Here's hoping Bob is making fun of Cecil again after tonight's game!
The Flying Dutchmen took care of business Monday morning and early afternoon, when they rolled to a 101-48 win over Division III St. Joseph’s in the season opener. Things will tip off in earnest tonight, when the Dutchmen face Princeton, the 2023 NCAA Tournament Cinderella and fellow vanquisher of Rutgers (LOL). Here’s a look back at the win over the Golden Eagles and a look ahead to the Tigers.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen spotted St. Joseph’s a pair of early leads before gradually pulling away and posting the most lopsided season-opening win in program history. The Dutchmen ended the first half on a 29-7 run to take a 44-19 lead and then scored the first 14 points of the second half to start a 30-2 (!!!) run. That’s a 59-9 run over 19-plus minutes. Tyler Thomas picked up where he left off last year by scoring 26 points and going 8-of-13 from 3-point land in just 19 minutes. Darlinstone Dubar had 17 points while Jaquan Carlos (10 points and eight assists) and German Plotnikov (10 points and eight rebounds) each flirted with double-doubles. Freshman KiJan Robinson scored 11 points in his collegiate debut.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. St. Joseph’s, 11/6)
3: Tyler Thomas
2: Jaquan Carlos
1: Darlinstone Dubar
SEASON STANDINGS (duh)
Tyler Thomas 3
Jaquan Carlos 2
Darlinstone Dubar 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! But it was a lot closer to being a repeat than you’d probably expect. The Dutchmen came within one point on both ends of matching previous winning scores. The Dutchmen beat Southampton 102-53 on Dec. 2, 1978 and defeated John Jay 102-51 on Dec. 12, 2021.
The Dutchmen recorded 12 unicorn score victories last season after recording 11 unicorn score victories in 2021-22, 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.
WHO HAD THE KEITH HERNANDEZ?
Darlinstone Dubar, the second-most prolific Keith Hernandez collector last season, posted the first Keith Hernandez of this season by hitting a layup to give the Dutchmen the lead for good at 9-8 with 14:30 left in the first half.
SEASON STANDINGS (duh)
Darlinstone Dubar 1
ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since last season)
Tyler Thomas 10
Darlinstone Dubar 6
Aaron Estrada 4
Warren Williams 3
German Plotnikov 2
Jaquan Carlos 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ONE GAME
As you may have gathered by now, the Dutchmen are 1-0. This ties the 2023-24 team for the best record in school history through one game! Fifty other teams began 1-0, most recently last year’s squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through one game:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 1-0
1976-77: 1-0
1999-2000: 0-1
2000-01: 0-1
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 0-1
NIT TEAMS
2005-06: 1-0
2006-07: 0-1
2015-16: 1-0
2018-19: 1-0
2022-23: 1-0
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 0-1
1961-62: 1-0
1962-63: 1-0
1963-64: 1-0
Some other notable, uhh, one-game starts:
2021-22: Speedy Claxton loses his debut
2020-21: Mike Farrelly loses his debut
2013-14: Joe Mihalich loses his debut
2010-11: Mo Cassara wins his debut
2001-02: Tom Pecora wins his debut
1994-95: Jay Wright loses his debut, retires in shame
1988-89: Butch van Breda Kolff wins his re-debut
1980-81: Dick Berg wins his debut
1979-80: Joe Harrington loses his debut
1972-73: Roger Gaeckler loses his debut
1962-63: Paul Lynner wins his debut
1955-56: Butch van Breda Kolff wins his debut
1947-48: Frank Reilly wins his debut
1946-47: Jack McDonald wins his re-debut
1943-44: Jack Smith loses his debut
1936-37: Jack McDonald loses his debut in Hofstra’s first game
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 SIXTY-EIGHT
With Monday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 47-21 (.691) as head coach. That’s the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 68 games at the helm. The last 15 games mark the highest Claxton has been in the all-time game-to-game standings since he became head coach in 2021-22.
Paul Lynner 52-16 (.765, 68th game was the ninth game of his third season in 1963-64)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 47-21 (.691, 68th game was the first game of his third season in 2023-24)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 44-24 (.647, 68th game was the 16th game of his third season in 1957-58)
Dick Berg 34-34 (.500, 68th game was the 13th game of his third season in 1982-83)
Mo Cassara 32-36 (.471, 68th game was the third game of his third season in 2012-13)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 31-37 (.456, 68th game was the 11th game of his third season in 1990-91)
Joe Mihalich 31-37 (.456, 68th game was the first game of his third season in 2015-16)
Jay Wright 24-44 (.353, 68th game was the 13th game of his third season in 1996-97)
Roger Gaeckler 24-44 (.354, 68th game was the 20th game of his third season in 1974-75)
Tom Pecora 23-45 (.338, 68th game was the seventh game of his third season in 2003-04)
Seriously, get it together, Jay and Tom.
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.
FOR STARTERS
The Dutchmen won their second straight season opener following a three-game losing streak in season openers. The Dutchmen are now 50-38 all-time in season openers.
THE STREAK CONTINUES
The Dutchmen have won their last 24 games against non-Division I foes dating back to a 70-54 loss to Division II Florida Southern during the 1988-89 season.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
The Dutchmen scored at least 100 points Monday for the 39th time in program history and the first time a 102-51 win over John Jay on Dec. 11, 2021. Ten of the Dutchmen’s 100-point games have happened this century. In fact, all 10 of them have happened in the last 14 seasons. Hey! I smell a quirky stat brewing!
THE 100 CLUB
German Plotnikov put the Dutchmen over 100 points by dunking with under one second left Monday. He joins a select club of players to score the 100th point for the Dutchmen in a game this century. Look at some of these random names (and one name we won’t fully mention)!
102-62 win vs. Farmingdale State, 11/13/10: Roland Brown jumper w/2:13 left
103-100 2 OT win vs. Marshall, 11/18/12: S*** S***** free throw w/:07 left in the second OT
105-64 win vs. Coppin State, 12/10/14: Eliel Gonzalez free throw w/2:06 left
107-72 win vs. Molloy, 11/30/17: Matija Radovic 3-pointer w/3:06 left
107-54 win vs. Rosemont, 12/22/18: Connor Klementowicz layup w/6:47 left
102-61 win vs. Elon, 2/7/19: Kevin Schutte jumper w/:55 left
111-69 win vs. NYIT, 11/15/19: Kevin Schutte layup w/4:36 left
102-75 win vs. Elon, 1/4/20: Omar Silverio free throw w/2:16 left
102-51 win vs. John Jay, 12/21/21: Jaquan Carlos 3-pointer w/2:12 left
101-48 win vs. St. Joseph’s, 11/6/23: German Plotnikov dunk w/:0.7 left
A LOPSIDED WIN
All caveats apply about how the Dutchmen played a Division III team Monday. But the win was the most lopsided season-opening win in program history, supplanting the 95-53 win over Puerto Rico on Nov. 25, 1949. It was also tied for the most lopsided win recored by the Dutchmen in the Division I era, matching the 107-54 win over Division III Rosemont on Dec. 22, 2018, and tied for the sixth-largest margin of victory in program history.
65 (75-10 USMMA, 1955-56)
59 (73-14 Queens, 1937-38)
55 (77-22 Bloomfield, 1940-41)
54 (80-26 Webb, 1951-52)
54 (95-41 Hillyer, 1951-52)
53 (88-35 Queens, 1940-41)
53 (85-32 Mitchel Field, 1941-42)
53 (107-54 Rosemont, 12/22/18)
53 (101-48 St. Joseph’s, 11/6/23)
FAMILIAR FACES
Speedy Claxton’s third opening day lineup featured just one program newcomer — center Jacco Fritz. The 7-footer and actual Flying Dutchman was joined by graduate students Tyler Thomas and Bryce Washington along with senior Darlinstone Dubar and junior Jaquan Carlos. Claxton’s first lineup in 2021-22 featured four newcomers. Three newcomers took the floor for the opening tip in the 2022-23 opener.
1010101010 WINS
The Dutchmen had five players score in double figures on Monday for *checks math* the first time this season. Tyler Thomas scored 26 points, followed by Darlinstone Dubar (17 points), reserve KiJan Robinson (11 points), Jaquan Carlos (10 points) and reserve German Plotnikov (10 points). The Dutchmen are now 7-0 under Speedy Claxton when at least five players score in double figures.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Tyler Thomas didn’t miss a beat Monday, when he finished with a game-high 27 points. It was the 16th straight double-digit effort for Thomas, who has scored at least 10 points in 22 of his last 23 games and 30 times in 36 games overall since joining the Dutchmen last season. He has scored at least 20 points 13 times.
CRAZY EIGHTS (part one)
Tyler Thomas was 8-of-13 from 3-point land on Monday. The eight 3-pointers are a career-high for Thomas, who drained seven 3-pointers for Sacred Heart on Jan. 7, 2021 (against Merrimack) and Dec. 7, 2021 (against Rhode Island). If only Monday’s game was played on Tuesday! The eight 3-pointers also tied Thomas for the second-highest single-game total in school history behind Omar Silverio, who hit 11 3-pointers in his 40-point outburst against Elon on Feb. 15, 2022.
CRAZY EIGHTS (part two)
Tyler Thomas became the fifth player to hit at least eight 3-pointers in a game for Hofstra. All six occurrences — Omar Silverio did it twice — have happened over the last 257 games dating back to Nov. 13, 2015, when Brian Bernardi set a program record by draining eight 3-pointers against Canisius. Bernardi stood alone until Feb. 6, 2021, when Jalen Ray hit eight 3-pointers against Towson. Ray and Bernardi were joined just 12 games later by Silverio, who had eight 3-pointers against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 27, 2021. Silverio shattered the record 20 games later and Aaron Estrada became the fifth player to hit eight 3-pointers in a game a mere 26 games later on Jan. 26, 2023, when he sank eight treys against Elon.
Or, to put it another way after Thomas joined the club Monday: A player has hit at least eight 3-pointers in a game five times in the last 71 games after a player did so just once in the first 1,060 games of the 3-point era (1986-present).
CRAZY EIGHTS (part three)
Jaquan Carlos had a game-high eight assists on Monday. It was the eighth time Carlos has racked up at least eight assists in a game. All eight efforts have come in his last 24 games dating back to Dec. 22, 2022.
PLOTNIKOV’S POINTS
With his last-second dunk Monday, German Plotnikov finished with 10 points. It was Plotnikov’s first double-digit effort since he scored a career-high 14 points against Stony Brook on Feb. 4 and the fourth time he’s reached double figures in 36 games at Hofstra.
PUTTING ON THE FRITZ
Graduate senior Jacco Fritz made a Quirky bit of history Monday, when he had six assists. That not only establishes him as a worthy heir to Nelson Boachie-Yiadom as a distributing big man, it sets the Defiantly Dutch era record for assists by a center. Boachie-Yiadom had five assists in a 67-51 win 95 — as far back as Hofstra tracks single-game assists — that a center had as many as five assists.
SUNDAY LIKES MONDAY
Sophomore Silas Sunday, who spent his freshman season at Iona, set a career-high with eight points Monday, and matched a career-high with seven rebounds. This means Speedy Claxton is a better coach than Rick Pitino. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
FAST START
KiJan Robinson, a true freshman, scored 11 points in his collegiate debut Monday. He is the first true freshman to score in double figures in his debut since Jalen Ray had 10 points against Army-West Point on Nov. 10, 2017 (sheesh, how is that six years ago already). The 11 points are the most by a true Hofstra freshman in his debut since Eli Pemberton scored 20 points against Coppin State on Nov. 11. 2016. Pretty good company.
COMPLETING THE TRANSFER
Graduate student Jacco Fritz and sophomore Silas Sunday made their Hofstra debuts Monday, when Fritz had six rebounds and six assists while Sunday had eight points and seven rebounds. The two transfers are the fewest to debut in a season opener for Hofstra since 2020. Here are some notable debuts by transfers since 1991:
2022: German Plotnikov: 9 pts/3 rebs/2 steals/1 assist vs. Princeton
2022: Tyler Thomas: 6 pts/1 reb/1 assist vs. Princeton
2022: Bryce Washington: 3 pts/1 reb vs. Princeton
2022: Nelson Boachie-Yiadom: 2 pts/2 rebs vs. Princeton
2021: Zach Cooks: 26 pts/4 rebs/3 assists vs. Houston
2021: Aaron Estrada: 15 pts7 rebs/2 assists vs. Houston
2021: Darlinstone Dubar: 9 pts/7 rebs/2 steals vs. Houston
2021: Abayomi Iyiola: 6 pts/11 rebs vs. Houston
2021: Jarrod Simmons: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Houston
2020: Shawndarius Cowart: 2 pts/2 assists/2 steals vs. Rutgers**
2019: Isaac Kante: 8 pts/11 rebs vs. San Jose State
2018: Jacquil Taylor: 6 pts/10 rebs vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2018: Dan Dwyer: 3 pts/6 rebs/2 blks vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2018: Tareq Coburn: 2 pts/2 rebs vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2017: Joel Angus III: 13 pts/6 rebs vs. Army-West Point
2017: Kenny Wormley: 3 pts/2 rebs/4 assists vs. Kennesaw State
2016: Deron Powers: 12 pts/5 assists/4 rebs vs. Coppin State
2016: Hunter Sabety: 2 pts/5 rebs/1 blk vs. Coppin State
2015: Denton Koon: 14 pts/5 rebs/1 steal/1 blk vs. Canisius
2014: Juan’ya Green: 14 pts/9 assists/5 rebs vs. Jacksonville
2014: Ameen Tanksley: 16 pts/3 assists/2 assists/1 blk vs. Jacksonville
2014: Brian Bernardi: 22 pts/3 assists/2 rebs/1 steal vs. Jacksonville (6-8 3PT)
2014: Malik Nichols: 15 pts/3 assists/2 rbs/1 blk vs. Jacksonville**
2013: Zeke Upshaw: 22 pts/3 assists/3 rebs vs. Monmouth (2-8 3PT)
2013: Dion Nesmith: 10 pts/5 assists/2 rebs vs. Monmouth
2012: Taran Buie: 14 pts/2 assists/2 rbs vs. South Dakota State
2012: [name redacted]: 12 pts vs. Monmouth
2012: Daquan Brown: 2 pts/1 assist vs. Tulane
2011: Stevie Mejia: 7 pts/1 rb/4 assists/1 steal vs. Long Island
2011: Bryant Crowder: 13 pts/6 rbs/1 steal vs. Rhode Island**
2010: Mike Moore: 13 pts/4 rbs/4 assists vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Dwan McMillan: 15 pts/2 rbs/6 assists/1 steal vs. Farmingdale State**
2010: Brad Kelleher: 2 pts vs. Florida Atlantic**
2008: Tony Dennison: 5 pts/4 rbs/1 assist vs. Clemson**
2008: Cornelius Vines: 12 pts/3 rbs/3 steals vs. Clemson**
2008: Miklos Szabo: 4 pts/11 rbs/2 assists/1 steal vs. E. Tennessee State**
2007: Darren Townes: 5 pts/5 rbs/1 steal/1 blocked shot vs. Holy Cross**
2007: Dane Johnson: 3 pts/1 rb/3 blocked shots vs. Holy Cross**
2004: Kenny Harris: 3 pts/1 rb/1 assist/2 steals vs. Florida International**
2004: Adrian Uter: 0 pts/2 rbs/1 block vs. Florida International**
2000: Osei Miller: 2 pts/2 rbs vs. Northern Illinois
1999: Greg Springfield: 7 pts/5 rbs/10 blocked shots vs. New Mexico State***
1998: Jason Hernandez: 7 pts/ 2 rbs/1 assist/2 steals vs. Maryland
1998: Abdul Sylla 0 pts/3 rbs vs. Youngstown State
1997: Mike Renfro 6 pts/3 rbs/1 assist/1 steal vs. Bucknell**
1996: Lance Dunkley 2 pts/3 rbs/1 assist vs. Stony Brook**
1996: Duane Posey 8 pts/4 rbs/1 assist/2 blks vs. Stony Brook
1995: Seth Meyers 14 pts/5 rbs vs. Stony Brook
1995: Lawrence Thomas 20 pts/4 rbs/2 assists vs. Villanova
1994: Jamil Greene 1 pt/2 rbs/1 assist vs. New Hampshire**
1993: Chris Johnke 0 pts/5 rbs vs. Iona**
1991: Demetrius Dudley 33 pts/7 rbs vs. Navy
**--junior college transfer
***--10 blocked shots are a school record
THE FRESHMAN TWO
Freshmen KiJan Robinson (11 points) and Khalil Farmer (six points) combined for 17 points in their Hofstra debuts on Monday. This is the second straight season in which freshmen have combined to score 17 points in the season opener. Here are some notable debuts by Hofstra freshman since 1991:
2022: Amar’e Marshall: 15 pts/3 rebs/1 assist/1 steal/1 block vs. Princeton
2022: Christian Tomasco: 2 pts/1 reb/1 block vs. Princeton
2022: Griffin Barrouk: 0 pts/2 rebs vs. Princeton
2021: Jaquan Carlos: 0 pts/2 rebs vs. Duquesne (game no. 2)
2020: Kvonn Cramer: 8 pts/4 rebs/3 steals vs. Rutgers
2020: David Green: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Rutgers
2020: Vukasin Masic: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Rutgers
2019: Caleb Burgess: 0 pts vs. San Jose State
2019: Jermaine Miranda: 0 pts/2 rebs vs. San Jose State
2018: Kevin Schutte: 0 pts vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2017: Jalen Ray: 10 pts/2 assists vs. Army-West Point
2017: Matija Radovic: 5 pts/5 rebs vs. Army-West Point
2017: Stafford Trueheart: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Kennesaw State
2016: Eli Pemberton: 20 pts/4 rebs/1 steal vs. Coppin State
2015: Justin Wright-Foreman: 0 pts/1 reb vs. Canisius
2015: Desure Buie: 2 pts/2 assists/1 steal vs. Canisius
2014: Rokas Gustys: 4 pts/10 rebs vs. Jacksonville
2014: Andre Walker: 4 pts/11 rebs/6 blks vs. Jacksonville
2013: Chris Jenkins: 17 pts/2 rebs/1 blk/1 steal vs. Monmouth
2013: Jamall Robinson: 8 pts/4 rebs/2 assists vs. Monmouth
2012: Jordan Allen: 2 pts/1 reb vs. Monmouth
2011: Moussa Kone: 6 pts/2 rebs/1 steal vs. Long Island U.
2010: Shemiye McLendon: 16 pts/4 rbs/2 assists vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Stephen Nwaukoni: 8 rebs vs. Farmingdale State
2010: Roland Brown: 4 pts/5 rebs/1 steal/1 blk vs. Farmingdale State
2009: Chaz Williams: 7 pts/6 assists/5 rebs/37 mins vs. Kansas
2009: Halil Kanacevic: 12 pts/12 rebs/3 blks 31 mins vs. Kansas
2007: Charles Jenkins: 5 pts/9 rebs/1 assist/1 steal vs. Holy Cross
2007: Nathaniel Lester: 2 rebs vs. Holy Cross
2007: Greg Washington: 2 rebs/2 blks/1 assist/1 steal vs. Holy Cross
2005: Arminas Urbutis: 6 pts vs. Florida International
2005: Greg Johnson: 12 pts vs. Florida International
2004: Antoine Agudio: 20 pts vs. Florida International
2003: Loren Stokes: 2 pts vs. Marist
2003: Carlos Rivera: 10 pts vs. Marist
2001: Kenny Adeleke: 10 pts vs. Florida Atlantic
2000: Joel Suarez: 22 pts vs. Northern Illinois
1999: Rick Apodaca: 5 pts/2 assists vs. New Mexico State
1999: Danny Walker: 0 pts vs. New Mexico State
1998: No freshmen
1997: Roberto Gittens: 15 pts/6 rebs vs. Bucknell
1997: Norman Richardson: 2 pts/3 rebs vs. Bucknell
1996: Speedy Claxton: 13 pts/9 rebs vs. Stony Brook
1996: Joe Brown: 4 pts/3 rebs vs. Stony Brook
1995: Tim Beckett: 6 pts/7 rebs vs. Stony Brook
1995: Anthony Davis: 7 pts/2 assists vs. Stony Brook
1995: Ahmad Jackson: 2 pts/4 rebounds vs. Stony Brook
1993: James Parisi: 23 pts/7 rebs vs. Lehigh
TWICE AS NICE?
The Dutchmen are looking to start 2-0 for the second straight season and the 31st time in program history.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required) as well as on MSG Networks if you are in the New York area or somehow paid one billion dollars (approx) for the app. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
PRINCETON AND THE IVY LEAGUE
Princeton, under 13th-year head coach Mitch Henderson, is 1-0 after opening its season Monday with a 68-61 win over Rutgers. This of course means Rutgers has a two-game losing streak spanning almost eight months and consisting of losses to Hofstra and Princeton. Snicker. This means tonight’s game determines who replaces Rutgers in the Big 10. Sorry, dem’s the rules.
Princeton was picked to finish second in the Ivy League behind Yale. Sideshow Bob, his brother Cecil and Montgomery Burns all cackle, even though the Tigers got one of the great last laughs of all-time last season by beating Yale in the Ivy League championship game and then reaching the Sweet Sixteen as a no. 15 seed following wins over Arizona and Missouri. Take that, NCAA Tournament.
Senior Matt Allocco, who was named to the All-Ivy League second team last season, led all scorers with 21 points against Rutgers while Caden Pierce, the reigning Ivy League rookie of the year, scored eight points and pulled down 15 rebounds. Allocco and Pierce are the lone returning starters for Princeton, which lost Tosan Evbuomwan to graduation and Keeshawn Kellman (Florida Gulf Coast) and Ryan Langborg (Northwestern) to the portal.
The Dutchmen and Tigers have four common opponents, because Princeton is apparently looking to join the CAA? The Tigers are slated to play Monmouth (Nov. 18), Northeastern (Nov. 25), Drexel (Dec. 5) and Delaware (Dec. 30).
Beyond their shared dominance of Rutgers, the schools share a pretty neat link in legendary coach Butch van Breda Kolff, who went a robust 136-43 for Hofstra from 1955 through 1962 before going to Princeton, whom he directed to a 103-31 record, four NCAA tournament appearances and a Final Four berth in five seasons. van Breda Kolff headed to the NBA following the 1966-67 season and was replaced by Pete Carril, who spent the next 29 seasons at the school and earned his final win with one of the most iconic upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the Tigers’ 43-41 victory over defending national champion UCLA on Mar. 14, 1996. Carril died Aug. 15, 2022 at age 92.
Hofstra is 5-3 all-time against Princeton but has won three straight games since the series resumed in 2019 following a 28-year pause. The Dutchmen opened the 2022-23 season on Nov. 7, 2022 by mounting a comeback from a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes to earn an 83-77 victory over the Tigers at Jadwin Gymnasium.
Hofstra is 32-17 all-time against Ivy League schools.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 117th while Princeton is ranked 96th. KenPom.com predicts a 74-72 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2-point underdogs. Since even degenerate gamblers do not bet on Division I vs. non-Division I games, this marks Hofstra’s first game with a spread this season. The Dutchmen were 21-11-2 against the spread last season.
SWEET SIXTEEN REUNION
The Dutchmen will be hosting a team coming off a trip to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond for the first time since Jan. 2, 2012, when they fell to VCU 80-63. The Rams, of course, made the Final Four in 2011.
The Dutchmen will also be playing a team coming off a trip to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond for the third straight season. The Dutchmen played Houston (Final Four) and Arkansas (Elite Eight) in 2021-22 and played Purdue (Sweet Sixteen) last season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Why can’t the Mets get GMs like Chris Young bias! (We used a Chris Young bias in 2021, but that was before he won the World Series as the Rangers GM)
Clown College bias! (Sorry but that’s what Cecil Terwilliger calls Princeton)
Federal Reserve bias! (Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve and the guy who decides whether the stock market rises or falls based on what he does or doesn’t say about interest rates, graduated from Princeton…thanks to my Dad the retired stockbroker for making me sound smart here)
The X-Files bias! (David Duchovny, i.e. Fox Mulder, graduated from Princeton)
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