If an MTE happens in another country and it costs $25 to watch a silent webstream, did it really happen? The Flying Dutchmen hope not after their tour of the National Grammar Rodeo began inauspiciously Saturday night, when they never led in a 64-54 loss to Middle Tennessee State. The Dutchmen will look to snap their first losing streak of the season this afternoon, when they are slated to face UNC Greensboro in the second game of this weird MTE thingy. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Blue Raiders and a look ahead to the Spartans (ANOTHER Spartans?).
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Amar’e Marshall continued his emergence for the Dutchmen, who couldn’t recover from a slow start as Middle Tennessee State finally beat Hofstra in something. The Blue Raiders raced out to a 15-2 lead and were never seriously threatened by the Dutchmen, who didn’t get closer than nine points in the first half, went scoreless for more than five minutes to open the second half and finished the game shooting just 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from 3-point land. The Dutchmen got within seven points twice down the stretch, but German Plotnikov missed a 3-pointer with 2:57 left and Aaron Estrada turned the ball over with 1:46 remaining. Marshall (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists) joined some select company by leading the Dutchmen in each of the Triple Crown categories (can I call points-rebounds-assists the Triple Crown? Too late, I am) while Estrada scored 15 points — including nine of the final 11 for the Dutchmen over the final eight minutes — and added five rebounds. Nelson Boachie-Yiadom scored two points but blocked a career-high six blocks. Starters Tyler Thomas, Darlinstone Dubar and Jaquan Carlos combined for just eight points while playing only 50 minutes combined. Warren Williams made his Hofstra debut and had six points, two rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist before fouling out in 16 minutes.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Middle Tennessee State, 11/25)
3: Amar’e Marshall
2: Aaron Estrada
1: Nelson Boachie-Yiadom
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 14
Tyler Thomas 6
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom 5
Darlinstone Dubar 4
Jaquan Carlos 4
Amar’e Marshall 3
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER SIX GAMES
With Friday’s loss, the Dutchmen dropped to 4-2. This ties the 2022-23 team for the 18th-best record in school history through six games. From tied for the best start to tied for the 11th-best start to tied for the 18th-best start in a three-game span, it’s all falling apart! Nineteen other teams began 4-2, most recently the 2019-20 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through six games:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 3-3
1976-77: 5-1
1999-2000: 3-3
2000-01: 5-1
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 4-2
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 2-4
2004-05: 6-0 (most recent 6-0 start)
2005-06: 4-2
2006-07: 3-3
2015-16: 4-2
2018-19: 3-3
Some other notable six-game starts:
2021-22: 2-4 (most recent 2-4 start)
2020-21: 3-3 (most recent 3-3 start)
2013-14: 2-4 (Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 3-3 (last time at .500 that season because…well, you know)
2010-11: 3-3 (Mo Cassara’s first team)
2008-09: 5-1 (most recent 5-1 start)
2007-08: 1-5 (most recent 1-5 start)
2002-03: 1-5 (loss in sixth game was third loss in eight-game losing streak, tied for the longest of the Tom Pecora era)
2001-02: 4-2 (Tom Pecora’s first team)
1994-95: 1-5 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-5 (VBK’s last team)
1982-83: 6-0
1978-79: 3-3 (last time at .500)
1973-74: 0-6 (most recent 0-6 start, Hofstra won game no. 7 and has never started 0-7)
1969-70: 0-6 (first 0-6 start)
1960-61: 6-0
1969-60: 6-0
1955-56: 6-0 (Butch van Breda Kolff improves to .500)
1954-55: 6-0
1952-53: 5-1 (first loss in sixth game)
1951-52: 6-0
1948-49: 6-0
1947-48: 6-0 (Frank Reilly improves to .500)
1943-44: 3-3 (last time at .500)
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.
This feature is inspired by Mets superfan and blogger Greg Prince, who measures how the current Mets compare, record-wise, to previous teams through the same point in the season.
NUMBER TEN THROUGH THIRTY-EIGHT
With Friday night’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 25-13 (.658) as head coach. That’s the third-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 38 games at the helm.
Paul Lynner 30-8 (.789, 38th game was the eighth game of his second season in 1963-64)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 28-10 (.737, 38th game was the 12th game of his second season in 1956-57)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 25-13 (.658, 38th game was the sixth game of his second season in 2022-23)
Mo Cassara 23-15 (.605, 37th game was the fourth game of his second season in 2011-12)
Dick Berg 17-21 (.447, 38th game was the 11th game of his second season in 1981-82)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 17-21 (.447, 38th game was the ninth game of his second season in 1989-90)
Jay Wright 14-24 (.368, 38th game was the 10th game of his second season in 1995-96)
Tom Pecora 13-25 (.342, 38th game was the sixth game of his second season in 2002-03)
Joe Mihalich 13-25 (.342, 38th game was the fifth game of his second season in 2013-14)
Roger Gaeckler 9-29 (.237, 38th game was the 14th game of his second season in 1973-74)
The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenures of Jack Smith (1943-46) and Frank Reilly (1947-55).
Three coaches had one-season tenures lasting fewer than 33 games at Hofstra. McDonald went 18-6 in the lone season of his second stint in 1946-47 while Joe Harrington went 14-14 in 1979-80 and Mike Farrelly went 13-10 in 2020-21.
WIRE-TO-WIRE LOSS
The Dutchmen didn’t lead in a loss for the first time this season and the first time since a 92-76 loss to Charleston in the CAA quarterfinals last season. The wire-to-wire loss Friday was just the fourth for the Dutchmen since the start of the 2019-20 season.
OH NO THE THREES AREN’T FALLING
The Dutchmen were just 4-of-19 from 3-point land Friday after going 1-of-16 from beyond the arc in last Saturday’s 76-48 loss to Saint Mary’s. If my advanced math skills are correct, that’s five 3-pointers in the last two games for the Dutchmen — their fewest over a two-game span since Jan. 18-21, 2012, when the Dutchmen were a combined 5-of-23 from 3-point land in a 56-50 loss to Drexel and a 71-69 win over James Madison.
NOT VERY NOSTALGIC FOR THESE TRIPS TO THE ‘50S
As you may have gathered from reading the previous graph, the Dutchmen scored fewer than 60 points for the second straight game Friday. It marked the first time the Dutchmen have been held to fewer than 60 points in consecutive games since Jan. 9-15, 2021, when they fell to Northeastern 67-56 and lost to Delaware 74-56. That was just the fourth time the Dutchmen have been held to fewer than 60 points in back-to-back games since the start of the Joe Mihalich Era in 2013-14 — when the rebuilding Dutchmen had three such sequences. The Dutchmen haven’t been held to under 60 points in at least three straight games since a four-game stretch from Feb. 13-20, 2013. Let’s…let’s not try and match that.
FEW FINISHERS AMONG THE STARTERS
A trio of starters — Jaquan Carlos, Darlinstone Dubar and Tyler Thomas — played fewer than 20 minutes apiece Friday night as Speedy Claxton hinted he wasn’t happy with the initial effort shown by the Dutchmen. It was the first time three starters have all played fewer than 20 minutes since Jan, 29, when Caleb Burgess (10 minutes), Abayomi Iyiola (17 minutes) and Omar Silverio (11 minutes) all saw limited action in a 78-72 loss to UNC Wilmington.
MARSHALL PULLS THE JENKINS
Let’s look at some happy stats! Reigning CAA Rookie of the Week Amar’e Marshall established himself as the early favorite to win the honor a third straight week by setting career-highs with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. All three totals led the Dutchmen. It’s just the fifth time since the start of the 2007-08 season that a player has led the Dutchmen in all three categories in a single game, though it’s the third time in their last 18 games dating back to Jan. 29, when Aaron Estrada led the team with 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the loss to UNC Wilmington.
Charles Jenkins vs. Iona 2/23/08 (28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists)
Stevie Mejia vs. Georgia State 2/13/13 (18 points, 10 rebounds, two assists)***
Aaron Estrada vs. UNC Wilmington 1/29/22 (17 points, nine rebounds, three assists)
Aaron Estrada vs. Northeastern 2/19/22 (21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists)***
Amar’e Marshall vs. Middle Tennessee State 11/25/22 (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists)
***Mejia and Estrada actually led the Dutchmen in four categories in those games, with Mejia recording two steals and Estrada notching one block
I guess we should call this pulling an Estrada, but pulling a Jenkins is pretty aspirational too.
BLOCK PARTY
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom recorded six blocks in just 24 minutes Friday night. That’s tied for the 10th-most blocks in a game this season among Division I players — with, among others, Iona’s Nelly Junior Joseph, who had six blocks against the Dutchmen on Nov. 11 — and the most blocks a Hofstra player has recorded in a game since Jacquil Taylor had seven blocks against Towson in a 91-82 double overtime win on Feb. 21, 2019.
AARON CLOSES IN ON 1,000
Aaron Estrada’s 15 points Friday night increased his career total to 976 points in four seasons between Saint Peter’s, Oregon and Hofstra. That means he needs *carries the one, drops the remainder* 24 points to reach 1,000 for his career. The most recent Hofstra player to record his 1,000th career point for Hofstra after beginning his career elsewhere was Brian Bernardi, who began his career at SMU in 2012-13 but recorded his 1,000th career point during the 2016-17 season. He also finished with more than 1,000 points at Hofstra (1,186, to be exact). Both Tareq Coburn (St. John’s) and Isaac Kante (Long Island University) recorded their 1,000th career points last season after scoring the bulk of their points during their second collegiate stops at Hofstra.
A WARREN WELCOME
Manhattan transfer Warren Williams made his Hofstra debut Friday after missing the first five games with an injury. Williams finished with six points and added two rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist before fouling out in 16 minutes. He split the five spot with Nelson Boachie-Yiadom, who played 24 minutes.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on the Northern Classic website. It’s $25 (covers the entire tournament) and there’s no audio. I don’t hear anyone complaining about FloHoops now, do I? The good news is Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
UNC GREENSBORO AND THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
UNC Greensboro, under second-year head coach Mike Jones, is 3-2 after opening the Northern Classic with a 77-66 win over Montana State on Friday. No Craig Kilborn bias there, apparently.
The Spartans were picked to finish third in the Southern Conference in a poll of the league’s coaches and fourth in a poll of the media covering the league. Graduate student guard Keondre Kennedy leads UNC Greensboro in both scoring (16.2 points per game) and rebounding (8.2 rebounds per game). Senior guard Keyshaun Langley (12.2 points per game) and junior forward Mikeal Brown-Jones (11.8 points per game) are also scoring in double figures. Brown-Jones is a transfer from VCU.
At KenPom.com, Middle Tennessee State is ranked 131st nationally in offensive efficiency (103.3 points per 100 possessions) and 102nd in defensive efficiency (98.3 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 305th in tempo (65.9 possessions per 40 minutes).
The Dutchmen and Spartans have three common opponents — but none this weekend despite playing in the same “tournament.” UNC Greensboro began a mini-tour of the CAA Nov. 17 by falling to Towson, 56-53. The Spartans are salted to visit North Carolina A&T on Wednesday and Elon next Saturday.
This is the first meeting between Hofstra and UNC Greensboro in men’s basketball and just the seventh meeting in any sport. The Flying Dutchwomen soccer team is 2-0 all-time against UNC Greensboro while the Flying Dutchmen soccer team is 1-1 against the Spartans. The Flying Dutchwomen softball team beat UNC Greensboro 16-0 in 2011 while the Flying Dutchwomen volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to the Spartans on Oct. 14, 1994. I was in college then!
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 143rd while UNC Greensboro is ranked 115th. KenPom.com predicts a 72-70 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 1-point underdogs for a second straight game. The Dutchmen are 3-3 against the spread this season.
The Dutchmen are 3-1 all-time against current Southern Conference members. They haven’t played a current Southern Conference member since earning a 76-75 win over East Tennessee State on Nov. 16, 2008, when East Tennessee State was part of the Atlantic Sun. The Dutchmen last played a game against a Southern Conference school on Dec. 21, 2009, when they fell to Davidson, 61-52, in a Holiday Classic consolation game at Madison Square Garden. Davidson moved to the Atlantic 10 for the 2014-15 season. The loss to the Wildcats happened a little more than a month after the Dutchmen beat Elon 70-46 in a preseason NIT consolation game at the Arena. tl;dr conference realignment is confusing.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Ben Folds Five bias! (The singer/pianist went to UNC Greensboro)
Shaka Smart tree bias! (UNC Greensboro head coach Mike Jones was on Shaka Smart’s staff at VCU)
Danny Valencia was the original transfer portal bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, former big leaguer Valencia wanted to play at Miami but began his collegiate career at UNC Greensboro and then promptly transferred to Miami after his freshman season)
Artsy fartsy bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, UNC Greensboro’s campus include the Weatherspoon Art Museum)
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