Five of the Crimson’s six entries are undefeated and seeded first in their divisions, a list headed by the varsity heavyweights, who have five oarsmen back from last year’s title-winning boat. If results follow form, look for a large haul of hardware traveling from Worcester to Cambridge.

Yet if you wade deeper into the field, you’ll uncover several intriguing subplots, among them the swift rise of Boston University, a promising freshman crew at Northeastern, and a recent trend of Sprints favorites not fulfilling expectations.

BU has been the surprise story, winning a school-record five cups, one of those in a 2-length triumph over Brown and another by virtue of its first victory over Northeastern since 2007. Not only could the Terriers make waves today, they figure to be contenders for years. Their varsity enlists five sophomores and just one senior (3-man Sebastian Mueller), and they have a talented freshman class backing them up.

“What excites me about this crew is that all spring we’ve shown we have good speed,’’ said BU coach Tom Bohrer, whose crew is seeded fourth, behind Harvard, Wisconsin, and Princeton. “What scares me is knowing that everyone else has gotten faster, too.’’

While Northeastern’s 14th-seeded varsity doesn’t figure as a medal contender, its freshmen are another story. The Huskies’ suddenly surging frosh are seeded fourth after beating Brown for the first time in 31 years and coming within 1.2 seconds of Harvard, which hasn’t lost a freshman dual race since 2006. They also went stroke for stroke with BU, falling by 1.4 seconds in an early-season race.

“We’ve taken a different approach to training this year,’’ said NU coach John Pojednic. “We’ve worked our varsity and freshmen together and I think it’s benefited the entire team to have them challenge and push each other.’’

Harvard will be pushed, and coach Harry Parker knows that pitfalls come with being the favorite.

“If a coach is looking for a comfortable seeding, I can tell you there isn’t one,’’ said Parker, whose varsity will be tested by No. 6 Syracuse and No. 7 Cornell in its morning trial. “And as the top seed, you worry that your rowers will begin to believe their seeding and forget they have to go out and prove it.’’

The point is well taken. No top seed has won the Sprints heavyweight crown since the Crimson turned the trick in 2007. Look for Wisconsin, which has beaten BU and taken defending national champion California to the limit, and Princeton, which stayed with Harvard until the final 500 meters of their dual race, to pose the biggest obstacles. Fifth-seeded Brown also will be a factor.

“There have been several close races throughout our league, and it looks like there are significantly more crews with Grand Final speed than there are spots [six] in the Grand Final,’’ said Princeton coach Greg Hughes, whose Tigers were runners-up in 2010. “We’ve been in a couple of those races and hopefully that experience has prepared us.’’

Still, Harvard’s success at Sprints is undeniable; last year’s varsity title was its 26th overall and fifth in the last eight years. Back are Patrick Lapage (stroke), Nick Jordan (No. 6), Matt Edstein (No. 5), Anthony Locke (No. 4), and Michael DiSanto (No. 3). The other three rowers were in the Crimson’s gold medal-winning freshman eight.

As usual, the lightweight picture is even more crowded. Harvard earned the top seed thanks to a one-second win over Princeton a few weeks back, but the Crimson posted a similar result last spring only to be clipped by the Tigers at Sprints. Dartmouth, Yale, Navy, and Cornell also figure to be in the hunt for the lightweight crown.

At the women’s Eastern Sprints taking place today on New Jersey’s Cooper River, Princeton is the overwhelming favorite, while No. 3 Radcliffe is the top-seeded Boston-area crew and finds itself in a morning trial that includes No. 9 Northeastern. Defending Sprints champion Yale is seeded fourth.

“There are a lot of fast crews across the country, but we’ve proven that we have some fast schools right on the Charles,’’ said Radcliffe coach Liz O’Leary, whose varsity beat Yale by three seconds in a dual race last month. “The Sprints will bring out the best in all of us because big things are at stake.’’

Those big things are NCAA bids, which will be awarded to the top team in each of the country’s five regions as well as to 11 at-large qualifiers. Radcliffe is currently third in the New England region, behind Brown and Yale.

“Our goal is to perform at a level that clearly qualifies us as a team, and doesn’t place us on the bubble and at the mercy of the selectors,’’ said O’Leary.

Northeastern is being careful not to look any further than its next race.

“Our approach is all about Sunday morning,’’ said NU coach Joe Wilhelm, the Colonial Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year. “After that, we can worry about Sunday afternoon. I’m optimistic because we’re as fast and as healthy as we’ve been at any point this spring.’’