Sunday, December 15, 2024

I'll Be Quirky: Temple

Hofstra and Temple are starting all over again after more than 40 years apart, Daryl & John. Can't you guys do the same after just a couple years?


The Flying Dutchmen will go back in time for a second straight game today. But instead of playing a game that’s not broadcast, televised or streamed anywhere, the Dutchmen will head back to the old East Coast Conference for their first clash against Temple in 43 years. It’s real and it’s spectacular to me, Litos.


Anyway, as will hopefully be the case more often than not (you never know!), I ran down the boilerplate postgame material from Monday’s nobody-saw-or-heard-it 80-67 win over Norfolk State in Saturday’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that win as well as a preview of the Owls (really, another Owls opponent). Enjoy!


TWO FOR 20 (part one)

It’s not just a good deal at Applebees! Cruz Davis and KiJan Robinson shared the team lead in scoring Monday, when they both finished with 20 points, It’s the second time this season two players have scored at least 20 points for the Dutchmen. Davis (21 points) and Jean Aranguren (20 points) led the way for the Dutchmen in a 75-71 overtime win over Massachusetts on Nov. 16. The Dutchmen are 18-5 under Speedy Claxton when at least two players score 20 points in a game.


TWO FOR 20 (part two)

Cruz Davis and KiJan Robinson formed an unusual 1-2 punch Monday, when they both scored 20 points even though Davis was the lone starter in the tandem. Robinson is the first reserve to join a teammate as a 20-point scorer since Jan. 15, 2022, when Aaron Estrada had 30 points and Jalen Ray added 23 points off the bench in an 82-77 win over Delaware. 


JEAN FITS

Jean Aranguren continued bouncing back from a brief slump Monday, when he had 19 points while leading the Dutchmen with seven rebounds and six assists. Aranguren has 55 points, 16 assists and 16 rebounds in his last four games after scoring just two points with three assists and five rebounds in two games against Houston and Rice from Nov. 22-29.


BOARDS AND DIMES

Jean Aranguren led the Dutchmen in rebounding and assists for the second tie this season Monday, when he had seven rebounds and six assists. Aranguren also led the Dutchmen in both categories Nov. 8, when he finished with nine rebounds and nine assists in a 90-76 win over Iona.


CRUZ-IN

Cruz Davis continued his strong season Monday, when he scored 20 points and added four assists, two rebounds and two steals. It was the fourth 20-point effort this season for Davis, who hadn’t scored more than 16 points in game the previous two seasons at Iona and St. John’s Davis has scored in double figures in seven of his first 11 games this season — and scored at least seven points in three other games — after reaching double figures five times in his first 28 games the previous two seasons.


HERE’S TO YOU MR. ROBINSON

KiJan Robinson continued his emergence as a star Monday night, when he scored 20 points while going 4-of-9 from 3-point land over a career-high 33 minutes. Robinson, who scored a career-high 28 points while going 8-of-9 from beyond the arc in the 114-46 win over St. Joseph’s (NY) on Dec. 6, didn’t score more than 13 points or drain more than three 3-pointers in any of his first 41 career games. He has scored in double figures five times this season after doing so just twice last season.


KIJAN THE MICROWAVE

It’s awfully high praise to compare anyone to Justin Wright-Foreman, but KiJan Robinson’s sophomore season might be the best breakout season for a Hofstra player since Wright-Foreman’s emergence as a sophomore. Robinson is the first Hofstra player with consecutive 20-point efforts off the bench since Jan. 2-5, 2017, when Wright-Foreman had 30 points in the infamous 95-93 overtime loss to James Madison before he finished with 25 points in a 62-54 loss to James Madison. Wright-Foreman made one more appearance off the bench before entering the starting lineup for good.


GRAHAM SHOPPING AT THE FIVE-AND-DIME

Michael Graham had another solid game Monday, when he finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Graham has finished with at least 10 points and five rebounds in three games this season after doing so just four times the previous two seasons for Loyola Marymount.


CAN’T MISS GRAHAM

Michael Graham continued his sharp shooting Monday night, when he scored 11 points while going 5-of-5 from the field. Graham is the second Hofstra player this season to enjoy a perfect shooting night (minimum five field goal attempts) and the first since Silas Sunday went 5-for-5 in the 90-76 win over Iona on Nov. 8. In addition, Graham has made his last 14 field goals dating back to the second half of the 68-66 win over Arkansas State on Dec. 1. 


BLOCK PARTY

Michael Graham tied a season-high by recording four blocks Monday night. Graham also had four blocks in the 90-76 win over Iona on Nov. 8. The four blocks are the most in a single game for Graham since Feb. 29, when he finished with seven blocks for Loyola Marymount in a 96-62 win over San Diego.


GERMAN FOR STARTERS

With TJ Gadsden inactive Monday, German Plotnikov — the lone returning player who made a start last season for the Dutchmen — entered the starting lineup for the first time this season and finished with two points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 31 minutes. Plotnikov has scored in five straight games after scoring just once in the first six games.


SANDERS SLUMPING

Jaquan Sanders’ slump deepened even further Monday, when he was again the only Hofstra player to finish without a point after he missed his lone shot, a 3-pointer, over a season-low 12 minutes. Sanders is the first Hofstra starter to go scoreless in consecutive games since Jaquan Carlos was blanked from Feb. 18-25, 2023 against Stony Brook and Northeastern. He has scored 29 points over his last six games, a span in which Sanders is 11-of-51 from the field, including 5-of-32 from 3-point land. He opened the season by scoring 73 points while going 24-of-54 from the field, including 17-of-40 from beyond the arc, in his first five games. Sanders has hit one 3-pointer or fewer in each of the last five games after draining at least two 3-pointers in each of the first five games.


SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

Silas Sunday continued to be a productive backup to Michael Graham Monday night, when he had four points and six rebounds in 14 minutes. It was the second straight game in which Sunday pulled down six rebounds, leaving him one shy of his season-high set against Tarleton State on Nov. 30.


FREEBIES FOR FARMER

Khalil Farmer had another solid game off the bench Monday, when he scored four points on 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line in 14 minutes. He’s the second Hofstra player this season to collect all his points at the free throw line (minimum four points) and the first since Cruz Davis was 5-of-5 from the line in the 61-59 loss to Tarleton State on Nov. 30. Farmer has played at least 11 minutes in each of the last six games after playing at least 11 minutes 10 times in 23 appearances last season.


OVER THE AIR

This afternoon’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required, click here for options) as well as on MSG Networks if you are in the New York area or somehow paid one billion dollars (approx) for the Gotham Sports app. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.


TEMPLE AND THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Temple, under second-year head coach Adam Fisher, is 5-4 this season after beating non-Division I Holy Trinity, 110-81, on Tuesday night. 


Temple was picked to finish sixth in the 13-team American. The Owls (yup, another team nicknamed the Owls from the American) return six players from last year’s squad. Newcomer Jamal Mashburn Jr. (yup, son of the Kentucky and NBA star, you are very old, AARP card etc etc), a graduate student and preseason all-conference first team selection who began his career with one season at Minnesota and three seasons at New Mexico, leads Temple with 22.0 points per game. Redshirt senior Steve Settle III, in his second season at Temple after three seasons at Howard, is averaging 12.6 points per game and leads the Owls with 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. True sophomore Zion Stanford is averaging 12.1 points per game. Fellow true sophomore Quante Berry is averaging 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.


In addition, former Hofstra reserve Christian Tomasco has appeared in three games as a walk-on for Temple. If he gets into the game today, he’ll be the first former Hofstra player to oppose the Dutchmen since Jordan Allen had 11 points for Sacred Heart in the Dutchmen’s 80-73 win on Dec. 28, 2015.


Per KenPom.com, Temple ranks 123rd nationally in offensive efficiency (109.2 points per 100 possessions) and 193rd in defensive efficiency (107.3 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 134th in tempo (69.2 possessions per 40 minutes).


The Dutchmen and Owls have a whopping five common opponents this season. That must be a non-conference record. Both teams have beaten Massachusetts, whom the Dutchmen edged 75-71 in overtime Nov 16 and Temple defeated 87-80 on Nov. 23. And both teams have lost to Florida State, which beat the Dutchmen 79-61 and knocked off the Owls 78-69 in consecutive games from Nov. 19-22. Temple also beat Monmouth 103-74 on Nov. 8 and defeated Drexel 69-61 three days later. The Dutchmen are slated to play Monmouth and Drexel once apiece in CAA action. And the Dutchmen beat the American’s Rice 68-63 in overtime Nov. 29.


The Dutchmen are 6-11 all-time against Temple in a series that dates back to the 1964-65 season. But the two teams haven’t opposed each other since way back on Jan. 16, 1982, when Temple earned a 61-58 win at the Physical Fitness Center. Temple’s seven-season stint in the East Coast Conference ended with a move to the Atlantic 10 in 1982-83, which was also the first year at the helm for the late legendary John Chaney.


Temple will be the second school Hofstra faces this season for the first time in more than 40 years. The Dutchmen beat Seton Hall 49-48 on Nov, 13 in the first game between the schools since the 1969-70 campaign. 


The Flying Dutchmen are 19-25 all-time against schools currently in the American, which has been a symbol of rapid realignment since it formed once the Big East dropped football following the 2012-13 season. The only current American schools the Dutchmen have played when that opponent was in the American are Rice, whom the Dutchmen beat in the first-ever meeting between the schools Nov. 29, and  South Florida, against whom the Dutchmen improved to 1-3 all-time with an 82-63 win on Nov. 30, 2023.


This marks the third straight season in which the Dutchmen have faced at least one American team. Cincinnati earned its final win as a member of the American Mar. 18, 2023, when the Bearcats ended the Dutchmen’s season with a 79-65 win in the second round of the NIT at the Arena. 


At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 143rd — a leap of 26 spots since Monday — while Temple is ranked 141st. That’s close! KenPom.com predicts a 72-70 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 1-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 6-3 against the spread this season.


THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Hall & Oates bias! (Long before they decided to torpedo their beautiful musical partnership in their late 70s, Daryl Hall and John Oates met at Temple)

We used to beat you all the time in pretend football bias! (A comedian once had an amusing bit about Hofstra beating Temple in football, which can’t be replayed here or anywhere else because, well, you know)

Elite Eight bias! (Temple fell in the Elite Eight five times under John Chaney)

Bobby Higginson bias! (The one-team-only Tigers outfielder, in case it ever comes up in Immaculate Grid, went to Temple)

Jamal Mashburn can’t possibly have a son almost done with college already bias! (But he does!)

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Keep It Perky: Norfolk State postgame

If only the rest of us were this lucky to find a ship broadcasting Monday night's game.


If there’s no video or audio proof a game happened, did anyone actually win it? Why, yes, yes the Flying Dutchmen did win Monday night, when they traveled back in time to a less online time and beat Norfolk State 80-67.


For the first time since the Florida State game — six games ago, nobody ever said I was consistent in anything except my undiagnosed ADHD! — we’ll break out the postgame boilerplate material in a separate Keep It Perky while saving the individual news and notes and preview of the next game for, well, the next one.


As always, for a reminder of how Keep It Perky came to be as a concept and a name (shout out Jess K.), click here for the inaugural Keep It Perky from the win over Stony Brook on Feb. 1. And for now…the Norfolk State Keep It Perky!


THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Cruz Davis and KiJan Robinson scored 20 points apiece while Jean Aranguren (19 points) and Michael Graham (11 points) also got into double figures as the Flying Dutchmen led for the final 30-plus minutes. The Dutchmen scored eight in a row following a game-opening basket by Norfolk State, after which the Spartans went on a 14-7 run in which they took a pair of leads. Davis had seven points in the 12-3 run that put the Dutchmen ahead for good. The Dutchmen led 37-31 at the half and Norfolk State got within three points at 39-36 before another 12-3 run for the Dutchmen extended their lead into double figures for good. A pair of free throws by Davis with 9:58 left gave the Dutchmen their biggest lead at 64-45 before they cruised (heh) to the victory. Davis (5-for-6) and Robinson (4-for-9) combined to shoot 11-of-15 from 3-point land while Davis added four assists, two steals and two rebounds. Aranguren led the Dutchmen with seven rebounds and six assists in another solid all-around effort. Graham (5-for-5) was perfect from the field and pulled down six rebounds. German Plotnikov had two points in 31 minutes in his first start of the season in place of TJ Gadsden, who didn’t play. Jaquan Sanders’ struggles continued as he was scoreless in a season-low 12 minutes.


3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Norfolk State, 12/9)

3: Jean Aranguren

2: Cruz Davis

1: KiJan Robinson


SEASON STANDINGS

Jean Aranguren 22

Cruz Davis 16

Jaquan Sanders 9

KiJan Robinson 8

Michael Graham 4

Khalil Farmer 3

Eric Parnell 2

TJ Gadsden 2


WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

No! That’s a bummer but 80-67 felt like a fairly common score and it is indeed at least the fourth time the Dutchmen have won by that score. The Dutchmen’s previous 80-67 victory was a triumph over Drexel in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals on Mar. 5, 2016.


The Dutchmen have recorded three unicorn score victories this season and 56 unicorn score victories since the start of the 2018-19 season, when we first started tracking unicorn scores.


2024-25: Three unicorn scores

2023-24: Seven unicorn scores

2022-23: 12 unicorn scores

2021-22: 11 unicorn scores

2020-21: Zero unicorn scores (really)

2019-20: 13 unicorn scores

2018-19: 10 unicorn scores 


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?

KiJan Robinson’s breakout season continued as he joined the Keith Hernandez Club Monday night, when he drained the go-ahead 3-pointer to put the Dutchmen ahead for good at 18-16 with 10:33 left in the first half. It’s the first time this season a Keith Hernandez has been recorded via a 3-pointer and the first time since Darlinstone Dubar did so in a 69-58 win over UNC Wilmington on Feb. 29.


Jean Aranguren tie-breaking layup vs. Old Westbury, 11/4/24 (19:47 left 2H)

Silas Sunday go-ahead layup vs. Iona, 11/8/24 (17:49 left 1H)

Jean Aranguren go-ahead layup vs. Seton Hall, 11/13/24 (2:19 left 2H)

Jean Aranguren tie-breaking free throw vs. UMass, 11/16/24 (4:58 left OT)

Cruz Davis tie-breaking layup vs. Rice, 11/29/24 (:59 left OT)

Michael Graham tie-breaking layup vs. Arkansas State, 12/1/24 (:00 left 2H)

Jean Aranguren tie-breaking layup vs. St. Joseph’s, 12/6/24 (19:30 left 1H)

KiJan Robinson go-ahead 3-pointer vs. Norfolk State, 12/9/24 (10:33 left 1H)


SEASON STANDINGS 

Jean Aranguren 4

KiJan Robinson 1

Michael Graham 1

Cruz Davis 1

Silas Sunday 1


ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since the 2022-23 season)

Tyler Thomas 16

Darlinstone Dubar 14

Aaron Estrada 4

Jean Aranguren 4

Warren Williams 3

Silas Sunday 2

Jacco Fritz 2

Jaquan Carlos 2

German Plotnikov 2

KiJan Robinson 1

Michael Graham 1

Cruz Davis 1

Bryce Washington 1


The Keith Hernandez is bestowed upon the player who scores the points that put the Dutchmen ahead for good in a victory. The stat pays homage to Hernandez, the World Series-winning Cardinals and Mets first baseman who had a record 129 game-winning RBIs when the stat was inexplicably discontinued after the 1988 season.


THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ELEVEN GAMES

With Monday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 8-3 this season. This ties the 2024-25 team for the 14th-best record in school history through 11 games. It’s the first time the Dutchmen have opened 8-3 since 2018-19 and the 10th time overall in school history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 11 games:


NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 5-6

1976-77: 8-3

1999-2000: 7-4 

2000-01: 8-3

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


NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 7-4

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

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

2006-07: 7-4

2015-16: 7-4 

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

2022-23: 6-5 (most recent 6-5 start)


NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 7-4

1961-62: 10-1

1962-63: 8-3

1963-64: 10-1


Some other notable 11-game starts:


2023-24: 7-4 (most recent 7-4 start)

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

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

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

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

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

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

1993-94: 2-9 (VBK’s last team)

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

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

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

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

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

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


The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-11.


Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43.


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 ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN

With Monday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 74-37 (.667) as head coach. That’s the third-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 111 games at the helm.


Butch van Breda Kolff I 77-34 (.694, 111th game was the ninth game of his fifth season in 1959-60)

Frank Reilly 76-35 (.685, 111th game was the 11th game of his fifth season in 1951-52)

SPEEDY CLAXTON 74-37 (.667, 111th game was the 11th game of his fourth season in 2024-25)

Paul Lynner 73-38 (.658, 111th game was the first game of his fifth season in 1966-67)

Joe Mihalich 60-51 (.541, 111th game was the 10th game of his fourth season in 2016-17)

Butch van Breda Kolff II 59-52 (.532, 111th game was the 26th game of his fourth season in 1991-92)

Dick Berg 56-55 (.505, 111th game was the first game of his fifth season in 1984-85)

Roger Gaeckler 52-59 (.468, 111th game was the ninth game of his fifth season in 1976-77)

Jay Wright 49-62 (.441, 111th game was the 29th game of his fourth season in 1997-98)

Tom Pecora 48-63 (.432, 111th game was the 21st game of his fourth season in 2004-05)


Finally a little movement as Claxton moves into sole possession of third following a season-opening loss for Lynner in his fifth year at the helm. And VBK I takes sole possession of the top spot after his ’59-60 team remained unbeaten while Reilly’s 51-52 team suffers its first loss. And there’s no longer a tie for last between perpetual slackers Jay Wright and Tom Pecora following Wright’s win and Pecora’s loss in their 111th games at the helm. Perpetual slackers!


Also, in a quirky bit of quirkiness, game no. 111 marked the first game of the fifth season for both Lynner and Berg, who coached 18 years apart.


The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenure of Jack Smith (1943-46).


Smith finished 27-32 in his three seasons while Mo Cassara finished 38-59 in his three seasons. 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.

Monday, December 9, 2024

I'll Be Quirky: Norfolk State

The only way to follow the action tonight! 


The Flying Dutchmen pulled a Bachman Turner Overdrive (GOOGLE IT CRAIN) in record-breaking fashion Friday morning and early afternoon, when they took care of business with Division III St. Joseph’s to the tune of a 114-48 victory — the largest margin of victory in program history. The Dutchmen will return to Division I foes tonight, when they are slated to visit Norfolk State in an enticing matchup of annually solid mid-majors. Here’s a look back at the win over the Golden Eagles and a look ahead to the Spartans.


THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Five players — all reserves — scored in double figures for the Flying Dutchmen, who allowed St. Joseph’s to remain close for the first eight-plus minutes before taking control with a 32-7 run. The Golden Eagles closed within 16-14 and had three chances to tie the score or take the lead before KiJan Robinson (a career-high 28 points) drained a 3-pointer to begin the decisive surge. Robinson scored 15 points — on 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point land — during the run and ended the half with another 3-pointer to put the Dutchmen up 53-27. The Dutchmen mounted a pair of 13-0 runs in the second half before scoring the final 10 points. Robinson was 10-of-12 from the field, including 8-of-9 from beyond the arc, while adding a career-high seven assists as well as five rebounds. Eric Parnell, appearing in his fourth game, had 19 points while Khalil Farmer (16 points) and Joshua DeCady (12 points) also set career-highs. German Plotnikov added 12 points apiece. In a sentence you are likely to never read again, Cruz Davis led the Dutchmen’s starters with seven points. 


3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. St. Joseph’s, 12/6)

3: KiJan Robinson

2: Eric Parnell

1: Khalil Farmer


SEASON STANDINGS

Jean Aranguren 19

Cruz Davis 14

Jaquan Sanders 9

KiJan Robinson 7

Michael Graham 4

Khalil Farmer 3

Eric Parnell 2

TJ Gadsden 2


WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

Well considering the Dutchmen scored their third-most points ever while authoring the most lopsided victory in program history, I’d sure hope so! Much like Juan Soto’s contract, there’s not much to which we can compare this one. (Newsy!)


This is the Dutchmen’s third unicorn score of the season.


11/4/24: 89-62 over Old Westbury

11/8/24: 90-76 over Iona

12/6/24: 114-48 over St. Joseph’s


This is also the Dutchmen’s 56th unicorn score victory since the start of the 2018-19 season, when we first started tracking unicorn scores.


2024-25: Three unicorn scores

2023-24: Seven unicorn scores

2022-23: 12 unicorn scores

2021-22: 11 unicorn scores

2020-21: Zero unicorn scores (really)

2019-20: 13 unicorn scores

2018-19: 10 unicorn scores 


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?

Jean Aranguren made a bit of quirky history by opening the scoring with the layup that put the Dutchmen ahead for good at *double checks the score* 2-0 with 19:30 left in the first half. This means the Dutchmen, who edged Arkansas State 68-66 on Michael Graham’s buzzer-beating layup on Dec. 1, had two Keith Hernandezes in as many baskets spread out over five days! None of the previous nine buzzer-beating wins were followed by a wire-to-wire victory. History! 


Anyway, Aranguren’s Keith Hernandez was the earliest one this season and the earliest one since Darlinstone Dubar opened up the scoring 13 seconds into the first half of a 64-55 win over William & Mary on Jan. 25.


Jean Aranguren tie-breaking layup vs. Old Westbury, 11/4/24 (19:47 left 2H)

Silas Sunday go-ahead layup vs. Iona, 11/8/24 (17:49 left 1H)

Jean Aranguren go-ahead layup vs. Seton Hall, 11/13/24 (2:19 left 2H)

Jean Aranguren tie-breaking free throw vs. UMass, 11/16/24 (4:58 left OT)

Cruz Davis tie-breaking layup vs. Rice, 11/29/24 (:59 left OT)

Michael Graham tie-breaking layup vs. Arkansas State, 12/1/24 (:00 left 2H)

Jean Aranguren tie-breaking layup vs. St. Joseph’s, 12/6/24 (19:30 left 1H)


SEASON STANDINGS 

Jean Aranguren 4

Michael Graham 1

Cruz Davis 1

Silas Sunday 1


ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since the 2022-23 season)

Tyler Thomas 16

Darlinstone Dubar 14

Aaron Estrada 4

Jean Aranguren 4

Warren Williams 3

Silas Sunday 2

Jacco Fritz 2

Jaquan Carlos 2

German Plotnikov 2

Michael Graham 1

Cruz Davis 1

Bryce Washington 1


The Keith Hernandez is bestowed upon the player who scores the points that put the Dutchmen ahead for good in a victory. The stat pays homage to Hernandez, the World Series-winning Cardinals and Mets first baseman who had a record 129 game-winning RBIs when the stat was inexplicably discontinued after the 1988 season.


THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TEN GAMES

With Friday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 7-3 this season. This ties the 2024-25 team for the 15th-best record in school history through 10 games. It’s the first time the Dutchmen have opened 7-3 since 2018-19 and the 14th time overall in school history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 10 games:


NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 5-5

1976-77: 7-3

1999-2000: 6-4 

2000-01: 7-3

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 6-4


NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 6-4

2004-05: 9-1 (most recent 9-1 start, loss to Syracuse in 10th game was first of season)

2005-06: 8-2

2006-07: 6-4

2015-16: 6-4 

2018-19: 7-3 (most recent 7-3 start, marked fourth win in the 16-game winning streak)


NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 6-4

1961-62: 9-1

1962-63: 7-3

1963-64: 9-1


Some other notable eight-game starts:

2021-22: 5-5 (most recent 5-5 start)

2013-14: 3-7 (most recent 3-7 start)

2008-09: 8-2 (most recent 8-2 start)

2007-08: 2-8 (most recent 2-8 start)

2003-04: 4-6 (most recent 4-6 start)

2002-03: 1-9 (most recent 1-9 start)

2001-02: 5-5 (at .500 for the last time)

1994-95: 2-8 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 1-9 (VBK’s last team)

1960-61: 10-0 (most recent 10-0 start)

1959-60: 10-0

1955-56: 10-0

1947-48: 9-1 (loss to Brooklyn Polytech in 10th game was first of season)


The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-10.


Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43.


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 ONE HUNDRED AND TEN

With Friday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 73-37 (.664) as head coach. That’s tied for the third-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 110 games at the helm.


Butch van Breda Kolff I 76-34 (.691, 110th game was the eighth game of his fifth season in 1959-60)

Frank Reilly 76-34 (.691, 110th game was the 10th game of his fifth season in 1951-52)

Paul Lynner 73-37 (.664, 110th game was the 26th and final game of his fourth season in 1965-66) 

SPEEDY CLAXTON 73-37 (.664, 110th game was the 10th game of his fourth season in 2024-25)

Joe Mihalich 60-50 (.545, 110th game was the ninth game of his fourth season in 2016-17)

Butch van Breda Kolff II 58-52 (.527, 110th game was the 25th game of his fourth season in 1991-92)

Dick Berg 56-54 (.509, 110th game was the 28th and final game of his fourth season in 1983-84)

Roger Gaeckler 51-59 (.464, 110th game was the eighth game of his fifth season in 1976-77) 

Jay Wright 48-62 (.436, 110th game was the 28th game of his fourth season in 1997-98) 

Tom Pecora 48-62 (.436, 110th game was the 20th game of his fourth season in 2004-05) 


Claxton moves into a tie with Lynner as the 1965-66 season ends with a loss. The standings otherwise remain the same from game no. 109 as the unbeaten starts to the season continue for VBK I and Reilly. This of course means perpetual slackers Jay Wright and Tom Pecora remain tied for last even after winning their 110th games at the helm. Perpetual slackers!


The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenure of Jack Smith (1943-46).


Smith finished 27-32 in his three seasons while Mo Cassara finished 38-59 in his three seasons. 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.


EXHALE

The win over St. Joseph’s marked the Dutchmen’s 26th straight victory against a non-division I foe. The Dutchmen haven’t lost to a non-Division I foe since a 70-54 loss to Florida Southern during the 1988-89 season. 


WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN

The Dutchmen never trailed Friday. It was their first wire-to-wire win this season and their first since an 81-49 victory over North Carolina A&T on Feb. 10. The Dutchmen had five wire-to-wire wins last season.


A HISTORIC WIN

All caveats apply about how the Dutchmen played a Division III team Friday morning/afternoon. But the 68-point margin of victory was the largest in program history for the Dutchmen, exceeding the 65-point margin of victory in a 75-10 win over USMMA during the 1955-56 season. It was also the 11th time in program history the Dutchmen have won by at least 50 points.


68 (114-48 St. Joseph’s, 12/6/24)

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)

51 (102-51 John Jay, 12/12/21)


RACKING UP THE POINTS

The 114 points were the most the Dutchmen have scored in the shot clock era (1985-present), the third-most in school history and the most since a 111-69 win over Division II New York Tech on Nov. 15, 2019. It was the fifth time Hofstra has scored at least 110 points in a game.


1/28/72: 118-88 over Wagner

12/29/54: 115-68 over Delaware

12/6/24: 114-48 over St. Joseph’s

11/15/19: 111-69 over New York Tech

1963-64: 110-59 over USMMA


HITTING THE CENTURY MARK

The Dutchmen scored at least 100 points Friday for the 41st time in program history and the first time since a 102-68 win over Buffalo on Nov. 20, 2023. The Dutchmen have scored at least 100 points 12 times since the start of the 2010-11 season after going more than 18 seasons — a span of 526 games covering th final 58 games of Butch van Breda Kolff’s second tenure as well as the entirety of the Jay Wright and Tom Pecora eras — without scoring 100 points in a game.


THE 100 CLUB

German Plotnikov vaulted the Dutchmen into triple digits by draining a 3-pointer to put them up 101-40 with 4:45 left Friday afternoon. Plotnikov and Kevin Schutte are the only players this century to score the 100th point for the Dutchmen in two different games. Quirky! 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

102-68 win vs. Buffalo, 11/20/23: Griffin Barrouk jumper w/:50 left

114-48 win vs. St. Joseph’s, 12/6/24: German Plotnikov 3-pointer with 4:45 left


1010101010 WINS

The Dutchmen had five players — all reserves! — score in double figures Friday, when KiJan Robinson (28 points), Eric Parnell (19 points), Khalil Farmer (16 points) and Joshua DeCady (12 points) all set career-highs while German Plotnikov also had 12 points. Unfortunately, there’s reserves drop down menu at Stathead, so I can’t look up the last time a team had five reserves score in double figures. But I’m as confident as can be that it’s the first time it;’s happened at Hofstra in the Defiantly Dutch era (1993-pres)!


It’s the third time this season five players have scored in double figures for the Dutchmen and the first time since Nov. 8, when Jaquan Sanders, Jean Aranguren, Cruz Davis, Michael Graham and reserve Silas Sunday all scored in double figures in a 90-76 win over Iona. The Dutchmen are now 11-0 under Speedy Claxton when at least five players score in double figures.


ALL SINGLES FOR THE STARTERS

Guess I should play some Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains here GOOGLE IT CRAIN. The Dutchmen didn’t have a starter reach double figures in scoring Friday for the first time since way back on Jan. 9, 2013, when Daquan Brown led the Dutchmen with 13 points off the bench in a 69-54 loss to Delaware. A Daquan Brown reference in 2024! What a time in our dystopia.


LUCKY TWELVES AND THIRTEENS

Twelve of the 13 players to appear for the Dutchmen in Friday’s game scored at least one point. It marked the first time 12 players scored for the Dutchmen since Dec. 17, 2005, when they beat Dartmouth 74-59 at Madison Square Garden, and the first time 13 players appeared in a game since Mar. 5, 2023, when the Dutchmen beat William & Mary 94-46 in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals.


HERE’S TO YOU MR. ROBINSON

KiJan Robinson had the best game of his career Friday, when he scored 28 points while going 10-of-12 from the field, including 8-of-9 from 3-point land. The 28 points more than doubled Robinson’s previous single-game high of 13 points, set first against Buffalo on Nov. 20, 2023 and matched against Florida State on Nov. 19. The eight 3-pointers shattered Robinson’s previous high of three, set first against Monmouth on Jan. 27 and matched against Florida State. In addition, Robinson finished with seven assists, three more than his previous high set first against South Florida on Nov 30, 2023 and matched against Old Westbury on Nov. 4.


CRAZY EIGHTS FROM THREE

KiJan Robinson’s eight 3-pointers are tied for the second-most by a Hofstra player in a single game and the most by a Dutchman since Tyler Thomas drained eight 3-pointers in a 101-48 win over St. Joseph;s on Nov. 6, 2023. the only player with more 3-pointers in a single game is Omar Silverio, who hit 11 3-pointers in a 97-64 win over Elon on Feb. 15, 2022. 


NEARLY PERFECT

In addition, KiJan Robinson’s 8-of-9 performance from 3-point land is the best single-game 3-point shooting percentage for any Hofstra player who has hoisted at least nine shots from beyond the arc. Tareq Coburn (7-of-9 from 3-point land in a 74-69 win over Towson on Jan. 24, 2021) is the only other Hofstra player who’s made at least seven 3-pointers in nine or fewer attempts.


POTENT PARNELL

Redshirt sophomore Eric Parnell, appearing in just his fourth game for the Dutchmen on Friday, set career-highs nearly across the board by finishing with 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting — including 4-of-5 form 3-point land — to go along with three rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes. Parnell entered Friday with just three points and one rebound in 16 minutes over his first three games.


PRODUCTIVE FARMER

Khalil Farmer continued his impressive stretch Friday, when he set career-highs with 16 points and three assists while tying a career-high with three rebounds. The 16 points easily surpassed Farmer’s previous single-game best of six points, established against Buffalo on Nov. 20, 2023, while the three rebounds matched his total against St. Joseph;s on Nov 6, 2023. Farmer, who was 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point land, entered Friday with 13 points combined in his first six games this season. He has scored 26 points over 76 minutes in the last four games after scoring three points over 15 minutes in his first three games.


DECADY PULLS THE LAETTNER

Freshman Joshua DeCady, surely born more than a decade after Christian Laettner’s perfect masterpiece (except for that whole stepping on an opposing player thing) against Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional final, set a career-high with 12 points while going 4-for-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. DeCady is the first Hofstra player to go perfect from the field as well as the free throw line (minimum four attempts) since Dec. 22, 2018, when Jacquil Taylor scored 18 points while going 7-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line in a 107-54 win over Rosemont. 


THE GOOD KIND OF THIEVERY

Joshua DeCady also led the Dutchmen with four steals Friday The four steals tied a season-high by a Hofstra player established in the season opener Nov. 4, when Jaquan Sanders had four steals in the 89-62 win over Old Westbury.


PRODUCTIVE PLOTNIKOV

German Plotnikov, the lone returning player who made a start last season for the Dutchmen, had a much-needed solid game Friday, when he set season-highs with 12 points and four assists. The 12 points were Plotnikov’s most since he scored a career-high 20 points in the 82-62 win over Northeastern on Feb. 17 while the four assists were his most since he matched a career-high with five assists in the 87-64 win over Elon on Feb. 24. Plotnikov scored just 12 points total in the first nine games this season, though he has scored in four straight games after scoring just once in the first six games.


SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

Silas Sunday didn’t need to play much to be productive Friday, when he had six rebounds in just nine minutes (be mature, be mature, be mature). The nine minutes were the second-fewest of the season for Sunday, who played five minutes in the season opener against Old Westbury on Nov. 4, while the six rebounds were one shy of his season-high set against Tarleton State on Nov. 30.


GRAHAM CRACKIN’

Michael Graham also needed just a little bit of time to have a solid game at center Friday, when he finished with five points, seven rebounds and two blocks in just 11 minutes. The 11 minutes were the second-fewest of the season for Graham, who fouled out in nine minutes against Tarleton State on Nov. 30.


CRUZ-IN

Cruz Davis continued his strong season Friday, when he scored seven points and added five assists in a season-low 19 minutes. Davis has scored in double figures in six of his first 10 games this season — and scored at least seven points in three other games — after reaching double figures five times in his first 28 games the previous two seasons at Iona and St. John’s.


JEAN FITS

Jean Aranguren continued bouncing back from a brief slump Friday, when he five points, four rebounds and four assists while playing 21 minutes, tops among starters. Aranguren has 36 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in his last three games after scoring just two points with three assists and five rebounds in two games against Houston and Rice from Nov. 22-29.


TJ TO THE EXTREME

TJ Gadsden’s hot-and-mostly-cold season continued Friday, when he had five points and two rebound in 13 minutes. Gadsden has just 32 points and 26 rebounds in the nine games outside of a 75-71 win over Massachusetts on Nov. 16, when Gadsden finished with nine points and 11 rebounds in the 75-71 overtime victory. He has yet to reach double figures in seven games this season after scoring at least 10 points in 11 of 25 games last season for Canisius.


SANDERS SLUMPING

Jaquan Sanders’ slump deepened Friday, when he was the only Hofstra player to finish without a point after he was 0-for-5 from 3-point land over 14 minutes. Sanders has scored 29 points over his last five games, a span in which he’s 11-of-50 from the field, including 5-of-31 from 3-point land. He opened the season by scoring 73 points while going 24-of-54 from the field, including 17-of-40 from beyond the arc, in his first five games. Sanders has hit one 3-pointer or fewer in each of the last four games after draining at least two 3-pointers in each of the first five games.


HENRIQUEZ BACK IN THE SCORING COLUMN

Walk-ons Jayden Henriquez and Miguel Mantilla Pacchiano set a bit of quirky history Friday, when they combined to score three points over the final 1:40. Henriquez, who had three points last season, drained a jumper with 1:07 left to become the first walk-on to score in consecutive seasons for the Dutchmen since Connor Klementowicz scored in each of his four seasons from 2016-17 through 2019-20. Geez how is that already so long ago?


A POINT FOR PACCHIANO

Welcome to the all-time scoring list Miguel Mantilla Pacchiano, who made his Hofstra debut Friday and split a pair of free throws while collecting an assist, a steal and a block over the final 2:18. Pacchiano is the fourth walk-on to score in the Speedy Claxton Era, joining Jayden Henriquez as well as Aidan Best and Petey Galgano, who combined for 16 points in 2022-23.


WALK-ONS TIMES TWO

Jayden Henriquez and Miguel Mantilla Pacchiano are the first set of walk-ons to score in the same game for the Dutchmen since the no-good, very-bad days of Feb, 20, 2013, when Matt Grogan (seven points) and Adam Savion (two points) combined for nine points in a 79-50 loss to George Mason. That, of course, was the season in which the Dutchmen needed Grogan and three additional walk-ons to finish out the season following the arrest of the four knuckleheads. We’ll gladly take this instance of two walk-ons scoring over that one. Moving on.


OVER THE AIR

Tonight’s game is…not being aired ANYWHERE. No TV, no streaming, no radio. Nothing. In the year 2024! Where is Teamline when you need it? So be sure to check out the live stats at the Pride Productions hub!


NORFOLK STATE AND THE MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Norfolk State, under 12th-year head coach Robert Jones, is 6-3 this season after it concluded a six-game road trip by beating Stony Brook, 77-66, on Dec. 1. This marks the second straight season in which Norfolk State plays Stony Brook and Hofstra in consecutive contests. Like most Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schools, Norfolk State is spending the bulk of its non-league season on the road. This is the Spartans’ second and final home non-conference game against a Division I opponent.


Norfolk State was picked to finish second in the eight-team MEAC. The Spartans return just five players from last year’s roster. Graduate student Brian Moore, a native of Harlem who opened his Division I career with two seasons at Murray State, leads the Spartans with 21.1 points per game. Graduate student Christian Ings, a sixth-year senior and preseason all-MEAC second team selection who began his career with two seasons at Rider, is averaging 13.4 points per game and a team-high 4.1 assists per game. Graduate student Jalen Myers, who played one season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and spent the last two seasons at Tennessee-Martin is averaging 11.4 points per game and ranks second on the team with 4.4 rebounds per game. Senior Jaylani Darden, preseason all-MEAC third team selection who is in his second season at Norfolk State after two seasons at Longwood, leads the Spartans with 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior Sin’cere McMahon, a preseason all-MEAC third team selection who began his career at Western Carolina before spending the last three seasons at Winthrop, is averaging 6.6 points per game. True sophomore Chris Fields Jr. was preseason all-MEAC second team selection but has yet to play this year.


Per KenPom.com, Norfolk State ranks 140th nationally in offensive efficiency (107.1 points per 100 possessions) and 175th in defensive efficiency (105.8 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 296th in tempo (65.5 possessions per 40 minutes).


The Dutchmen and Spartans have three common opponents this season. Norfolk State has surely played more CAA teams than anyone else in the country and is 2-1 against the league following the win over Stony Brook as well as an 84-73 loss to William & Mary Nov. 12 and a 67-58 win over Hampton on Nov. 16. Hofstra is slated to play Stony Brook twice and William & Mary and Hampton once apiece in CAA play.


The Dutchmen are 2-0 all-time against Norfolk State with an 88-74 win at the Arena on Dec. 2, 2014 and a 74-58 win over the visiting Spartans last Dec. 15, when Tyler Thomas scored 22 points. 


Hofstra is 9-4 in all sports all-time against Norfolk State. The baseball team is 4-4 against the Spartans while the Flying Dutchwomen basketball (2-0) and softball (1-0) teams have won their meetings with Norfolk State. The only team sport in which both schools field teams and have not played one another is women’s volleyball, which is sort of quirky because the Flying Dutchwomen volleyball team has played EVERYONE.


Hofstra is 11-6 all-time against current MEAC schools.


At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 169th while Norfolk State is ranked 144th. KenPom.com predicts a 68-63 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2 1/2-point underdogs. Interesting discrepancy! The Dutchmen are 5-3 against the spread this season.


THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Norfolk isn’t a state bias! (Neither was Troy or Chicago #IYKYK)

Ken Reaves bias! (The former NFL cornerback/safety played for Norfolk State)

You still have a I-AA football team bias! (Must be nice)

Why are we even shouting anything, we don’t know what’s going on bias! (Truly bizarre to not have a game airing online or on the radio in 2024)