Maxine Bousiquot probably won't be there today, Snowy.
Omar Silverio. That’s it. That’s the lede.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Omar Silverio put on the greatest long-range shooting display in Hofstra history Tuesday night, when he shattered the school record for 3-pointers by draining 11 (!!!) of them on his way to scoring 40 points — off the bench! — as the Dutchmen rolled to a 97-64 win over Elon. Silverio actually opened his outburst with a midrange jumper to generate the last tie of the game at 11-11 with 13:24 left in the first half. He then hit a 3-pointer on the next trip to put the Dutchmen up for good and hit his first six 3-pointers on his way to finishing with seven 3-pointers and 25 points in the first half — which ended with Aaron Estrada sinking a 75-footer at the buzzer to put the Dutchmen up 56-34. Silverio hit the record-tying and record-breaking 3-pointers on consecutive trips shortly after the midway point of the second half — he actually converted a four-point play on the record-breaking basket — and hit his next two 3-pointers for good measure to help the Dutchmen take their biggest lead at 88-52. Not bad. Estrada added 14 points and seven assists while Darlinstone Dubar (11 points and five rebounds) and Jalen Ray (10 points) also got into double figures. Jarrod Simmons pulled down a team-high six rebounds in just 16 minutes.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Elon, 2/15)
3: Omar Silverio
2: Omar Silverio
1: Omar Silverio
Can I do that? OK fine.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Elon, 2/15)
3: Omar Silverio
2: Aaron Estrada
1: Darlinstone Dubar
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 55
Darlinstone Dubar 30
Jalen Ray 28
Zach Cooks 19
Abayomi Iyiola 13
Omar Silverio 11
Kvonn Cramer 4
Jarrod Simmons 1
Caleb Burgess 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! Not a real surprise, as 97-64 seems to be a pretty unique score, but the Dutchmen did come close a handful of times, most recently in a 96-64 win over Division II Molloy (not Molly) on Nov. 16, 2015. The Dutchmen also beat U.S.M.M.A. 96-65 during the 1971-72 season, defeated Lycoming 95-64 during the 1962-63 season and cruised past Long Island 97-62 during the 1958-59 campaign.
This is the 10th unicorn score victory of the season for the Dutchmen, who 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
12/22/21: 77-71 over Monmouth
1/9/22: 87-80 over James Madison
2/5/22: 85-78 over James Madison
2/15/22: 97-64 over Elon
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWENTY-SEVEN GAMES
With Tuesday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 18-9, which is tied for the 16th-best record through 17 games in program history. It’s the first time the Dutchmen have opened 18-9 since the 2010-11 season and the fifth time overall in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 27 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 16-11 (win in 27th game came in ECC Tournament opener and marked fourth win of six-game winning streak that carried Dutchmen into the NCAAs)
1976-77: 21-6 (win in 27th game came in ECC Tournament opener and marked seventh win of nine-game winning streak that carried Dutchmen into the NCAAs)
1999-2000: 21-6 (the 66-57 win over Drexel in 27th game gave the Dutchmen the outright America East regular season championship, most recent 21-6 start)
2000-01: 23-4 (win in 27th game capped regular season and marked 15th win in program-record, single-season 18-game winning streak, tied for best 27-game record)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 20-7 (most recent 20-7 start, win in 27th game was sixth win of eight-game winning streak)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 19-8
2004-05: 20-7 (win in 27th game came in regular season finale and was sixth win of seven-game winning streak)
2005-06: 22-5 (win in 27th game came in regular season finale)
2006-07: 19-8
2015-16: 19-8 (most recent 19-8 start)
2018-19: 22-5 (most recent 22-5 start)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 20-7 (season ended with third-round loss in NCAAs)
1961-62: 23-4 (won first-round NCAA game for final win of VBK’s first stint, tied for best 27-game record)
1962-63: 21-6 (win in NCAA opener was 10th win of 11-game winning streak)
1963-64: 22-5 (won NCAA opener)
Some other notable 27-game records:
2017-18: 16-11 (most recent 16-11 start)
2016-17: 13-14 (most recent 13-14 start)
2014-15: 17-10 (most recent 17-10 start)
2013-14: 8-19 (most recent 8-19 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 6-21 (most recent 6-21 start, tied for worst 27-game record in school history)
2009-10: 14-13 (most recent 14-13 start, over .500 for good)
2007-08: 11-16 (only 11-16 start)
2002-03: 7-20 (most recent 7-20 start, lost regular season finale)
2001-02: 10-17 (loss in 27th game marked sixth loss of Tom Pecora-era record-tying eight-game losing streak)
1996-97: 12-15 (most recent 12-15 start, season ended w/loss in NAC quarterfinals)
1995-96: 9-18 (most recent 9-18 start, season ended w/loss in NAC outbracket game)
1994-95: 10-17 (beat Maine in NAC outbracket game for final win, Jay Wright’s first year)
1993-94: 7-20 (beat Chicago State to begin ECC Tournament run, VBK’s last year)
1992-93: 9-18 (lost season finale)
1991-92: 19-8 (103-87 win over UMBC in 27th game ended regular season, locked up no. 1 seed in ECC title game & was eighth win in nine-game winning streak that ended in ECC title game, also the final 100-point game for Hofstra until 2010-11)
1990-91: 14-13 (lost regular season finale)
1989-90: 13-14 (won regular season finale)
1988-89: 13-14 (won regular season finale)
1987-88: 6-21 (season ended w/loss in ECC first round, tied for worst 27-game record in school history, final game for Dick Berg)
1986-87: 10-17 (lost regular season finale)
1985-86: 15-12 (only 15-12 start, won regular season finale)
1983-84: 14-13 (won regular season finale)
1982-83: 18-9 (season ended w/loss in ECC first round)
1980-81: 12-15 (season ended w/loss in ECC first round)
1979-80: 14-13 (final win of season, final win for Joe Harrington)
1978-79: 8-19 (lost season finale, final game for Roger Gaeckler)
1977-78: 8-19 (lost season finale)
1952-53: 20-7 (lost season finale)
Hofstra has never been 27-0, 26-1, 25-2, 24-3, 5-22, 4-23, 3-24, 2-25, 1-26 or 0-27 through 27 games.
Thirty-two seasons were completed in fewer than 27 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)
1948-49 (18-8)
1949-50 (17-9)
1953-54 (15-9)
1954-55 (19-7)
1955-56 (22-4)
1956-57 (11-15)
1957-58 (15-8)
1959-60 (23-1)
1960-61 (21-4)
1964-65 (11-14)
1965-66 (16-10)
1966-67 (12-13)
1967-68 (13-12)
1968-69 (12-13)
1969-70 (13-13)
1970-71 (18-8)
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-SEVEN
With Tuesday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 18-9 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 fourth to post a .500 or better record through 26 games in his first season (or the first season of a second stints). Paul Lynner opened 21-6 in 1962-63 and Joe Harrington started 14-13 in his lone season in 1979-80. The debut seasons (or first season of a second stint) ended in fewer than 27 games for seven 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, Butch van Breda Kolff going 22-4 in the first season of his first stint in 1955-56 and Mike Farrelly directing the Dutchmen to a 13-10 record in his lone season last year.
EXCELLENT AGAINST ELON
The 33-point win was the Dutchmen’s most lopsided victory over a Division I team since a 102-61 win over Elon on Feb. 7, 2019. It was also the second-most lopsided win in a CAA game this season, behind only the 86-50 win Towson recorded against Elon last Saturday.
FANTASTIC FIVE
Before we get to breaking down Omar Silverio’s insane game, a quick note to, uhh, note that the win Tuesday was the fifth straight for the Dutchmen. It marks the fourth straight season in which they’ve posted at least one CAA winning streak of five games or longer. That is the longest streak in the CAA — by far, as no other school even entered this season with five-game league winning streaks in consecutive season. (Somewhat of an asterisk there, as Charleston had at least one five-game winning streak in four consecutive seasons entering last year, when the Cougars played just 10 CAA games)
In addition, the Dutchmen have posted five winning streaks of at least five games since the 2013-14 season, the first in the Joe Mihalich/Mike Farrelly/Speedy Claxton era. That’s tied for the most such streaks over the last nine seasons with Charleston, Northeastern and Towson.
OMAR OFF THE BENCH (part one)
OK now to the mind-boggling shooting display by Omar Silverio. His 40 points were almost surely the most by a Hofstra player off the bench in at least the last 30 years. (I can’t officially confirm Demetrius Dudley started in his 44-point effort against Central Connecticut on Feb. 9, 1993, but I’m pretty confident he did) At the least, he had the most prolific effort by a Hofstra reserve since Justin Wright-Foreman scored 30 points against William & Mary on Jan. 2, 2017.
OMAR OFF THE BENCH (part two)
Omar Silverio was also the first Division I player to score 40 points off the bench in more than two years. Arizona State’s Alonzo Verge was the previous player to collect at least 40 points as a reserve on Dec. 18, 2019, when he had 43 points against Saint Mary’s.
A GOOD START
Omar Silverio hit his first six 3-point attempts for the second time this season — he drained his first seven 3-pointers against Detroit Mercy on Nov, 27 — and finished with seven 3-pointers. Prior to Tuesday, a Hofstra player hit as many as seven 3-pointers in a game just 17 times.
In addition, Silverio finished the first half with 25 points — just three points shy of his previous career-high, which was also set against Detroit Mercy, The 25 first-half points were the most by a Hofstra player in a half since Desure Buie scored 26 points in the second half of his 44-point performance against Elon on Jan. 4, 2020.
THIS ONE GOES TO ELEVEN
Of course, Silverio stayed pretty hot after halftime. His 11 3-pointers shattered the school record by three — Silverio, who had eight 3-pointers against Detroit Mercy, previously shared the mark with Brian Bernardi and Jalen Ray — and also broke the CAA record for 3-pointers in a game. George Mason’s Dre Smith (Jan, 19, 2008), Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter (Feb. 2, 2013) and Northeastern’s Bolden Brace (Feb. 23, 2017) each hit 10 3-pointers. Silverio was just the second Division I player this season to hit 11 3-pointers against a Division I foe, following in the footsteps of Winthrop’s Patrick Good (against Washington State on Nov. 22).
ELEVEN MAKES FOR A LASTING TEN?
Silverio’s historic effort marked the 10th time since 2000 the single-game school record for 3-pointers was matched or broken. Frank Walker, the first Hofstra player to drain seven 3-pointers in a game on Dec. 10, 1987, held sole possession of the record for 355 games until Jason Hernandez tied it against Northeastern on Jan 28, 2000. Hernandez and Walker shared the record for another 317 games until Cornelius Vines hit seven 3-pointers against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 13, 2010. The mark was tied four more times (once apiece by Mike Moore and Taran Buie and twice by the late great Zeke Upshaw) over the next 171 games before Brian Bernardi broke it against Canisius on Nov. 13, 2015. And Bernardi held sole possession of the record for 182 games, a span in which four players had at least one game with seven 3-pointers (Justin Wright-Foreman 3, Tareq Coburn 2 and Bernardi and Desure Buie with one apiece), before Jalen Ray tied Bernardi by hitting eight 3-pointers against Towson on Feb. 6, 2021. Silverio needed just 12 more games to turn the duo into a trio on Nov. 27 and 20 more games to stand alone.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
Some bullet point notes to underline just how bonkers a game Silverio had:
—In Hofstra’s first 1,122 games with the 3-point line, no one hit nine or 10 3-pointers. I mean, I know you know that already, but it’s just mind-boggling that in game no. 1,123, Silverio hits three more 3-pointers than anyone ever.
—Speedy Claxton attempted 11 3-pointers…IN HIS ENTIRE SOPHOMORE SEASON IN 1997-98. The 11 3-pointers made by Silverio on Tuesday were three fewer than Claxton had IN HIS FIRST THREE SEASONS COMBINED.
—In my three seasons on campus — from 1993-94 through 1995-96 — the Flying Dutchmen played 84 basketball games and hit as many as 11 3-pointers in a game TWICE. They drained 12 3-pointers against New Hampshire on Jan. 6, 1995 and again against Army on Jan. 30, 1995.
—Since 2010-11 — the first season of the Play Index era at College Basketball Reference — the Dutchmen have hit fewer than 11 3-pointers 299 times in 380 games.
TAKING HIS FREEBIES, TOO
In addition to his historic shooting from long range, Omar Silverio also went 5-for-5 at the free throw line. He is the third Division I player this season to score at least 40 points while making all his free throws (minimum five attempts). Liberty’s Darius McGhee did it twice — against Stanford on Dec. 23 and Florida Gulf Coast on Jan. 15 — before Bryant’s Charles Pride (!!!) achieved the feat against Saint Francis (PA) on Feb. 3.
ONE ESTRADA STREAK CONTINUES…
I suppose other players did things too Tuesday. Aaron Estrada scored in double figures for the 14th straight game Tuesday, 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.
…TWO ESTRADA STREAKS END
Estrada scored 14 points Tuesday, snapping his streak of five straight games in which he scored at least 20 points. He also hit two 3-pointers, ending a streak of four straight games in which he drained at least four 3-pointers.
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 — 331 points in 14 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.
RAY GAINING ON RICHARDSON
With his 10 points Tuesday, Jalen Ray crept closer to Norman Richardson for 11th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. Ray has 1,670 points, eight 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.
A QUIET COOKS
To be fair, when Omar Silverio is scoring 40 points, there’s not a lot of other points to go around. But Zach Cooks scored six points in 24 minutes Tuesday, which marked the third straight time Cooks scored fewer than 10 points. It’s the fifth time he’s been held to single digits in three consecutive games and the first tie since Jan. 4-11, 2020. Cooks has never scored in single digits in four straight games.
NINE FOR TEN
Nine players saw at least 10 minutes of playing time Thursday for the Dutchmen, It marked the first time nine players played at least 10 minutes since Nov. 29, 2020, when nine players actually played at least 13 minutes each in the season-opening 70-56 loss to Rutgers. (Remarkably, six of those players — starters Isaac Kante, Tareq Coburn and David Green and reserves Kevin Schutte, Shawndarius Cowart and Vukasin Masic — are no longer with the program)
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.
JOE MIHALICH DAY
Hofstra is slated to honor former head coach Joe Mihalich throughout today’s game. If you get a chance, please check out my feature from yesterday on Mihalich and the warm reception he’s received everywhere he and his wife Mary have traveled this season. One of the great perks of this job is the occasional chance to spend time with terrific people who leave you feeling better and happier at the end of the interview than you were beforehand.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
The Huskies, under 16th-year head coach Bill Coen, are 7-18 overall and 1-13 in the CAA after falling to Drexel, 67-51, on Feb. 12. Northeastern, whose lone win is over second-place Towson, is already assured of its worst CAA record since joining the league in 2006-07. The Huskies finished 6-12 in 2010-11
A hard-luck season began in the spring for the Huskies when superstar point guard Tyson Walker — known forever in these parts as the guy who might have flipped the 2020 title game result if he was anywhere close to 100 percent healthy — transferred to Michigan State. Highly touted UNC Wilmington transfer Joe Pridgen wasn’t granted immediate eligibility and the Huskies have had just two players — Jahmyl Telfort and Jason Strong — appear in every game this season.
The Dutchmen and Huskies had two common foes in non-league play. Hofstra beat Duquesne 73-63 and defeated Detroit Mercy 98-84 on Nov. 27 while Northeastern also earned double-digit victories over the Dukes (71-55 on Nov. 19) and Titans (66-56 on Nov. 30), respectively.
In the CAA, Hofstra swept Delaware, Drexel and James Madison, all of whom also swept Northeastern, while splitting with UNC Wilmington, which swept the Huskies. The Dutchmen also beat Charleston and Elon, both of whom defeated Northeastern, while being swept by Towson. Both Hofstra and Northeastern have lost to William & Mary.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fifth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 100th at KenPom.com. The Huskies, who were picked to finish second, are ranked 267th.
According to KenPom.com. the Dutchmen rank third in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (109.9) and third in defensive efficiency (102.0). The Huskies rank ninth in conference-only offensive efficiency (96.9) and last in defensive efficiency (111.9).
Telfort, a sophomore guard who was a preseason second-team all-CAA selection, leads the Huskies with 12.6 points per game. Graduate student guard Nikola Djogo is second in scoring at 11.8 points per game and second in rebounding at 5.3 rebounds per game. Redshirt senior guard Shaquille Walters, a preseason second-team all-CAA selection, is averaging 11.5 points per game while redshirt junior forward Chris Doherty is averaging 11.0 points per game and a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 77-63 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 13-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 12-12-1 against the spread this season after covering for the third straight game Tuesday.
THE CAA RACE
The Dutchmen’s five-game winning streak has given them an outside shot at winning the CAA’s regular season championship for the third time in four seasons. The Dutchmen (10-4 CAA) do not have any tiebreakers due to being swept by Towson, so their clearest path is to sweep the final four games — all at home against Northeastern, Elon, William & Mary and Charleston — while first-place UNC Wilmington (12-3) and second-place Towson (11-3) lose twice apiece. UNC Wilmington hosts James Madison today before visiting Drexel and Delaware while Towson visits Charleston and plays James Madison in a home-and-home before completing a suspended game against Delaware on Feb. 28 — which the Tigers trail 38-29 with 18:42 left.
ALL-TIME VS. NORTHEASTERN
Hofstra is 27-25 against Northeastern in a series that began during the 1949-50 season. All but three of the meetings have come in conference play since the 1994-95 season, when Hofstra joined the North Atlantic Conference. The Dutchmen cruised to a 72-50 win over Northeastern in Boston on Jan, 22, when Zach Cooks returned from a four-game absence to score a team-high 19 points off the bench. The Dutchmen are looking to sweep the regular season series for the second time in three years.
THE BARONE BOWL
The Barone Bowl was established by me and Northeastern graduate Mike Brodsky during the 2009-10 season, after Northeastern and Hofstra dropped football within two weeks of one another (Hofstra’s decision, of course, was reached after a multi-year study, wink wink nudge nudge).
The Barone Bowl pays homage to the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in which a Hofstra kicker boots a 68-yard field goal against Northeastern but Frank Barone catches the ball and refuses to give it up. Apparently that wasn’t the type of publicity either school liked. Anyway.
Northeastern leads the Barone Bowl series, 15-13, and regained possession of the trophy with last year’s sweep. I’ll note here again we had it before that because Hofstra swept the 2019-20 regular season series before beating Northeastern in the CAA championship game. With a win today, Hofstra will be positioned to grab back the Barone Bowl barring a title game loss to Northeastern. This, unfortunately, is a purely symbolic trophy, one which you will not find displayed by either school. But you can find me and Brodsky talking about it on Twitter!
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Boston Public jumped the shark something fierce in season 3 bias! (Hoo boy did it ever)
Boston Common was the worst Must See TV show ever! (Hoo boy was it ever)
Maxime Boursiquot made me throw Snowy bias! (Hoo boy did he ever)
Bolden Brace bias! (Alliteration!)
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