Has never played against Hofstra.
A hellish trip back from New Jersey zonked me yesterday, so with two games in as many days, this afternoon I’ll Be Quirky will be a truncated one and I’ll have a more thorough one recapping the San Diego and Holy Cross games tomorrow before the Dutchmen’s second Boca Raton Classic game. Which is actually their third. It’s complicated. Happy It Looks Like Winter Day, everyone!
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER SEVEN GAMES
With the loss to San Diego on Wednesday night, the Dutchmen fell to 4-3. This ties the 2019-20 team for the 28th-best record through five games. Twenty other teams began 4-3, including each of the previous three teams. Here is how some other notable Hofstra teams have fared through two games.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 3-4
1976-77: 6-1
1999-2000: 3-4
2000-01: 5-2
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 3-4
2004-05: 7-0 (most recent 7-0 start)
2005-06: 5-2
2006-07: 4-3
2015-16: 5-2
2018-19: 4-3 (marked first win in the 16-game winning streak)
Some other notable seven-game starts:
2013-14: 2-5 (most recent 2-5 start)
2012-13: 3-4 (under .500 for good because…well, you know)
2008-09: 6-1 (most recent 5-1 start)
1994-95: 2-5 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-6 (VBK’s last team)
1973-74: 1-6 (won snapped the most recent season-opening six-game losing streak)
This feature is also inspired by Greg Prince, who measures how the current Mets compare, record-wise, to previous teams through the same point in the season.
HOLY CROSS AND THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Holy Cross, under first-year head coach Brett Nelson, is 0-6 after an 87-69 loss to Florida Atlantic on Friday. The Crusaders were picked last in the Patriot League’s preseason poll. Freshman guard Drew Lowder leads Holy Cross with 16.0 points per game while freshman forward Joe Pridgen is pulling down a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.
This is the second game of the Boca Raton Classic for both teams, even though the Boca Raton Classic officially begins today. These preseason tournaments are weird.
The Dutchmen and Crusaders have at least three and possibly four common foes this season. As part of the Boca Raton Classic, the Dutchmen lost to San Diego, who will host Holy Cross on Saturday. The Crusaders also play in the same league as Bucknell, which beat Hofstra 86-71 on Nov. 13 and will face Holy Cross on Jan. 11 and Feb. 17. Depending on today’s results, the Dutchmen may also face Canisius tomorrow. Canisius is scheduled to host Holy Cross on Dec. 14.
The Dutchmen are 2-5 all-time against Holy Cross. The two teams last met Dec. 22, 2010, when Hofstra earned a 71-56 win at the Arena. The Dutchmen are 90-82 all-time against current Patriot League schools, which include five former conference foes (American, Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh in the East Coast Conference and Boston University in the NAC/America East).
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 130th while Bucknell is ranked 332nd. KenPom.com predicts an 83-70 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 14.5-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 3-3 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Bob Cousy bias! (The Boston Celtics great went to Holy Cross)
Funny accent bias! (People from Worcester say Woo-stah funny)
Whiny Sports Guy bias! (Bill Simmons went to Holy Cross before never getting a single break in the sports journalism business)
We used to play you in football but now we can’t bias! (duh)
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