We're now halfway to repping the Cardinals' World Series-winning infield from 1982!
The most remarkable streak in the CAA ended in the league’s biggest game Wednesday night, when the Flying Dutchmen trailed by more than one possession for several minutes in the first half before PUSHING ahead AGAINST THE opponent and establishing a comfortable SPREAD in a 77-57 win over Monmouth. The Dutchmen will look to win their fourth straight game this afternoon, when they are slated to host rival Delaware. Here’s a look back at the win over the Hawks and a look ahead to the Blue Hens.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Monmouth built an upset bid in the first 12 minutes and led by as many as seven points before the Dutchmen took the lead for good with an 11-0 run that sparked a 31-8 surge that spanned the two halves. Four different players scored during the 11-0 run, including German Plotnikov, whose 3-pointer put the Dutchmen ahead 25-22. You may read about that later! Tyler Thomas had a pair of baskets as the Dutchmen opened the second half with nine unanswered points to take a 45-26 lead. Monmouth responded with a 12-4 run to pull within 49-38 with 10:44 left, but Thomas and Jaquan Carlos hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions for the Dutchmen, who never led by fewer than 14 the rest of the way and led by as many as 25 in the waning minutes before the Hawks ended the game with a 7-2 run that was of interest to some people. Thomas and Warren Williams shared the team lead with 18 points. The 18 points were a season-high for Williams, who also led the Dutchmen with seven rebounds. Aaron Estrada had a mathematically neat 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Carlos added 12 points, all via 3-pointers.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Monmouth, 1/11)
3: Warren Williams
2: Tyler Thomas
1: Aaron Estrada
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 34
Tyler Thomas 24
Darlinstone Dubar 21
Jaquan Carlos 9
Warren Williams 8
Amar’e Marshall 6
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom 5
Griffin Barrouk 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! Would you believe it? A 77-57 final seems like it would have happened, but while the Dutchmen had all sorts of victories finish within three points of a 77-57 final prior to Wednesday — including a 77-56 win over Boston University on Jan. 28, 2001, a 78-57 win over Stony Brook during the 1992-93 season and 76-57 and 75-57 wins over St. Anselm’s and Moravian during the 1961-62 season — they’d never actually hit the 77-57 lottery. Let’s go play MegaMillions!
This is the Flying Dutchmen’s fifth 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
WHO HAD THE KEITH HERNANDEZ?
More history! German Plotnikov collected his second Keith Hernandez by hitting a tie-breaking 3-pointer to put the Dutchmen ahead for good at 21-18 with 7:50 left in the first half. It’s the second Keith Hernandez for Plotnikov but the first time in the history of this award (November 2022-pres) that the Keith Hernandez has accounted for the player’s only points of the game. Plotnikov was 0-for-3 from the field, including 0-for-2 from 3-point land, prior to his basket and 0-for-3 thereafter.
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)
Plotnikov is the third player to collect multiple Keith Hernandezes.
Tyler Thomas 4
Aaron Estrada 3
German Plotnikov 2
Jaquan Carlos 1
Darlinstone Dubar 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER SEVENTEEN GAMES
With Wednesday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 11-7. This ties the 2022-23 team for the 28th-best record in school history through 18 games. This marks the Dutchmen’s third straight 11-7 start and the seventh 11-7 start in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 18 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 9-9
1976-77: 13-5
1999-2000: 13-5
2000-01: 14-4 (marked fifth win in program-record 18-game winning streak)
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 13-5 (most recent 13-5 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 12-6
2004-05: 12-6
2005-06: 14-4 (most recent 14-4 start)
2006-07: 13-5
2015-16: 12-6 (most recent 12-6 start)
2018-19: 15-3 (most recent 15-3 start, win in 18th game marked 12th win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 13-5
1961-62: 16-2 (most recent 16-2 start)
1962-63: 12-6
1963-64: 15-3
Some other notable 18-game starts:
2016-17: 9-9 (most recent 9-9 start, last time at .500)
2013-14: 6-12 (most recent 6-12 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 5-13 (most recent 5-13 start)
2003-04: 8-10 (most recent 8-10 start)
1997-98: 10-8 (most recent 10-8 start)
1995-96: 7-11 (most recent 7-11 start, loss in 18th game was fourth loss of Jay Wright-era record nine-game losing streak)
1994-95: 4-14 (most recent 4-14 start, Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 2-16 (only 2-16 start, worst 18-game start in school history, VBK’s last team)
1987-88: 4-14 (loss in 18th game was ninth loss of program-record 12-game losing streak)
1981-82: 11-7 (win in 18th game was the fourth straight but immediately preceded an eight-game losing streak)
1964-65: 9-9 (last time at .500)
1960-61: 16-2 (first 16-2 start)
1959-60: 17-1 (most recent 17-1 start & Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 17th game was seventh win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1956-57: 9-9 (last time at .500)
1955-56: 17-1 (first 17-1 start, first year of VBK’s first stint)
1938-39: 10-8 (lost season finale)
Hofstra has never been 18-0, 3-15, 1-17 or 0-18 through 18 games.
Two seasons were completed in fewer than 18 games:
1937-38: 10-4
1936-37: 7-10
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 FIFTY
With Saturday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 32-18 (.640) as head coach. That’s tied with Butch van Breda Kolff for the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 50 games at the helm. A tie! And the first of a few!
Paul Lynner 40-10 (.800, 50th game was the 20th game of his second season in 1963-64)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 32-18 (.640, 50th game was the 24th game of his second season in 1956-57)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 32-18 (.640, 50th game was the 18th game of his second season in 2022-23)
Mo Cassara 27-23 (.540, 50th game was the 17th game of his second season in 2011-12)
Dick Berg 23-27 (.460, 50th game was the 23rd game of his second season in 1981-82)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 23-27 (.460, 49th game was the 21st game of his second season in 1989-90)
Joe Mihalich 23-27 (.460, 50th game was the 17th game of his second season in 2014-15)
Jay Wright 17-33 (.340, 50th game was the 22nd game of his second season in 1995-96)
Tom Pecora 17-33 (.340, 50th game was the 18th game of his second season in 2002-03)
Roger Gaeckler 17-33 (.340, 50th game was the second game of his third season in 1974-75)
How about that — three-way ties for fifth place and eighth/last place. All three of those guys in the tie for eighth ended up doing some pretty good things here.
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.
(Fun fact: Hofstra won in van Breda Kolff’s 51st game at the helm)
WINNING IN THE NEW YEAR (again)
The win Wednesday night improved the Dutchmen to 3-0 this month and kept them on pace for the winningest calendar year in program history. #Facts This is the fifth time this century the Dutchmen have opened at least 3-0 in January. The Dutchmen are looking to open 4-0 in January for the first time since 2019, when they went 7-0 and the CAA just went ahead and gave them the automatic bid because there was no reason to play the rest of the season.
NO LONGER A ONE POSSESSION OBSESSION
The greatest active streak in the CAA ended 3:50 into the first half Wednesday, when Monmouth went ahead 8-4. YOU’RE WELCOME, CHARLESTON! That ended the Dutchmen’s streak of never trailing by more than one possession at five games, three minutes and 50 seconds (I’m good at the math when I want to be) The Dutchmen trailed for just 106 seconds (that’s 1:43, kids) over the previous five games, a span in which they only managed to go 4-1.
Old Westbury led 2-0 for 15 seconds in the Dutchmen’s 96-48 win on Dec. 22 before the Dutchmen led wire-to-wire in an 87-73 win over Delaware on Dec. 29. North Carolina A&T led by one point twice for a total of 48 seconds early in the first half Dec. 31 before breaking a tie at the buzzer of the Aggies’ 81-79 win. The Dutchmen led Hampton wire-to-wire in a 67-51 win on Jan. 5 before twice trailing William & Mary by two points in a 75-62 win last Saturday.
If my research is correct, this is the longest stretch the Dutchmen have gone without trailing by more than one possession since at least the start of the 2005-06 season, which is as far back as the play-by-play logs go at the Hofstra athletics site.
A BETTER FIRST IMPRESSION
With the win Wednesday night over new CAA member Monmouth, the Dutchmen are now — depending on how you count Northeastern’s CAA debut — either 10-11 or 10-12 in their first game against a new league foe in the Defiantly Dutch era (1993-present).
The Dutchmen fell to all three of their one-year-only East Coast Conference foes — Troy State, Chicago State and Northeastern Illinois — in 1993-94. I very likely came up with this stat just to mention the ECC. The Dutchmen were 2-4 in their first games new North Atlantic Conference opponents in 1994-95, with wins over Maine and Boston University and losses to New Hampshire, Northeastern, Vermont and Hartford.
The Dutchmen are now 8-4 in their first games against new league foes in the CAA. The Dutchmen went 3-3 in their first games against the CAA’s old guard in 2001-02 — with wins over Old Dominion, VCU and William & Mary and losses to UNC Wilmington, James Madison and George Mason — before earning wins over new CAA programs Georgia State in 2005-06, Charleston in 2013-14 and Elon in 2014-15. That winning streak, of course, ended with the last-second loss to North Carolina A&T on Dec. 31. The Dutchmen then beat Hampton on Jan. 5 before defeating Monmouth.
THE DEFENSE DIDN’T REST
The Dutchmen improved to 4-0 this season when allowing fewer than 60 points and have won 36 straight games when surrendering fewer than 60 points. The Dutchmen last lost when giving up fewer than 60 points on Feb. 10, 2014, when they fell to James Madison, 59-53.
TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
There was a period of time Friday afternoon where I thought this was gonna be my white whale of stats. The Dutchmen had two players share the team lead in scoring for the second straight game Wednesday, when Tyler Thomas and Warren Williams had 18 points apiece. Thomas and Aaron Estrada led the way with 20 points each in last Saturday’s 75-62 win over William & Mary. This is the first time the team lead in scoring has been shared in back-to-back games since way back on Jan. 21-24, 2004 — almost exactly 19 years ago — when Loren Stokes and Wendell Gibson had 18 points apiece in a 69-66 win over James Madison before Gibson and Kenny Adeleke finished with 20 points each in a 98-71 win over William & Mary. That was 576 games ago! And remarkably, it was the second tine that season the Dutchmen had co-leading scorers in consecutive games. Adeleke and Carlos Rivera had 20 points each in an 81-64 win over St. John’s (this is why they duck Hofstra) on Dec. 2, 2003 before Stokes and Adeleke had 12 points apiece in a 58-55 win over Columbia on Dec. 6, 2003. Now THAT’S quirky!
WINNING WARREN WILLIAMS (part one)
Warren Williams had perhaps his best game with the Dutchmen on Wednesday night, when he finished with 18 points and seven rebounds while adding two blocks. The 18 points were a season-high for Williams and his most since Mar, 5, 2021, when he scored 20 points for Manhattan in an 85-67 loss to Fairfield.
WINNING WARREN WILLIAMS (part two)
Warren Williams scored his 18 points while going 6-of-7 from the field. The six field goals tied a season-high, set when he also went 6-of-7 against Massachusetts on Dec. 11, and marked the third straight game in which he missed one field goal attempt or fewer. Williams is 15-of-17 from the field the last three games with a 5-of-5 effort against Hampton no Jan. 5 followed by a 4-of-5 performance against William & Mary last Saturday.
CENTER OF ATTENTION
In tying Tyler Thomas #Alliteration for the team lead in scoring with 18 points apiece, Warren Williams became the first center to have at least a share of the team lead in scoring since Jan. 31, 2021, when Isaac Kante scored 21 points in an 89-83 win over UNC Wilmington.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
With his 18-point effort Wednesday night, Tyler Thomas extended his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to seven straight games. That’s the longest such streak for Thomas since he scored in double figures in 11 straight games for Sacred Heart from Nov. 30, 2021-Jan. 17, 2022.
ESTRADA’S DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK
Aaron Estrada played the unusual role of secondary scorer Wednesday night, when he finished with 12 points. While the 12 points were Estrada’s fewest since he scored a season-low seven points in a 65-53 win over UNC Greensboro on Nov, 26, he still (obviously) extended his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to eight games. Estrada, who has missed three games during his current streak, has scored in double figures in 14 of 15 games this season and in 41 of 47 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.
SHARP-SHOOTING CARLOS
Jaquan Carlos snapped a lengthy shooting slump Wednesday, when he scored 12 points while going 4-of-5 from 3-point land. The 12 points were the most for Carlos in CAA play and his most since he finished with a season-high 14 points against Quinnipiac in a 72-70 win on Nov. 27. The four 3-pointers also matched the number of 3-pointers Carlos hit in the previous six games combined, a stretch in which he was 4-of-21 from beyond the arc.
MARSHALL’S RETURN?
Redshirt freshman Amar’e Marshall, who fell out of the rotation after a fast start in non-conference play, scored six points in 13 minutes Wednesday. The points and minutes were both the most for Marshall since CAA play began. He entered Wednesday with six points in just 17 minutes over the first five league games. In addition, the six points were the most Marshall has scored against a Division I opponent since he led the Dutchmen with 24 points in an 85-66 loss to no. 5 Purdue on Dec. 7. Marshall had 15 points against Division III Old Westbury on Dec. 22.
THE STREAK IS OVER!
Warren Williams’ two free throws with 3:35 left in the first half Wednesday were the first free throw attempts for the Dutchmen since Aaron Estrada sank a pair of free throws with 4:40 left in the first half of last Saturday’s game against William & Mary. I’m going to safely assume the 41 minutes and five seconds — a whole game plus 65 seconds! — the Dutchmen went without a free throw attempt is a record.
THE STREAK CONTINUES! (sorta)
Tyler Thomas went 2-for-2 from the free throw line Wednesday, which was notable because the free throws were his first since he was 2-for-2 against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 26. Yet his six-week stretch spanning just four free throws isn’t the longest a Dutchman player has gone without a miss at the charity stripe. Bryce Washington hasn’t attempted a free throw since draining his only two attempts of the season against Saint Mary’s on Nov. 19.
SOME REST FOR THE WEARY
Aaron Estrada, who is averaging 38.1 minutes per game this season, sat for the final 2:53 Wednesday. It was the longest Estrada’s sat at the end of a game since he rested the final 3:29 of a 76-48 loss to Saint Mary’s on Nov. 19.
CALLING UP THE RESERVES
The final two starters on the floor, Tyler Thomas and Jaquan Carlos, exited along with Warren Williams with 1:19 left Wednesday. The trio was replaced by Bryce Washington, Christian Tomasco and Griffin Barrouk, who joined German Plotnikov and Amar’e Marshall in closing out the game. The action was the first for Tomasco since Nov. 19 against Saint Mary’s while Barrouk and Washington appeared in their second and third CAA games, respectively.
OVER THE AIR
This afternoon'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 DELAWARE
The defending CAA champion Blue Hens, under seventh-year head coach Martin Inglesby, are 10-7 this season and 2-2 in CAA play following a 72-59 win over Towson on Thursday.
The Dutchmen and Blue Hens had one common opponent in non-conference play. Both teams beat Princeton, with the Dutchmen earning an 83-77 win in the season opener Nov. 7 and the Blue Hens knocking off the Tigers, 76-69, on Dec. 16. You know what else ended in a 76-69 final? The 2000 America East title game!
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish second in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 120th at KenPom.com. The Blue Hens, who were picked to finish third, are ranked 203rd.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in offensive efficiency (108.7 points per 100 possessions) and fifth in defensive efficiency (104.2 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 67.9 possessions per 40 minutes, the sixth-most in the league. The Blue Hens rank fifth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (103.8 points per 100 possessions) and seventh in defensive efficiency (106.3 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 67.1 possessions per 40 minutes, the eighth-most in the league.
Junior guard Jameer Nelson Jr., who was named to the preseason all-CAA first team, leads the Blue Hens with 19.7 points per game, ranks second in assists (3.1 assists per game) and third in rebounding (5.1 rebounds per game) but has missed the last two games with a knee injury. Sophomore forward Jyare Davis ranks second on the Blue Hens in scoring (16.6 points per game) and rebounding (5.2 rebounds) while leading the team with 3.4 assists per game. Graduate student guard L.J. Owens, who opened his career at William & Mary before spending three seasons at UMBC, is averaging 10.6 points per game. Senior guard Christian Ray, a transfer from La Salle, is averaging 9.4 points per game and leads the Blue Hens with 9.5 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 77-69 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 7 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 7-8-2 against the spread this season after pushing as a 20-point favorite Wednesday night.
ALL-TIME VS. DELAWARE
Hofstra is 66-34 against Delaware in a series that began during the 1954-55 season. The Dutchmen won the first meeting this season in New-ARK on Dec. 29, when Aaron Estrada scored 31 points to spark a wire-to-wire 87-73 victory. The Dutchmen are aiming for their second straight regular season sweep of Delaware.
The Blue Hens are Hofstra’s most common foe. The Dutchmen and Delaware were rivals in the East Coast Conference and the North Atlantic Conference/America East before heading to the CAA, along with Drexel and Towson, for the 2001-02 season.
HELLO OLD FRIENDS WE MEET AGAIN
Not only is Delaware the most common historical foe for the Dutchmen, today marks the fastest Hofstra’s completed a season series against a CAA foe opponent in a non-pandemic campaign since the 2015-15 season, when the Dutchmen played UNC Wilmington twice in the first six games.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Tommy Herr bias! (Long before he became the first player in the expansion era to finish with at least 100 RBIs and fewer than 10 homers, Herr played baseball at Delaware)
Johnny Weir bias! (The Olympic figure skater attended Delaware before dropping out to pursue the Olympics)
Formerly blue law bias! (Delaware banned alcohol sales on Sundays until 2003, which must have made it really difficult for people to travel three minutes to buy booze in Maryland or New Jersey)
MBNA bias! (The bank was founded in Delaware before being swallowed up by Bank of America)
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