I'll Be Quirky: Siena

What could Jose Lind possibly have to do with Siena? Read to the end!

The Flying Dutchmen nearly made their reunion with VCU a winning one Saturday night, when they came back from a 15-point first half deficit and had the ball with the chance to win at the buzzer in both regulation and overtime before falling, 69-67. The Dutchmen will look to continue their pattern of win one-lose one tonight, when they host Siena at the Arena. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Rams and a look ahead to the Indians, err, Saints.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

VCU jumped out to a 15-point lead during a first half in which it limited Justin Wright-Foreman to four points, but Wright-Foreman did Wright-Foreman things by scoring 23 points after the break for the Dutchmen, who led by as many as six in the second half. But Wright-Foreman, who scored 14 of the Dutchmen’s final 17 points, missed a jumper just before the buzzer in regulation and missed a 3-pointer as time expired in overtime. Eli Pemberton had 17 points for the Dutchmen while Jalen Ray had 14 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes off the bench. Jacquil Taylor racked up 17 rebounds in 35 minutes.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. VCU 11/24)

3: Justin Wright-Foreman

2: Jalen Ray

1: Eli Pemberton

SEASON STANDINGS

Justin Wright-Foreman 18

Eli Pemberton 7

Tareq Coburn 2

Stafford Trueheart 2

Desure Buie 2

Jalen Ray 3

Jacquil Taylor 1

Dan Dwyer 1

COACHSPEAK: “It’s just heartbreaking. It’s just heartbreaking to be so close. So proud of our guys. I mean, we had a chance to pack it in. We let a feel-good team feel good. At the end of the (first) half, they banked one in from 30 feet, they’re up 13. We could have packed it in. Next thing you know, there’s 10 minutes to go in the game and we’re up. I was so proud of our guys. We had our chances. Just one play here, one play there, you pick it out.”

NOT-SO-RANDOM SELECTION FROM THE 1993-94 JUKEBOX



The (#CAAHoops) past is gone but something might be found to take its place...

WORKIN’ OVERTIME

The Dutchmen played their first overtime game since Jan. 5, when they edged James Madison, 87-81. It was also the first-ever overtime game between Hofstra and VCU. The Dutchmen are 3-6 in overtime games under Joe Mihalich.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

The Dutchmen scored just 23 points in the first half Saturday. It was their lowest-scoring half since a 21-point second half against James Madison on Jan. 5, 2017. However, the Dutchmen limited VCU to 25 points in the second half, which was the stingiest half by the Dutchmen since Delaware was limited to 23 points in the second half on Jan. 27. 

In addition, Saturday marked the first time the Dutchmen have scored 25 or fewer points in a half and limited the opposition to 25 points or fewer in a half in the same game since Feb. 8, when the Dutchmen scored 24 points in the first half against Elon before holding the Phoenix to 20 points in the second half.

ALL BY HIMSELF

With his 27 points Saturday night, Justin Wright-Foreman extended his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 59 straight games, which broke a tie with Charles Jenkins for the longest streak by a Hofstra player since 1989-90 (as far back as my records go, at least at home). In addition, Wright-Foreman’s streak is the fourth-longest active streak in Division I, per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov.

Justin Wright-Foreman: 59 straight games 12/11/16-present

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 

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

JWF IS A TOP TEN HIT

With his 27 points Saturday, Justin Wright-Foreman remained in 10th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. To be fair, he needed to score 132 more points to move up the list and pass Norman Richardson for ninth place. 

8.) David Taylor 1,818 (1979-83)

9.) Norman Richardson 1,677 (1997-2001)

10.) JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 1,546 (2015-present)

11.) Frank Walker 1,437 (1985-89)

12.) Leroy Allen 1,435 (1983-87)

OLD NEWS BECOMES NEW NEWS

I forgot last week to mention Justin Wright-Foreman earned CAA Player of the Week honors for the week ending Nov. 18. No problem. He won it again (albeit in shared fashion with Charleston’s Grant Riller) for the week ending Sunday. Wright-Foreman is the first player to earn at least a share of the Player of the Week award in consecutive weeks since…Riller, who shared the award for the week ending Feb. 11 earned the honor by himself for the week ending Feb. 18.

Wright-Foreman has earned at least a share of Player of the Week honors twice. He was the lone winner for the week ending Dec. 10, 2017 and shared the award Dec. 17. Overall, Wright-Foreman has been named the CAA Player of the Week seven times in his career. 

Week ending 1/22/17 (shared)

Week ending 2/12/17

Week ending 12/10/17

Week ending 12/17/17 (shared)

Week ending 1/15/18

Week ending 11/18/18

Week ending 11/25/18 (shared)

WIN ONE, LOSE ONE, WIN ONE, LOSE ONE, WIN ONE, LOSE ONE

The Dutchmen have alternated wins in odd-numbered games with losses through even-numbered games through six games for the first time in program history. The Dutchmen alternated wins with losses in the first six games of the 1979-80 and 1999-2000 seasons, but they lost the odd-numbered games and won the even-numbered games in both of those campaigns. This is the good content, kids! (Also good: The Dutchmen made the NCAA Tournament in 1999-2000) 

SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE ROK

Jacquil Taylor’s 17 rebounds Saturday were the most by a Hofstra player this season and, thus, the most by a Dutchmen since Rokas Gustys graduated. Gustys had at least 17 rebounds 16 times in his career. Taylor’s rebounds are the most by a Hofstra player other than Gustys since David Imes pulled down 17 rebounds against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 23, 2011.

In addition, the two points for Taylor are the fewest any Hofstra player has recorded in a game in which he’s pulled down at least 15 rebounds since at least the 1989-90 season, which is as far back as my records go (at least at home).

ROUGH GAME FOR BUIE

Junior Desure Buie was scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting in 14 minutes Saturday night. He is the first Dutchmen to go scoreless from the field in at least six attempts since Justin Wright-Foreman was 0-for-6 against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 3, 2016. Things have gone pretty well for Wright-Foreman since then. 

OVER THE AIR

Hofstra will over live video, audio and stats here.

SIENA AND THE MAAC

Siena, under first-year head coach Jamion Christian, is 2-4 this season following its third straight loss, an 84-79 defeat at the hands of Colgate on Saturday. The Saints were picked to finish last in the 11-team MAAC. 

The Saints are led by freshman Jalen Pickett, who is averaging a team-high 15.4 ppg, and senior Evan Fisher, who ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.5 ppg and leads Siena with 5.7 rpg.

Thanks to the Dutchmen’s MAAC-heavy non-conference schedule, Hofstra and Siena have three common foes this season. The Dutchmen play Monmouth, Rider and Manhattan in consecutive games in December. Siena plays Monmouth and Manhattan twice apiece in conference play and Rider once.

This is the second straight season Hofstra is facing four MAAC opponents. Last year marked the first time the Dutchmen faced four teams from one league in the non-conference schedule since 1993-94, when the Dutchmen, who were really known as the Dutchmen back then, played four North Atlantic Conference foes in the program’s final pre-NAC season.

This also marks the fourth straight season Hofstra has faced Siena, which makes it the Dutchmen’s second-longest active non-conference streak behind SUNY-Stony Brook. Isn’t it ironic?

Hofstra is 5-3 all-time against Siena. Seven of those meetings have taken place since the 2005-06 season. The Saints earned an 85-76 win last season in upstate Loudonville.

Siena is the most frequent opponent for Joe Mihalich, who is 19-20 against the Saints dating back to his days as Niagara’s head coach. The Dutchmen are 2-2 against Siena under Mihalich.

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 137th while Siena is ranked 257th. KenPom.com predicts a 73-63 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 12-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 6-0 against the spread this season.

Hofstra is 95-118 all-time against current MAAC schools. This marks the 12th time in the last 13 seasons the Dutchmen have played at least two MAAC schools (the 2014-15 schedule had no MAAC teams).

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Jamion Christian likes Jose Lind bias! (The Siena head coach once suggested my avatar for a Pirates-Mets game)

I still call you Indians bias! (The Saints were the Indians until 1989)

You won the NAC measles tournament bias! (Siena won the NAC Tournament in 1989, when the tourney was held in front of no one at Hartford Civic Center due to measles outbreaks at Siena and Hartford)

You didn’t like publicity from I-AA football way before us bias! (Siena dropped football following the 2003 season) 

I'll Be Quirky: VCU

Lookit Lis. You can pinpoint the exact moment Jim Larranaga decided to leave the CAA because a CAA team had made a non-fraudulent Final Four run and he was no longer the BMOC.

The Flying Dutchmen ensured their turkey would taste much better #OldSchoolSportswritingCliche Wednesday night, when Justin Wright-Foreman did Justin Wright-Foreman things in leading the Dutchmen to an 80-71 win over Cal State Fullerton and Wright-Foreman’s buddy, Kyle Allman Jr. Speaking of old buddies, the Dutchmen will look to make it two in a row tonight, when they visit former #CAAHoops foe VCU. Here’s a look back at the win over the Titans and a look ahead to the Rams.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Kyle Allman Jr. scored 38 points for Cal State Fullerton, but Justin Wright-Foreman outdueled him with yet another monster game with 37 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Dutchmen beat Cal State Fullerton and earned their first win over a Big West team this century. That’s excitement! Wright-Foreman missed out on his first career 40-point game when he missed two 3-pointers in the final few minutes. The Dutchmen ended the first half on a 20-9 run to take a 12-point lead at intermission and didn’t lead by fewer than 10 points in the second half until Fullerton’s final basket. Eli Pemberton had 20 points and six rebounds for the Dutchmen while Jacquil Taylor had nine rebound in just 16 minutes and Jalen Ray added seven points in 19 minutes.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Cal State Fullerton 11/21)

3: Justin Wright-Foreman

2: Eli Pemberton

1: Jalen Ray

SEASON STANDINGS

Justin Wright-Foreman 15

Eli Pemberton 6

Tareq Coburn 2

Stafford Trueheart 2

Desure Buie 2

Jalen Ray 1

Jacquil Taylor 1

Dan Dwyer 1

COACHSPEAK: “I’m proud of Justin. I mean, let’s face it, the elephant in the room was the fact that Justin and his former high school teammate were playing against each other. Did we talk a lot about this week? Not too much. But I’m proud of Justin’s composure. He could have easily tightened up or tried too hard or taken it really personal between the two of them. And he didn’t.”

NOT-SO-RANDOM SELECTION FROM THE 1993-94 JUKEBOX

Joe Mihalich on Wright-Foreman coming close to 40 points: “As a coach, those video boards…there’s a little too much information up there. Too much that these guys can see up there.”

WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

No! But 80-71 doesn’t happen as often as you might think. This was Hofstra’s first 80-71 win since the Flying Dutchmen, who were really known as the Flying Dutchmen back then, beat Columbia on Jan. 6, 1990. I didn’t even know what a Hofstra was!

ALL BY HIMSELF

Justin Wright-Foreman recorded his second 30-point game of the season Wednesday night, when he poured in 37 points, the second-highest figure of his career. It was also Wright-Foreman’s 13th 30-point effort, which broke a tie with Demetrius Dudley and Charles Jenkins for the most by the most by a Hofstra player since the 1989-90 season. But Wright-Foreman has played just 95 games and registered all of his 30-point games in his last 54 games dating back to Jan. 2, 2017. Here is the list of all players with multiple 30-point games since 1989-90 (career games in parenthesis).

Justin Wright-Foreman 13 (95)

Demetrius Dudley 12 (55)

Charles Jenkins 12 (128)

Antoine Agudio 10 (122)

Speedy Claxton 8 (119)

Loren Stokes 7 (124)

Zeke Upshaw 3 (33)

Mike Moore 3 (65)

Ameen Tanksley 2 (68)

Rick Apodaca 2 (108)

John Mavroukas 2 (90)

ALSO ALL BY HIMSELF

Per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, Justin Wright-Foreman (28 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.2 apg is the only player in the country averaging 25 points, five rebounds and four assists per game.

ALMOST ALL BY HIMSELF

Justin Wright-Foreman had at least 25 points five rebounds and five assists Wednesday for the sixth time in his career. All six efforts have come since the start of the 2017-18 season.

11/21/18 (37 pts/5 rbs/6 assists vs. Cal State Fullerton)

3/4/18 (29 pts/5 rbs/6 assists vs. UNCW CAAT)

2/17/18 (32 pts/5 rbs/6 assists vs. Drexel)

1/11/18 (35 pts/5 rbs/6 assists vs. Towson)

1/7/18 (39 pts/5 rbs/6 assists vs. Elon)

11/10/17 (25 pts/6 rbs/5 assists vs. Army-West Point)

The six 25/5/5 games ties Wright-Foreman with current assistant coach Craig “Speedy” Claxton for the most by a Hofstra player since at least 1994-95, when the Hofstra media guides began displaying a player’s points/rebounds/assists lines from the previous season. Here is the full list of players with at least one 25/5/5 game since 1994-95:

Justin Wright-Foreman 6

Speedy Claxton 6

Charles Jenkins 4

Juan’ya Green 2

Antoine Agudio 1

Loren Stokes 1

Mike Radziejewski 1

ONCE AGAIN ALMOST ALL BY HIMSELF

With his 37 points Wednesday night, Justin Wright-Foreman extended his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 58 straight games, which ties him with Charles Jenkins for the longest streak by a Hofstra player since 1989-90 (as far back as my records go, at least at home). Which means, if my math is correct, Wright-Foreman can surpass Jenkins tonight, In addition, Wright-Foreman’s streak is the fourth-longest active streak in Division I, per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov.

Charles Jenkins 58 straight games 12/12/09-3/15/11*** 

Justin Wright-Foreman: 58 straight games 12/11/16-present

Antoine Agudio 48 straight games 3/6/06-1/17/08****

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

JWF IS A TOP TEN HIT

With his 37 points Friday, Justin Wright-Foreman remained in 10th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. To be fair, he needed to score 158 more points to move up the list and pass Norman Richardson for ninth place. 

8.) David Taylor 1,818 (1979-83)

9.) Norman Richardson 1,677 (1997-2001)

10.) JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 1,519 (2015-present)

11.) Frank Walker 1,437 (1985-89)

12.) Leroy Allen 1,435 (1983-87)

VISTOR MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME

Cal State Fullerton senior Kyle Allman Jr. led all scorers Wednesday night and tied a Hofstra Arena visiting player record by collecting 38 points. Keydren Clark of Saint Peter was the first visitor to score 38 points on Dec. 23, 2003, when the Dutchmen beat the Peacocks 87-77. Rider’s  Ryan Thompson matched Clark on Feb. 20, 2010, when he scored 38 points in the Dutchmen’s 90-87 win. The 75 combined points between Allman and Justin Wright-Foreman are the most by a Hofstra player and an opponent in a game played at the Arena, which opened in January 2000.

TWICE AS NICE

Per reader Evan Jones, the dual impressive efforts by Kyle Allman Jr. and Justin Wright-Foreman mark the first time a player on each team scored at least 37 points without the benefit of overtime since Feb. 27, 2016, when San Diego’s Duda Sanadze scored 38 points and Portland’s Bryce Pressley scored 37 points in San Diego’s 85-76 win. 

OVER THE AIR

Tonight’s game will be aired on ESPN+. Hofstra will offer live audio and live stats here.

VCU AND THE CAA, ERR, ATLANTIC 10

You might remember VCU from such games as at least one per year between 2001-02 and 2011-12! This will be the first game between the Dutchmen and Rams since VCU left for the Atlantic 10 following the 2011-12 season. Hofstra is 5-15 all-time against VCU, which won the final eight games between the clubs while they were CAA rivals. The Dutchmen last beat the Rams on Jan. 31, 2007.

VCU is the first of the former CAA schools (Old Dominion, George Mason, Georgia State) to face Hofstra since realignment wrecked what was a great league. The Rams are the first of two former conference foes the Dutchmen will face this season. Hofstra and Rider were in the ECC, though Litos probably thinks I’m making that up.

VCU is 4-1 this season after a last-second 87-86 overtime loss to St. John’s in the finals of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center Tuesday night. Yeah, a lot has changed since the last time these two teams faced each other.

Hofstra and VCU have two common foes this season: College of Charleston and Rider. The Dutchmen are scheduled to host Rider Dec. 8 before facing Charleston in CAA play on Jan. 19 and Feb. 14. The Rams will host Charleston Dec. 15 and Rider Dec. 30. 

VCU, which had its streak of NCAA Tournament appearances snapped at seven years last season and did not play in a postseason tournament for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign, was picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic 10 this season. Spoiler alert: They are better than that. Junior guard De’Riante Jenkins was selected to the preseason all-A10 third team. The Rams are led thus far by junior forward Isaac Vann, who leads VCU with 14.6 points and six rebounds per game.

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 141st while VCU is ranked 109th.KenPom.com predicts an 75-69 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 6.5-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 5-0 against the spread this season.

Hofstra is 36-103 all-time against current Atlantic 10 schools but will enter tonight on a one-game winning streak thanks to a 72-69 win over Dayton in the Charleston Classic Nov. 16, 2017. In addition to VCU, the A-10 includes former Hofstra conference foes George Mason (CAA) and LaSalle (ECC).

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Southern bias! (Because the classics never go away)

VCU Pav bias! (The VCU superfan is a great friend to us)

If you don’t like Defiantly Dutch blame it on Mike Litos bias! (The #CAAHoops grand poobah and VCU grad is now an analyst on VCU radio)

Eric Maynor dagger bias! (Best moment in CAA history?)

You ran Jim Larranaga from the CAA bias! (No, that was the best moment in CAA history)

I'll Be Quirky: Cal State Fullerton

Because how often do you get to reference Boy Meets World, which debuted the same year I arrived at Hofstra? Not enough, I tell you.

The Flying Dutchmen closed out the tournament that wasn’t really a tournament last Friday night, when they led Maryland at halftime before falling to the Terrapins, 80-69. The Dutchmen will look to head into Thanksgiving on a winning note tonight, when they host Cal State Fullerton at the Arena. Here’s a look back at the loss to Maryland and a look ahead to the Titans.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Justin Wright-Foreman scored a game-high 27 points for the Dutchmen, who led by six at the half and as many as eight early int he second half before falling victim to Maryland and 8-on-5. The Terrapins mounted a 21-5 run after the Dutchmen took their final eight-point lead and iced the game with a 16-7 run later in the second half. Tareq Coburn (10 points) hit double-digits for the first time with the Dutchmen and Eli Pemberton added 10 points as well. Jacquil Taylor was limited to 20 minutes by foul trouble but had five rebounds and a plus/minus of minus-2 during his time on the court.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Maryland 11/16)

3: Justin Wright-Foreman

2: Tareq Coburn

1: Jacquil Taylor

SEASON STANDINGS

Justin Wright-Foreman 12

Eli Pemberton 4

Tareq Coburn 2

Stafford Trueheart 2

Desure Buie 2

Jacquil Taylor 1

Dan Dwyer 1

COACHSPEAK: “We had 25 good minutes. We played really well for 25 — I think we outplayed them for 25 minutes. But the game’s 40 minutes long, as we all know, not trying to be a wise guy here. Game’s 40 minutes long. A good team like that, you can’t just play 25 minutes. And when they had to make some plays, they did.”

HALFWAY THERE

The Dutchmen led a Power 6 foe at halftime for the third time in eight games under Joe Mihalich. The Dutchmen also led Florida State, 41-35, in a game they won 82-77 on Nov. 20, 2015 and led Auburn 50-49 in an 89-78 loss last Nov. 19, 2017.

DOUBLE DIGIT JWF

By scoring a game-high 27 points Friday night, Justin Wright-Foreman extended his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 57 straight games, the second-longest streak by a Hofstra player since 1989-90 (as far back as my records go, at least at home). The only player with a longer streak in the last 29 seasons is Charles Jenkins, who ended his career by scoring in double figures in his final 58 games for the Dutchmen. Which means, if my math is correct, Wright-Foreman can tie Jenkins tonight. In addition, Wright-Foreman’s streak is the fourth-longest active streak in Division I, per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov.

Charles Jenkins 58 straight games 12/12/09-3/15/11*** 

Justin Wright-Foreman: 57 straight games 12/11/16-present

Antoine Agudio 48 straight games 3/6/06-1/17/08****

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

JWF IS A TOP TEN HIT

With his 27 points Friday, Justin Wright-Foreman remained in 10th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. To be fair, he needed to score 196 more points to move up the list and pass Norman Richardson for ninth place. 

8.) David Taylor 1,8118 (1979-83)

9.) Norman Richardson 1,677 (1997-2001)

10.) JUSTIN WRIGHT-FOREMAN 1,482 (2015-present)

11.) Frank Walker 1,437 (1985-89)

12.) Leroy Allen 1,435 (1983-87)

COBURN EMERGES

Tareq Coburn, who transferred from St. Bonaventure following his freshman season and sat out last year, made his first impact with the Dutchmen last Friday by scoring 10 points and pulling down three rebounds in 23 minutes. Coburn had just four points and two rebounds over 26 minutes in his first three games in a Hofstra uniform.

LOSING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS

The Dutchmen had just five offensive rebounds Friday, their fewest since recording four offensive rebounds against James Madison Feb. 22. 

OVER THE AIR

Hofstra will carry a live stream and offer live stats of the game here.

CAL STATE FULLERTON AND THE BIG WEST

This will be the first meeting in men’s basketball between Hofstra and Cal State Fullerton. The only Hofstra team to ever face Cal State Fullerton is the women’s volleyball team, which is 1-3 all-tie against the Titans. The Dutchwomen earned that win in the most recent meeting between the teams on Aug, 26, 2005.

Cal State Fullerton is 2-3 this season and is coming off an 87-63 win over Monmouth, which happens to be the only mutual foe this season for the Dutchmen and Titans. The Dutchmen host Monmouth Dec. 5.

Cal State Fullerton, which won the Big West last season, was picked to finish second in the conference this season. Senior guards Khalil Ahmad (23.4 ppg) and Kyle Allman Jr. (17.5 ppg) were selected to the preseason all-Big West team and are the lone Titans averaging in double figures this season. Allman was a high school teammate of Justin Wright-Foreman and the two remains close friends, as the great Howie Kussoy wrote for the New York Post last weekend.

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 143rd while Cal State Fullerton is ranked 138th. That’s close. KenPom.com predicts an 76-73 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 4-0 against the spread this season.

The Dutchmen are 2-4 all-time against current Big West foes. Hofstra has not played a current Big West team since Nov. 23, 2006, when the Dutchmen fell to Hawaii, 80-79, at the Great Alaska Shootout. The only Big West team the Dutchmen have beaten is UC-Irvine. The Dutchmen beat the Anteaters (great nickname), 77-67, on Feb. 22, 1993.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Boy Meets World bias! (The classic TGIF sitcom, which premiered 25 years ago this fall, starred Cal State Fullerton alum Danielle Fishel)

Crash Davis bias! (Kevin Costner also went to Cal State Fullerton)

Cedric Ceballos bias! (The former Lakers star and slam dunk champ went to Cal State Fullerton)

You got rid of football long before us bias! (Cal State Fullerton dropped its Division I football program, presumably because the school didn’t like free publicity, in 1992)