I'll Be Quirky: Delaware

Wait, schools of our size and ilk can graduate football players and then watch them garner publicity for said schools as NFL head coaches? Nifty.

Another hectic week, so this will be an abbreviated (but not as abbreviated as last Thursday’s) I’ll Be Quirky in which we’ll take a brief look back at the Charleston loss and the usual look ahead to the Fighting Blue Hens before digging a little deeper on Saturday. Unless the Mets hire and fire another manager before then, but what are the odds of that?

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

The Dutchmen limited superstar Grant Riller to just 17 points, but Sam Miller (a game-high 20 points) scored the tie-breaking basket by putting back a Riller airball with under 10 seconds left and Riller stole the ball (while possibly committing a foul SOMETHING SOMETHING BIAS) from Jalen Ray as the latter tried to go up for a shot on the other end of the court as the Flying Dutchmen absorbed a gut-punch 69-67 loss to Charleston. The ending capped a classic CAA game in which neither team led by fewer than four points in a second half that featured seven ties and 11 lead changes. Desure Buie (19 points, a season-high nine assists) had another monster game and Issac Kante (10 points, 11 rebounds) posted another double-double. Tareq Coburn (16 points) opened the game as if shot out of a cannon by scoring 13 points in the first 3:37 but didn’t score in the final 24:48. Jalen Ray added 12 points. Eli Pemberton was limited to just two points on 1-of-8 shooting.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Charleston 1/18)

3: Desure Buie

2: Isaac Kante

1: Tareq Coburn

SEASON STANDINGS

Desure Buie 38

Eli Pemberton 27

Isaac Kante 20

Tareq Coburn 19

Jalen Ray 13

Omar Silverio 2

Stafford Trueheart 1

COACHSPEAK: "I'm just so proud of the team. Just so proud of these guys. This is a tough place to play. Great fans, great atmosphere. We showed how tough we are on the road. Just so proud of our guys. We came up one rebound short, one made shot short, one whatever you want to call it short. But I'll tell you what, our guys were terrific."

THIS IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDS’ FIRST SEASON, WHAT WOULD THIS GAME BE TITLED IF IT WAS AN EPISODE OF FRIENDS?

The One With Miller, Not Riller

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWENTY GAMES

With the nail-biting loss to Charleston, the Dutchmen fell to 14-6. This ties the 2019-20 team for the 14th-best record through 20 games. Eight other teams began 14-6, most recently the 2015-16 squad. Here is how some other notable Hofstra teams have fared through 20 games:

NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 10-10 (loss in 20th game was final regular season loss)

1976-77: 14-6

1999-2000: 15-5 (win in 20th game marked eighth win of 10-game winning streak)

2000-01: 16-4 (win in 20th game marked eighth win in program-record 18-game winning streak)

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 13-7

2004-05: 14-6

2005-06: 16-4 (most recent 16-4 start)

2006-07: 15-5 (most recent 15-5 start)

2015-16: 14-6 

2018-19: 17-3 (win in 20th game marked 13th win in the 16-game winning streak)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 15-5

1961-62: 18-2 (most recent 18-2 start)

1962-63: 14-6

1963-64: 17-3

Some other notable 20-game records:

2017-18: 12-8 (most recent 12-8 start)

2016-17: 9-11 (most recent 9-11 start; loss in 20th game marked final loss of Mihalich-era record six-game losing streak)

2013-14: 7-13 (most recent 7-13 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)

2012-13: 5-15 (most recent 5-15 start)

2008-09: 13-7 (most recent 13-7 start)

2007-08: 6-14 (most recent 6-14 start)

2003-04: 8-12 (most recent 8-12 start)

2001-02: 9-11 (Tom Pecora’s first team)

1996-96: 10-10 (most recent 10-10 start, last time at .500)

1995-96: 7-18 (loss in 20th game marked sixth loss of Jay Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)

1994-95: 6-14 (win in 20th game marked final win of three-game winning streak, the first streak in Wright’s first year)

1993-94: 3-17 (only 3-17 start)

1991-92: 12-8 (win in 20th game was first in nine-game winning streak that ended in ECC title game)

1990-91: 11-9 (most recent 11-9 start)

1987-88: 4-16 (only 4-16 start, loss in 20th game was 10th loss of program-record 12-game losing streak)

1959-60: 19-1 (most recent 19-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 20th game was ninth win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)

1944-45: 8-12 (win in penultimate game was final win of season)

1940-41: 13-7 (won regular season finale)

Hofstra has never been 20-0, 2-19, 1-19 or 0-20 through 20 games. 

The following seasons were completed in fewer than 20 games: 1947-48 (13-6), 1945-46 (12-7), 1943-44 (7-12), 1938-39 (10-8), 1937-38 (10-4), 1936-37 (10-7)

Full records not available for the following seasons: 1941-42, 1942-43, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58

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

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on CBS Sports Network, which you can watch on the CBS app or channel 215 if you live under our Altice overlords. Hofstra will carry live audio and offer live stats here.

SCOUTING DELAWARE

The Blue Hens, under fourth-year head coach Martin Ingelsby, are 13-7 this season and 3-4 in CAA play after edging Elon, 79-78, on Saturday.

The Dutchmen and Blue Hens had one common foe in non-league play. Hofstra beat SUNY-Stony Brook, 71-63, on Dec. 10 while Delaware handed the Patriots a 75-61 loss on Nov. 27. (Insert Nelson Muntz laugh here)

Both teams have beaten James Madison, Elon and UNC Wilmington in CAA play and fallen to Charleston and William & Mary. The Dutchmen beat Towson, which beat Delaware.

The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 149th at KenPom.com. The Blue Hens, who were picked fifth, are ranked 199th at KenPom.com.

According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank third in the CAA in league-only offensive efficiency (110.1) and seventh in defensive efficiency (106.8). The Blue Hens rank fifth in the CAA in league-only offensive efficiency (104.4) and ninth in defensive efficiency (109.4).

Redshirt junior guard Nate Darling, a transfer from Alabama-Birmingham, leads the Blue Hens with 19.4 ppg and ranks second with 2.9 assists per game. Junior guard Ryan Allen is averaging 13.7 ppg while junior forward Justyn Mutts is averaging 12.0 ppg and pulling down a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game. Junior guard Kevin Anderson is averaging 11.1 ppg and leads Delaware with 3.6 assist per game. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Painter, a transfer from Villanova, is averaging 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game since becoming eligible Dec. 16.

KenPom.com predicts a 77-70 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 7.5-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 13-6 against the spread this season.

ALL-TIME VS. DELAWARE

Hofstra is 59-32 against Delaware in a series that began during the 1954-55 season.    The Blue Hens are Hofstra’s most common foe. The Dutchmen and Delaware 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 took all three games from Delaware last season. Hofstra cruised to a 91-46 win on Long Island on Dec. 28 and locked up the outright CAA regular season title with a 92-70 victory in New-ARK on Mar. 2 before edging Delaware, 78-74, in overtime in the CAA semifinals on Mar. 11. The Dutchmen squandered a 14-point first half lead in the latter game and trailed with under two minutes left in overtime. It was the first time since 2015-16, when Hofstra went 3-0 against both Drexel and William & Mary, that the Dutchmen beat an opponent three times in a season.

The Dutchmen have swept the regular season series each of the last six seasons, though Delaware ended Hofstra’s 2016-17 season with a win in the opening round of the CAA Tournament. Prior to the Dutchmen’s current regular season streak, the Blue Hens swept the season series three straight years and won eight games in a row overall between the teams from 2011-12 through 2013-14. And THAT, in turn, was preceded by the Dutchmen sweeping the season series three straight times from 2008-09 through 2010-11.

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

Mike Brey coaching tree bias! (Martin Ingelsby played for and coached under Brey at Notre Dame)

Double Villanova bias! (In addition to Dylan Painter, Ingelsby’s Dad, Tom, played for Villanova’s national runner-up team in 1971)

Elena Delle Donne bias! (The WNBA superstar dominated at Delaware for four years)

Matt Nagy bias! (The Bears head coach set school records with 8,214 passing yards and 58 touchdowns for Delaware from 1997 through 2000)