Not that Boggs.
It’s win three, lose three, win three for the Flying Dutchmen (actually, let’s hope that’s not the case), who completed a weekend sweep of Towson on Sunday by holding off a late rally in a 74-69 win. The Dutchmen will hope to get a chance to extend the winning streak to a season-high four games this afternoon, when they are scheduled to visit UNC Wilmington, Here’s a look back at the win over the Tigers and a hopeful look ahead to the Seahawks.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Tareq Coburn got off to a scorching start for the Flying Dutchmen, who frittered away almost all of a 14-point second half lead but held off late attempts by Towson to take the lead or tie the score. Coburn scored the Dutchmen’s first 10 points, 16 of their first 18 and 21 in the first half as the Dutchmen took an eight-point lead. Vukasin Masic’s layup with 16:44 left extended the lead to 55-41 before Towson mounted a 28-15 run to pull within 70-69 with 1:20 left. But the Dutchmen cracked down and forced Jason Gibson to miss a go-ahead jumper with 24 seconds left. KVonn Cramer drained two free throws and Coburn put the game away with two more free throws following a Towson turnover. Jalen Ray finished with 16 points despite shooting 6-of-21 from the field. He also had seven assists. Isaac Kante had 10 points and seven rebounds while Cramer finished with 11 points.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Towson 1/24)
3: Tareq Coburn
2: Jalen Ray
1: Isaac Kante
SEASON STANDINGS
Jalen Ray 28
Isaac Kante 22
Tareq Coburn 19
Caleb Burgess 13
KVonn Cramer 7
Kevin Schutte 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
What do you think? This was not a unicorn score. At least it took digging beyond the KenPom.com years to find the most recent 74-69 win, though! The Dutchmen beat Vermont by that very score on Jan. 15, 2001.
As you no doubt know by now, the Dutchmen have yet to record a unicorn score this season. *still making a 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. I don’t think we’re approaching those numbers this season. 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 FIFTEEN GAMES
With Sunday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 9-6, which is tied for the 33rd-best start in school history. This is the third time in the last five years the Dutchmen have opened 9-6. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 15 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 8-7
1976-77: 10-5
1999-2000: 10-5
2000-01: 11-4
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 11-4
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 10-5
2004-05: 10-5
2005-06: 12-3
2006-07: 11-4
2015-16: 10-5
2018-19: 12-3 (marked eighth win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 10-5
1961-62: 14-1 (most recent 14-1 start)
1962-63: 10-5
1963-64: 12-3
Some other notable 15-game starts:
2013-14: 4-11 (most recent 4-11 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2011-12: 6-9 (most recent 6-9 start)
2009-10: 8-7 (most recent 8-7 start)
2007-08: 3-12 (most recent 3-12 start)
2001-02: 7-8 (most recent 7-8 start)
1995-96: 7-8 (lost buzzer-beater to Northeastern to fall under .500 for good)
1994-95: 3-12 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-14 (VBK’s last team, most recent 1-14 start)
1973-74: 2-13 (only 2-13 start in program history)
1968-69: 5-10 (only 5-10 start in program history)
1960-61: 13-2 (only 13-2 start in program history)
1959-60: 13-1 (Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 14th game was third win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
Hofstra has never been 15-0 or 0-15 through 15 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.
AT LEAST THIS ISN’T THE SHORTEST SEASON EVER
Remember when playing 15 games in a season was not just normal but less than half the actual season? With the tipoff Sunday, the Dutchmen ensured they would complete at least 15 games this season, which means this weird campaign will not go down as the shortest in program history. That honor, such as it is, remains with the second-ever Flying Dutchmen, which went 10-4 back in 1937-38.
TORRID TAREQ
Senior Tareq Coburn had another one of his scorching stretches in the first half Sunday, when he scored the Dutchmen’s first 10 points over a span of 4:02, scored 16 points in the first 6:31 and finished the first half with 21 points. He scored more than 21 points in just five of his first 81 games at Hofstra.
The 21 first-half points were the most in a first half by a Hofstra player since Eli Pemberton racked up 24 points against James Madison last Feb. 29. Coburn’s the first Hofstra player since at least the start of the 2016-17 season to score the Dutchmen’s first 10 points in a game, as well as the fastest Dutchmen player to get to 16 points (that research project was more imposing than I thought). However, the early 10-point barrage by Coburn was not the fastest he’s reached double digits. Coburn scored 10 points in the first 2:33 against Charleston on Jan. 18, 2020.
PERFECT FROM THE LINE
Speaking of that Charleston game…the Dutchmen were 8-of-8 from the free throw line Sunday, which marked the first time they drained every free throw attempt since going 7-of-7 against Charleston on Jan. 18, 2020. The Dutchmen have been perfect rom the line seven times since 2010-11, including three times against Towson. Hofstra was 9-of-9 on Mar. 2, 2013 and 12-of-12 on Dec. 4, 2012.
VOLUMINOUS RAY
Jalen Ray scored 16 points on 6-of-21 shooting Sunday. The 21 attempts were the most by a Hofstra player since Desure Buie lofted 22 attempts against Drexel last Feb. 20. The last Hofstra player to make six or fewer field goals with 21 or more attempts was Justin Wright-Foreman, who was also 6-of-21 against Northeastern on Jan. 25, 2018. That was one day shy of three years earlier!
RAY MOVIN’ ON UP
With his 16 points Sunday, Jalen Ray moved into a tie for 28th place on Hofstra’s all-time scoring list with Ted Jackson. Next up on the list are a trio of Joe Mihalich-era stars. Ray is 26 points away from moving past Rokas Gustys and 28 points away from leapfrogging both Juan’ya Green and Brian Bernardi.
25t.) Juan’ya Green 1,186
25t.) Brian Bernardi 1,186
27.) Rokas Gustys 1,184
28t.) Ted Jackson 1,159
28t.) JALEN RAY 1,159
30.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139
31.) Wandy Williams 1,132
32.) Mike Moore 1,128
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
Since joining the 1,000-point club on Dec. 22, Ray has gained at least a half-spot on the all-time scoring list in every game. A 25-point effort would set him up nicely to gain ground both days this weekend, just saying.
Dec. 22: Tied for 38th place
Jan. 2: 38th place
Jan. 3: 37th place
Jan. 7: 36th place
Jan. 9: 35th place
Jan. 15: 34th place
Jan. 17: 33rd place
Jan. 23: 29th place
Jan. 24: Tied for 28th place
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 UNC WILMINGTON
The Seahawks, under first-year head coach Takayo Siddle, are 7-6 this season and 1-3 in CAA play after splitting last weekend with Delaware. A 67-62 loss to the Blue Hens last Sunday ended a six-day span in which UNC Wilmington played four league games following a 25-day pause due to positive coronavirus tests. What a season.
The Dutchmen and Seahawks had no common foes in non-league play.
The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 172nd at KenPom.com. The Seahawks, who were picked eighth, are ranked 202nd.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in offensive efficiency (102.7) and third in defensive efficiency (103.8). The Seahawks are fourth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (101.6) and sixth in defensive efficiency (105.5).
The Seahawks absorbed a big loss this week when leading scorer Jaylen Sims suffered a season-ending injury. Sims, who was averaging 17.8 points per game, also ranked second in rebounding at 5.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Ty Gadsden is now the top scorer for UNC Wilmington at 14.8 ppg. Senior guard Mike Okauru is averaging 13.0 ppg and a team-high 3.7 assists per game while sophomore transfer Joe Pridgen is averaging 11.0 ppg and a team-high 8.8 rpg in 10 games since becoming eligible. Sophomore guard Jake Boggs is averaging 10.6 ppg.
KenPom.com predicts a 74-73 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 1-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 7-8 against the spread this season, including 2-6 in CAA play.
ALL-TIME VS. UNC WILMINGTON
Hofstra is 23-21 against UNC Wilmington in a series that began when the Dutchmen joined the CAA prior to the 2001-02 season. The Dutchmen took the all-time series lead by earning a series sweep last season, when they edged the Seahawks, 63-61, in interim head coach Rob Burke’s first game on Jan. 16 before recording a 78-64 win in Hempstead on Feb. 15. The sweep was the first for Hofstra since the 2013-14 campaign, when the Dutchmen also beat the Seahawks in the CAA Tournament.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Kevin Keatts tree bias! (Siddle was on Keatts’ staff when he regularly ethered Hofstra’s soul from 2014-17)
Craig Ponder bias! (Ponder, now the Seahawks’ director of basketball operations, scored a game-high 20 points in the title game win in 2016, you can’t hurt us anymore Craig!)
Pitt The Elder bias! (Jake isn’t related to Wade, at least I don’t think so, but it works for me)
Todd Lickliter bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, the Evansville coach began his college days at UNC Wilmington before transferring)
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