Happy Charles Jenkins Day to all who observe (also, if Aaron Estrada wanted to do this tonight, that would be really great too).
The Flying Dutchmen continued their February push Saturday night, when Aaron Estrada overcame some early foul trouble to put the capper on yet another CAA Player of the Week performance and lead the Dutchmen to an 80-66 win. The Dutchmen will look to complete a perfect road trip tonight, when they are slated to visit Elon in the makeup of a game originally scheduled for Dec. 31. Here’s a look back at the win over the Blue Hens and a look ahead to the Phoenix.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Aaron Estrada, who sat out the final 6:07 of the first half after picking up his second foul, scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half as the Dutchmen gradually pulled away from Delaware. Estrada had nine points in a half-opening 18-12 run by the Dutchmen, whose lead fell into single digits just once over the final 15 minutes. After a 3-pointer by Ebby Asahoma pulled the BlueHens within 67-60 with 8:15 left, the teams traded five empty trips before Darlinstone Dubar and Estrada converted layups on consecutive possessions. Estrada also finished with a team-high seven rebounds and three steals while adding four rebounds. Jalen Ray hit four 3-pointers while scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half for the Dutchmen, who received 15 points and five rebounds from Dubar. Jarrod Simmons, pressed into extended duty with Abayomi Iyiola saddled with two early fouls, scored 11 points in his first double-digit scoring effort in more than three years. Omar Silverio added 10 points and his usual strong defense off the bench. Zach Cooks was held scoreless but had a team-high five assists as well as five rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Delaware, 2/12)
3: Aaron Estrada
2: Jalen Ray
1: Jarrod Simmons
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 53
Darlinstone Dubar 29
Jalen Ray 28
Abayomi Iyiola 13
Omar Silverio 8
Kvonn Cramer 4
Jarrod Simmons 1
Caleb Burgess 1
That’s nine players with at least a point this season! How many players have at least one point this season?
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! And in a potentially historic twist, the most recent 80-66 win was recorded over the same program the Dutchmen just beat! The Dutchmen earned their previous 80-66 victory by beating Delaware at the Arena on Jan. 22, 2005. I began trying to figure out if that’s ever happened in our three-plus seasons of tracking unicorn scores — a non-unicorn score posted in two consecutive wins over an opponent — but that was more complicated than I thought. A research project for later!
Anyway, the Dutchmen have nine unicorn score victories this season after recording no unicorn score victories last season, 13 unicorn score victories in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn score victories 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.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWENTY-SIX GAMES
With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 17-9, which is tied for the 22nd-best record through 26 games in program history. They slipped a spot from last game despite the win! It’s the first time the Dutchmen have opened 17-9 since the 2010-11 season and the fourth time overall in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 26 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 15-11 (win in 26th game marked third win of six-game winning streak that carried Dutchmen into the NCAAs)
1976-77: 20-6 (win in 26th game marked sixth win of nine-game winning streak that carried Dutchmen into the NCAAs)
1999-2000: 20-6 (the 67-64 win over Maine in 26th game locked up the no. 1 seed in the America East tournament, most recent 20-6 start)
2000-01: 22-4 (win in 26th game marked 14th win in program-record, single-season 18-game winning streak)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 19-7 (most recent 19-7 start, win in 26th game was fifth win of eight-game winning streak)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 18-8
2004-05: 19-7 (win in 26th game was fifth win of seven-game winning streak)
2005-06: 21-5 (most recent 21-5 start)
2006-07: 19-7
2015-16: 18-8 (most recent 18-8 start)
2018-19: 22-4 (most recent 22-4 start)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 20-6 (win in 2nd round of NCAAs was final win of season)
1961-62: 23-3 (won Middle Atlantic Championship with win in 26th game, best 26-game record in school history)
1962-63: 20-6 (win in regular season finale was ninth win of 11-game winning streak)
1963-64: 21-5
Some other notable 26-game records:
2017-18: 15-11 (most recent 15-11 start)
2016-17: 12-14 (most recent 12-14 start)
2014-15: 16-10 (most recent 16-10 start)
2013-14: 8-18 (most recent 8-18 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 6-20 (most recent 6-20 start, tied for worst 26-game record in school history)
2009-10: 13-13 (most recent 13-13 start)
2007-08: 10-16 (most recent 10-16 start)
2002-03: 7-19 (only 7-19 start)
2001-02: 10-16 (loss in 26th game marked fifth loss of Tom Pecora-era record-tying eight-game losing streak)
1996-97: 12-14 (final win of season)
1995-96: 9-17 (most recent 9-17 start, final win of season)
1994-95: 9-17 (won regular season finale, Jay Wright’s first year)
1993-94: 6-20 (loss to ECC foe Northeastern Illinois in regular season finale, VBK’s last year)
1992-93: 9-17 (final win of season)
1991-92: 18-8 (win in 26th game was seventh in nine-game winning streak that ended in ECC title game)
1990-91: 14-12 (most recent 14-12 start, final win of season)
1987-88: 6-20 (lost regular season finale)
1986-87: 10-16 (final win of season)
1982-83: 18-8 (lost regular season finale)
1981-82: 11-15 (loss in regular season finale was final loss of eight-game losing streak)
1980-81: 12-14 (lost regular season finale)
1978-79: 8-18 (fourth loss of season-ending five-game losing streak)
1970-71: 18-8 (win in season finale completed season-ending five-game winning streak)
1969-70: 13-13 (won season finale)
1965-66: 16-10 (lost season finale)
1956-57: 11-15 (lost season finale)
1955-56: 22-4 (final win of season)
1954-55: 19-7 (lost known season finale)***
1950-51: 16-10 (fourth win of six-game winning streak)
1949-50: 17-9 (won known season finale)***
1948-49: 18-8 (lost known season finale)***
***records are incomplete for the 1948-59, 1949-50 and 1954-55 seasons
Hofstra has never been 26-0, 25-1, 24-2, 5-21, 4-22, 3-23, 2-24, 1-25 or 0-26 through 26 games.
Twenty-four seasons were completed in fewer than 26 games:
1936-37 (10-7)
1937-38 (10-4)
1938-39 (10-8)
1939-40 (12-9)
1940-41 (13-7)
1941-42 (15-6)
1942-43 (15-6)
1943-44 (7-12)
1944-45 (8-13)
1945-46 (12-7)
1947-48 (13-6)
1953-54 (15-9)
1957-58 (15-8)
1959-60 (23-1)
1960-61 (21-4)
1964-65 (11-14)
1966-67 (12-13)
1967-68 (13-12)
1968-69 (12-13)
1971-72 (11-14)
1972-73 (8-16)
1973-74 (8-16)
1974-75 (11-13)
2020-21 (13-10)
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 TWENTY-SIX
With Saturday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 17-9 as head coach. He is the second coach to open 17-9 at Hofstra, following in the footsteps of Mo Cassara in 2010-11, and the fifth to post a .500 or better record through 26 games in his first season (or the first season of a second stints). Butch van Breda Kolff began 22-4 in his first stint (1955-56). Paul Lynner opened 20-6 in 1962-63 and Joe Harrington started 13-13 in his lone season in 1979-80. The debut seasons (or first season of a second stint) ended in fewer than 26 games for six coaches, with Jack McDonald posting an 18-6 record in the first and only second of his second stint in 1946-47, Frank Reilly leading the Dutchmen to a 13-6 record in 1947-48 and Mike Farrelly directing the Dutchmen to a 13-10 record in his lone season last year.
A HANDFUL FOR AARON
Aaron Estrada earned his second straight CAA Player of the Week award — and his league-leading fifth of the year — on Monday after finishing last week with 76 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists in leading the Dutchmen to a 3-0 record. Estrada is the first player to win at least five CAA Player of the Week awards in a single season since — who else — Justin Wright-Foreman won seven Player of the Week awards (six solo, one shared) during the 2018-19 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.
A RARE BIG BLUE HENS GAME
Forgot to mention this before Saturday, so I wanted to note it here that Saturday’s game marked just the fourth time in the CAA era that the Dutchmen and Delaware have both entered a regular season game against each other with a winning CAA record. Hofstra was 8-4 heading into Saturday while Delaware was 7-4. Both teams were 1-0 going into action on Jan. 9, 2013 and 4-2 heading into their game on Jan. 18, 2018 before the Dutchmen were 12-3 and the Blue Hens 10-5 entering their game on Feb. 22, 2020.
IT’S TECHNICALLY A COMEBACK WIN
The Dutchmen trailed just once on Saturday — at 1-0 following a free throw by Andrew Carr 40 seconds into the game. Darlinstone Dubar hit a jumper on the next trip down the floor to put the Dutchmen ahead for good. It marked the first time the Dutchmen won a game in which their only deficit was following the opposing team’s opening points since Feb. 15, 2020 — two years ago today! — when UNC Wilmington raced out to a 2-0 lead before the Dutchmen earned a 78-64 win. Hey, that’s almost the exact same score as Saturday!
1010101010 WINS
The Dutchmen had at least five players score in double digits Saturday for the fourth time this season and the first time since Darlinstone Dubar (24 points), Jalen Ray (22 points), Omar Silverio (20 points), Zach Cooks (14 points) and Abayomi Iyiola (12 points) did so against John Jay on Dec. 12. It was the first time the Dutchmen have had five double-figure scorers in a CAA game since a 79-74 win over Drexel on Feb. 7, 2021.
AARON’S BAKER’S DOZEN
Aaron Estrada scored in double figures for the 13th straight game Saturday, which is the longest streak of double-digit scoring performances by a Hofstra player this season and the longest by a Dutchman since Eli Pemberton ended his career by scoring in double figures in the final 14 games of the 2019-20 season.
NO MORE MR. MIDRANGE?
Aaron Estrada continued to thrive from outside Saturday, when he scored 21 points while going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. It was the fourth straight game in which Estrada hit at least three 3-pointers. Prior to Feb. 5, when he hit a career-high six 3-pointers against James Madison, Estrada hit as many as three 3-pointers just five times in his first 59 career games with Saint Peter’s, Oregon and Hofstra. Estrada is 28-for-51 (54.9 percent) from 3-point land in his last seven games after going 23-of-94 (24.5 percent) from beyond the arc in his first 18 games of the season.
AARON BUCKETS
Updating a great stat from Hofstra in-game host and occasional play-by-play man Dan Savarino: Aaron Estrada has scored more points in CAA play alone — 282 points in 12 league games — than he did in his entire CAREER entering this season (255 points at Saint Peter’s and Oregon). In addition, he has at least 20 points in 11 CAA games and in 14 games overall after posting just one 20-point game at Saint Peter’s and Oregon.
7 x 3 EQUALS 21
Aaron Estrada had 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals Saturday night. He’s the second Hofstra player this season with at least 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals in a game — Darlinstone Dubar had 24 points, seven rebounds and three steals against John Jay on Dec. 12 — and the first todo it against an Division I opponent since Tareq Coburn had 28 points, seven rebounds and four steals against James Madison on Feb. 13, 2021. Hey, seven times four equals 28!
THE 15/5 CLUB
Darlinstone Dubar finished with 15 points and five rebounds Saturday, It was the sixth time this season Dubar’s had at least 15 points and five rebounds and the first time since Dec. 22, when he also had 15 points and five rebounds against Monmouth.
RAY REVVING UP
Jalen Ray had his second straight strong game Saturday night, when he scored 14 points while going 5-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point land. The 34 points over his last two games are the most for Ray in a two-game span since he had 41 points against Delaware and Drexel from Jan. 15-17.
RAY GAINING ON RICHARDSON
With his 14 points Saturday, Jalen Ray crept closer to Norman Richardson for 11th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. Ray has 1,660 points, 18 shy of surpassing Richardson. Ray has been in 11th place on the all-time list since Dec. 12, which capped a stretch dating back to Dec. 22, 2020 in which he gained at least half a spot on the all-time list 21 times in 26 games.
IT’S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME (part one)
Jarrod Simmons scored a season-high 11 points Saturday, which also, of course, marked his single-game high for Hofstra as well as his first double-digit effort for the Dutchmen. It was also Simmons’ first double-digit game since way back on Nov. 13, 2018, when he scored 11 points for Penn against Lafayette. Simmons didn’t score more than six points in his final 43 games with Penn before not playing last season, when the Ivy League cancelled the winter sports season due to the pandemic. He’d also never scored more than six points in 11 games for Hofstra prior to Saturday. Overall as a collegian, Simmons has five double-digit scoring efforts.
IT’S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME (part two)
Zach Cooks was held scoreless Saturday, when he went 0-for-8 from the field, including 0-for-2 from 3-point land. It was the first time Cooks has been held scoreless in 134 games as a collegian. He was held to two points just four times previously — three times with New Jersey Tech and once with Hofstra against William & Mary on Dec. 29. The scoreless game from Cooks marked the first time a Hofstra player went scoreless while taking at least eight field goal attempts since Taran Buie was scoreless while going 0-for-11 against Towson on Feb. 16, 2013. That said…
COOKS CHIPPING IN
…Cooks helped out the Dutchmen with a team-high five assists as well as five rebounds. Per loyal reader EvanJ, Cooks is the first Hofstra player to have at least five rebounds and five assists while going scoreless since Shemiye McLendon had 10 rebounds and five assists in a 74-60 win over Towson on Jan. 12, 2011.
QUICK HOOK
Abayomi Iyiola was replaced by Jarrod Simmons after picking up two fouls in the first 40 seconds Saturday. It marked the third time this season Speedy Claxton has made a change less than a minute into the game. Claxton subbed Kvonn Cramer for Iyiola 59 seconds after the opening tip against Iona on Nov. 16 while Omar Silverio was pulled for Caleb Burgess after picking up his second foul 32 seconds into the game against James Madison on Jan. 9. The latter marked the quickest substitution of a Hofstra player in at least the last five-plus seasons.
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.
SCOUTING ELON
The Phoenix, under third-year head coach Mike Schrage, is (are?) 8-18 this season and 5-8 in CAA play after falling to Towson, 86-50, on Saturday. Someone who warns you his picks are for entertainment purposes only picked Elon as his Shoe-In of the Day. It was the most lopsided game in the CAA since Hofstra beat Elon 102-61 on Feb. 7, 2019. Elon has played in three of the seven CAA games decided by more than 20 points this season. In consecutive games Jan. 17-20, the Phoenix beat James Madison 90-67 and lost to Drexel 77-49.
The Dutchmen and Phoenix had one common foe in non-league play. Hofstra beat then-no. 24 Arkansas 89-81 on Dec. 18, three days before the Razorbacks took out their frustrations by beating Elon 81-55. Sorry guys!
In CAA play, both teams have swept James Madison, split with UNC Wilmington, beaten Northeastern and been swept by Towson. The Dutchmen lost to William & Mary, which split with Elon. The Dutchmen swept Delaware and Drexel, each of whom beat Elon, and beat Charleston, which swept the Phoenix.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fifth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 111th at KenPom.com. The Phoenix, which was picked to finish sixth, is ranked 262nd.
According to KenPom.com. the Dutchmen rank sixth in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (107.3) and third in defensive efficiency (102.4). The Phoenix rank eighth in conference-only offensive efficiency (101.7) and sixth in defensive efficiency (104.7).
Junior guard Hunter McIntosh, a preseason first-team all-CAA selection, and sophomore guard Darius Burford are tied for the team lead in scoring at 12.6 points per game. Sophomore forward Michael Graham is averaging 9.8 points per game and pulling down a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game. Junior guard Hunter Woods is averaging 4.6 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 75-69 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 6-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 11-12-1 against the spread this season.
IT’S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME (part three)
Tonight marks the first time Hofstra has opposed Elon in a regular season game since since Jan, 30, 2020, when the Dutchmen beat Elon 86-63 in North Carolina. The Phoenix were one of two CAA teams the Dutchmen did not oppose in the regular season last year, along with Charleston, though, of course, Elon ended the Dutchmen’s hopes of repeating as league champions with a 76-58 win in the tournament semifinals.
ALL-TIME VS. ELON
Hofstra is 10-4 against Elon, which joined the CAA prior to the 2014-15 season. The Phoenix, as just noted, ended the Dutchmen’s season in the CAA semifinals last Mar. 8, when Elon overcame a six-point second-half deficit in a 76-58 win. The Dutchmen have won the last five regular season games against Elon dating back to an 86-78 loss at the Arena on Jan. 7, 2018. Hofstra and Elon first opposed each other on Nov. 23, 2009, when the Dutchmen cruised past the Phoenix, 70-46, in a preseason NIT game at the Arena.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Thank goodness Joe West is no longer an MLB umpire bias! (Of course there may no longer be an MLB so…)
Mike Schrage should be the next Duke head coach bias! (Possibly in order to get him out of the CAA)
Most of your students are from our area bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, New York and New Jersey are among the most well-represented states among Elon’s out-of-state students)
Sandra Day O’Connor bias! (The former Supreme Court justice delivered the dedication address when Elon opened its law school in 2006)
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