Saturday, November 9, 2019

I'll Be Quirky: Monmouth

I may or may not have had this hanging up in my room as a high school freshman.

Well, that wasn’t fun. The dream of an unbeaten season perished for the 84th straight time — yet quicker than ever — Wednesday night, when the Flying Dutchmen squandered an eight-point second half lead and fell to San Jose State (SAN JOSE STATE?!), 79-71. The Dutchmen will look to avoid a winless season for the 84th straight time this afternoon, when they host Monmouth at the Arena. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Spartans and a look ahead to the Fighting King Rices

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen led by eight points with seven minutes left before San Jose State ended the game on a 26-10 run to head home with the win. Eli Pemberton scored a team-high 23 points and drained the 3-pointer that gave the Dutchmen their final lead at 69-67 with 3:32 left. But the Dutchmen scored on just one of their final eight possessions. Desure Buie had 13 points and seven assists but committed a career-high five turnovers. Jalen Ray (13 points) and Tareq Coburn (12 points) also scored in double figures. Isaac Kante (eight points, 11 rebounds) flirted with a double-double in his Hofstra debut. Coburn added six rebounds.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. San Jose State 11/6)
3: Eli Pemberton
2: Tareq Coburn
1: Isaac Kante

SEASON STANDINGS (duh)
Eli Pemberton 3
Tareq Coburn 2
Isaac Kante 1

COACHSPEAK: “We got what we deserved. We got what we deserved. We didn’t deserve to win, the way we played. We weren’t tough enough. We always talk about how this game honors toughness. We didn’t have the toughness, we didn’t have the fight that you should have. We got what we deserved. We got just what we deserve. In life, you get what you deserve. You get what you earn and we got just what we deserve tonight. We’ve got to take a look in the mirror here.”

THIS IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDS’ FIRST SEASON, WHAT WOULD THIS GAME BE TITLED IF IT WAS AN EPISODE OF FRIENDS?
"The One Without Justin Wright-Foreman"

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ONE GAME
As you may have gathered by now, the Dutchmen are 0-1. This ties the 2019-20 team for the 49th-best record through one game. Thirty-five other teams began 0-1, most recently the *checks notes* 2013-14 team. Here is how some other notable Hofstra teams have fared through one game.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 1-0
1976-77: 1-0
1999-2000: 0-1
2000-01: 0-1

NIT TEAMS
2005-06: 1-0
2006-07: 0-1
2015-16: 1-0
2018-19: 1-0

This feature is inspired by Mets superfan and blogger Greg Prince, who measures how the current Mets compare, record-wise, to previous teams through the same point in the season.

FOR STARTERS
The Dutchmen lost the season opener for the first time since 2013, when Monmouth (whoa, it’s all connected) earned an 88-84 win in Joe Mihalich’s Hofstra debut. The Dutchmen are now 48-36 all-time in season openers. The five straight wins in season openers was the longest such winning streak in the Division I ear and the most since a five-game winning streak from 1959-63, when the Dutchmen were directed by Butch van Breda Kolff and Paul Lynner. Mihalich fell to 13-9 in season openers (5-2 at Hofstra, 8-7 at Niagara).

BLAME IT ON HUMP DAY
In addition to being the earliest season opener in school history, Wednesday marked the first time the Dutchmen played a season opener outside of the weekend (Friday-Saturday-Sunday) since 2003, when the Dutchmen beat Marist, 79-74, on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

NO POINTS FOR THE FRESHMEN
True freshmen Jermaine Miranda (4:09) and Caleb Burgess (3:50) were scoreless in reserve duty Wednesday night for the Dutchmen. It marked the second straight season in which no freshman scored in the season opener for the Dutchmen and only the third time freshmen have been blanked since 2008, a season in which the Dutchmen had no freshmen on the team. Here are some notable debuts by Hofstra freshmen in the CAA era (2001-present):

2017: Jalen Ray: 10 pts/2 assists vs. Army-West Point
2017: Matija Radovic: 5 pts/5 rebs vs. Army-West Point
2016: Eli Pemberton: 20 pts/4 rebs/1 steal vs. Coppin State
2015: Justin Wright-Foreman: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Canisius
2015: Desure Buie: 2 pts/2 assists/1 steal vs. Canisius
2014: Rokas Gustys: 4 pts/10 rebs vs. Jacksonville
2014: Andre Walker: 4 pts/11 rebs/6 blks vs. Jacksonville
2013: Chris Jenkins: 17 pts/2 rebs/1 blk/1 steal vs. Monmouth
2013: Jamall Robinson: 8 pts/4 rebs/2 assists vs. Monmouth
2012: Jordan Allen: 2 pts/1 reb vs. Monmouth
2011: Moussa Kone: 6 pts/2 rebs/1 steal vs. Long Island U.
2010: Shemiye McLendon: 16 pts/4 rbs/2 assists vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Stephen Nwaukoni: 8 rebs vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Roland Brown: 4 pts/5 rebs/1 steal/1 blk  vs. Farmingdale State
2009: Chaz Williams: 7 pts/6 assists/5 rebs/37 mins vs. Kansas
2009: Halil Kanacevic: 12 pts/12 rebs/3 blks 31 mins vs. Kansas
2007: Charles Jenkins: 5 pts/9 rebs/1 assist/1 steal vs. Holy Cross
2007: Nathaniel Lester: 2 rebs vs. Holy Cross
2007: Greg Washington: 2 rebs/2 blks/1 assist/1 steal vs. Holy Cross
2005: Arminas Urbutis: 6 pts vs. Florida International
2005: Greg Johnson: 12 pts vs. Florida International
2004: Antoine Agudio: 20 pts vs. Florida International 
2003: Loren Stokes: 2 pts vs. Marist
2003: Carlos Rivera: 10 pts vs. Marist
2001: Kenny Adeleke: 10 pts vs. Florida Atlantic

COMPLETING THE TRANSFER
Two transfers made their Dutchmen debuts Friday night, when Isaac Kante started and collected eight points, 11 rebounds and one steal in 33 minutes while Omar Silverio had two assists in five minutes. Kante is the second straight transfer to pull down 10 rebounds in his Hofstra debut, following in the shoes of the player he’s replacing, Jacquil Taylor, who had a similar line (six points, 10 rebounds, one block) in 21 minutes against Mount St. Mary’s last season. Here are some notable debuts by transfers since 1991:

2018: Jacquil Taylor: 6 pts/10 rebs vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2018: Dan Dwyer: 3 pts/6 rebs/2 blks vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2018: Tareq Coburn: 2 pts/2 rebs vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2017: Joel Angus III: 13 pts/6 rebs vs. Army-West Point
2017: Kenny Wormley: 3 pts/2 rebs/4 assists vs. Kennesaw State
2016: Deron Powers: 12 pts/5 assists/4 rebs vs. Coppin State
2016: Hunter Sabety: 2 pts/5 rebs/1 blk vs. Coppin State
2015: Denton Koon: 14 pts/5 rebs/1 steal/1 blk vs. Canisius
2014: Juan’ya Green: 14 pts/9 assists/5 rebs vs. Jacksonville
2014: Ameen Tanksley: 16 pts/3 assists/2 assists/1 blk vs. Jacksonville
2014: Brian Bernardi: 22 pts/3 assists/2 rebs/1 steal vs. Jacksonville (6-8 3PT)
2014: Malik Nichols: 15 pts/3 assists/2 rbs/1 blk vs. Jacksonville**
2013: Zeke Upshaw: 22 pts/3 assists/3 rebs vs. Monmouth (2-8 3PT)
2013: Dion Nesmith: 10 pts/5 assists/2 rebs vs. Monmouth
2012: Taran Buie: 14 pts/2 assists/2 rbs vs. South Dakota State
2012: [name redacted]: 12 pts vs. Monmouth
2012: Daquan Brown: 2 pts/1 assist vs. Tulane
2011: Stevie Mejia: 7 pts/1 rb/4 assists/1 steal vs. Long Island
2011: Bryant Crowder: 13 pts/6 rbs/1 steal vs. Rhode Island**
2010: Mike Moore: 13 pts/4 rbs/4 assists vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Dwan McMillan: 15 pts/2 rbs/6 assists/1 steal vs. Farmingdale State**
2010: Brad Kelleher: 2 pts vs. Florida Atlantic**
2008: Tony Dennison: 5 pts/4 rbs/1 assist vs. Clemson**
2008: Cornelius Vines: 12 pts/3 rbs/3 steals vs. Clemson**
2008: Miklos Szabo: 4 pts/11 rbs/2 assists/1 steal vs. E. Tennessee State**
2007: Darren Townes: 5 pts/5 rbs/1 steal/1 blocked shot vs. Holy Cross**
2007: Dane Johnson: 3 pts/1 rb/3 blocked shots vs. Holy Cross**
2004: Kenny Harris: 3 pts/1 rb/1 assist/2 steals vs. Florida International**
2004: Adrian Uter: 0 pts/2 rbs/1 block vs. Florida International**
2000: Osei Miller: 2 pts/2 rbs vs. Northern Illinois
1999: Greg Springfield: 7 pts/5 rbs/10 blocked shots vs. New Mexico State***
1998: Jason Hernandez: 7 pts/ 2 rbs/1 assist/2 steals vs. Maryland
1998: Abdul Sylla 0 pts/3 rbs vs. Youngstown State
1997: Mike Renfro 6 pts/3 rbs/1 assist/1 steal vs. Bucknell**
1996: Lance Dunkley 2 pts/3 rbs/1 assist vs. Stony Brook**
1996: Duane Posey 8 pts/4 rbs/1 assist/2 blks vs. Stony Brook
1995: Seth Meyers 14 pts/5 rbs vs. Stony Brook
1995: Lawrence Thomas 20 pts/4 rbs/2 assists vs. Villanova
1994: Jamil Greene 1 pt/2 rbs/1 assist vs. New Hampshire**
1993: Chris Johnke 0 pts/5 rbs vs. Iona**
1991: Demetrius Dudley 33 pts/7 rbs vs. Navy

**--junior college transfer
***--10 blocked shots are a school record

SO WHO HAS A DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK NOW?
Justin Wright-Foreman, as you may or may not recall, ended his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in each of his last 88 games. With his graduation, the longest streak of double-digit scoring efforts belong to Desure Buie and Jalen Ray, each of whom scored in double digits for the second straight time Wednesday.

PEMBERTON’S PACE
Eli Pemberton, the most recent member of the Hofstra 1,000-point club, remained in 14th place on the all-time scoring list Wednesday, when he scored 23 points. He is 17 points away from surpassing Rick Apodaca for 13th place. 

13.) Rick Apodaca 1,422 (1999-2003)
14.) ELI PEMBERTON 1,406 (2016-present)
15.) Ken Rood 1,368 (1973-77)
16.) Barry White 1,344 (1966-69)
17.) Dave Bell 1,330 (1969-72)
18.) Kenny Adeleke 1,296 (2001-04)
19.) Mike Tilley 1,286 (1963-66)
20.) Roberto Gittens 1,240 (1997-2001)

A NEAR BENCH BLANKING
The Dutchmen’s starters accounted for all but two of the 71 points Wednesday night. The only shot taken by a reserve was a dunk converted by sophomore Kevin Schutte. The two points by reserves were the fewest for the Dutchmen since starters scored all 79 points in an 87-79 loss to UNC Wilmington on Feb. 16, 2019.

THEY’RE FREE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THEM
The Dutchmen went to the line just seven times on Wednesday and drained five free throws. The seven free throw attempts were the fewest for the Dutchmen since they went 2-for-5 against Charleston in a 76-72 loss on Feb. 16, 2017.

SEEKING A SPLIT
The Dutchmen lost their season opener for the eighth time this century. They won the second game to get back to .500 four times, most recently in 2013-14, when the Dutchmen beat Fairleigh Dickinson, 80-58, for the first victory of the Joe Mihalich Era.

OVER THE AIR
Hofstra will provide a video feed (with a FloHoops subscription) and radio feed of today’s game, as well as live stats, at the Pride Productions hub.

MONMOUTH AND THE MAAC
Monmouth, under ninth-year head coach King Rice, opened its season Tuesday with a 66-62 win over Lehigh. This is the second of seven straight road or neutral site games for the Hawks, who were picked to finish fourth in the MAAC. Monmouth opened last season with 12 straight losses but reached the MAAC Tournament final, where it fell to — who else? — Iona.

The Hawks had two players — juniors Deion Hammond and Ray Salnave — selected to the preseason all-MAAC second team. Salnave (15 points) and Hammond (14) points were the only players to score in double figures Tuesday night.

The Dutchmen and Hawks have at least two and possibly three common foes this season. Monmouth will visit Princeton Dec. 10, nine days before Hofstra does so. The Dutchmen will host Monmouth’s MAAC rival, Manhattan, on Dec. 22. The Dutchmen may also play another MAAC school, Canisius, in the Boca Raton Beach Classic on Dec. 2.

This is the third straight season in which Hofstra and Monmouth have opposed each other. The Dutchmen are 3-6 all-time against Monmouth but have won the last two meetings by a combined three points. Last Dec. 5, Justin Wright-Foreman converted a go-ahead nostalgic 3-point play with 16 seconds left before Monmouth missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer as the Dutchmen escaped with a 75-73 win over the then-winless Hawks. It was the third of the 16 straight wins for Hofstra.

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 147th while Monmouth is ranked 236th. KenPom.com predicts a 78-69 win for the Dutchmen, but he had us beating San Jose State too and how did that turn out THE POLLS ARE ALWAYS WRONG!!! Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 8.5-point favorites. As you may know by now, the Dutchmen are 0-1 against the spread this season

Hofstra is 99-118 all-time against current MAAC schools. This marks the 13th time in the last 14 seasons the Dutchmen are scheduled to play 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
This game should have taken place in the NIT three years ago bias! (An oldie but goodie)
J.R. Reid bias! (The former North Carolina star is one of King Rice’s assistants)
Pat Light bias! (The Monmouth grad pitched briefly in the bigs for the Red Sox)
King Rice flat top bias! (Another oldie but goodie)

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