Not that Timberlake.
The longest losing streak in four years ended by the thinnest of margins Sunday afternoon, when the Flying Dutchmen dodged an all-time gut-punch loss when Delaware’s Ebby Asamoah hoisted what would have been the game-winning 3-pointer just after the buzzer in the Dutchmen’s 68-67 win. The Dutchmen, who never trailed in the oddest of one-point wins, will hope to make it two in a row over old ECC foes this afternoon when they are scheduled to host Towson. Here’s a look back at the win over the Blue Hens and a hopeful look ahead to the Tigers.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen scored the game’s first 13 points, led by 20 late in the first half and by 15 with under eight minutes left before Delaware scored on nine of its final 11 possessions. The Blue Hens had the ball and the last shot but had to race up the court without a timeout and the Dutchmen defense swarmed the perimeter until a double-teamed Ryan Allen passed to an open Asamoah in the left corner. Tareq Coburn leaped at Asomoah, who double-clutched as time expired. Good thing, too, because he did shoot and it got nothing but net. Call it the parallel universe version of the Marcus Thornton-Daniel Dixon play in the 2015 CAA semifinals. *shudders* Jalen Ray led the Dutchmen with 23 points and four steals while Caleb Burgess (17 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals) had another impressive all-around game. KVonn Cramer (nine points, eight rebounds) flirted with a double-double in his homecoming.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Delaware 1/17)
3: Jalen Ray
2: Caleb Burgess
1: KVonn Cramer
SEASON STANDINGS
Jalen Ray 23
Isaac Kante 20
Tareq Coburn 16
Caleb Burgess 13
KVonn Cramer 5
Kevin Schutte 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No and you know what I don’t even want unicorn scores anymore. They’re no fun. OK fine I’m just lashing out. This unicorn score hunt didn’t require too much digging. The Dutchmen’s previous 68-67 win came over Georgia State in the first round of the CAA Tournament on Mar. 5, 2010. It was the last of Tom Pecora’s 155 wins as Hofstra’s head coach.
Once again, the Dutchmen have yet to record a unicorn score this season. *once again makes begging motion* 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 THIRTEEN GAMES
With Sunday’s narrow win, the Dutchmen climbed back over .500 at 7-6, which is tied for the 42nd-best start in school history. Six other teams began 7-6, most recently the 2017-18 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 13 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 6-7
1976-77: 9-4
1999-2000: 8-5
2000-01: 9-4
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 9-4
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 8-5
2004-05: 10-3
2005-06: 10-3 (most recent 10-3 start)
2006-07: 9-4
2015-16: 9-4
2018-19: 10-3 (marked seventh win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 9-4
1961-62: 12-1
1962-63: 9-4
1963-64: 12-1 (most recent 12-1 start)
Some other notable 13-game starts:
2016-17: 8-5 (most recent 8-5 start)
2013-14: 4-9 (most recent 4-9 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 3-10 (most recent 3-10 start, final loss in eight-game losing streak)
2011-12: 6-7 (most recent 6-7 start)
2002-03: 2-11 (most recent 2-11 start)
2001-02: 6-7 (Tom Pecora’s first team, under .500 for good)
1996-97: 5-8 (most recent 5-8 start)
1994-95: 2-11 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-12 (VBK’s last team, most recent 1-12 start)
1991-92: 7-6 (over .500 for good)
1986-87: 7-6 (last time over .500)
1966-67: 7-6 (last time over .500)
1959-60: 12-1 (Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 13th game was second win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1955-56: 12-1 (suffered first loss in 13th game)
Hofstra has never been 13-0, 11-2 or 0-13 through 13 games.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 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.
HAIL TO THE CHIEF (whose alma mater we just beat)
Joe Biden graduated from Delaware in 1965, which means there’s only one Division I program in the land that can declare it beat the new President’s alma mater in its final game before his Inauguration! And for this we can thank…Miami (FL), which lost to Syracuse, from where President Biden earned his law degree in 1968! Man I love it when a plan comes together. Syracuse thumped the fighting Larranagas, 83-57, on Tuesday night. Speaking of Presidents…
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN DURING PRESIDENTIAL TENURES
The (thankful) presence of a new President got me thinking: Under whom did the Flying Dutchmen fare best? Spoiler alert: The last four years were terrible and American democracy came this close to being toppled, but at least the Dutchmen fared well!
The Dutchmen went 85-40 during you-know-who’s “tenure” for a winning percentage of .680. That’s the fourth-best performance under a President and the best since the Dutchmen went 56-14 during the tragically shortened presidency of John F. Kennedy. The Dutchmen’s best performance during a full presidency or more came under Kennedy’s predecessor, Dwight Eisenhower. Hofstra was 154-55 (.737) during Eisenhower’s two terms. Here is the full list in chronological order:
Franklin D. Roosevelt 97-75 (.564)
Harry Truman 135-54 (.714)
Dwight Eisenhower 154-55 (.737)
John F. Kennedy 56-14 (.800)
Lyndon B. Johnson 79-65 (.549)
Richard Nixon 66-70 (.485)
Gerald Ford 39-30 (.565)
Jimmy Carter 49-62 (.441)
Ronald Reagan 103-121 (.460)
George H.W. Bush 59-58 (.504)
Bill Clinton 123-109 (.530)
George W. Bush 139-108 (.563)
Barack Obama 130-136 (.489)
He Who Shall Not Be Named 85-40 (.680)
Who says learning American history can’t be fun?
BEFORE THE TRANSITION
With Sunday’s win, the Dutchmen are 6-4 all-time in their final game prior to a new President’s Jan. 20 Inauguration. Hofstra also won in the final games of the Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. The Dutchmen fell in the final games of the Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. The two most interesting finales at least to a weirdo like me: The Dutchmen fell to no. 7 Notre Dame, 65-55, in their last game of Carter’s presidency on Jan. 17, 1981 and beat Rider, 48-34, in their last game of Reagan’s presidency on Jan. 18, 1989. The 34 points surrendered against Rider are the fewest allowed by Hofstra in the last 66 seasons.
NEVER A DOUBT
OK, back to the ballgame. Despite winning by just one point, the Dutchmen never trailed Sunday. Sounds unusual, but remarkably, it was the third time in the last 10 years the winner of a Hofstra-Delaware game never trailed despite winning by three points or fewer. The Dutchmen never trailed in beating the Blue Hens 61-58 on Feb. 12, 2011 before Delaware returned the favor in a 67-66 victory on Jan. 4, 2012. That’s wild.
CALEB JOINS THE CLUB
Caleb Burgess continued to look like the heir at point guard Sunday, when he finished with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. It’s the first time a Hofstra player collected at least 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals since Desure Buie (27 points, six rebounds, nine assists and three steals) also did it at Delaware on Feb. 22, 2020. Burgess is the fourth player to post a 15-5-5-3 line since 2010-11, the start of the Play Index era at CollegeBasketballReference.com. Charles Jenkins and Juan’ya Green did it three times apiece and Buie did it twice.
RAY MOVIN’ ON UP
Jalen Ray continued moving up Hofstra’s all-time scoring list Sunday, when his 23 points increased his career total to 1,127 points and lifted him past Richie Swartz into 32nd place. He has a great chance to gain ground this afternoon, when Ray needs two points this afternoon to move past Mike Moore into 31st place, six points to surpass Wandy Williams for 30th place and 13 points to leapfrog Nathaniel Lester into 29th place.
28.) Ted Jackson 1,159
29.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139
30.) Wandy Williams 1,132
31.) Mike Moore 1,128
32.) JALEN RAY 1,127
33.) Richie Swartz 1,107
34.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090
35.) Derrick Flowers 1,069
36.) Darius Burton 1,060
37.) Percy Johnson 1,045
38.) James Shaffer, 1,022
39.) John Irving 1,018
OH NO THE 3S AREN’T FALLING
The Dutchmen went just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc in Sunday’s win. It was the fourth straight game they’ve made five or fewer 3-pointers, the longest streak since a four-game slump from Dec. 20, 2017 through Jan. 2, 2018 — a span that included the Dutchmen’s previous three-game losing streak.
A NON-NOSTALGIC TRIP TO THE ‘60S
The Dutchmen scored fewer than 70 points for the third straight game Sunday, the first time they’ve scored under 70 points in three consecutive games since scoring 68 points in three straight games from Dec. 9-22, 2015, when Hofstra sandwiched a loss to SUNY-Stony Brook (boo) in between wins over Siena and Florida Atlantic.
TRUEHEART’S BACK
Stafford Trueheart, who missed the first 11 games due to injury, played in his second game of the season Sunday, when he had four points in 16 minutes for the undermanned Dutchmen, who were without David Green and Omar Silverio and lost Vukasin Masic to an ankle injury in the first half. The points and minutes were his most since Feb. 8, 2020, when he scored six points in 20 minutes against Northeastern.
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 TOWSON
The Tigers, under 10th-year head coach Pat Skerry, are 3-5 this season and 2-1 in CAA play after completing a back-to-back sweep of UNC Wilmington with a 78-74 win on Tuesday. Towson played its first three CAA games in a four-day span last weekend after playing just three games in the preceding 49 days due to a pair of coronavirus pauses. What a season.
The Dutchmen and Tigers had no common foes in non-league play.
The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 174th at KenPom.com. The Tigers, who were picked third, are ranked 228th.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank third in the CAA in offensive efficiency (101.6) and third in defensive efficiency (103.2). The Tigers are sixth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (100.7) and eighth in defensive efficiency (106.7).
Senior guard Zane Martin, who spent his first two years at Towson before transferring to New Mexico and then transferring back to Towson last summer, leads the Tigers with 16.6 points and 3.3 assists per game. He’s like a modern-day Charles Jenkins. Junior guard Nicholas Timberlake is averaging 11.4 ppg and sophomore Charles Thompson is just shy of double figures at 9.9 ppg. Sophomore forward Solomon Uyaelunmo is averaging a team-high 6.1 rebound per game. His older brother Victor ranks second in rebounding at 5.6 rpg.
KenPom.com predicts a 74-69 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 6-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 5-8 against the spread this season, including 0-6 in CAA play. Once again: Never bet, kids.
ALL-TIME VS. TOWSON
Hofstra is 44-27 against Towson in a series that began during the 1982-83 season, when both schools were in the East Coast Conference. The teams split the season series last season, when the Dutchmen overcame a 12-point deficit in a 75-67 win Dec. 30 in Towson before the Tigers earned a 76-65 win on Long Island on Feb. 27 It was the last loss of the season for the Dutchmen, who won their next 10 games to win the national title! Right?
Hofstra and Towson opposed one another in the ECC and the North Atlantic Conference/America East before moving together to the CAA for the 2001-02 school year. Hofstra has faced only two opponents as often as it’s faced Towson: Longtime conference rivals Delaware and Drexel.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Bringing sexy back bias! (Not that Timberlake)
Brian Stelter bias! (The CNN host graduated from Towson)
Terrance West bias! (The Towson graduate gave its football program publicity by playing in the NFL)
Good Charlotte bias! (The band is apparently from Maryland)
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