Jon is now 59 and Cindy is now 55. Try to enjoy the rest of your nights, old farts.
The 1,301st win in program history was unlike any before it. The Flying Dutchmen, playing without leading scorer Zach Cooks and after a chaotic trip that had them arriving in Arkansas the afternoon of the game, made the third time against a ranked opponent the charm by leading almost wire-to-wire in an 89-81 upset of previously no. 24/19 Arkansas. Would have been neat to see it on TV! The Dutchmen will look to maintain their winning ways tonight, when they are slated to visit Monmouth in their final game before CAA play starts. Here’s a look back at the big win over the Razorbacks and a look ahead to the Hawks.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Aaron Estrada (22 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) nearly posted the second triple-double in program history and Abayomi Iyiola (18 points, 14 rebounds) made a forceful return to Arkansas for the Dutchmen, who were missing leading scorer Zach Cooks but trailed just twice on their way to recording the historic upset of the Razorbacks. A 3-pointer by Caleb Burgess with 11:08 left in the first put the Dutchmen ahead for good at 18-15. The Dutchmen led by as many as 10 in the first half, led 40-32 at intermission and extended their advantage to 14 points at 64-50 on a layup by Iyiola with 8:26 left. Arkansas scored the next 11 points and capped a 14-2 run when Davonte Davis completed a nostalgic 3-point play with 4:53 remaining, but the Dutchmen, who squandered a 13-point lead in the final eight minutes, scored eight unanswered points to begin a game-ending 23-17 run. Jalen Ray finished with 22 points, including yet another dagger 3-pointer with 1:32 left. Darlinstone Dubar had 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Arkansas, 12/18)
3: Aaron Estrada
2: Abayomi Iyiola
1: Jalen Ray
SEASON STANDINGS
Darlinstone Dubar 18
Aaron Estrada 15
Zach Cooks 13
Jalen Ray 11
Abayomi Iyiola 6
Omar Silverio 5
Kvonn Cramer 4
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! As was the case against UCLA on Nov. 21, 2019, a singular win comes with a singular score. Somewhat surprisingly, the Dutchmen came within one point of an 89-81 final just twice previously — an 89-80 win over U.S.M.M.A. during the 1965-66 season and an 88-81 overtime victory over UNC Wilmington on Feb. 28, 2009.
The Dutchmen have recorded six straight unicorn score victories and (checks notes) six unicorn score victories this season.
The Dutchmen recorded no unicorn scores last season after recording 13 unicorn scores in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn scores in 2018-19. 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.
11/24/21: 87-49 over Molloy
11/27/21: 98-84 over Detroit Mercy
12/1/21: 81-77 over Princeton
12/4/21: 88-69 over Bucknell
12/12/21: 102-52 over John Jay
12/18/21: 89-81 over Arkansas
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWELVE GAMES
With Saturday night’s big win, the Dutchmen improved to 7-5, which is tied for the 32nd-best start in program history. It’s the first time the Dutchmen have opened -5 since the 2017-18 season and the 13th time overall in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 12 games.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 6-6
1976-77: 9-3
1999-2000: 8-4
2000-01: 8-4
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 8-4 (most recent 8-4 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 8-4
2004-05: 10-2
2005-06: 10-2 (most recent 10-2 start)
2006-07: 8-4
2015-16: 8-4
2018-19: 9-3 (most recent 9-3 start, marked sixth win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 8-4
1961-62: 11-1
1962-63: 8-4
1963-64: 11-1 (most recent 11-1 start)
Some other notable 12-game starts:
2020-21: 6-6 (most recent 6-6 start)
2013-14: 4-8 (most recent 4-8 start)
2012-13: 3-9 (most recent 3-9 start)
2011-12: 5-7 (most recent 5-7 start)
2002-03: 2-10 (most recent 2-10 start)
1994-95: 2-10 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-11 (VBK’s last team, most recent 1-11 start)
1959-60: 11-1 (win in 12th game marked first win in season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1955-56: 12-0 (only 12-0 start in school history)
The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-12.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1949-50, 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.
NUMBER TEN THROUGH TWELVE
With Saturday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 7-5 as head coach. Only Claxton and Mo Cassara have opened 7-5 at Hofstra. Four other coaches had winning records through 12 games in their first season (or the first season of their second stints). Jack McDonald steered the Dutchmen to a 10-2 start in the first (and only) season of his second stint while Frank Reilly (1947-48) began 10-2 and Butch van Breda Kolff began 12-0 in his first stint (1955-56). Paul Lynner opened 8-4 in 1962-63.
THIS ONE RANKS PRETTY HIGH
Where to start with just how big a win this was for the Dutchmen? While it marked the third time the Dutchmen beat a ranked opponent in the DD Era (1993-present) — following a 77-68 win over no. 25 George Mason on Feb. 23, 2006 and a 76-71 victory over no. 23 Richmond one year ago today — both those wins came over teams ranked only in the USA Today coaches poll. The win over Arkansas was the first victory over a program ranked in the Associated Press poll since Dec. 11, 1976, when the Flying Dutchmen — who really were nicknamed the Flying Dutchmen back then! — beat no. 18 Southern Illinois, 67-66, in the championship game of the Pittsburgh Classic. The team Hofstra beat in the Pittsburgh Classic opener? Duquesne, whom the Dutchmen beat for their first win this season. You know where the 1976-77 season ended, right?
The win on Saturday also marked the first time a CAA school beat a school ranked in the AP top 25 since Nov. 27, 2015, when Northeastern beat no. 15 Miami (FL), 78-77. I love when a good fact comes together. And with Arkansas ranked 34th at KenPom.com prior to Saturday, the victory was also the first time the CAA earned a win over a top-40 KenPom.com opponent since the Huskies’ win over then-no. 10 Miami. Hee hee.
Lastly, the win was the 11th for Hofstra over a power conference foe in the DD Era, the program’s first since the 88-78 win over UCLA on Nov 21, 2019 and the second of the month for the CAA. James Madison beat Virginia, 52-49, on Dec. 7. We can still count that as a win for the CAA, right?
TRIPLE-DOUBLE FLIRTATION
Aaron Estrada almost posted the second triple-double in program history Saturday night, when he collected 22 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists in the win over Arkansas. No player since Juan’ya Green posted his triple-double (15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) against Long Island University Dec. 28, 2014 has come closer to recording a triple-double in the midst of a double-double. Prior to Estrada’s effort Saturday night, Caleb Burgess had the closest flirtation with a triple-double when he had 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the 83-75 win over Delaware in the CAA tournament on Mar. 7, 2021.
DOUBLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE FUN
Abayomi Iyiola (18 points, 14 rebounds) joined Estrada in posting a double-double. It was the first time two players have recorded double-doubles in the same game for the Dutchmen since Dec. 2, 2019, when Tareq Coburn (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Eli Pemberton (16 points, 10 rebounds) combined to achieve the feat against Canisius.
REUNITED AND IT FELT SO GOOD
Abayomi Iyiola saved perhaps his best game as a collegian for his first one against his former program. Iyiola, who sat out the 2019-20 season after transferring from Stetson and played just one game last season due to a knee injury, scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, the latter of which tied a career-high and was the most boards Iyiola has recorded against a Division I foe. The 18 points were the most for Iyiola since he scored 22 points for Stetson against Western Illinois on Dec. 5, 2018.
RAY VS. THE BIG BOYS
It’s a pretty good sign for the Dutchmen that Jalen Ray, a preseason all-CAA first-teamer, was the third option Saturday night, when he scored 22 points and went 4-of-8 from 3-point land. It was the latest impressive effort against a top-tier foe by Ray, who has five 20-point games against power conference teams or Atlantic 10 opponents has scored in double digits in eight of his last 10 games against such teams dating back to the 69-67 overtime loss to VCU on Nov. 24, 2018.
12/18/21: 22 pts vs. Arkansas
11/22/21: 3 pts vs. Richmond
11/19/21: 18 pts vs. Maryland
12/22/20: 23 pts vs. Richmond
12/19/20: 28 pts vs. St. Bonaventure
11/29/20: 22 pts vs. Rutgers
12/7/19: 2 pts vs. St. Bonaventure
11/21/19: 27 pts vs. UCLA***
3/19/19: 10 pts vs. North Carolina State^^^
11/24/18: 14 pts vs. VCU^^^
***established a then-career high
^^^did not start the game
AT THE FIVE AND FIVE AND DIME
Darlinstone Dubar had an impressively solid all-around game Saturday, when he finished with 10 points, five rebounds and five steals. He’s the second Hofstra player this season to have at least 10 points, five rebounds and five steals in a game — Zach Cooks finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five steals against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 27 — and the fourth Hofstra player to do so since 2010-11, the first season in which player game logs are available at College Basketball Reference. Desure Buie had three such games while Ameen Tanksley did it once.
THE GOOD KIND OF THIEVERY
With his five steals Saturday, Darlinstone Dubar became the third Hofstra player this season to record at least five steals in a game. In addition to Cooks, Aaron Estrada had five steals against John Jay on Dec. 12. This is the first time the Dutchmen have had three players record at least one five-steal game since 2010-11, when Charles Jenkins, Dwan McMillan and Brad Kelleher all had one five-steal game apiece.
AWARDS FOR AARON
Aaron Estrada was named the CAA’s Player of the Week after his big game against Arkansas. Estrada, who also earned the award for the week ending Dec. 6, is the first two-time Player of the Week honoree this season. Twelve Hofstra players have won CAA Player of the Week honors since 2013-14, which was Joe Mihalich’s first season as head coach. No other CAA school has more than 10 Player of the Week honorees in that span. In addition, Estrada also won the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week for the second time this season — and, again, for the second time in three weeks.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will be carried live on ESPN3. Seriously. You can watch this game, unlike the last one. (Gonna kinda miss being snarky about that) Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
MONMOUTH AND THE MAAC
Monmouth, under 11th-year head coach King Rice, is 10-2 this season after beating Colgate, 77-66, on Sunday. The Hawks’ only two losses were narrow defeats to Charlotte (68-66 on Nov. 9) and St. John’s (88-83 on Dec. 9).
Monmouth was picked to finish fourth in the MAAC. Graduate student guard George Papas was named to the preseason all-MAAC first team while fellow graduate student guard Shavar Reynolds Jr. was named to the preseason all-MAAC third team. Papas (17.0 points per game) and Reynolds (15.8 points per game) are the Hawks’ leading scorers, with graduate student forward Walker Miller (14.0 points per game) and graduate student guard Marcus McClary (10.9 points per game) also averaging in double figures. Miller leads Monmouth with 6.8 rebounds per game while Papas is pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game.
The Dutchmen and Hawks have two common opponents. Monmouth beat the CAA’s Towson 79-71 on Nov. 13 and knocked off Princeton, 76-64, on Nov. 24. The Dutchmen beat Princeton, 81-77, on Dec. 1.
This is the fifth straight season in which Hofstra and Monmouth have opposed each other. The Dutchmen are 5-6 all-time against Monmouth but have won the last four games, including last season, when Hofstra earned a 96-88 victory in West Long Branch.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 122nd while Monmouth is ranked 113th. Close! KenPom.com predicts a 74-69 loss for the Dutchmen. Guess he wasn’t able to see Saturday’s game either. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 6-4 against the spread this season.
Hofstra is 103-120 all-time against current MAAC schools. The Dutchmen, who fell to Iona 82-73 on Nov. 16, are playing at least two MAAC schools for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons (the 2014-15 schedule had no MAAC teams). My apologies, I had Iona as the only MAAC team on this year’s schedule in the Iona I’ll Be Quirky (we’re all about accountability here).
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Jon Bon Jovi canoodled with Cindy Crawford in a Christmas video because he could bias! (Jon grew up about half an hour from Monmouth)
King Rice is just mad because Hofstra already beat his son’s team this year bias! (Xander Rice scored two points in Hofstra’s 88-69 win over Bucknell on Dec. 4)
Charlie wants to swim to Europe bias! (He still would have had a better experience at the Jersey shore than Dee or Dennis)
You scored your first-ever football points on a returned two-point conversion bias! (It’s true, according to Wikipedia. That’d be a neat way to get publicity for a I-AA football program)
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