I'll Be Quirky: Delaware

So this is what a losing streak feels like. #DoesNotCompute The Flying Dutchmen suffered their first CAA sweep Saturday, when Northeastern earned a 67-56 win in Boston. The Dutchmen will look to get back on track this weekend with a series at Delaware. The Saturday game got moved up to…well, right about now, which made it tough to get the usual I’ll Be Quirky posted. So we’ll just do a quick Delaware preview and then hopefully recap the previous two games in advance of Sunday’s (hopeful) series finale. 

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed and live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

SCOUTING DELAWARE

The Blue Hens, under fifth-year head coach Martin Ingelsby, are 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the CAA after falling to William & Mary, 67-62, last Saturday. The final game of the series was postponed because a spate of injuries left Delaware with five scholarship players.

The Dutchmen and Blue Hens had no common foes in non-league play.

The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 153rd at KenPom.com. The Blue Hens, who were picked second, are ranked 269th.

According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank first in the CAA in offensive efficiency (102.7) and second in defensive efficiency (102.2). The Blue Hens are last in the CAA in offensive efficiency (97.0) and seventh in defensive efficiency (105.7).

The Blue Hens, who appeared primed to enter the season as CAA favorites before Justyn Mutts transferred to Virginia Tech and Nate Darling turned pro, are led in scoring by senior guard Ryan Allen (14.6 ppg) Junior Dylan Painter, a Villanova transfer, is averaging 11.3 ppg and a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game.

KenPom.com predicts a 71-67 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 5-6 against the spread this season, including 0-4 in CAA play.

ALL-TIME VS. DELAWARE

Hofstra is 61-33 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.

Hofstra took two of three from Delaware last season, when each team won a regular season game on the road before the Dutchmen beat the Blue Hens, 75-61, in the CAA semifinals. It was the second straight season in which Hofstra beat Delaware in the semifinals.

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

Notre Dame bias! (Ingelsby went to Notre Dame, where he played under former Delaware head coach Mike Brey)

You’re just mad we got KVonn Cramer bias! (The star freshman is from Delaware)

You’re just mad we might have borrowed your color scheme and arena design bias! (If you know, you know)

Snowy PTSD bias! (We left Molly’s favorite stuffed animal at the Bob in February, back when things weren’t totally terrible)