The biggest event taking place on the eastern seaboard today is scheduled for 3 PM, when the Flying Dutchmen continue their ECC road trip by visiting Drexel in a battle of 2-3 teams. It’s a doubly big game since this is the only meeting of the season between the longtime rivals. *shakes fists at the sky*
As will hopefully be the routine now that conference play has begun, I ran down the boilerplate material from Thursday’s loss in Sunday’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that defat as well as a preview of the Tigers as the Dutchmen once again look to even their CAA record. Enjoy!
WELCOME BACK
Speedy Claxton returned to the sidelines Thursday after missing the 66-63 win over UNC Wilmington on Jan. 11 due to personal reasons.
DOUBLE DIGITS NOT ENOUGH
The Dutchmen, who led by 18 points in the first half and by 11 points in the opening two minutes of the second half, squandered a double-digit lead in a loss for the first time this season and the 10th time since Speedy Claxton became head coach for the 2021-22 season. In addition, the 11-point second-half lead the Dutchmen frittered away is the biggest second-half lead they’ve held in a loss since they led by 12 points at halftime of an 81-78 loss to Monmouth last Jan. 27.
EIGHTEEN, THEY LET IT GET AWAY
Alice Cooper reference! The Dutchmen took a 39-21 lead on Michael Graham’s jumper with 3:09 left in the first half before Towson began its comeback. The 18-point lead is the biggest squandered in a loss by Hofstra since Jan. 7, 2021 when the Dutchmen led Northeastern by 19 points in the first half of an 81-78 (there’s that score again!) overtime loss.
STUCK IN THE SIXTIES (part one)
The Dutchmen scored fewer than 70 points Thursday for the seventh straight game, a span in which they are 2-5. It’s the longest streak of consecutive games with fewer than 70 points since a 12-game run from Jan. 16 through Feb. 20, 2013, during which the Dutchmen went 1-11. However, the Dutchmen didn’t score more than 70 points in any of their last 22 games during that miserable season. They went 4-18 from Dec. 15, 2012 through Mar. 9, 2013 while reaching exactly 70 points in wins over William & Mary and Old Dominion. So this note might have a sequel of sorts brewing! (Or, again, the Dutchmen could put up 100 points today and win, which would result in me updating the much cooler note about winning in factors of 10)
STUCK IN THE SIXTIES (part two)
The Dutchmen’s seven consecutive games with fewer than 70 points is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in Division I.
Green Bay 11 (through Sunday)
Mississippi Valley State 9 (through Saturday)
Abilene Christian 8 (through Saturday)
HOFSTRA 7 (through Thursday)
Air Force 7 (through Friday)
HOT START, FIZZLING FINISH
The Dutchmen appeared ready to snap their streak of games with fewer than 70 points last Thursday night, when they raced out to a 41-32 halftime lead. But the Dutchmen scored just (carries the one, drops the remainder) 19 points in the second half. It’s the first time the Dutchmen have scored at least 40 points in the first half and fewer than 20 points in the second half since way back on Jan. 24, 2015, when they scored 45 points in the first half and 18 points in the second half of a 69-63 loss to James Madison.
TOUGH SLEDDING IN THE LAST TEN
Snow pun! The Dutchmen had just four field goals in the final 10 minutes last Thursday night, the last of which was TJ Gadsdens 3-pointer with 4:39 left. The struggles down the stretch continued a discouraging trend for the Dutchmen, who have just 15 field goals in the final 10 minutes of their last three games combined.
THE DUTCHMEN UNDER NO. 46
The Flying Dutchmen went 82-46 (.641) during Joe Biden’s presidency, which ends this morning. #NoPoliticsBeach That’s the fifth-best winning percentage produced by the Dutchmen during a president’s term, behind, err, a familiar face. Perhaps we can do this again in a few years! Anyway!
BEFORE THE TRANSITION
With last Thursday’s loss, the Dutchmen are 6-5 all-time in their final game prior to a new president’s Jan. 20 Inauguration. The two most interesting finales, at least to a weirdo like me: The Dutchmen fell to no. 7 Notre Dame, 65-55, in their last game of Jimmy Carter’s presidency on Jan. 17, 1981 and beat Rider, 48-34, in their last game of Ronald Reagan’s presidency on Jan, 18, 1989. The 34 points surrendered against Rider are the fewest allowed by Hofstra in the last 70 seasons (though Northeastern did its best to break that record just 16 days ago).
JEAN FITS
OK, enough of that stuff. Jean Aranguren was effective when he was on the floor last Thursday night, when he score a team-high 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and added five assists while playing just 25 minutes due to foul trouble. The 25 minutes were tied for the third-fewest this season for Aranguren, who played 21 minutes in the 114-46 win over Division III St. Joseph’s (NY) Dec. 6 and played 22 minutes before fouling out in the 68-63 overtime win against Rice on Nov. 29. He also played 25 minutes in the 80-44 loss to Houston on Nov. 22. Aranguren has scored in double figures in eight straight games and 15 times in 18 games overall after reaching double figures just nine times in 33 games last season with Iona.
TJ TO THE EXTREME
TJ Gadsden had perhaps his best game of the season last Thursday night, when he finished with 11 points while going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and adding four rebounds in 31 minutes. The 11 points were the second-most of the season for Gadsden, who had 12 points in the 74-56 loss to William & Mary on Jan. 2. The three 3-pointers were Gadsden’s most since he was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for Canisius against Mount St. Mary’s on Jan. 5, 2024. And the 31 minutes were the most for Gadsden since he played a season-high 39 minutes in the 75-71 overtime win against UMass on Nov. 16. Gadsden has scored in double figures just twice this season after scoring at least 10 points in 11 of 25 games last season for Canisius.
GRAHAM CRACKIN’
Michael Graham had another solid game last Thursday night, when he had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting while adding seven rebounds in 29 minutes. Graham has 44 points on 21-of-32 shooting to go along with 39 rebounds in four games since he was benched for the second half of the CAA opener against William & Mary on Jan. 2. He has scored in double figures in each of his last three games, his longes streak of double-figure efforts since he had at least 10 points in nine straight games for Not Twitter Guy from Nov, 21, 2021 through Jan 27, 2022. However, Thursday’s loss dropped the Dutchmen to 7-3 this season when Graham plays at least 20 minutes.
THIS STREAK GOES TO ELEVEN
A Spinal Tap reference for Michael Graham for the second straight game! Graham hit his first five field goal attempts last Thursday night before he missed a putback with 16:40 left. The miss ended a streak of 11 straight made field goals for Graham dating back to the second half of the 67-61 loss against Charleston on Jan. 9.
DAVIS’ DIFFICULTIES
Cruz Davis flirted with a double-double last Thursday night, when he finished with eight points and six assists while adding four rebounds and three steals in a team-high 33 minutes. But Davis was 0-for-3 from 3-point land and committed seven turnovers. Davis has been scoreless from beyond the arc while taking at least three shots five time this season. In addition, the seven turnovers were a career-high for Davis and tied a season-high for a Hofstra player. TJ Gadsden had seven turnovers in the 90-76 win over Iona on Nov. 8.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov, the lone returning player who made a start last season for the Dutchmen, returned to the lineup after a one-game absence due to a leg injury last Thursday night and finished with four points and two rebounds in 15 minutes. Plotnikov has started each of the last seven games in which he’s played, though the 15 minutes he played Thursday were his fewest as a starter this season, He has scored in each of the last 11 games in which he’s played after scoring just once in the first six games.
HERE’S TO YOU, MR. ROBINSON
KiJan Robinson resumed his usual key role off the bench last Thursday night, when he had eight points and three rebounds in 25 minutes, Robinson, who was limited to two points in 18 minutes in the 66-63 win over UNC Wilmington on Jan. 11, has scored at least six points in 13 of 18 games this season.
FARMER AID
Khalil Farmer, fresh off perhaps his best game in a Hofstra uniform, returned to his bench role last Thursday night, when he had one point, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 25 minutes. Farmer, who had 13 points in a career-high 38 minutes in the 66-63 win over UNC Wilmington on Jan. 11, was 0-for-3 from the field as he became the first Hofstra player to score one point or fewer in at least 25 minutes since Jean Aranguren was scoreless in 25 minutes in the 80-44 loss to Houston on Nov. 22.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
Silas Sunday, who made his first start of the season in the 66-63 win over UNC Wilmington on Jan. 11, also returned to his usual bench role last Thursday night, when he finished with two points, three rebounds, one block and one steal in 11 minutes. The limited playing time continued a recent trend for Sunday, who has played 12 minutes or fewer in five of his last six games after playing at least 13 minutes in nine of the first 12 games.
DECADY’S DANCE
Freshman Joshua DeCady continued to see some action as the unofficial third member of the center rotation last Thursday night, when he was scoreless with one rebound in five minutes. DeCady has played in each of the last six games and has played seven minutes or fewer in each of the last four games.
SANDERS RETURNS
Jaquan Sanders returned after missing two games due to personal reasons and was scoreless while playing the final minute of the first half. Sanders has played just three scoreless minutes without hoisting a field goal attempt in the last two games in which he’s played dating back to Jan. 4.
OVER THE AIR
This afternoon’s game is slated to be carried live on CBS Sports Network, which is channel 215 in the Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords Universe, at least until our Optimum/Altice overlords decide to drop CBSSN in a carriage dispute. Two straight games? On over-the-air TV? In this economy?! Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING DREXEL
The Dragons, under ninth-year head coach Zach Spiker, are also 10-8 overall and 2-3 in CAA play following a 65-54 loss to Not Twitter Guy Saturday. It was the second straight loss and the fourth defeat in the last five games for Drexel.
The Dutchmen and Dragons had one common opponent in non-league play. Hofstra fell to Temple 60-42 on Dec 15, a little more than a month after the Owls beat the Dragons 69-61. In CAA play, both teams have lost to Towson, which makes this game DOUBLY important for ECC tiebreaker purposes. That’s a real thing, Litos.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 179th at KenPom.com, which was also their preseason ranking. This will be the second straight game in which the Dutchmen enter ranked at no. 179. Apparently that’s their thing? The Dragons, who were picked to finish 11th, are ranked 202nd, a 19-spot improvement from their preseason ranking but a drop of 29 spots since they peaked at no. 173 entering a 93-82 overtime loss to Towson on Jan. 11.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank last in the CAA in offensive efficiency (98.4 points per 100 possessions) but first in defensive efficiency (99.4 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 63.9 possessions per 40 minutes, the 12th-most in the league. Strange numbers, especially on offense. The Dragons rank eighth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (103.2 points per 100 possessions) and third in defensive efficiency (105.9 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 63.3 possessions per 40 minutes, the second-fewest in the league. Drexel ranks just one spot ahead of Towson nationally in defensive efficiency and is six spots ahead of the Tigers in tempo.
The Dragons return five players from last year’s team. True junior Kobe MaGee leads Drexel with 15.3 points per game while ranking second with 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior Yame Butler, who is in his third season at Drexel after opening his career with one season apiece at Fordham and State Fair Community College, is averaging 14.2 points per game. True junior Cole Hargrove is averaging 10.4 points per game while leading the Dragons with 8.4 rebounds per game and ranking second with 2.2 assists per game. Junior Jason Drake, who opened his career with one season apiece at Cleveland State and Butler Community College, leads Drexel with 2.8 assists per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 60-58 loss for the Dutchmen. He predicted a 60-58 loss to Towson last Thursday. I’m sensing a trend here! Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 8-8 against the spread this season.
NICE TO ECC YOU
With today’s game, the Dutchmen will continue a three-game stretch against East Coast Conference foes (hi Litos). The Dutchmen, as you may have read by now, fell to Towson 65-60 last Thursday and are scheduled to host Delaware on Thursday night. This is the first time the Dutchmen have played three straight ECC foes since Jan. 11-17, 2022, when they fell to Towson before beating Delaware and Drexel.
ALL-TIME VS. DREXEL
Hofstra is 51-48 against Drexel in a series that began during the 1958-59 season. Each team won on its home court last season, when the Dragons overcame a 13-point first half-deficit to earn a 79-77 win in Philadelphia on Feb. 15 before the Dutchmen led most of the way in a 69-57 victory at the Arena just seven days later. The Dutchmen have won 18 of the last 21 games between the schools.
The Dutchmen and Dragons have opposed one another as members of the East Coast Conference, the North Atlantic Conference/America East and the CAA. After today’s 100th all-time meeting, Drexel will tie Delaware as the opponent Hofstra has faced most often…at least until Thursday. But don’t worry, Drexel, you’ll probably have a chance to catch up soon. Sigh.
ONE TIME ONLY
The unbalanced schedule means this season marks the second time since 1982-83 — when I believe the ECC schedule consisted of just a single round-robin — that Hofstra and Drexel are in the same conference and playing each other just once in the regular season. They played each other twice apiece from 1983-84 through Drexel’s last year in the ECC in 1990-91 and twice a season every year from 1994-95 — Hofstra’s first season in the North Atlantic Conference, Jay Wright’s first season as head coach and my second year on campus — through 2021-22 before facing each other once in 2022-23. That’s 28 straight seasons, including a campaign played in a pandemic. I know there’s a lot of balls to juggle in the air when scheduling a 14-team league, but it’s a bummer these rivals can’t play each other twice.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Why can’t the Giants get guys like Saquon Barkley bias! (LOL Giants)
Second and third Inauguration sites bias! (Philadelphia, that is, not Drexel, though that would have been cool)
Charlie Kelly can read now bias! (Spoiler alert from the It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia/Abbott Elementary crossover)
Luke House is playing with Joe Linderman in a 50-and-over league right now bias! (#IYKYK)
