for ESPN, compared Duke's trio of Danowski, Greer and Quinzani to that of Cornell's Eamon McEneaney (scorer and feeder), Mike French (scorer) and Jon Levine (scorer).

He said their ability to create and finish coupled with the Devils' defensive tenacity, makes them a formidable team, one that will be remembered for an exuberant attacking style.

"They are extremely skilled," he said. "They have tremendous confidence in one another and a great team approach."