I'll Be Quirky: South Florida

A Mets-related South Florida grad for Greg Prince!

The Flying Dutchmen endured another nightmarish second half at Barclays Center last Sunday night, when a tie game at intermission turned into a 71-56 loss to Massachusetts. The Dutchmen will look to snap their three-game losing streak — I smell a quirky stat ahead! — tonight, when they are slated to conclude their epic road trip by visiting South Florida. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Minuteman and a look ahead to the Bulls NOT THAT MICHAEL JORDAN BIAS!

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

The Dutchmen got off to a fast start in their second straight game without Aaron Estrada, but UMass rode a 27-5 second half run to an easy victory in the Kante Kup. The Dutchmen took a pair of early eight-point leads thanks to five points from Jaquan Carlos and four points apiece from Warren Williams and Amar’e Marshall before the Minutemen mounted an 11-0 run to take their first lead at 20-17. The Dutchmen tied the score 30-30 at the half — yikes a familiar halftime score in Brooklyn! — thanks to a pair of late 3-pointers by Tyler Thomas and Griffin Barrouk. They opened a four-point lead early in the second half via 3-pointers by Thomas and Darlinstone Dubar and led 41-40 on a jumper by Williams with 14:04 left before UMass’ Tafara Gapare scored eight unanswered points to begin the decisive spurt. Dubar led the Dutchmen with 13 points while Williams was 6-of-7 shooting in setting a season-high 12 points off the bench. Fellow reserve Barrouk also set a career-high with 11 points. Marshall, fresh off his breakout game against Purdue, was limited to the four early first-half points on 1-of-10 shooting, including 0-for-4 from 3-point land. Kante had four points and one rebound in 12 minutes in his Hofstra reunion.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. UMass, 12/11)

3: Warren Williams

2: Darlinstone Dubar

1: Griffin Barrouk

SEASON STANDINGS

Aaron Estrada 21

Darlinstone Dubar 13

Tyler Thomas 11

Amar’e Marshall 6

Nelson Boachie-Yiadom 5

Jaquan Carlos 5

Warren Williams 4

Griffin Barrouk 1

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ELEVEN GAMES

With last Sunday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 6-5. This ties the 2022-23 team for the 38th-best record in school history through 11 games. This marks the third straight season in which the Dutchmen have been 6-5 through 11 games and the 11th such 11-game start. Play some Spinal Tap! Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 11 games:

NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 5-6

1976-77: 8-3

1999-2000: 7-4 

2000-01: 8-3

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 7-4 (most recent 7-4 start)

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 7-4

2004-05: 10-1 (most recent 10-1 start)

2005-06: 9-2 (most recent 9-2 start)

2006-07: 7-4

2015-16: 7-4 

2018-19: 8-3 (most recent 8-3 start, victory marked fifth win in the 16-game winning streak)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 7-4

1961-62: 10-1

1962-63: 8-3

1963-64: 10-1

Some other notable 11-game starts:

2013-14: 3-8 (most recent 3-8 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)

2011-12: 4-7 (most recent 4-7 start)

2007-08: 2-9 (most recent 2-9 start)

2002-03: 1-10 (most recent 1-10 start)

2001-02: 5-6 (Tom Pecora’s first team, most recent 5-6 start, never got back to .500 again)

1994-95: 2-9 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 2-9 (VBK’s last team)

1979-80: 5-6 (Joe Harrington’s only season, under .500 for the last time)

1965-66: 6-5 (over .500 for good)

1959-60: 10-1 (Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise)

1955-56: 11-0 (most recent 11-0 start)

1951-52: 11-0 (first 11-0 start)

1940-41: 6-5 (over .500 for good)

The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-11.

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 FORTY-THREE

With Wednesday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 27-16 (.628) as head coach. That’s the third-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 43 games at the helm.

Paul Lynner 35-8 (.814, 43rd game was the 13th game of his second season in 1963-64)

Butch van Breda Kolff I 30-13 (.698, 43rd game was the 17th game of his second season in 1956-57)

SPEEDY CLAXTON 27-16 (.628, 43rd game was the 11th game of his second season in 2022-23)

Mo Cassara 24-19 (.558, 43rd game was the 10th game of his second season in 2011-12)

Dick Berg 21-22 (.488, 43rd game was the 16th game of his second season in 1981-82)

Butch van Breda Kolff II 20-23 (.465, 43rd game was the 14th game of his second season in 1989-90)

Jay Wright 17-26 (.395, 43rd game was the 15th game of his second season in 1995-96) 

Joe Mihalich 17-26 (.395, 43rd game was the 10th game of his second season in 2013-14)

Tom Pecora 13-30 (.302, 43rd game was the 11th game of his second season in 2002-03)

Roger Gaeckler 13-30 (.302, 43rd game was the 19th 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.

OH NO, NOT AGAIN

The Dutchmen were tied 30-30 at the half last Sunday. If you’re like me — and I sure hope you’re not! — you immediately remembered the Dutchmen were also tied 30-30 at the half of their first game at Barclays Center on Dec. 22, 2012, when Tulane scored the first 20 points of the second half — in fewer than four minutes! — and opened a 30-point lead barely eight minutes into the half before finishing off an 83-62 rout. So while this wasn’t as bad as that, it still wasn’t any good and thus I don’t think the Dutchmen should play at Barclays Center again. Go to UBS Arena, that’s a nice place and it’s actually on Long Island proper.

NOT NOSTALGIC FOR THESE 50s

The loss last Sunday marked the third time this season the Dutchmen have scored fewer than 60 points as well as the 11th straight time the Dutchmen have lost a game in which they scored fewer than 60 points. The Dutchmen haven;’t won a game while scoring fewer than 60 points since Dec. 31, 2016, when they edged Delaware 58-56. I have a feeling that game may be relevant a few graphs from now!

UNLUCKY THIRTEEN

Darlinstone Dubar led the Dutchmen last Sunday with 13 points. It was the fewest points scored by the Dutchmen’s leading scorer since Feb. 24, when Dubar and Omar Silverio had 10 points apiece as the Dutchmen were routed by Elon, 81-55.

CLUB TRILLION (sort of)

Nelson Boachie-Yiadom had an unusual stat line last Sunday, when he pulled down four rebounds, recorded three assists and had one block and one steal but scored no points and attempted no field goals or free throws in 22 minutes. Per the Play Index at College Basketball Reference, Boachie-Yiadom is the first Hofstra player to go scoreless without a field goal or free throw attempt while playing at least 20 minutes since Rokas Gustys had 10 rebounds and one steal in 30 minutes against Rider on Dec. 9, 2017. The only other Hofstra player to finish with no field goals or free throws attempted in at least 20 minutes since 2010-11 (the first season of the Play Index era at College Basketball Reference) is Moussa Kone, who had two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 29 minutes against Oregon State on Nov. 16, 2011.

MARSHALL’S MALAISE

Amar’e Marshall, coming off a breakout game against Purdue that earned him another CAA Rookie of the Week award, struggled last Sunday, when he was limited to four points while shooting 1-of-10 from the field. Marshall is the first Hofstra player to make one field goal or fewer while hoisting at least 10 attempts since Jalen Ray scored six points on 1-of-11 shooting against Stony Brook on Dec. 8, 2021. Once a year, we’ll take that. 

WARREN’S WAY

OK let’s look at some happy stats, shall we? Warren Williams went 6-of-7 from the field and scored a season-high 12 points last Sunday. The 12 points were his most since he scored 12 points for Manhattan against Saint Peter’s on Mar. 1 while the six field goals were his most since he went a perfect 8-for-8 for Manhattan against Niagara on Jan. 18.

D-STONE’S DOUBLE-DOUBLE (sort of)

Darlinstone Dubar scored five points in the final 1:03 last Sunday to finish with a team-high 13 points. He also led the Dutchmen with seven rebounds. It was the first time Dubar’s led the Dutchmen in both scoring and rebounding and the first time a player other than Aaron Estrada has led or shared the team lead in both scoring and rebounding since Zack Cooks had 29 points and seven rebounds (the latter tying him for the team lead with Abayomi Iyiola) in a 73-63 win over Duquesne on Nov. 13, 2021. Estrada held at least a share of the team lead in scoring and rebounding seven times in between.

GOLDEN GRIFFIN

Redshirt freshman Griffin Barrouk scored a career-high 11 points while going 3-of-9 from 3-point land. The 11 points and three 3-pointers were each more than he’d collected in his first three appearances combined. Barrouk sank a 3-pointer against Saint Mary’s on Nov. 19 and scored two points against George Mason on Nov. 30.

BENCH BRIGADE

Warren Williams (12 points) and Griffin Barrouk (11 points) each scored in double figures off the bench last Sunday. They’re the first tandem of reserves to score in double figures in the same game since Omar Silverio (19 points) and Jarrod Simmons (10 points) did so against Charleston on Feb. 28, 2022.

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE

Buoyed by his 24-point game against Purdue on Dec. 7, redshirt freshman Amar’e Marshall was named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the week ending last Sunday. It was the fourth Rookie of the Week honor in the first five weeks for Marshall, who has already earned more Rookie of the Week honors than any Hofstra freshman since Jamall Robinson won or shared the award five times in 2013-14. Robinson was the sole winner four times that season and a co-honoree with William & Mary’s Omar Prewitt once.

DO NOT GO FOURTH

The loss to UMass was the third straight for the Dutchmen, tying their longest skid under Speedy Claxton as well as their longest skid since the start of the 2017-18 season. The Dutchmen haven’t lost more than three straight games since a six-game losing streak from Jan. 2 through Jan. 19, 2017. That skid started with the Daniel Dixon Game 2: Electric Boogaloo, which was immediately after the aforementioned 58-56 win over Delaware, see, it all ties together!

Remarkably, this is the longest period of time the Dutchmen have gone without losing four straight games since a seven-season stretch from 1957-58 through 1963-64. My parents were still high schoolers when that ended! 

And possibly even more remarkably, only 16 Division I teams have gone longer without a four-game losing streak than Hofstra. Everyone in Division I has had at least one four-game losing streak since the start of the 2004-05 season except Kansas, which hasn’t lost more than three straight since an eight-game skid way back in 1988-89. I was a high school sophomore back then and didn’t even know what a Hofstra was! I guess this is my roundabout way of saying I hope Hofstra wins tonight because I didn’t look up how long teams have gone without losing FIVE straight. So win tonight, Dutchmen, 

Here’s the entire list. All the losing streaks are four games unless otherwise noted. 

Kansas: 1/28/89-2/22/89 (eight games)

San Diego State: 2/12/05-3/5/05 (six games)

Gonzaga: 12/16/06-1/3/17

Duke: 2/1/07-2/11/07

Providence: 12/22/12-1/9/13 (five games)

New Mexico State: 11/30/13-12/11/13 

Belmont: 12/14/13-12/28/13

Davidson: 12/11/13-1/1/14 (five games)

Oregon: 1/5/14-1/23/14 (five games)

Dayton: 1/18/14-1/29/14

Furman: 1/31/15-2/22/15 (seven games)

UNC Greensboro: 12/15/15-1/2/16 (five games)

Houston: 1/13/16-1/23/16 

Harvard: 1/23/16-2/6/16 (five games)

Florida: 2/20/16-3/1/16

Tennessee: 2/24/16-3/5/16

HOFSTRA: 1/2/17-1/19/17 (six games)

OVER THE AIR

Tonight’s game will be carried on ESPNPlus, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under the age of 18. Hofstra will also provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

South Florida, under sixth-year head coach Brian Gregory, is 5-6 this season but hasn’t played since Dec. 16, when the Bulls won their third straight game by beating Dartmouth, 59-55.

South Florida was picked to finish ninth in the 11-team American. Graduate senior guard Tyler Harris, a transfer from Memphis, leads the Bulls with 14.6 points per game while sophomore guard Selton Miguel, a transfer from Kansas State, is averaging 11.6 points per game. Junior center Russel Tchewa, a 7-footer, is averaging 9.9 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game.

At KenPom.com, UMass is ranked 258th nationally in offensive efficiency (98.1 points per 100 possessions) and 124th in defensive efficiency (99.7 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 289th in tempo (66.3 possessions per 40 minutes).

The Dutchmen and Bulls have one common opponent. South Florida also suffered its most recent loss to Massachusetts by falling, 73-67, on Nov. 29. We have a lot in common!

At KenPom.com today, Hofstra is ranked 134th while South Florida is ranked 188th. KenPom.com predicts a 69-68 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 4-6-1 against the spread this season.

Hofstra is 0-2 all-time against South Florida. The Bulls’ 79-60 win at the University Hoops Classic in Pittsburgh on Nov. 24, 2001 marked the first loss as a head coach for Tom Pecora. The Dutchmen squandered an eight-point lead in the final 2:48 of a 71-70 loss to South Florida on Nov. 25, 2014. At least we’re not playing on Nov. 26?

The Flying Dutchmen are 7-20 all-time against schools currently in the American. The Dutchmen last played a team from the American on Nov. 9, 2021, when nationally ranked Houston overcame a 13-point second half deficit to earn an 83-75 win in overtime. 

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Greg Prince bias! (Our good friend and inspiration for many of the features here at I’ll Be Quirky graduated from South Florida, which makes him a mortal enemy today)

You actually won the CBI bias! (They did, in 2019)

You’re 0-2 all-time against us in football bias! (True story, let’s not discuss what’s happened since then)

That 2012 Softball College World Series berth should have been ours bias! (IF nothing else, win tonight for Olivia Galati, whose performance in the heartbreaking three-game super regional against South Florida in 2012 remains the most remarkable thing I’ve ever seen in almost 30 years of watching Hofstra sports)

Dave Eiland bias! (The former Yankees and Mets pitching coach went to South Florida)