May the Flying Dutchmen suck like a fox, a la bootleggers Homer and Bart, this afternoon!
The Flying Dutchmen built their first winning streak of the season in entertaining fashion Tuesday night, when they traded haymakers (and 3-pointers) with Monmouth before pulling away late in the second half for a 96-88 victory. The Dutchmen will hope to get a chance to make it three in a row today, when they trek outside the metro New York City area for the first time by going way upstate to visit St. Bonaventure. Here’s a look back at the win over the Hawks and a look ahead to the Bonnies.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Jalen Ray (29 points) set his career high and Tareq Coburn (28 points) tied his as they mounted a 1-2 punch to lead the Dutchmen past Monmouth. The teams traded the lead seven times in the first half before the dutchmen took the lead for good on a layup by KVonn Cramer with 3:34 left. Ray (11 points) and Coburn (nine points) did their best Desure Buie/Eli Pemberton imitation by scoring 20 straight points for the Dutchmen during a span of more than eight minutes in the second half. That stretch included another pair of clutch go-ahead shots by Ray, who hit a 3-pointer to snap the penultimate tie of the game with 13:43 remaining before he hit two free throws to give the Dutchmen the lead for good at 64-62 with 12:53 to go. The Dutchmen needed a few more minutes to begin pulling away with an 8-0 run fueled entirely by the trio of Issac Kante, Vukasin Masic and Cramer. The Dutchmen went a robust 29-of-32 from the line, including a 14-of-16 effort by Coburn and a 7-of-7 effort by Ray, the latter of whom was 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point land. Kevin Schutte had six points and a career-high 10 rebounds while playing 16 minutes in place of a struggling Kante, who finished with seven points and nine rebounds. The Dutchmen and Monmouth combined to go a whopping 26-of-54 from beyond the arc.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Monmouth 12/15)
3: Jalen Ray
2: Tareq Coburn
1: Kevin Schutte
SEASON STANDINGS
Tareq Coburn 11
Jalen Ray 8
Isaac Kante 5
KVonn Cramer 3
Caleb Burgess 2
Kevin Schutte 1
COACHSPEAK: “Glad we scored 96 points, because we needed ‘em tonight.”—acting head coach Mike Farrelly
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! But it’s been almost 44 years since the Flying Dutchmen beat Siena, 96-88, on Feb. 24, 1977. That came during a season in which the Dutchmen earned a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. We’ll take that again, please and thanks.
The Dutchmen have yet to record a unicorn score this season. *insert Milhouse crying and wondering where the unicorn scores are here* The Dutchmen recorded 13 unicorn score victories last season, three more than in 2018-19, which was when we first started tracking unicorn scores. The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER FIVE GAMES
As you have probably gathered by now, the Dutchmen are 3-2, which is tied for the 22nd-best start in program history. Thirty-one other teams began 3-2, most recently last year’s squad. Things turned out OK after that. This is the fourth straight 3-2 start for the Dutchmen, the program’s longest stretch of 3-2 starts since a four-season stretch from 1983-84 through 1986-87. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through five games.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 2-3
1976-77: 4-1
1999-2000: 3-2
2000-01: 4-1
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 3-2
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 2-3
2004-05: 5-0 (most recent 5-0 start)
2005-06: 4-1
2006-07: 2-3
2015-16: 3-2
2018-19: 2-2
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 3-2
1961-62: 4-1
1962-63: 3-2 (over .500 for good)
1963-64: 4-1
Other notable five-game starts:
2016-17: 2-3 (most recent 2-3 start)
2013-14: 2-3 (Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 3-2 (last time over .500 that season because…well, you know)
2010-11: 2-3 (last time under .500)
2008-09: 4-1 (most recent 4-1 start)
1994-95: 1-4 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-4 (VBK’s last team)
1978-79: 3-2 (last time over .500)
1974-75: 2-3 (last time under .500)
1973-74: 0-5 (most recent 0-5 start)
1972-73: 2-3 (under .500 for good)
1950-51: 3-2 (over .500 for good)
1944-45: 2-3 (under .500 for good)
1937-38: 3-2 (over .500 for good)
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.
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.
FARRELLY FINALLY OVER .500
We kid, we kid. But with the win Tuesday night, acting head coach Mike Farrelly moved over .500 for the first time. Among head coaches who did not win their Hofstra debuts, Farrelly is just the second to get over .500 for the first time by his fifth game. Hofstra’s first men’s basketball team got over .500 for the first time at 3-2 under Jack McDonald in 1936-37. Joe Harrington got over .500 for the first time at 4-3 in his lone season at the helm in 1979-80.
The three men to lead the Flying Dutchmen to an NCAA berth at the Division I level all took far longer to get over .500 for the first time. Roger Gaeckler needed 127 games (almost five full seasons) to get over .500 on Feb. 21, 1977, when the Dutchmen beat American, 89-78. Jay Wright needed 143 games (also almost five full seasons) to get over .500 on Feb. 27, 1999, when the Dutchmen beat Vermont, 69-59, in an America East quarterfinal game. And the Dutchmen lost their final two games of the season to drop Wright back under .500 FIRE HIM. And Joe Mihalich got over .500 for the first time in his 87th game on Jan. 24, 2016, when the Dutchmen beat William & Mary, 91-63. Mihalich’s Hofstra head coaching record has remained over .500 thereafter.
CLIPPING THE HAWKS
The Dutchmen have now won their last four games against Monmouth. That’s pretty impressive, but it’s not the longest active winning streak against a non-conference foe. The Dutchmen have beaten SUNY-Stony Brook five straight times. Heh. Among conference foes, the Dutchmen entered this season with an eight-game winning streak against Drexel and a five-game winning streak against Elon.
STILL NOT TWO UNDER .500
The win Tuesday ensured the Dutchmen would at least get to the scheduled start of conference play without falling two games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2016-17 season. Only 65 other Division I teams have gone as long or longer without falling two games under .500, including 56 programs whose streak predates the 2016-17 finale and nine others who were last two games under .500 as of the end of their ’16-17 season.
Among true mid-majors (defined by me as schools outside the Power 6, AAC, A-10, West Coast and Mountain West), Hofstra’s streak is exceeded by just 13 schools and matched by two more. Two schools fell off the list last week as Charleston lost on Wednesday and UNC Greensboro lost on Thursday to fall two games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2014-15 season and the end of the 2015-16 season, respectively. Here’s the full list and the date the program was most recently two games under .500:
Louisiana Tech: 2/16/12
New Mexico State: 1/3/15
UAB: 1/17/15
Furman: end of ’14-15
Vermont: 12/8/15
Northern Kentucky: end of ’15-16
Loyola Chicago: end of ’15-16
Georgia Southern: 11/22/16
Belmont: 11/25/16
Liberty: 1/3/17
Buffalo: 1/31/17
Murray State: 2/25/17
South Dakota State: 2/18/17
HOFSTRA: end of ’16-17
Hawaii: end of ’16-17
Western Kentucky: end of ’16-17
TWICE AS NICE CAREER NIGHTS
Jalen Ray and Tareq Coburn set and matched their career-high scoring efforts Tuesday, when Ray finished with 29 points and Coburn had 28 points. It marked the first time two players scored in double figures and matched or exceeded their career-high in points for the Dutchmen since Jan. 4, when Desure Buie shattered his career high with 44 points and Isaac Kante scored 19 points, tying his career-high, in a 102-75 win over Elon. It also happened once earlier last season on Nov. 21, 2019, when Buie (29 points) and Ray (27 points) both set career highs in the 88-78 upset of UCLA.
FREE STUFF IS NICE
The Dutchmen’s nearly perfect effort from the free throw line Tuesday night, when they shot 90.6 percent (29-of-32), was likely a historical performance. At the least, they were the first Division I team this season to shoot at least 90 percent from the line while taking at least 30 free throws. UNC Wilmington did it Friday afternoon when they were 28-of-31 for 90.3 percent in an 80-72 win over Norfolk State.
Prior to Tuesday, no team had shot at least 90 percent from the line while taking at least 30 attempts since Duke (of course) shot 91.2 percent from the line (31-of-34) in a 113-101 double-overtime loss (hee hee) over Wake Forest on Feb. 25. In keeping with the theme of really unlikable coaches: Six days earlier, Miami was 29-of-32 from the line in a 102-95 triple-overtime win over Virginia Tech. The last team to shoot at least 90 percent from the line while taking at least 30 attempts in a regulation game was Georgia State, which was also 31-of-34 from the line in a 92-80 win over Coastal Carolina on Feb. 15. While we’re big fans of ex-Georgia State coach Ron Hunter, we have nothing against Rob Lanier.
In addition, as far as I can tell, this is the best free throw shooting performance (minimum 30 attempts) for Hofstra in the Defiantly Dutch era (1993-pres). I don’t have a 2002-03 or 1994-95 media guide handy to check the 2001-02 or 1993-94 seasons, but I’m pretty confident this is the best the Dutchmen have shot from the line in the last 27 seasons.
CONTACT FOR COBURN
Tareq Coburn joined some pretty select company by getting to the line as often as he did Tuesday, when he was 14-of-16 from the line. It marked the second time Coburn has gone to the line at least 16 times in his last three games. He was 13-of-17 from the line against Iona on Dec. 5. Only one other Hofstra player has multiple games with at least 16 free throw attempts since 2010-11, the start of the Play Index era at CollegeBasketballReference.com, and Juan’ya Green did it in a span of 43 games. Green was 13-of-17 from the line against South Florida on Nov. 25, 2014, 13-of-14 against Charleston on Jan. 8, 2015 and 14-of-16 against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 4, 2016.
In addition, Coburn’s ability to get to the line so frequently early this season is doubly notable because he didn’t have 16 free throw attempts COMBINED in any two-game span prior to the game against Iona. Coburn took 13 free throw attempts combined against Drexel (1-of-2) and Delaware (8-of-11) in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals on Mar. 8-9.
RAY OF LIGHT
Jalen Ray moved closer to becoming the newest member of Hofstra’s 1,000-point club Tuesday night, when he scored a career-high 29 points. He now has 971 points, which means *carries the one, drops the remainder* he’s now 29 points away from reaching 1,000 points for his career. Who says math can’t be fun or useful in a sports context?
IT’S RAINING THREES
Monmouth shot a blistering 15-of-30 from 3-point land Tuesday night, which marked the most 3-pointers surrendered by the Dutchmen since Bucknell drained 15 shots from beyond the arc in the Bison’s 86-71 win on Nov. 13, 2018 and the most 3-pointers surrendered by the Dutchmen in a win since Jan. 21, 2016, when Northeastern hit 17 3-pointers but fell, 96-92, in the triple-overtime classic in Boston.
TURNOVER (AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER)
The Dutchmen committed 23 turnovers Tuesday, their most since they made 23 turnovers against (drumroll please) Monmouth in a 91-62 loss on Nov. 9, 2011. The 23 turnovers were Hofstra’s most in a win since Dec. 9, 2017, when the Dutchmen committed 22 turnovers in a 88-82 win over Rider.
HELLUVA HALF
The Dutchmen led Monmouth 49-47 at the half Tuesday night. It marked the highest-scoring half Hofstra was involved in since Feb. 23, 2019, when the Dutchmen outscored James Madison 57-49 in the second half yet only forced overtime, where they fell to the Dukes, 104-99. That was painful.
OVER THE AIR
Today's game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN3. Hofstra will provide a radio feed, as well as live stats, at the Pride Productions hub.
ST. BONAVENTURE AND THE ATLANTIC 10
St. Bonaventure, under 14th-year head coach Mark Schmidt, is 1-0 after opening its season with an 81-74 win over Akron on Tuesday night. The Bonnies were originally scheduled to play the very first game of the Division I season at 9 AM on Nov. 25 — against Towson, no less — but had to pull out of the Bubbleville tournament due to a positive coronavirus case within their Tier 1 personnel. Another potential season-opener Dec. 12 against St. Francis (PA) was canceled hours before tipoff when someone within the Red Flash’s party tested positive.
The Bonnies, who are one of just nine Division I teams without a senior on their roster, were picked to finish fourth in the A-10’s preseason poll after going 19-12 and finishing tied for fifth in the league last season. Junior guard Kyle Lofton was selected to the preseason A-10 second team while junior forward Osun Osunniyi was picked to the third team and the all-defensive team. Against Akron, Osunniyi scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Lofton had 17 points and five assists.
Lofton led the nation in minutes played last season (38.4 minutes per game) while leading the A-10 in assists (6.0 apg) and the Bonnies in scoring (14.1 ppg). Osunniyi led the Bonnies with 8.4 rebounds per game and averaged 10.8 ppg. Lofton and Osunniyi were high school teammates at Putnam Science Academy in New Jersey.
The Dutchmen are 1-5 all-time against St. Bonaventure. The two teams last met on Dec. 7, 2019, when the Bonnies celebrated the 50th anniversary of their Final Four team by handing Hofstra a 73-45 loss. The 45 points are the fewest the Dutchmen have scored under Joe Mihalich while the 28-point margin of defeat is tied for the most lopsided loss absorbed under Mihalich.
This marks the eighth straight season in which Hofstra has faced at least one A-10 school, Hofstra is 36-105 all-time against current Atlantic 10 schools, a membership that includes former Dutchmen conference foes George Mason (CAA), La Salle (ECC) and VCU (CAA). The Dutchmen are scheduled to face another A-10 school, Richmond, on Tuesday night.
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 155th while St. Bonaventure is ranked 72nd. KenPom.com predicts a 79-69 loss for the Dutchmen. You didn’t believe in us Tuesday night either, Ken, but we showed you! Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 10.5-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 3-2 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
You wish you still had Tareq Coburn bias! (The Dutchmen’s star forward transferred to Hofstra after playing one season at St. Bonaventure and may be the first Hofstra player to oppose his former school twice, hmmm, might need to look that up)
Prohibition bias! (Per Wikipedia which is never wrong, Olean was a hotbed for bootlegging during the Prohibition)
You might have better sportswriter alums than us bias! (An oldie but goodie, but Mike Vaccaro and Adrian Wojnarowski are pretty, pretty good)
You have six Pulitzer Prize winners bias! (Apparently St. Bonaventure graduates some pretty good writers in other areas, too)
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