You take the Southern State exit off the Belt Parkway, take that to the Meadowbrook Parkway north... (Also, hot take: This version is better then Blind Faith's original)
Consistency continued to elude the undermanned Flying Dutchmen in early-season CAA play Tuesday, when a series of shooting droughts doomed the Dutchmen in a 78-66 loss to Towson. Another ECC game awaits this afternoon (hopefully), when the Dutchmen are slated to finally return home and Delaware in a rematch of your favorite America East title games. Unless you’re a Delaware fan who stumbled over here via a Google search, in which case, sorry. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Tigers and a look ahead to the Blue Hens.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Aaron Estrada (24 points, four rebounds, two assists) had another game as he snapped his version of the Manningcast Curse, but the Dutchmen continued to miss the additional scoring punch of Zach Cooks (out a second straight game with an ankle injury) as they fell to Towson. Estrada scored 11 of the Dutchmen’s first 13 points, who went ahead 17-14 (NICE FOOTBALL SCORE) after back-to-back baskets by Kvonn Cramer. But the Dutchmen went 0-for-6 with three turnovers on their next nine possessions, a span in which they fell behind 22-17. The Dutchmen never led again and endured two stretches in the second half in which they missed five straight shots from the field. Omar Silverio was 4-of-8 from 3-point land on his way to finishing with 14 points and tying his season-high with six rebounds. Abayomi Iyiola had 12 points and seven rebounds but missed three layups in the first half. Jalen Ray (2-for-10 shooting, including 1-of-8 from 3-point land) scored just seven points and Darlinstone Dubar finished with only three points while playing just 24 minutes due to foul trouble.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Towson, 1/11)
3: Aaron Estrada
2: Omar Silverio
1: Abayomi Iyiola
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 24
Darlinstone Dubar 22
Jalen Ray 16
Zach Cooks 13
Abayomi Iyiola 10
Omar Silverio 7
Kvonn Cramer 4
A change at the top!
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER SIXTEEN GAMES
With Tuesday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 9-7, which is tied for the 37th-best start in program history. It’s the first time the Dutchmen have opened 9-7 since the 2017-18 season and the eighth time overall in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 16 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 8-8
1976-77: 11-5
1999-2000: 11-5
2000-01: 12-4
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 11-5 (most recent 11-5 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 10-6
2004-05: 11-5
2005-06: 12-4
2006-07: 12-4
2015-16: 11-5
2018-19: 13-3 (most recent 13-3 start, win in 16th game marked ninth win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 11-5
1961-62: 15-1 (most recent 15-1 start)
1962-63: 11-5
1963-64: 13-3
Some other notable 16-game starts:
2014-15: 12-4 (most recent 12-4 start)
2013-14: 5-11 (most recent 5-11 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2011-12: 6-10 (most recent 6-10 start)
2007-08: 4-12 (most recent 4-12 start)
2001-02: 7-9 (most recent 7-9 start)
1994-95: 3-13 (only 3-13 start in program history, Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 2-14 (VBK’s last team, most recent 2-14 start)
1990-91: 8-8 (most recent 8-8 start)
1960-61: 14-2 (only 14-2 start in program history)
1959-60: 15-1 (Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 16th game was fifth win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
Hofstra has never been 16–0, 1-15 or 0-16 through 16 games.
One season was completed in fewer than 16 games:
1937-38 (10-4)
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 SIXTEEN
With Tuesday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 9-7 as head coach. He is the first coach to open 9-7 at Hofstra and the eighth to post a winning record through 16 games in his first season (or the first season of a second stints). Jack McDonald steered the Dutchmen to a 13-3 start in the first (and only) season of his second stint while Frank Reilly (1947-48) began 10-6 and Butch van Breda Kolff began 15-1 in his first stint (1955-56). Paul Lynner opened 11-5 in 1962-63, as did Mo Cassara in 2010-11. Joe Harrington (1979-80) and Mike Farrelly (2020-21) each began 10-6 in their lone seasons at the helm.
TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T WHAT WE WANTED
The Dutchmen opened 1-2 in CAA play for the first time since 2016-17, when they started 1-6 on their way to a 7-11 finish and a first-round tournament exit. Every other CAA school has been 1-2 or worse through three games in the CAA since then except Charleston, which hasn’t opened 1-2 or worse since an 0-3 start in 2014-15. The Cougars are 1-1 this season and scheduled to play UNC Wilmington on Monday.
Overall, the Dutchmen have opened 1-2 or worse in CAA play eight times, with previous 1-2 starts in 2001-02, 2002-03, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2016-17 and an 0-3 start in 2011-12.
AARON’S A-PLUS START
Aaron Estrada scored 11 of the Dutchmen’s first 13 points over the first 4:30 Tuesday. It was the fastest start by a Hofstra player since Tareq Coburn scored the Dutchmen’s first 10 points in a span of 4:02 in a 74-69 win over Towson on Jan. 24, 2021.
TWENTY IS THRICE AS NICE
Aaron Estrada scored at least 20 points for the third straight game Tuesday, when he tied his career-high with 24 points, Estrada is the first Hofstra player this season with three straight 20-point games and the first to score at least 20 points in three consecutive games since Jalen Ray finished last season by scoring 20 points in the final four games (which spanned from Feb. 13 until Mar. 8 because of, well, you know).
OCHO OMAR
The 14-point effort Tuesday for Omar Silverio marked the eighth time this season he’s scored in double figures. He entered this season having scored in double figures seven times in 40 games over his first two seasons at Hofstra and eight times in 68 games over three collegiate seasons overall. Silverio scored 10 points for Rhode Island against George Mason on Jan. 13, 2019. (I swear)
NOT THE GOOD KIND OF DQ
Darlinstone Dubar became the first Hofstra player to foul out twice this season Tuesday, when he drew the five fouls in just 24 minutes. Dubar, who also fouled out against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 27, is the first Dutchmen to foul out multiple times in a season since Eli Pemberton and Jacquil Taylor each fouled out twice during the 2018-19 season.
ROUGH NIGHT FOR RAY
Jalen Ray scored seven points while going 2-of-10 from the field, including 1-of-8 from 3-point land. It was the first time in Ray’s career he made one 3-pointer or fewer while taking at least eight shots from beyond the arc. He was the third player this season to make one 3-pointer or fewer while taking at least eight attempts, following Omar Silverio (1-for-8 against William & Mary on Dec. 29) and Aaron Estrada (1-of-9 against William & Mary). It marks the first time since 2014-15 — when Juan’ya Green and Ameen Tanksley did it twice apiece and Dion Nesmith did it once — that three Hofstra players have made one 3-pointer or fewer while taking at least eight attempts in a game.
CAN’T MISS CRAMER
Kvonn Cramer scored six points while hitting all three of his field goal attempts Tuesday. It marked the fourth time — twice apiece in each of the last two seasons — he’s been perfect from the field (minimum three field goal attempts), the most such games by a Hofstra player since Jacquil Taylor was perfect from the field six times in his lone season with the Dutchmen in 2018-19.
OLD-SCHOOL PICKUP BALL
Remember the good ol’ days of your misspent youth, when you’d run up and down the court at your local park (Besse Pond forever) and there were no stoppages unless someone started bleeding and/or someone’s girlfriend showed up? Well, that happened Tuesday, minus the bleeding and the girlfriends showing up. In something too wild and quirky not to note, the Dutchmen and Towson played almost half the second half — all the way to the 10:28 mark, or the first 9:32, to be exact — before hitting the first media timeout, which wasn’t actually a media timeout: Speedy Claxton called timeout with the Dutchmen down 56-48.
There were two stoppages before the four-minute mark of the second half, after which the teams combined to go 8-for-20 from the field before Claxton’s timeout. The Dutchmen and Tigers actually warmed up near the end of the uninterrupted run by combining to hit four of their final five shots prior to the stoppage.
I started looking up how long it’d been since the Dutchmen went that long before (or between) media timeouts, but not every media timeout is listed and even I have my limits. But that was fun.
OVER THE AIR
If today’s game is played, it will be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
FINDING THEIR WAY HOME
The Dutchmen are scheduled to play at home today for the first time since Dec. 12, when they beat John Jay 102-51. Scheduled games at the Arena against UNC Wilmington and Charleston Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 were postponed due to, well, you know.
If the Dutchmen play today, the 33 days in between home games will be their longest stretch since the 2017-18 season, when they went 35 days between hosting Molloy on Nov. 30 and welcoming James Madison on Jan. 5. That comes with a pretty big asterisk, though: In between games at the Arena, the Dutchmen “hosted” Manhattan at Adelphi on Dec. 20 and “visited” Villanova at Nassau Coliseum on Dec. 22. The Dutchmen last went this long without playing a home game — unofficial or otherwise — during the 2015-16 season, when 35 days elapsed between hosting Molloy (them again!) on Nov. 16 and hosting Florida Atlantic on Dec. 22.
The Dutchmen haven’t gone more than 35 days in between home games since the 1996-97 season — Speedy Claxton’s freshman season — when they hosted Stony Brook on Nov. 22 and played the next nine games away from home over a 39-day span before facing Vermont at the Physical Fitness Center (!!) on Jan. 2.
You will be stunned to know I dug deep enough to learn the longest gap between home games for the Dutchmen in the DD era came during my first year on campus and the last year of the ECC, when the Dutchmen went 41 days in between hosting Lehigh on Nov, 27, 1993 and hosting Cornell on Jan. 8, 1994. It always comes back to the ECC, Litos! Surprisingly, the Dutchmen’s longest gap between home games in 1992-93 — when they played an independent schedule and had just seven games at the PFC — was a mere 29 days between playing Yale on Dec 8, 1992 and playing Columbia on Jan. 7, 1993.
SCOUTING DELAWARE
The Blue Hens, under sixth-year head coach Martin Inglesby, are 11-5 this season and 2-1 in the CAA after edging Drexel, 81-77, on Tuesday night.
The Dutchmen and Blue Hens had one common foe in non-league play. Hofstra fell to Iona, 82-74, on Nov. 16 while Delaware lost to the Gaels, 83-72, at UBS Arena on Dec. 21.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 125th at KenPom.com. The Blue Hens, who were picked to finish first, are ranked 143rd.
According to KenPom.com. the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in offensive efficiency (109.6) and fifth in defensive efficiency (105.5). The Blue Hens rank third in offensive efficiency (108.2) and seventh in defensive efficiency (106.4).
The Blue Hens, who lost several undergraduate stars to the transfer portal or professional ball early in Inglesby’s tenure, feature four returning starters among their top five scorers. Fifth-year senior guard Ryan Allen, a preseason all-CAA first-team selection, leads Delaware with 14.4 points per game, followed by the lone newcomer in the bunch — Jameer Nelson Jr., a junior guard and George Washington transfer who was an honorable mention preseason all-CAA selection and ranks second on the team in both scoring (14.4 points per game) and rebounding (5.2 rebounds per game). Yup, his Dad played for Saint Joseph’s THIS CENTURY. You are old and so am I. Graduate student forward Dylan Painter, a preseason first-team all-CAA selection, is averaging 14.1 points per game and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. Fifth-year senior guard Kevin Anderson, a preseason all-CAA second-team selection, is averaging 11.4 points per game while sophomore forward Andrew Carr is averaging 8.7 points per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 79-74 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 5.5-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 8-6 against the spread this season.
THE ECC RACE
It’s back! Because of, well, you know, I never got around to this last year, when the Dutchmen played their season series as scheduled against Delaware, Drexel and Towson while the latter three got in just two ECC games apiece. But we need little slivers of normalcy, so today’s game (hopefully) continues an ECC round robin for the Dutchmen, who are slated to host Drexel Monday. With all three other teams already having one ECC win apiece, this is nearly a must-win scenario for the Dutchmen, who have won or shared the ECC title in each of the last three full seasons. Again, I implore you to stop looking at me, this is a real thing.
Delaware 1-0
Towson 1-1
Drexel 1-1
HOFSTRA 0-1
THE ECC ROUND ROBIN
And as just noted, this is the second of three consecutive scheduled games against ECC foes for the Dutchmen. The Dutchmen have played Delaware, Drexel and Towson in some order in three consecutive games five times since the schools joined the CAA prior to the 2001-02 season. The most recent ECC round robin occurred from Feb, 20-27, 2020, when the Dutchmen beat Drexel and Delaware on the road before falling to Towson at home.
ALL-TIME VS. DELAWARE
Hofstra is 63-34 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.
The Dutchmen took two of three from the Blue Hens last season, when the teams split games in New-ARK the weekend of Jan. 15-17, 2021 — Delaware scored the final 14 points in a 74-56 win on Jan. 15 and Hofstra never trailed yet needed a last-second defensive stand to escape with a 68-67 win two days later — before the Dutchmen earned an 83-75 win in the CAA quarterfinals on Mar. 7. It was the third straight season in which the Dutchmen beat Delaware in the CAA Tournament.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Jameer Nelson Sr. almost made the Final Four bias! (Would you believe that was 18 years ago?)
Mike Pegues also made his head coaching debut this season bias! (A twist on an old favorite — Speedy’s former rival served as the interim head coach at Louisville for six games)
The Jets never needed to acquire Joe Flacco bias! (Another twist on an old favorite)
Your state is too small for a TV station bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, there are no TV stations based in Delaware)
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