This will be an autobiography for me or Dave at the end of tonight.
Hello darkness our old friend. The Flying Dutchmen’s first loss in 48 days was enough to end their NCAA Tournament hopes last Monday night, when UNC Wilmington (who else?) came back from 12-point deficit (what else?) and beat the Dutchmen 79-73 in overtime (when else?) of the CAA semifinals. Well, at least it wasn’t the championship game. But as the CAA regular season champions, there’s at least one more game to play for the Dutchmen, who are slated to head to Rutgers for a first-round NIT game tonight. The NIT selection committee giving Hofstra a rough draw? In this economy? Here’s a look back at the loss to the Seahawks and a look ahead to the Scarlet Knights.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen started hot but ended in agonizingly ice-cold fashion as they authored the latest chapter in the Stephen King-esque tale that is Hofstra against UNC Wilmington in the CAA Tournament. Aaron Estrada scored 10 points in a game-opening 28-16 run for the Dutchmen, who still led 38-28 with six minutes left in the first half before the Seahawks ended the half on a 14-5 run. The Dutchmen twice trailed by seven points in the second half, when they held a pair of short-lived leads and went 0-for-6 with two turnovers after Estrada hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 68-68 with 4:48 left. Tyler Thomas forced overtime by hitting three free throws with 19 seconds left, but Trazarien White opened the extra session with a free throw to give UNC Wilmington a lead it would never relinquish. The Dutchmen turned the ball over twice and went 0-for-4 from the field in overtime, when the most what-if miss was hoisted by Jaquan Carlos, whose potential game-tying 3-pointer seemed all the way down before rimming out with 18 seconds remaining. The Seahawks iced the win by going 3-of-4 from the line. Estrada had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds, though he was 9-of-20 from the field with six turnovers. Carlos finished with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting — including 3-of-6 from 3-point land — and added a team-high eight rebounds. Thomas added 14 points and six rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. UNC Wilmington, 3/6)
3: Jaquan Carlos
2: Aaron Estrada
1: Tyler Thomas
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 59
Tyler Thomas 49
Darlinstone Dubar 30
Jaquan Carlos 28
Warren Williams 14
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom 7
Amar’e Marshall 6
German Plotnikov 3
Bryce Washington 1
Griffin Barrouk 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER THIRTY-THREE GAMES
With last Monday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 24-9. This ties the 2022-23 team for the fourth-best record in school history through 33 games. All five teams to open 24-9 or better either made the NCAA Tournament or NIT or qualified for the NCAA before, well, you know. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 33 games:
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 25-8 (only 25-8 start, beat Delaware in the CAA semifinals)
The 1975-76 team, Hofstra’s first to reach the NCAA Tournament, completed its season in 30 games (18-12), as did the 1976-77 team (23-7). The 1999-2000 NCAA Tournament team completed its season in 31 games (24-7), as did the 2000-01 team (26-5).
All four Hofstra teams to reach the NCAA Tournament at the Division II level completed their seasons in 30 games or fewer. The 1958-59 team finished 20-7 while the 1961-62 team ended up 24-4, the 1962-63 team finished 23-7 and the 1963-64 team went 23-6.
NIT TEAMS
2005-06: 26-7 (season ended with a loss to Old Dominion in the quarterfinals of the NIT)
2015-16: 24-9 (lost to UNC Wilmington — in overtime, natch — in the CAA championship game)
2018-19: 27-6 (only 27-6 start, beat Delaware in the CAA semifinals)
The 2004-05 NIT team completed its season at 21-9 while the 1998-99 and 2006-07 teams both finished at 22-10 following first-round NIT losses.
Some other notable 33-game records — in fact, all of them!
2014-15: 20-13 (lost to William & Mary in double overtime in the CAA semifinals, well, that was more painful than last Monday night, at least)
2013-14: 10-23 (season ended with loss to Delaware in CAA quarterfinals)
2010-11: 21-12 (season ended with loss to Evansville in the blasted CBI)
2009-10: 19-14 (lost to Northeastern in double overtime in the CAA semifinals, hmm, I’m starting to see a pattern here)
Hofstra has never been 33-0, 32-1, 31-2, 30-3, 29-4, 28-5, 23-10, 22-11, 18-15, 17-16, 16-17, 15-18, 14-19, 12-21, 11-22, 9-24, 8-25, 7-26, 6-27, 5-28, 4-29, 3-30, 2-31, 1-32 or 0-33 through 33 games.
Seventy-eight seasons were completed in fewer than 33 games:
1936-37 (7-10)
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)
1946-47 (18-6)
1947-48 (13-6)
1948-49 (18-8)
1949-50 (17-9)
1950-51 (18-11)
1951-52 (26-3)
1952-53 (20-7)
1953-54 (15-9)
1954-55 (19-7)
1955-56 (22-4)
1956-57 (11-15)
1957-58 (15-8)
1958-59 (20-7)
1959-60 (23-1)
1960-61 (21-4)
1961-62 (24-4)
1962-63 (23-7)
1963-64 (23-6)
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)
1975-76 (18-12)
1976-77 (23-7)
1977-78 (8-19)
1978-79 (8-19)
1979-80 (14-14)
1980-81 (12-15)
1981-82 (12-16)
1982-83 (18-9)
1983-84 (14-14)
1984-85 (14-15)
1985-86 (17-13)
1986-87 (10-18)
1987-88 (6-21)
1988-89 (14-15)
1989-90 (13-15)
1990-91 (14-14)
1991-92 (20-9)
1992-93 (9-18)
1993-94 (9-20)
1994-95 (10-18)
1995-96 (9-18)
1996-97 (12-15)
1997-98 (19-12)
1998-99 (22-10)
1999-2000 (24-7)
2000-01 (26-5)
2001-02 (12-20)
2002-03 (8-21)
2003-04 (14-15)
2004-05 (21-9)
2006-07 (22-10)
2007-08 (12-18)
2008-09 (21-11)
2011-12 (10-22)
2012-13 (7-25)
2016-17 (15-17)
2017-18 (19-12)
2020-21 (13-10)
2021-22 (21-11)
(Well) more than half the previous Hofstra seasons were completed by this point.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1949-50, 1951-52.
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 SIXTY-FIVE
With last Monday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 45-20 (.692) as head coach. That’s the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 65 games at the helm. These last 12 games mark the highest Claxton has been in the all-time game-to-game standings since he became head coach last season.
Paul Lynner 49-16 (.754, 65th game was the sixth game of his third season in 1963-64)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 45-20 (.692, 65th game was the 33rd game of his second season in 2022-23)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 42-23 (.646, 65th game was the 13th game of his third season in 1957-58)
Dick Berg 32-33 (.492, 65th game was the 10th game of his third season in 1982-83)
Mo Cassara 31-34 (.477, 65th game was the 32nd and final game of his second season in 2011-12)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 30-35 (.462, 65th game was the eighth game of his third season in 1990-91)
Joe Mihalich 30-35 (.462, 65th game was the 32nd game of his second season in 2014-15)
Jay Wright 22-43 (.338, 65th game was the 10th game of his third season in 1996-97)
Roger Gaeckler 22-43 (.338, 65th game was the 17th game of his third season in 1974-75)
Tom Pecora 21-44 (.323, 65th game was the fourth game of his third season in 2003-04)
Dick Berg breaks a tie with Mo Cassara for fourth place while Butch van Breda Kolff and Joe Mihalich remain tied for sixth place. Jay Wright remains tied for eighth place with Roger Gaeckler after he loses for the SEVENTH STRAIGHT TIME with a freshman point guard named Speedy Claxton. Seriously, one more loss and everyone should probably cut bait. And Tom Pecora remains in sole possession of last place. Probably won’t work out for him, either.
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 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.
THE ONE, BUT NOT THE LAST ONE
The Dutchmen fell short of the championship game as the top seed in their conference tournament for the first time in seven tries. Prior to this season, the Dutchmen won the America East title game in 2000 and 2001 and the CAA championship game in 2020 (and then what happened) and lost to Towson State in the 1992 ECC title game and fell to UNC Wilmington in the 2016 CAA championship game before losing to Northeastern in the 2019 CAA championship game.
In addition, the Dutchmen are the third straight no. 1 seed to fall before the championship game. James Madison was upset by eighth-seeded Elon in the 2021 quarterfinals while Towson fell to fifth-seeded Delaware in the 2022 semifinals. The no. 1 seed was eliminated prior to the championship game just three times in the 21 seasons between 2000 and 2020 and just six times in the CAA’s first 38 seasons.
LET’S NOT GET TO THE WORKIN’ OVERTIME PART
Did last Monday feel familiar? It should have! The Dutchmen fell in overtime in the CAA Tournament for the fourth time, which is twice more than anyone else (VCU, UNC Wilmington, James Madison and American have all lost in overtime in the CAA Tournament twice) even though Hofstra didn’t join the CAA until the 2001-02 season. Hooray for us! In addition, all four overtime losses have happened since 2010, a span in which the rest of the CAA has combined for just five overtime losses in the CAA tournament. That’s just great!
DOUBLE DIGITS NOT ENOUGH (part one)
The Dutchmen squandered a double-digit lead for the fourth time this season and the seventh time since Speedy Claxton became head coach last season. The Dutchmen led George Mason by 11 points in the first half of an 81-77 overtime loss on Nov. 30, led North Carolina A&T by 13 points in the second half of an 81-79 loss on Dec. 31 and led Towson by 10 points in the first half of a 68-47 loss to Towson on Jan. 16.
DOUBLE DIGITS NOT ENOUGH (part two)
The Dutchmen squandered a double-digit lead and lost a CAA Tournament game for the sixth time.
2023: Led UNC Wilmington by 12 pts in 1H of semis, lost 79-73 (OT)
2018: Led UNC Wilmington by 12 pts in 1H of quarters, lost 93-88
2017: Led Delaware by 10 pts in 1H of first round, lost 81-76
2016: Led UNC Wilmington by 12 pts in 2H of championship game, lost 80-73 (OT)
2009: Led Old Dominion by 11 pts in 1H of quarters, lost 52-51
2005: Led Old Dominion by 10 pts in 2H of semis, lost 72-58
Let’s never lead UNC Wilmington by exactly 12 points ever again.
IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED
The loss to UNC Wilmington snapped the Dutchmen’s 12-game winning streak. It was the fourth-longest active streak in Division I as well as the sixth winning streak of at least 12 games in school history and the longest since the 2018-19 team won 16 straight.
HARDWARE FOR ESTRADA
Aaron Estrada was named to the CAA all-tournament team after collecting 47 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists in the Dutchmen’s two games. Estrada was joined on the team by Towson’s Nicolas Timberlake, whose squad also fell in the semifinals, as well as Donovan Newby and Trazarien White from UNC Wilmington and Ante Brzovic and Ryan Larson from Charleston, which won the CAA title by edging UNC Wilmington 63-58 last Tuesday night. I’m not sure why they kept playing the tournament, either. Larson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
ESTRADA’S DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK
Aaron Estrada scored 25 points last Monday to extend his streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 22 games. Estrada, who has missed four games during his current streak, has scored in double figures in 28 of 29 games this season and in 55 of 61 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.
THE 25/5/5 CLUB
Aaron Estrada finished with 25 points, five rebounds and six assists last Monday. It was his third game this season with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists and the seventh of his career. The three 25/5/5 games are the most in a single season by a Hofstra player since Justin Wright-Foreman had three in 2018-19, while the seven 25/5/5 games are the most by a Hofstra player in his career since Wright-Foreman finished with eight such games.
ESTRADA MOVIN’ ON UP
Aaron Estrada surged past three recent Dutchmen — Rokas Gustys and the duo of Brian Bernardi and Juan’ya Green — and moved into 26th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list last Monday. Estrada enters tonight 33 points shy of moving past fellow Saint Peter’s transfer Demetrius Dudley as well as John Mills, who are tied for 24th place, and 38 points away from surpassing Carlos Rivera.
22.) Roberto Gittens 1,240
23.) Carlos Rivera 1,225
24t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220
24t.) John Mills 1,220
26.) AARON ESTRADA 1,188
27t.) Brian Bernardi 1,186
27t.) Juan’ya Green 1,186
29.) Rokas Gustys 1,184
30.) Ted Jackson 1,159
31.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139
32.) Wandy Williams 1,132
33.) Mike Moore 1,128
34.) Richie Swartz 1,107
35.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090
36.) Derrick Flowers 1,069
37.) Darius Burton 1,060
38.) Percy Johnson 1,045
39.) James Shaffer 1,022
40.) John Irving 1,018
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Tyler Thomas’ strong season continued last Monday night, when he finished with 19 points. He’s scored in double figures in 13 straight games as well as 19 times in 20 CAA games and 27 times in 33 games overall.
CARLOS STAYS HOT
Jaquan Carlos, who snapped a lengthy 3-point shooting drought in the 94-46 win over William & Mary in the CAA quarterfinals, finished 3-of-6 from beyond the arc last Monday for the second straight game. Carlos entered the CAA Tournament having shot just 6-of-26 (23 percent) from 3-point land in the previous 11 games. In addition, the six 3-pointers in a two-game span ties a career-high for Carlos, who went 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in a 77-57 win over Monmouth on Jan. 11 and finished 2-of-3 from 3-point land in an 86-62 win over Delaware on Jan. 14.
CARLOS ON THE REBOUND
Jaquan Carlos led the Dutchmen with eight rebounds last Monday. It was the first time Carlos held at least a share of the team lead in rebounding since Feb. 16, when he had 10 rebounds in a 73-43 win over Hampton, and the sixth time he’s done so this season.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will be carried live on ESPNU, which is channel 217 in the Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords Universe. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
HOFSTRA IN THE POSTSEASON
This marks the Flying Dutchmen’s 14th appearance in a postseason tournament at the Division I level, their 11 appearance in a tournament we’ll gladly acknowledge and the program’s seventh trip to the NIT. The Dutchmen also appeared in the NIT in 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2016 and 2019.
The Dutchmen are 2-13 in postseason play at the Division I era, with the only wins recorded during the 2006 NIT, when they beat Nebraska 73-62 at the Arena and edged Saint Joseph’s 77-75 in overtime in Philadelphia.
LUCKY SEVENS?
The seven trips to the NIT since 1999 put Hofstra into some pretty select company. Only nine schools have made more appearances in the NIT in that span, with 12 other schools reaching the NIT seven times. Among mid-majors, only Dayton (nine trips), Toledo (nine trips) and, depending on how you define mid-major, BYU (eight trips) have made the NIT more frequently than the Dutchmen since 1999. Here is the full list of programs to make the NIT at least seven times since 1999:
Alabama 9
Colorado 9
Dayton 9
Toledo 9
BYU 8
Clemson 8
Mississippi 8
Mississippi State 8
Nebraska 8
HOFSTRA 7
Arizona State 7
Florida State 7
Georgetown 7
Illinois State 7
Miami (FL) 7
Minnesota 7
New Mexico 7
Saint Mary’s 7
Temple 7
Vanderbilt 7
Virginia 7
Virginia Tech 7
THE CAA IN THE NIT
The Dutchmen are the second CAA team in as many years to represent the league in the NIT. Towson, the regular season champion last season, fell to Wake Forest, 74-64, in a first-round game on Mar. 16. The last CAA team to record a win in the NIT was Drexel, which won its first two games in 2012 before losing to Massachusetts and Chaz Williams (of course) in the quarterfinals. The only CAA team to reach the NIT final four (which will be played this season in Las Vegas instead of Madison Square Garden, because tradition is for losers) is Old Dominion in 2006, which got there by beating the Dutchmen (of course) in the quarterfinals. The CAA is 17-38 all-time in the CAA.
THE CAA IN NCAA-SANCTIONED TOURNAMENTS
While we’ll all be rooting for Charleston to mount an NCAA Tournament run beginning Thursday against San Diego State (wow, mid-on-mid crime, who saw that coming besides EVERYONE), the Dutchmen will be the first team to get a chance at breaking the CAA’s lengthy drought in the NCAA and NIT. CAA schools have lost their last 14 games in the NCAA Tournament or NIT dating back to James Madison’s 68-55 win over Long Island University in a “first four” game on Mar. 20, 2013. That’s the second-longest streak for a league behind the Big Sky, which has lost 18 straight NCAA Tournament or NIT games dating back to Montana’s 87-79 win over Nevada on Mar. 16, 2006, and by far the longest streak in CAA history.
(Here is where we’ll point out UNC Wilmington won the CBI last season. We’re very happy for them, but the CBI remains nightmare fuel for us)
SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights, under seventh-year head coach Steve Pikiell, earned an NIT bid after going 19-14 overall and 10-10 in the Big 10 (which would be a neat numeric feat, except the Big 10 has 14 teams). Rutgers last played last Friday, when the Scarlet Knights fell to Purdue 70-65 in the Big 10 quarterfinals.
Speaking of Purdue, the Boilermakers were the one common foe this season for the Dutchmen and Rutgers. The Dutchmen, playing without an injured Aaron Estrada, fell to Purdue 85-66 on Dec. 7. The Scarlet Knights split with Purdue, knocking off the then-no. 1 Boilermakers 65-64 win in Indiana on Jan. 2 before losing in the aforementioned Big 10 tournament.
The Dutchmen are ranked 90th at KenPom.com while the Scarlet Knights are ranked 35th. Per KenPom.com, Rutgers is the highest-ranked team left out of the NCAA Tournament.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank 87th in the nation in offensive efficiency (110.3 points per 100 possessions) and 103rd in defensive efficiency (101.9 points allowed per 100 possessions). Rutgers ranks 159th in the nation in offensive efficiency (105.8 points per 100 possessions) but fifth in defensive efficiency (90.1 points allowed per 100 possessions).
Junior center Clifford Omoruyi leads Rutgers in both scoring (13.2 points per game) and rebounding (9.7 rebounds per game). Cam Spencer ranks second on the Scarlet Knights in both scoring (12.9 points per game) and assists (3.0 assists per game). Caleb McConnell ranks second in rebounding at 5.5 rebounds per game while Paul Mulcahy is averaging a team-high 4.9 assists per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 72-64 win for the Scarlet Knights. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 7 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 19-11-2 against the spread this season.
I previewed the game for the Field Level Media wire services. Check it out here!
RUTGERS IN THE NIT
The Scarlet Knights are in the NIT for the 15th time and the first time since 2006, when they beat Penn State and fell to Saint Joseph’s, which then lost to…Hofstra! Rutgers reached the NIT title game in 2004 and lost to Michigan. The Scarlet Knights are 16-13 all-time in the NIT.
A RUTGERS REUNION
Hofstra made its NIT debut against Rutgers on Mar. 10, 1999, when the Scarlet Knights beat the Speedy Claxton-less Flying Dutchmen — who really were the Flying Dutchmen back then! — 58-45. Jason Hernandez had 15 points while Roberto Gittens (13 points, nine rebounds) flirted with a double-double as Claxton watched from the bench due to a quad injury he suffered in the America East tournament.
Claxton said Monday that Hofstra — eager to participate in the NIT for the first time — didn’t exactly tell the selection committee that he was banged up.
“I kind of went thru (practice) and I’m there hobbling around like this,” Claxton said as he mimed a limp. “There’s no way in hell that I’m gonna play. But they kind of had to keep that under wraps. If the NIT committee knew that I wasn’t playing, we wouldn’t have gotten in.
“It’s just something that happened. I wish I would have gotten a chance to play.”
ALL-TIME VS. RUTGERS AND THE BIG 10
The Dutchmen are 3-3 all-time against Rutgers. The teams last played each other on Nov. 29, 2020, when the Dutchmen dropped their season opener in the pandemic year by falling to the Scarlet Knights, 70-56, in New Jersey.
The Dutchmen are 4-13 all-time against current Big 10 foes, though none of those wins was recorded against a team actually in the Big 10 at the time. All three of the Dutchmen’s wins against Rutgers came before Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014. The Dutchmen beat Nebraska, which will always be a Big 8/Big 12 school to me, in the opening round of the NIT in 2006.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Double Ally McBeal bias! (Both Calista Flockhart and Jane Krakowski — the titular character and Elaine Vassel, respectively — graduated from Rutgers in 1988)
Scott Patterson bias! (The actor who portrayed Luke on Molly’s favorite show “Gilmore Girls” — they outgrow “Paw Patrol” and “Bubble Guppies” so fast, sniff — graduated from Rutgers)
Ray Lucas bias! (The former Jets quarterback graduated from Rutgers)
Dave White bias! (Our favorite mystery author and Indiana Jones fan graduated from — you guessed it — Rutgers)
Quincy Douby was ours first bias! (An oldie but goodie from the pre-transfer portal days)
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