Saturday, January 27, 2018

I'll Be Quirky: Delaware


Forget that Simms guy, here's the Giants' quarterback of the future!

The Flying Dutchmen continued their Sybil act Thursday, when they trailed for the final 36-plus minutes of a discouraging 81-67 loss to first-place Northeastern at the Arena. The Dutchmen will attempt to reverse their slide tonight, when they visit Delaware. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Huskies and a look ahead to the Fightin’ Blue Hens.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Rokas Gustys (13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, 10 rebounds) had yet another double-double and Justin Wright-Foreman scored a game-high 20 points, but the Dutchmen never got closer than five points in the second half. Yet another #CAAHoops phantom technical foul, this one on Hunter Sabety, helped fuel a 15-6 run in the first half by Northeastern, which never trailed again. Wright-Foreman was just 6-of-21 from the field for the Dutchmen, who received 18 combined points from Eli Pemberton and Desure Buie, who were 7-of-22 from the field. Kenny Wormley added seven points in 15 minutes.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Northeastern 1/25)
3: Rokas Gustys
2: Justin Wright-Foreman
1: Kenny Wormley

SEASON STANDINGS
Justin Wright-Foreman 53
Rokas Gustys 29
Eli Pemberton 20
Desure Buie 8
Jalen Ray 6
Joel Angus 4
Kenny Wormley 3
Stafford Trueheart 1
Hunter Sabety 1

NO CLOSE SHAVE
The 14-point loss was the most lopsided of the CAA season for the Dutchmen, who have played six league games decided by six points or fewer. Overall this year, the Dutchmen have played 12 games decided by six points or fewer or in overtime, 
The six-point loss to Charleston Saturday marked the 12th time in 19 games this season a Hofstra game has been determined by six points or fewer or in overtime, tied for the most in the CAA with Drexel and James Madison. The Dutchmen are 9-3 in their “close shaves.”

HOFSTRA 12 (9-3)
Drexel 12 (6-6)
James Madison 12 (4-8)
Elon 11 (7-4)
UNC Wilmington 10 (4-6)
Towson 9 (4-5)
College of Charleston 8 (4-4)
Delaware 6 (4-2)
Northeastern 5 (3-2)
William & Mary 4 (3-1)

While recency bias makes these nail-biters seem new and unusual, “Team Barbasol” is a well-earned moniker for the Dutchmen. Of the 87 games the Dutchmen have played since the start of the 2015-16 season, a whopping 48 have been decided by six points or fewer or in overtime. They are 29-19 in the “close shaves.”

CAN’T STOP THE ROK
Rokas Gustys was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field Thursday night. It was the first time a Dutchman was perfect from the field (minimum five attempts) since Gustys was 8-for-8 against Towson on Feb. 18, 2016. He has the last four perfect shooting nights by a Hofstra player. Only one other player in the CAA era, Stephen Nwaukoni, had as many as two perfect shooting nights.

Rokas Gustys 6/6 vs. Northeastern 1/25/18
Rokas Gustys 8/8 vs. Towson 2/18/16
Rokas Gustys 5/5 vs. St. Bonaventure 11/28/15
Rokas Gustys 6/6 vs. Vermont 3/18/15 
Ameen Tanksley 9/9 vs. Norfolk State 12/2/14
Darren Payen 6/6 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson 11/10/13
Stephen Nwaukoni 5/5 vs. Belmont 11/24/13
Stephen Nwaukoni 5/5 vs. Cleveland State 11/26/11
Greg Washington 6/6 vs. William & Mary 1/22/11
David Imes 8/8 vs. Drexel 1/3/11
Adrian Uter 6/6 vs. Nebraska 3/16/06
Kenny Adeleke 6/6 vs. Illinois State 11/25/01

DOUBLE DIGIT JWF
Junior guard Justin Wright-Foreman scored at least 10 points Thursday for the 43rd straight game. It is the fifth-longest active streak in Division I, per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, and moved him into a tie with former teammate Juan’ya Green for the third-longest streak by a Hofstra player since 1989-90 (as far back as my records go, at least at home).

Charles Jenkins 58 straight games 12/12/09-3/15/11*** 
Antoine Agudio 48 straight games 3/6/06-1/17/08****
Justin Wright-Foreman: 43 straight games 12/11/16-present
Juan’ya Green: 43 straight games 11/14/14-12/9/15 
Loren Stokes 41 straight games 2/20/06-3/14/07*** 
Loren Stokes: 34 straight games 1/14/04-1/31/05

***streak ended with the end of the player’s Hofstra career
****Agudio had three DNPs during his streak

MOVIN’ ON UP
Justin Wright-Foreman and Rokas Gustys, the two newest members of the 1,000-point club at Hofstra, each continued moving up the list Thursday. With his 20 points on Thursday, Wright-Foreman surged from 28th to 25th and needs just 15 points tonight to surpass Ted Jackson for 24th place. Gustys, meanwhile, scored 13 points to move from 33rd to 31st and is 20 points shy of surging past former teammate Ameen Tanksley for 30th place.

22t.) Brian Bernardi 1,186 (2014-17)
22t.) Juan’ya Green 1,186 (2014-16)
24.) Ted Jackson 1,159 (1958-61)
25.) JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 1,146 (2015-present)
26.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139 (2007-12)
27.) Wandy Williams 1,132 (1966-69)
28.) Mike Moore 1,128 (2010-12)
29.) Richie Swartz 1,107 (1959-62)
30.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090 (2014-16)
31.) ROKAS GUSTYS 1,071 (2014-present)
32.) Derrick Flowers 1,069 (1987-91)
33.) Darius Burton 1,060 (1993-97)
34.) Percy Johnson 1,045 (1950-53)
35.) Jim Shaffer 1,022 (1991-95)
36.) John Irving 1,018 (1974-77)

NEXT UP: IRVING
Rokas Gustys could become the most prolific Hofstra rebounder of the Division I era as early as tonight. With 10 rebounds on Thursday, Gustys (1,172 rebounds) moved within 14 rebounds of John Irving for second place on the school’s all-time all-time list. The only player with more rebounds than Irving is Bill Thieben, who pulled down a whopping 1,837 rebounds from 1953-56.

NEXT UP: THE ADMIRAL
Rokas Gustys is just 143 rebounds behind the CAA’s all-time leading rebounder, Hall of Famer David Robinson (1,314 rebounds for Navy from 1983-87). At his current season average of 11.4 rebounds per game, Gustys would need to play 13 more 10 more games (nine regular season CAA games and at least one tournament game).

OVER THE AIR
Hofstra will provide a live video and radio feed, as well as live stats, at the Pride Productions hub.

SCOUTING DELAWARE
The Blue Hens, under second-year head coach Martin Ingelsby, are 11-11 this season and 4-5 in CAA play. Delaware suffered its third straight loss Thursday, when it fell to Charleston, 62-54. The Blue Hens’ losing streak began with a 93-60 loss to the Dutchmen on Jan. 18.

The Dutchmen and Blue Hens had no common foes during non-league play. Both the Dutchmen and Blue Hens have beaten Drexel and James Madison and lost to William & Mary, Charleston and Northeastern in CAA play, with the Blue Hens having been swept by Charleston. The Dutchmen split with Northeastern.

The Dutchmen, who were picked fourth in the CAA preseason poll, entered today ranked 167th at KenPom.com. The Blue Hens, who were picked seventh, were ranked 261st at KenPom.com as of early this morning.

According to the efficiency rankings at KenPom.com the Dutchmen rank fourth in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (111.4) and eighth in conference-only defensive efficiency (110.5). The Blue Hens rank 10th in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (100.4) and seventh in conference-only defensive efficiency (109.9).

KenPom.com predicts a 75-72 win by Hofstra. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point favorites as of early this morning. Hofstra is 7-10 against the spread this season.

ALL-TIME VS. DELAWARE
Hofstra is 55-32 against Delaware in a series that began during the 1954-55 season.  Delaware is Hofstra’s most common foe. The two schools were rivals in the East Coast Conference and the North Atlantic Conference/America East before heading to the CAA, along with Drexel and Towson, for the 2001-02 season.

The Dutchmen are looking to complete their fourth straight regular season series sweep of the Blue Hens, though Delaware ended Hofstra’s season with a win in the opening round of the CAA Tournament. 

PERFECT IN THE ECC
With a win tonight, the Dutchmen will remain perfect in the ECC and all but lock up the season within a season, the one Litos won’t acknowledge. 

HOFSTRA 3-0
Towson 1-1
Delaware 1-1
Drexel 0-3

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Valerie Bertinelli bias! (Per Wikipedia which is never wrong, the One Day At A Time actress and former wife of Eddie Van Halen was born in Delaware)
Scott Brunner bias! (The former Delaware quarterback played in the pros for the Giants and thus gave I-AA football some publicity)
The Stone Balloon bias! (The late great dive bar was the best bar I ever visited as a collegian)
We modeled our arena after your arena bias! (The Arena is basically a carbon copy of the Bob Carpenter Center, which is high praise because that building is great)

Thursday, January 25, 2018

I'll Be Quirky: Northeastern

I spent my last 10 bucks at Simpsons World on this Bill Coen doll!

The rollercoaster season took another dip Saturday afternoon, when the Dutchmen squandered an 18-point first half lead against preseason CAA favorite College of Charleston and fell to the host Cougars, 76-70. The loss cost the Dutchmen a chance at a battle for first place tonight, when they host CAA co-leader Northeastern at the Arena. Here’s a look back at the loss to Charleston and a look ahead to the Huskies.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Justin Wright-Foreman (26 points, four assists, one steal) did Justin Wright-Foreman things, but the Dutchmen had no answer for the Charleston 1-2 punch of Joe Chealey (33 points) and Grant Riller (25 points) as the Cougars stormed back for the win. Chealey and Riller were a combined 19-of-26 from the field, including 16-of-19 from inside the 3-point arc. Rokas Gustys (10 points, eight rebounds) was the only other player to score in double figures for the Dutchmen. Desure Buie had seven points, five assists and five rebounds while Eli Pemberton added eight points.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. College of Charleston 1/20)
3: Justin Wright-Foreman
2: Rokas Gustys
1: Desure Buie

SEASON STANDINGS
Justin Wright-Foreman 51
Rokas Gustys 26
Eli Pemberton 20
Desure Buie 8
Jalen Ray 6
Joel Angus 4
Kenny Wormley 2
Stafford Trueheart 1
Hunter Sabety 1

SQUANDERED LEAD
The Dutchmen blew a lead of at least 10 points and lost for the first time this season and the 15th time in the Joe Mihalich Era (2013-present). The 18-point blown lead was the second-biggest under Mihalich. The Dutchmen frittered away a 20-point lead against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 4, 2016. I have good and bad news about how that season ended.

vs. Charleston 1/20/18 (18 1st, L 76-70)
vs. Delaware 3/3/17 (10 1st, L 81-76 CAAT)
vs. Towson 2/9/17 (10 2nd, L 69-65)
vs. Towson 1/19/17 (16 1st, L 86-80)
vs. UNCW 3/7/16 (12 2nd, L 80-73 OT CAAT)
vs. JMU 2/7/16 (14 1st, L 98-95 OT)
vs. UNCW 2/4/16 (20 1st, L 70-67)
vs. JMU 1/24/15 (14 1st, L 69-63)
vs. South Florida 11/25/15 (15 2nd, L 71-70)
vs. Delaware 2/19/14 (15 1st, L 81-77)
vs. Northeastern 1/25/14 (10 1st, L 70-57)
vs. Delaware 1/8/14 (13 1st, L 86-79)
vs. Belmont 11/24/13 (10 1st, L 85-75)
vs. Richmond 11/19/13 (11 2nd, L 74-63)
vs. Monmouth 11/8/13 (13 2nd, L 88-84)

DOUBLE DIGIT JWF
Junior guard Justin Wright-Foreman scored at least 10 points Saturday for the 42nd straight game. It is the fifth-longest active streak in Division I, per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, and snapped a tie with Loren Stokes for the fourth-longest streak streak by a Hofstra player since 1989-90 (as far back as my records go, at least at home). Thankfully, the record-tying effort did not come with a punch to the nuts. Wright-Foreman is one game away from tying former teammate Juan’ya Green for third on the list.

Charles Jenkins 58 straight games 12/12/09-3/15/11*** 
Antoine Agudio 48 straight games 3/6/06-1/17/08****
Juan’ya Green: 43 straight games 11/14/14-12/9/15 
Justin Wright-Foreman: 42 straight games 12/11/16-present
Loren Stokes 41 straight games 2/20/06-3/14/07*** 
Loren Stokes: 34 straight games 1/14/04-1/31/05

***streak ended with the end of the player’s Hofstra career
****Agudio had three DNPs during his streak
TEAM BARBASOL
The six-point loss to Charleston Saturday marked the 12th time in 19 games this season a Hofstra game has been determined by six points or fewer or in overtime, the most in the CAA. The Dutchmen are 9-3 in their “close shaves.” 

HOFSTRA 12 (9-3)
Drexel 11 (5-6)
James Madison 11 (4-7)
Elon 10 (7-3)
UNC Wilmington 9 (3-6)
Towson 8 (3-5)
College of Charleston 8 (4-4)
Delaware 6 (4-2)
Northeastern 5 (3-2)
William & Mary 3 (3-0)

While recency bias makes these nail-biters seem new and unusual, “Team Barbasol” is a well-earned moniker for the Dutchmen. Of the 86 games the Dutchmen have played since the start of the 2015-16 season, a whopping 48 have been decided by six points or fewer or in overtime. They are 29-19 in the “close shaves.”

MOVIN’ ON UP
Justin Wright-Foreman and Rokas Gustys, the two newest members of the 1,000-point club at Hofstra, could each move up multiple spots on the list tonight. With his 26 points on Saturday afternoon, Wright-Foreman moved into 28th place all-time and needs just three points to move past Mike Moore, seven points to surpass Wandy Williams and 14 points to surge past Nathaniel Lester, who is 25th on the list. Gustys, meanwhile, enters tonight needing just three points to move past Darius Burton into 32nd place and 12 points to surpass Derrick Flowers.

24.) Ted Jackson 1,159 (1958-61)
25.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139 (2007-12)
26.) Wandy Williams 1,132 (1966-69)
27.) Mike Moore 1,128 (2010-12)
28.) JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 1,126 (2015-present)
29.) Richie Swartz 1,107 (1959-62)
30.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090 (2014-16)
31.) Derrick Flowers 1,069 (1987-91)
32.) Darius Burton 1,060 (1993-97)
33.) ROKAS GUSTYS 1,058 (2014-present)
34.) Percy Johnson 1,045 (1950-53)
35.) Jim Shaffer 1,022 (1991-95)
36.) John Irving 1,018 (1974-77)

OVER THE AIR
Hofstra will provide a live video and radio feed, as well as live stats, at the Pride Productions hub.

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
The Huskies, under 12th-year head coach Bill Coen, are 13-7 this season and 6-2 in CAA play. The latter mark ties them for first place in the league with William & Mary. Northeastern earned its third straight win Saturday with a 76-64 win over Delaware.

The Dutchmen and Huskies had no common foes during non-league play. Both teams have beaten James Madison and Delaware in CAA action, with Northeastern already completing the season sweep of the Dukes, and both squads have lost to Charleston. Northeastern has beaten Elon and William & Mary, both of whom beat Hofstra.

The Dutchmen, who were picked fourth in the CAA preseason poll, enter today ranked 158th at KenPom.com. The Huskies, who were picked sixth, are ranked 116th at KenPom.com.

This game marks the Dutchmen’s first rematch of the 2017-18 CAA season. Hofstra edged Northeastern, 71-70, in Boston on Jan. 2. The Dutchmen will be looking for their third straight season sweep. 

According to the efficiency rankings at KenPom.com the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (114.5) and eighth in conference-only defensive efficiency (111.0). The Huskies rank fifth in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (113.7) and second in conference-only defensive efficiency (103.5).

KenPom.com predicts a 75-74 win by Hofstra. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2.5-point favorites. Hofstra is 7-9 against the spread this season.

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHEASTERN
Hofstra is 22-20 against Northeastern in a series that began during the 1949-50 season. All but three of the meetings have come in conference play since the 1994-95 season, when Hofstra joined the North Atlantic Conference. The Dutchmen took the all-time lead by virtue of sweeping last season’s series with a 78-73 win in Hempstead and a 74-64 win in Bahston. The Dutchmen’s current five-game winning streak in the series comes immediately after they lost seven straight games to Northeastern prior to the 2015-16 season.

THE BARONE BOWL
The Barone Bowl was established by me and Northeastern graduate Mike Brodsky during the 2009-10 season, after Northeastern and Hofstra dropped football within two weeks of one another (Hofstra’s decision, of course, was reached after a multi-year study, wink wink nudge nudge). The Barone Bowl pays homage to the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in which a Hofstra kicker boots a 68-yard field goal against Northeastern but Frank Barone catches the ball and refuses to give it up. Apparently that wasn’t the type of publicity either school liked. Anyway.

Northeastern leads the Barone Bowl series, 10-8, though Hofstra is looking tonight to retain the Barone Bowl for the third straight season. This, unfortunately, is a purely symbolic trophy, one which you will not find displayed by either school. But you can find me and Brodsky talking about it on Twitter!

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Bill Coen never ditches his jacket bias! (It’s true, I read it on Twitter)
Bill Coen is an Al Gore doll come to life! (He really is)
Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch bias! (C’mon people)

Let us have this you’re gonna win another Super Bowl in 10 days anyway! (C’mon people)

Saturday, January 20, 2018

I’ll Be Quirky: Charleston

Brett Gardner! With hair!

The Barbasol Kids enjoyed a rare blowout win Thursday night, when the Flying Dutchmen led for the final 38-plus minutes of a 90-63 victory over Delaware that catapulted them into a tie for first place in the CAA. The Dutchmen will look to extend their winning streak to four games today, when they visit preseason favorite Charleston in what can most definitely be categorized a A Big Game. Here’s a look back at the win over the Blue Hens and a look ahead to the Cougars.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Desure Buie set career highs by scoring 20 points, collecting eight assists and playing 35 minutes as the Dutchmen rode a dominant second half to an easy win over Delaware. The Dutchmen outscored the Blue Hens 51-32 over the final 20 minutes, during which they led by as many as 33 points. Eli Pemberton led all scorers with 21 points while Justin Wright-Foreman added a season-low (!!) 15 points while chipping in five assists. Jalen Ray scored 10 points and Rokas Gustys (eight points, 14 rebounds) flirted with another double-double.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Delaware 1/18)
3: Desure Buie
2: Eli Pemberton
1: Justin Wright-Foreman

SEASON STANDINGS
Justin Wright-Foreman 48
Rokas Gustys 24
Eli Pemberton 20
Desure Buie 7
Jalen Ray 6
Joel Angus 4
Kenny Wormley 2
Stafford Trueheart 1
Hunter Sabety 1

NO CLOSE SHAVE
The Dutchmen won by 27 points Thursday — a lopsided margin by any measure, but especially so considering their first six CAA games were decided by a total of 31 points. The big win improved the Dutchmen’s CAA point differential from minus-1 to plus-26. The victory was the Dutchmen’s largest in a CAA game since a 91-63 win over William & Mary on Jan. 14, 2016 and the most lopsided result in a Hofstra-Delaware game in the CAA era. The previous most lopsided CAA game between the longtime rivals took place Jan. 6, 2007, when the Dutchmen earned a 75-50 win at the Arena.

RAREFIED AIR
The Dutchmen enter today with a share of first place in the CAA for the first time since Jan. 2, 2017, when they were in a six-way tie for first at 1-0.

FAST START
With the win on Saturday, the Dutchmen improved to 5-2 in CAA play. It is the sixth time in the CAA era (2001-present) they have opened 5-2 or better through seven league games. They earned a three seed or higher in the CAA tournament in four of the previous five seasons, with the 2014-15 season (fifth seed) the exception. 

2015-16: 5-2
2014-15: 5-2
2010-11: 6-1
2006-07: 6-1
2005-06: 5-2

NUMBER THREE IS NUMBER THREE (for once)
Justin Wright-Foreman was the Dutchmen’s third-leading scorer Thursday. It was the first time since Jan. 19, 2017, when he ranked third on the Dutchmen with 18 points in an 86-80 loss to Towson, that Wright-Foreman has not been Hofstra’s leading or second-leading scorer. 

DOUBLE DIGIT JWF
Junior guard Justin Wright-Foreman scored at least 10 points Saturday for the 41st straight game. It is the fifth-longest active streak in Division I, per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, and moved him into a tie with Loren Stokes for the fourth-longest streak streak by a Hofstra player since 1989-90 (as far back as my records go, at least at home). Thankfully, the record-tying effort did not come with a punch to the nuts.

Charles Jenkins 58 straight games 12/12/09-3/15/11*** 
Antoine Agudio 48 straight games 3/6/06-1/17/08****
Juan’ya Green: 43 straight games 11/14/14-12/9/15 
Justin Wright-Foreman: 41 straight games 12/11/16-present
Loren Stokes 41 straight games 2/20/06-3/14/07*** 
Loren Stokes: 34 straight games 1/14/04-1/31/05

***streak ended with the end of the player’s Hofstra career
****Agudio had three DNPs during his streak

MOVIN’ ON UP
Justin Wright-Foreman and Rokas Gustys, the two newest members of the 1,000-point club at Hofstra, each moved up a spot Thursday and are likely to do so again today. With his 15 points, Wright-Foreman (1,100 points) surpassed ex-teammate Ameen Tanksley for 29th place. Wright-Foreman is just eight points away from moving past Richie Swartz. Gustys, meanwhile, scored eight points to increase his career total to 1,048 points and surge past Percy Johnson into 33rd place. He is 13 points shy of moving past Darius Burton for 32nd place.

27.) Mike Moore 1,128 (2010-12)
28.) Richie Swartz 1,107 (1959-62)
29.) JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 1,100 (2015-present)
30.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090 (2014-16)
31.) Derrick Flowers 1,069 (1987-91)
32.) Darius Burton 1,060 (1993-97)
33.) ROKAS GUSTYS 1,048 (2014-present)
34.) Percy Johnson 1,045 (1950-53)
35.) Jim Shaffer 1,022 (1991-95)
36.) John Irving 1,018 (1974-77)

FAST START IN THE ECC
The Dutchmen completed a sweep of the first leg of ECC play Thursday and hold a commanding lead in the season within a season, the one Litos won’t acknowledge. 

HOFSTRA 3-0
Towson 1-1
Delaware 1-1
Drexel 0-3

OVER THE AIR
Today’s game will be streamed live by College Sports Live. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
The Cougars, under fourth-year head coach Earl Grant, are 13-6 this season and 4-3 in CAA play. Charleston edged UNC Wilmington, 80-76, on Thursday and has alternated wins with losses in each of its last four games.

The Dutchmen and Cougars had one common foe during non-league play. Charleston beat Siena, 68-60, on Nov. 10 while Hofstra fell to the Saints, 85-76, on Nov. 25. Both the Dutchmen and Cougars have beaten Delaware and Northeastern and lost to Elon in CAA play. The Dutchmen beat Towson, which split with Charleston, and Drexel, which defeated Charleston.

The Dutchmen, who were picked fourth in the CAA preseason poll, were ranked 156th at KenPom.com as of early this morning. The Cougars, who were picked first, were ranked 138th at KenPom.com as of early this morning.

According to the efficiency rankings at KenPom.com the Dutchmen rank third in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (115.0) and sixth in conference-only defensive efficiency (109.8). The Cougars rank fifth in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (113.4) and fifth in conference-only defensive efficiency (108.0).

KenPom.com predicts a 75-71 win by Charleston. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 5.5-point underdogs as of early this morning. Hofstra is 7-8 against the spread this season.

ALL-TIME VS. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Hofstra is 4-4 against Charleston in a series that began with the Cougars joining the CAA prior to the 2013-14 season. Charleston completed its first sweep of the Dutchmen last season, when the Cougars earned a 77-71 win in South Carolina on Jan. 7 and a 76-72 victory in Hempstead on Feb. 16.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
We’re here so often this season we may as well forward our mail here bias! (The CAA Tournament is scheduled to be played in Charleston at the “neutral site” TD Arena, the same place the Dutchmen played in the Charleston Classic in November)
John Kreese bias! (The legendary coach led Charleston to an NAIA championship in 1983 and four NCAA Tournament berths upon the program’s move to Division I)
Brett Gardner bias! (The Yankees’ leadoff hitter played at Charleston)

Alison Munn bias! (The actress, who has been on many CW shows, graduated from Charleston)