Can the Dutchmen stop Hank Scorpio, err, Pat Kelsey from moving closer to completing ProjectPerfectRegularSeasonturus?
Aaron Estrada joined some pretty good company Thursday night, when he set career-highs with eight 3-pointers and 40 points as the Flying Dutchmen dodged an upset bid from Not Twitter Guy and earned an 82-65 win. The really big game on the southern swing happens this afternoon, when the Dutchmen will try to make a bit of history upon visiting no. 18 Charleston, which is in the midst of a 20-game winning streak. Here’s a look back at the win over the Phoenix and a look ahead to the Cougars.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Aaron Estrada rediscovered his long-range shooting form, scored 26 points in the second half and closed in on the 1,000-point milestone as the Dutchmen finally shook the upset-minded Phoenix. Estrada opened up the game red-hot by scoring 14 points (hmm, math) in the first 10 minutes to stake the Dutchmen to a 19-14 lead. Estrada went 0-for-2 with a turnover the rest of the half, which didn’t initially impact the Dutchmen, who went on 9-3 run to go ahead 28-17 NICE FOOTBALL SCORE with 7:30 left and still led 33-25 with three minutes remaining. But Sean Halloran scored the final five points of a 10-0 half-ending run by Not Twitter Guy and opened the second half with another basket as visions of the Dutchmen becoming Not Twitter Guy’s first Division I win of the season began dancing in our tormented heads. But Estrada sank 3-pointers on consecutive trips to steady the Dutchmen, who trailed twice more and were tied once before Tyler Thomas’ jumper gave them a 47-45 lead with 14:03 left and began a 10-0 run. Two more 3-pointers by Estrada extended the Dutchmen’s lead to 61-49 midway through the half before Not Twitter Guy mounted one more flurry with a 10-2 spurt that cut the lead to 63-59 with 7:17 remaining. Thomas hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout to begin a decisive 11-0 run in which Estrada scored five points. The Dutchmen led by at least 13 the rest of the way. Estrada, whose big outing leaves him just six points shy of the 1,000-point mark, finished with 16 field goals, eight apiece from inside the arc and from 3-point land, while Thomas had 23 points and went 5-of-11 from outside. Jaquan Carlos had just two points but collected nine assists while only committing two turnovers. Bryce Washington had five points, all in the first half when he was pressed into earlier duty than usual with Amar’e Marshall out. Darlinstone Dubar scored six points on two key second-half 3-pointers and led the Dutchmen with five rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Not Twitter Guy, 1/26)
3: Aaron Estrada
2: Tyler Thomas
1: Jaquan Carlos
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 42
Tyler Thomas 29
Darlinstone Dubar 22
Jaquan Carlos 15
Warren Williams 10
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom 7
Amar’e Marshall 6
Griffin Barrouk 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! Prior to Thursday, there were a whole spate of scores within three points of an 82-65 final — including an 81-65 win over Colgate on Feb. 16, 1998 and two 82-66 victories, most recently over Northeastern on Feb. 3, 2007 — but never before 82-65. There were also earlier wins by final scores of 79-65 and 81-65, so that 3-pointer by Tyler Thomas in the last minute was a big deal!
This is the Flying Dutchmen’s sixth unicorn score victory of the season. The Dutchmen recorded 11 unicorn score victories last season after recording no unicorn scores in 2020-21, 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. You may also know it as a “Scorigami,” a term popularized in the NFL.
11/11/22: 83-78 over Iona
11/14/22: 85-80 over George Washington
11/17/22: 85-76 over San Jose State
12/22/22: 96-48 over Old Westbury
1/11/23: 77-57 over Monmouth
1/26/23: 82-65 over Not Twitter Guy
WHO HAD THE KEITH HERNANDEZ?
Tyler Thomas snapped a tie atop the Keith Hernandez standings by sinking the jumper with 14:03 left that put the Dutchmen ahead for good at 47-45 and began a 7-0 run. It’s just the fifth second half Keith Hernandez of the season and the second-earliest of the second half, though the Dutchmen have two straight second half Keith Hernandezes after posting eight straight first half Keith Hernandezes from Nov. 27 through Jan. 14.
Jaquan Carlos tie-breaking 3-pointer vs. Princeton, 11/7/22 (1:11 left 2H)
Tyler Thomas tie-breaking 3-pointer vs. Iona, 11/11/22 (:35.2 left 2H)
Darlinstone Dubar go-ahead layup vs. George Washington, 11/14/22 (5:09 left 2H)
German Plotnikov go-ahead 3-pointer vs. San Jose State. 11/17/22 (6:32 left 2H)
Tyler Thomas tie-breaking jumper vs. UNC Greensboro, 11/26/22 (14:56 left 1H)
Aaron Estrada go-ahead jumper vs. Quinnipiac, 11/27/22 (17:28 left 1H)
Tyler Thomas go-ahead 3-pointer vs. Old Westbury, 12/22/22 (19:02 left 1H)
Tyler Thomas tie-breaking jumper vs. Delaware, 12/29/22 (19:42 left 1H)
Aaron Estrada tie-breaking 3-pointer vs. Hampton, 1/5/23 (19:27 left 1H)
Aaron Estrada tie-breaking jumper vs. William & Mary, 1/7/23 (8:37 left 1H)
German Plotnikov tie-breaking 3-pointer vs. Monmouth, 1/11/23 (7:50 left 1H)
Warren Williams tie-breaking nostalgic 3-pointer vs. Delaware 1/14/23 (14:28 left 1H)
Aaron Estrada tie-breaking jumper vs. UNC Wilmington, 1/19/23 (19:02 left 2H)
Tyler Thomas tie-breaking jumper vs. Not Twitter Guy, 1/26/23 (14:03 left 2H)
Tyler Thomas 5
Aaron Estrada 4
German Plotnikov 2
Warren Williams 1
Jaquan Carlos 1
Darlinstone Dubar 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWENTY-TWO GAMES
With Thursday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 14-8. This ties the 2022-23 team for the 23rd-best record in school history through 22 games. This is the first 14-8 start for the Dutchmen since 2014-15 and the ninth 14-8 start in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 22 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 12-10 (ended a season-long pattern of never being more than one game over or under .500)
1976-77: 16-6 (win in 22nd game marked second win of nine-game winning streak that carried Dutchmen into the NCAAs)
1999-2000: 17-5 (most recent 17-5 start, win in 22nd game marked final win of 10-game winning streak)
2000-01: 18-4 (win in 22nd game marked 10th win in program-record 18-game winning streak)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 15-7 (most recent 15-7 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 15-7
2004-05: 15-7
2005-06: 18-4 (most recent 18-4 start)
2006-07: 16-6
2015-16: 16-6 (most recent 16-6 start)
2018-19: 19-3 (most recent 19-3 start, win in 22nd game marked final win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 17-5
1961-62: 19-3
1962-63: 16-6 (fifth win of 11-game winning streak)
1963-64: 18-4
Some other notable 22-game records:
2020-21: 13-9 (win over Delaware in the CAA quarterfinals was the final win of the season)
2016-17: 10-12 (most recent 10-12 start)
2013-14: 7-15 (most recent 7-15 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 5-17 (most recent 5-17 start, tied for worst 22-game record in school history)
1995-96: 7-15 (loss in 22nd game marked eighth loss of Jay Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)
1994-95: 7-15 (Jay Wright’s first year)
1993-94: 5-17 (wins in games 21-22 were the first back-to-back wins all season; VBK’s last year)
1992-93: 6-16 (most recent 6-16 start)
1991-92: 14-8 (win in 22nd game was third in nine-game winning streak that ended in ECC title game)
1990-91: 12-10 (most recent 12-10 start)
1988-89: 9-13 (most recent 9-13 start)
1987-88: 5-17 (win in 22nd game snapped program-record 12-game losing streak)
1986-87: 8-14 (most recent 8-14 start)
1985-86: 13-9 (first and only other 13-9 start)
1984-85: 11-11 (most recent 11-11 start)
1981-82: 11-11 (at .500 for the last time, fourth loss of eight-game losing streak)
1978-79: 8-14 (last win of season and last win of Roger Gaeckler’s tenure)
1974-75: 8-13 (last loss of season)
1973-74: 6-16 (last win of season)
1972-73: 8-13 (last win of season)
1971-72: 11-11 (at .500 for the last time, first loss of season-ending four-game losing streak)
1970-71: 14-8 (first win of season-ending five-game winning streak)
1959-60: 21-1 (only 21-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 22nd game was 11th win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1955-56: 20-2 (only 20-2 start)
1946-47: 16-6 (last loss of season)
Hofstra has never been 22-0, 4-18, 3-19, 2-20, 1-21 or 0-22 through 22 games.
Eleven seasons were completed in fewer than 22 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
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1954-55.
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 FIFTY-FOUR
Folks! We’ve got history! With Thursday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 35-19 (.648) as head coach. The victory snaps a tie with Butch van Breda Kolff for the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 54 games at the helm. It’s the highest Claxton has been in the all-time game-to-game standings since he became head coach last season.
Paul Lynner 43-11 (.796, 54th game was the 24th game of his second season in 1963-64)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 35-19 (.648, 53rd game was the 21st game of his second season in 2022-23)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 34-20 (.630, 54th game was the second game of his third season in 1957-58)
Mo Cassara 28-26 (.519, 54th game was the 21st game of his second season in 2011-12)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 26-28 (.481, 54th game was the 25th game of his second season in 1989-90)
Joe Mihalich 24-30 (.444, 54th game was the 21st game of his second season in 2014-15)
Dick Berg 24-30 (.444, 54th game was the 27th game of his second season in 1981-82)
Jay Wright 19-35 (.352, 54th game was the 26th game of his second season in 1995-96)
Roger Gaeckler 18-36 (.333, 54th game was the sixth game of his third season in 1974-75)
Tom Pecora 17-37 (.315, 54th game was the 22nd game of his second season in 2002-03)
Hofstra lost in van Breda Kolff’s 55th game at the helm, so Claxton is ensured of maintaining sole possession of second place for at least one more game. But it’d be fine if he wanted to extend the lead today!
Joe Mihalich falls back into a tie for sixth place with Dick Berg while Jay Wright breaks his tie with Roger Gaeckler and moves into seventh place. I’d buy some shares if that guy was a stock! And once again Tom Pecora remains in last, probably never to emerge.
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.
FAST FINISH
The Dutchmen, who trailed Not Twitter Guy 35-33 at the half, won a game in which they trailed at the half for the third time this season. The Dutchmen also beat Princeton 83-77 after trailing 42-38 at the half in the season opener Nov. 7 and beat San Jose State 85-76 after trailing 41-30 at the half on Nov. 17. The Dutchmen are 3-4 when trailing at the half this season after going 3-6 when trailing at the half last season.
THE DEFENSE DIDN’T REST
The Dutchmen allowed fewer than 70 points for the seventh straight game Thursday. That’s the longest such streak by the Dutchmen since a nine-game stretch from Jan. 1 through Jan. 31, 2013. Alas, while these Dutchmen are 6-1 during their current streak, those depleted Dutchmen went just 2-7 despite the solid defense. That streak ended with five straight losses in which the Dutchmen surrendered no more than 65 points in a game.
TEAM BARBASOL NO MORE
Remember when all the Dutchmen did was play close games? Well, now all they do is play lopsided games! While Thursday’s 17-point win snapped the streak of four straight games decided by at least 20 points, it extended the streak of games decided by at least 10 points to seven dating back to a 67-51 win over Hampton on Jan. 5. The Dutchmen are 6-1 in the current stretch, which is the longest streak of games decided by at least 10 points since a seven-game stretch from Nov. 9 through Dec. 1, 2019 in which the Dutchmen went 5-2. That run included the landmark 88-78 win over UCLA. The Dutchmen haven’t played at least eight straight games decided by at least 10 points since a volatile nine-game run from Jan. 19 through Feb. 16, 2010. The Dutchmen went 6-4 in that stretch, which started with Ryan Pearson sinking 3-pointers in the final minute of George Mason’s 90-72 win, an act of poor sportsmanship that mildly annoyed me. The third game (and first win) in the run was a 93-54 rout of UNC Wilmington — the game renowned throughout the CAA for Charles Jenkins’ eight-point play and for serving as the punctation point on Benny Moss’ head coaching career.
THURSDAY, NEVER LOOKING BACK
The Dutchmen extended a pretty unique win streak Thursday night. Per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, the Dutchmen have now won 20 straight road or neutral site Thursday games dating back to a 96-82 win over William & Mary on Feb. 23, 2017. That’s almost six years! Alas, the game against Not Twitter Guy marked the Dutchmen’s final scheduled road game this season. Hopefully the selection committee will place the Dutchmen in a Thursday-Saturday pod in the NCAA Tournament. I said what I said.
ONE IS NOT JUST A SONG BY METALLICA OR U2
The Dutchmen needed just five games to break a quirky record they’d waited at least 35-plus seasons to establish! The Dutchmen attempted just one free throw Thursday night — and it didn’t happen until there were 56.4 seconds left, when Tyler Thomas missed the front end of a one-and-one. The one free throw attempt is the lowest by Hofstra since at least the 1986-87 season, per research by Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, who dug up that nugget after the Dutchmen went 2-for-2 from the line against William & Mary in a 75-62 win on Jan. 7. The Dutchmen are the seventh Division I team this season to shoot one free throw or fewer n a game but the second in as many nights after Hartford (Division I only through next month) went 0-for-1 in a 73-56 win over Stonehill.
ESTRADA’S FORTYBURGER
OK, let’s get to the really good stuff. Aaron Estrada authored the 18th 40-point effort in school history Thursday, when he hit the magic number by draining a 3-pointer for his final basket with 1:33 left. Estrada is the 11th player to score at least 40 points in a game for the Dutchmen and the first to do so since Omar Silverio also had 40 points — and also against Not Twitter Guy in North Carolina — on Feb. 15, 2022. This is a pretty decent list of players:
Steve Nisenson (3)
Justin Wright-Foreman (3)
Bill Thieben (2)
Rich Laurel (2)
Speedy Claxton (2)
Bernard Tomlin
Demetrius Dudley
Charles Jenkins
Desure Buie
Omar Silverio
Aaron Estrada
There’s three NBA players in there and two more who were drafted by NBA teams!
THRICE AS NICE AGAINST NOT TWITTER GUY
Aaron Estrada became the third Hofstra player to score at least 40 points against Not Twitter Guy. Omar Silverio’s 40-point outburst was preceded by Desure Buie scoring a career-high 44 points against the Phoenix on Jan. 4, 2020. And it was almost four 40-point efforts against Not Twitter Guy! Justin Wright-Foreman had 39 points and missed a layup just before the buzzer of a an 89-76 loss to the Phoenix on Jan. 7, 2018.
Only one other opponent has absorbed two 40-point efforts by a Hofstra player, and as far as I can tell, Bill Thieben set the school record with 48 points against Wilkes at home during the 1954-55 season before scoring 42 points in a road game against Wilkes during the 1955-56 season.
CHANNELING THE OCHO FROM THREE
Aaron Estrada joined another impressive club Thursday night, when he went 8-of-15 from 3-point land. Estrada is just the fourth player in school history to hit at least eight 3-pointers in a game. Omar Silverio hit 11 3-pointers in his record-shattering game against Not Twitter Guy on Feb. 15, 2022 and tied the previous school record by draining eight 3-pointers against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 27, 2021. Silverio equaled the mark set previously by Brian Bernardi, who had eight 3-pointers against Canisius on Nov. 13, 2015, and matched by Jalen Ray when he sank eight 3-pointers against Drexel on Feb. 6, 2021.
FINDING HIS FORM
Aaron Estrada’s big game from outside was even more notable considering how badly he’d struggled from beyond the arc most of the season and recently in particular. Estrada was 8-of-38 (21.1 percent) from beyond the arc in his previous seven games entering Thursday, a skid that dropped his 3-point shooting percentage for the season to 34.7 percent. He improved that to 37.2 percent with Thursday’s performance. Not too shabby.
THIRTY-SOMETHING
Of course, to get to 40 points, you’ve got to get to 30 first. #Math Estrada now has four 30-point games this season, tied for second-most in the country with 10 other players (including Purdue’s Zach Edey, who only scored 23 points in the Boilermakers’ 85-66 win over the Estrada-less Dutchmen on Dec. 7) behind Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis, who has six 30-point games. (Davis had six 30-point games last season, including a 39-point effort in the Dutchmen’s 98-84 victory on Nov. 27, 2021 — I can tie anything to Hofstra!). Estrada has scored at least 30 points eight times since joining the team last season — tied with his coach for the fifth-most 30-point games by a Hofstra player since the start of the 1991-92 season.
Justin Wright-Foreman 23
Demetrius Dudley 12
Charles Jenkins 12
Antoine Agudio 10
Speedy Claxton 8
AARON ESTRADA 8
THE ESTRADA COUNTDOWN TO 1K
This may not take long! Aaron Estrada almost shot past 1,000 points without anyone being aware he was close to the milestone Thursday, when his 40-point effort gave him 994 points since arriving at Hofstra prior to last season. Thus, Estrada needs six points today to become the 40th Hofstra player to score 1,000 points, including the 22nd to do so in the Defiantly Dutch era (1993-present).
Because I’m a weirdo, when Jalen Ray was on the verge of joining the 1,000-point club in December 2020, I figured out how close the first 20 players to score 1,000 points in the DD era were to the milestone entering the game in which they recorded their 1,000th point. Look how close Estrada came to supplanting Desure Buie as the player who made up the most ground in his milestone game! Only one other player — Antoine Agudio — entered the game in which he scored his 1,000th point with 994 points. For Estrada’s sake and that of the Dutchmen, let’s hope he makes it two today.
Jalen Ray 999 pts prior to 12/22/20
Speedy Claxton 999 pts prior to 12/22/98
James Shaffer 999 pts prior to 3/2/95
Loren Stokes 998 pts prior to 12/30/05
Kenny Adeleke 996 pts prior to 12/31/03
Eli Pemberton 995 pts prior to 12/1/18
Roberto Gittens 995 pts prior to 12/27/99
Antoine Agudio 994 pts prior to 3/20/06
Mike Moore 993 pts prior to 2/11/12
Darius Burton 992 pts prior to 1/24/97
Justin Wright-Foreman 991 pts prior to 1/7/18
Rick Apodaca 991 pts prior to 2/9/02
Rokas Gustys 990 pts prior to 1/5/18
Ameen Tanksley 990 pts prior to 2/25/16
Juan’ya Green 990 pts prior to 2/7/16
Nathaniel Lester 990 pts prior to 2/1/12
Carlos Rivera 990 pts prior to 1/27/07
Norman Richardson 988 pts prior to 2/6/00
Brian Bernardi 983 pts prior to 1/2/17
Charles Jenkins 976 pts prior to 2/28/09
Desure Buie 968 pts prior to 1/4/20
ESTRADA’S DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK
With his 40 points on Thursday, Aaron Estrada extended his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 12 games. Estrada, who has missed three games during his current streak, has scored in double figures in 18 of 19 games this season and in 45 of 51 games since debuting for Hofstra last season. He scored in double figures in 13 of the 37 games in which he played for Saint Peter’s and Oregon from 2019 through 2021.
TWO TWENTY-SOMETHINGS
Tyler Thomas provided some solid complementary scoring to Estrada on Thursday night, when he finished with 23 points. Per research by Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov and WRHU alums Kevin Dexter and Rob Joyce, the Dutchmen are now 27-12 since the start of the 2013-14 season (Joe Mihalich’s first season) when at least two players score 20 points. The Dutchmen are 4-0 this season when two players score at least 20 points, Thomas (26 points) and Darlinstone Dubar (22 points) led the way for the Dutchmen in an 83-78 win over Iona on Nov. 11 before Estrada scored 31 points and Thomas added 20 points in an 87-73 win over Delaware on Dec. 29. Thomas and Estrada had 20 points apiece in a 75-62 win over William & Mary on Jan. 7.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
The 23 points for Tyler Thomas marked the second straight game in which he scored at least 20 points and his fifth 20-point effort of the season. Thomas scored at least 20 points 16 times in three seasons at Sacred Heart prior to arriving at Hofstra.
TYLER THOMAS FROM THREE
Tyler Thomas joined Aaron Estrada in getting hot from long distance Thursday, when Thomas was 5-of-11 from 3-point land. The five 3-pointers were one shy of Thomas’ season-high, set against Iona on Nov. 11, and the ninth time this season he’s drained at least three 3-pointers.
HOW MANY DIMES FOR CARLOS?
Jaquan Carlos finished with nine assists Thursday — the most assists by a Hofstra player against a Division I foe since Aaron Estrada had nine assists against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 27, 2021. In addition, it was the fourth straight game in which Carlos recorded at least five assists and the 11th time this season he’s finished with at least five assists. Carlos had just one five-assist game — against Division II Molloy — as a freshman last season.
BRYCE CHIPS IN
With Amar’e Marshall sidelined, Bryce Washington scored five points, all in the first half. The first-half points were the first for Washington against a Division I foe since he scored two points against George Mason on Nov. 30.
DUBAR’S SLUMP
Darlinstone Dubar showed signs of emerging from his funk Thursday night, when he hit two 3-pointers in the second half and finished with six points while collecting a team-high five rebounds. Dubar has scored in single figures in each of the last five games after opening the season with double-digit efforts in 12 of his first 17 games. The five straight games with fewer than 10 points is the longest such stretch for Dubar since he debuted for Hofstra last season.
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game is slated to 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 CHARLESTON
The Cougars, under second-year head coach Pat Kelsey, are 21-1 this season and 9-0 in the CAA following an 87-61 win over Northeastern last Saturday. They have the nation’s longest active winning streak at 20 games. I guess all of that’s good? Also pretty good: The Cougars are ranked no. 18 in this week’s Associated Press poll. They are the first CAA team to be ranked in the AP poll during the regular season since Navy, led by David Robinson, was in the top 10 during the 1986-87 season. I was in eighth grade and didn’t even know what a Hofstra was!
The Dutchmen and Cougars had no common opponents in non-conference play. Both teams have beaten Hampton, Delaware, UNC Wilmington, Elon, William & Mary and Monmouth, with the Dutchmen completing a season sweep of Delaware. The Dutchmen have lost to Towson and North Carolina A&T, each of whom *checks notes just to be sure* have lost to Charleston.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish second in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 110th at KenPom.com. The Cougars, who were picked to finish fourth, are ranked 75th. That preseason ranking might have been a little low for Charleston, we’re not sure.
Due to the CAA’s expansion and the unbalanced schedule, this afternoon marks the only scheduled regular season game between Hofstra and Charleston. The Dutchmen are also slated to face William & Mary, North Carolina A&T, Not Twitter Guy, UNC Wilmington and Drexel just once apiece. Again…Drexel? Only once? Really? Outside of the pandemic-wracked 2020-21 season, when Hofstra and Charleston didn’t play one another, this marks the first time since Charleston joined the CAA for the 2013-14 season that the two schools haven’t played each other twice.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank first in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (111.1 points per 100 possessions) and third in conference-only defensive efficiency (93.7 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 67.0 possessions per 40 minutes, the fifth-most in the league. The Cougars rank second in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (110.9 points per 100 possessions) and first in defensive efficiency (89.0 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 71.1 possessions per 40 minutes, the most in the league.
The Cougars are one of the deepest teams in America — per KenPom.com, they rank 39th in the country in bench minutes with 37.2 percent of their minutes being played by reserves — and have four players averaging at least 10 points per game and a fifth who falls just shy. Graduate student guard Dalton Bolon, a transfer from Division II West Liberty whose first year of college was in 2016-17 (the first year of I’ll Be Quirky!), leads Charleston with 13.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Reyne Smith, who was named to the preseason all-CAA second team, ranks second on the Cougars with 11.4 points per game. Sophomore forward Ante Brzovic, a transfer from Division II Southeastern Oklahoma State, is averaging 10.6 points per game and leads the Cougars with 5.2 rebounds per game. Graduate student guard Ryan Larson, a transfer from Wofford, is averaging 10.5 points per game while Pat Robinson III, a graduate student guard from West Liberty, is averaging 9.9 points per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 77-70 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 6 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 10-9-2 against the spread this season.
I went up to Northeastern last Saturday and wrote a feature about Pat Kelsey’s rebuilding project. I also previewed today’s game for Field Level Media. Give these a click!
ALL-TIME VS. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Hofstra is 9-8 against Charleston in a series that began with the Cougars joining the CAA prior to the 2013-14 season. The Dutchmen swept the regular season series last year by earning a 76-73 victory in Charleston on Jan. 27 and recording an 89-84 win at the Arena in the regular season finale on Feb. 28. But the Cougars got revenge and then some in the immediate rematch in the CAA quarterfinals on Mar. 6, when they never trailed in a 92-76 rout. Eight of the last 11 games between the teams have been decided by six points or fewer. Charleston was the only team Hofstra didn’t face during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
HOFSTRA VS. TOP 25 TEAMS
Charleston is ranked no. 18 in both the AP poll and the coaches’ poll. This marks the 25th time the Dutchmen have faced a team ranked in the top 25 in at least one of the polls in the DD Era. The Dutchmen are 3-21 in the previous 24 games following an 85-66 loss to then-no. 4/4 Purdue on Dec. 7. This is the first time the Dutchmen have played a regular season league game against a team ranked in both polls — George Mason was ranked in the coaches’ poll but not the AP poll on Feb, 23, 2006 — in the DD era and, as far as I can tell, the first time they’ve ever played a league game against a team ranked in the AP poll in the program’s Division I history.
12/7/22: No. 4/4 Purdue 85-66 L
12/18/21: No. 24/19 Arkansas 89-81 W
11/19/21: no. 20 Maryland 69-67 L
11/9/21: no. 15 Houston 83-75 L (OT)
12/22/20: no. 23 Richmond 76-71 W
11/29/20: no. 24 Rutgers 70-56 L
12/22/17: no. 1 Villanova 95-71 L
12/11/16: no. 6 Kentucky 96-73 L
11/12/13: no. 3 Louisville 97-69 L
11/18/10: no. 8 North Carolina 107-63 L
11/13/09 no. 1 Kansas 101-65 L
11/17/09 no. 12 UConn 76-67 L
12/22/06 no. 23 Syracuse 85-60 L
2/23/06 no. 25 George Mason 77-68 W
12/30/04 no. 7 Syracuse 80-75 L
11/22/02 no. 21 Gonzaga 69-61 L
12/4/01 no. 9 Syracuse 91-65 L
3/15/01 no. 15 UCLA 61-48 L***
3/17/00 no. 14 Oklahoma State 86-66 L***
11/20/98 no. 6 Maryland 89-59 L
12/2/98 no. 25 St. John’s 70-49 L
11/27/97 no. 19 Louisville 75-66 L
12/14/96 no. 19 Xavier 79-43 L
12/28/95 no. 8 Villanova 91-57 L
***NCAA Tournament
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Pat Kelsey is the Hank Scorpio of college basketball on the east coast bias! (I wonder if he’s got sugar in his pockets)
Michael Bolton bias! (Well, Dalton Bolon sort of sounds like Michael Bolton)
Bailey Ober bias! (The Twins pitcher went to Charleston)
Oldest municipal college in the country bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong)
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