It's Spuds McKelsey! (Chris Sabo hit .300 for the Reds in 1991 and also played for the White Sox and Cardinals, in case it ever comes up in a certain grid game)
From tied for next-to-last to tied after play seven weeks ago today to playing for a chance to finish next-to-first (most people would call that second, but then it wouldn’t flow as quirkily). Nothing like the college basketball season, folks! The Dutchmen locked up a double bye and moved into position to potentially finish second with Thursday’s 69-58 win over UNC Wilmington. Read all about it in the Keep It Perky here!
Today’s IBQ will look at the team-related quirkiness from Thursday’s win as well as some of the individual news and notes before previewing today’s game against regular season champion Charleston. As always, please drop me a line on Twitter with any feedback on the new formats. In the meantime, read on to learn all about the Dutchmen’s Leap Day success, double-digit wins after squandering a double-digit lead, Darlinstone Dubar and Tyler Thomas now residing next to each other on the all-time Hofstra scoring list, Dubar’s big game in his home state and much more before a look at the Cougars!
CAN’T LOSE ON LEAP DAY
One more Leap Day factoid before we move on to March! I dug into microfilm (ask your parents) and discovered the Dutchmen are unbeaten in FOUR games on Feb. 29, not three. On Feb. 29, 1964, the Flying Dutchmen — who really WERE nicknamed the Flying Dutchmen back then — beat Muhlenberg 82-70 in the third-place game of the Middle Atlantic Conference tournament. That was enough to earn the Dutchmen an at-large bid to the Division II tournament, where they won a pair of games. This means the Dutchmen — who beat UMBC 103-87 before falling in the ECC championship game in 1992 and beat James Madison 97-82 on Leap Day 2020 before, well, you know — have had a chance to play for a bid in a national tournament the first three times they’ve played on Feb. 29. Hmmmm.
ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
The Dutchmen led by 13 points in the second half before falling behind and then winning by 11 points Thursday. That’s the first time — deep breath here — the Dutchmen won by at least 10 points after squandering a double-digit lead and falling behind since way back on Feb. 13, 2016, when the Dutchmen opened a 14-point lead against Delaware and behind by nine points in the second half before coming back to earn a 77-66 win. Quirky!
DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAKING
The Dutchmen have won four straight games, all by double digits. That’s the longest such streak since they won five straight by at least 10 points from Feb, 8-16, 2023. Those wins came in the midst of the 12-game winning streak that ended against UNC Wilmington in the CAA Tournament semifinals *shudders*
NO BENCH BRIGADE
The Dutchmen received all 69 points from their starters Thursday, when Bryce Washington, KiJan Robinson and Silas Sunday combined to go 0-for-4 from the field in 21 minutes. It was the third time this season Dutchmen reserves were held scoreless and the first time since Feb. 1, when Bryce Washington, KiJan Robinson, Silas Sunday and Khalil Farmer combined to go 0-for-7 from the field in 25 minutes in the 72-71 win over Stony Brook. Farmer, Robinson, Sunday and German Plotnikov also didn’t score in 36 minutes in the 73-61 loss to Charleston on Jan. 4.
ONCE AGAIN A SECOND-HALF TEAM
The Dutchmen returned to form Thursday night, when they scored more points in the second half (37) than in the first half (32). The Dutchmen are now averaging 39.7 points per second half (1,192 points overall) and 34.7 points per first half (1,040 points overall). In a quirky twist, the Dutchmen’s first- and second-half averages each dropped a tenth of a point Thursday. The Dutchmen have scored more points in the first half than in the second half just six times in CAA play and nine times overall this season. (These figures don’t include the nine points the Dutchmen scored in overtime of the 97-92 win over High Point on Nov. 22)
THE 1-2 THOUSAND POINT PUNCH
Now this is cool. Darlinstone Dubar and Tyler Thomas are occupying consecutive spots on the all-time Hofstra scoring list, with Dubar in 22nd place with 1,275 points and Thomas in 23rd place with 1,241 points. I believe this is the first time two teammates with at least 1,000 points have occupied consecutive spots on the all-time Hofstra scoring list since way back on Feb. 25, 2012, when Nathaniel Lester (1,128 points) and Mike Moore (1,112 points) were in 23rd and 24th place, respectively. There have been other pairs of teammates, but I don’t think any of them were traveling up the list at the same time.
DUBAR HOLDS STEADY
Darlinstone Dubar remained in 22nd place on the the all-time Hofstra scoring list Thursday night, when he scored 28 points to increase his career total to 1,275 points. Dubar enters today 12 points shy of surpassing Mike Tilley for 21st place and 22 points shy of moving past Kenny Adeleke for 20th place.
19.) Desure Buie 1,310
20.) Kenny Adeleke 1,296
21.) Mike Tilley 1,286
22.) DARLINSTONE DUBAR 1,275
23.) TYLER THOMAS 1,241
24.) Roberto Gittens 1,240
25.) Carlos Rivera 1,225
26t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220
26t.) John Mills 1,220
28.) Aaron Estrada 1,219
This marks just the third game since Dubar joined the 1,000-point club on Jan. 6 that he hasn’t gained at least a half-spot on the all-time list.
THOMAS MOVIN’ ON UP TOO
Tyler Thomas, who joined Dubar in the 1,000-point club on Jan. 25, continued climbing the all-time Hofstra scoring list Saturday, when his 13 points increased his career total to 1,241 points and lifted him past Roberto Gittens (who has been surpassed in consecutive games, rough week for Roberto) into 23rd place. Thomas, as you have likely surmised by now, is 35 points away from surpassing the next player on the list, current teammate Darlinstone Dubar, for 22nd place.
22.) DARLINSTONE DUBAR 1,275
23.) TYLER THOMAS 1,241
24.) Roberto Gittens 1,240
25.) Carlos Rivera 1,225
26t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220
26t.) John Mills 1,220
28.) Aaron Estrada 1,219
(This is the first time I’ve been tracking two 1,000-point scorers playing at the same time, which is sorta neat but also sorta depressing because in the NIL era the first time may be the last time, eat Arby’s)
DIMES FOR JAQUAN
Jaquan Carlos moved into eighth place on the Hofstra all-time assist list Thursday night, when he collected five assists to increase his career total to 381 and surpass Loren Stokes. Carlos is 83 assists shy of moving past Juan’ya Green for seventh place, so we’ll assume he’ll be in eighth place for a bit, Still, pretty impressive considering Carlos had just 23 assists as a freshman two years ago.
7.) Juan’ya Green 463
8.) JAQUAN CARLOS 381
9.) Loren Stokes 377
10.) Woody Souffrant 362
11.) Carlos Rivera 351
D-STONE’S BACK
Darlinstone Dubar once again flirted with a double-double Thursday night, when he finished with 28 points and eighth rebounds. It was the third straight game in which Dubar had at least 10 points and seven rebounds and the 14th time he’s done so this season. He did so just 12 times in his first two seasons at Hofstra combined. In addition, Dubar has scored 82 points in the last four games since his streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts was snapped at 27 games when he was limited to nine points in a 79-77 loss to Drexel on Feb. 15.
A HAPPY HOMECOMING
Darlinstone Dubar, a native of Charlotte, N.C., continued to thrive in his home state Thursday, when he scored a team-high 28 points and pulled down eight rebounds, tied for the most on the Dutchmen with Jacco Fritz. It was the second big game in as many trips to North Carolina this season for Dubar, who led the Dutchmen with 24 points and eight rebounds in the 89-68 loss to then-no. 21 Duke on Dec. 12. Dubar also had eight rebounds to go along with 12 points in his first game in North Carolina with the Dutchmen on Jan. 29, 2022, when UNC Wilmington recorded a 78-72 win.
HOW MANY TIMES DID DARLINSTONE DUBAR SCORE FROM INSIDE THE 3-POINT LINE THURSDAY?
Niiiiiiiine times. Dubar was a remarkable 9-of-10 on his 2-point field goals Thursday, when he became the first Hofstra player with at least nine 2-point field goals in a game since Feb. 4, 2023, when Tyler Thomas was 10-of-12 from inside the arc in a 79-58 win over Stony Brook.
D-STONE DOING WORK
Darlinstone Dubar was also 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line Thursday, which made him (carries the one, drops the remainder) 11-of-13 overall from the field. That’s a field goal percentage of 84.6 percent, which is the best by a Hofstra player who had at least 13 field goal attempts since Adrian Uter went 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) in a 76-62 win over Siena in that stupid blasted BracketBuster on Feb. 18, 2006. A child born that day might be going to Hofstra in the fall! We are all very old.
JAQUAN THE STAT-STUFFER
Jaquan Carlos, as Tom Pecora used to say about Loren Stokes, stuffed the stat sheet Thursday night, when he finished with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. The 18 points were tied for his third-highest single-game total behind a 19-point effort against UNC Wilmington in a 79-73 overtime loss in the CAA Tournament semifinals lats Mar. 6 and his 23-point game in an 80-74 win over Stony Brook on Jan. 22. He also had 18 points against High Point in 97-92 overtime win on Nov. 22.
In addition, the solid all-around game Thursday marked the fifth time this season Carlos has finished with at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists and the ninth time he’s done so in the last two seasons. That’s tied with Desure Buie for the fourth-most such games among Hofstra players since the 2010-11 season, the start of the Play Index era at College Basketball Reference, behind only Juan’ya Green (23), Aaron Estrada (17) and Justin Wright-Foreman (10).
CARLOS KEEPS CRACKING HIS SLUMP
Jaquan Carlos continued emerging from his slump Thursday, when he finished with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Carlos has 39 points, 28 rebounds and a whopping 38 assists in his last four games after collecting just 23 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists in his previous four games.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Tyler Thomas finally cooled off a bit Thursday night, when he scored 13 points while going 4-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point land, Thomas, who’d scored at least 18 points in each of his previous nine games, is 38-of-90 from beyond the arc over his last 10 games after going just 32-of-111 from 3-point land in 10 games from Dec. 16-Jan. 25. He has scored in double figures in 22 straight games, 52 of his last 54 games and 60 times overall in the last two seasons.
PUTTIN’ ON THE FRITZ
Jacco Fritz had an up-and-down game Thursday night, when he scored six points and tied Darlinstone Dubar for the team lead with eight rebounds but also committed a career-high five turnovers in a season-high 36 minutes. The Dutchmen are now 8-1 this season when Fritz recorded at least eight rebounds. Fritz, who had five four-turnover games at Canisius, hadn’t played as many as 36 minutes since last Mar. 7, when he played 40 minutes for the Golden Griffins in a 67-66 overtime loss to Mount St. Marys in the MAAC Tournament.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov had four points and three rebound in 28 minutes Thursday night, when the Dutchmen improved to 11-2 since he moved into the starting lineup. Plotnikov is averaging 9.3 points and 2.5 rebounds over 29 minutes per game as a starter after averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 reboudns over 14 minutes per game in his first 13 appearances of the season.
SEVEN WISHES?
Bryce Washington’s quiet stretch continued Thursday, when he was scoreless with one turnover while missing his lone field goal attempt over 15 minutes. The Dutchmen are now 7-1 in the last eight games in which Washington scores fewer than seven points after going 0-8 when he scored fewer than seven points as a starter.
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game will be carried live on Flo Hoops. For subscription options, click here. Hofstra will also provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING CHARLESTON
The defending CAA champions Cougars, under third-year head coach Pat Kelsey, are 23-7 overall and 14-3 in CAA play after clinching the regular season crown and no. 1 seed by beating Campbell, 96-73, on Thursday night. It was the eighth straight win for Charleston, which won the CAA regular season crown for the first time since joining the league in 2013-14.
The Dutchmen and Cougars had one common opponent in non-conference play. The Dutchmen beat Iona, 62-57 on Dec. 6, exactly one month after Charleston opened its season with a 71-69 win over the Gaels.
In CAA play, both teams won their lone meetings against Elon, North Carolina A&T and Delaware. The Dutchmen swept Stony Brook and Hampton, each of whom Charleston defeated in the lone meeting between the schools, and beat Towson, which split with the Cougars. The Dutchmen won their lone meetings against William & Mary, whom Charleston swept, and UNC Wilmington, which swept the Cougars. Hofstra lost its lone game to Monmouth, whom Charleston beat, and split with Northeastern, whom the Cougars beat in their lone meeting.The Dutchmen split with Drexel, whom Charleston beat and lost to Campbell, which was swept by the Cougars.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 116th at KenPom.com. The Cougars, who were picked to finish first, are ranked 106th. Charleston and Hofstra are the top two teams in the CAA per KenPom.com.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank fourth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (110.9 points per 100 possessions) and second in defensive efficiency (100.7 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 65.7 possessions per 40 minutes, the ninth-most in the league. The Cougars rank first in the CAA in offensive efficiency (119.3 points per 100 possessions) and fifth in defensive efficiency (104.4 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 69.1 possessions per 40 minutes, the most in the league.
Junior Reyne Smith, who was selected to the preseason all-CAA second team, leads the Cougars with 12.4 points per game. Junior Ante Brzovic, a preseason all-CAA first team selection who is in his second season at Charleston after opening his career at Southeast Oklahoma State, is averaging 12.3 points per game and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game. Junior Ben Burnham is averaging 12.0 points per game. Graduate student native Frankie Policelli, a preseason all-CAA honorable mention selection who went to high school on Long Island and played the previous three seasons at Stony Brook, ranks second on the Cougars with 5.1 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 77-74 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 6 1/2-point underdogs. Big gap there. The Dutchmen are 13-16 against the spread this season but have covered five straight to improve to 7-10 against the spread in CAA play.
THE COUGARS ARE FOR CLOSERS (AND STARTERS)
The Dutchmen will finish CAA regular season play against Charleston after opening the league schedule with a 73-61 loss to the Cougars on Jan. 4. Time flies. This marks the first time the Dutchmen have opened and closed the CAA slate against the same opponent since way back in 2019-20, when they beat James Madison 82-76 on Dec. 28 and defeated the Dukes 97-81 on Feb. 29 The Dutchmen were scheduled to open and close against William & Mary in 2021-22 but ended the regular season with a makeup game against Charleston.
THE CAA RACE
The Dutchmen, who clinched a double bye and a top-three seed with Thursday’s win over UNC Wilmington, will be the no. 2 seed with a win today or a Drexel loss to Northeastern. Charleston’s win over Campbell ended the Dutchmen’s slim hopes of winning the regular season championship (the prestige of which disappeared with the NCAA yanking the NIT auto bid for mid-major regular season champions, another fine move by those buffoons)
1.) x-Charleston 14-3
2.) HOFSTRA 12-5
3.) Drexel 12-5
4.) Towson 11-6
5.) UNC Wilmington 11-6
The Dutchmen will win any tiebreakers in a two-way tie with Drexel at 13-5 by virtue of going 1-0 against Charleston, which won the lone meeting against Drexel. The Dutchmen will also win any two- or three-way tie at 12-6 with Drexel and either Towson or UNC Wilmington, who are slated to play later today. In a three-way tie with Drexel and UNC Wilmington, the Dutchmen would be the no. 2 seed by virtue of going 2-1 in the round robin, where Drexel went 2-2 and UNC Wilmington went 1-2. In a three-way tie with Drexel and Towson, the Dutchmen would be the no. 2 seed by virtue of going 2-1 in the round-robin and 1-0 against Towson, which also went 2-1 in the round robin. Viva la unbalanced schedule, I guess!
ALL-TIME VS. CHARLESTON
Hofstra is 10-9 against Charleston in a series that began with the Cougars joining the CAA prior to the 2013-14 season. As noted earlier, Charleston earned a 73-61 win in the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 4, when the Dutchmen overcame an early 12-point deficit and led 57-53 with fewer than seven minutes left before the Cougars ended the game on a 20-4 run. Charleston is seeking its first season sweep of the Dutchmen since 2017-18. The Cougars were the only team Hofstra didn’t face during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Elly De La Cruz might be the next Eric Davis bias! (Pat Kelsey, of course, is a huge Cincinnati Reds fan)
Pat Kelsey now looks like Chris Sabo bias! (He wears glasses off the court and really does look like the player nicknamed Spuds McKenzie)
Dalton Bolon is still this generation’s Andrey Semenov despite playing just one year in the CAA bias! (Dude was like 35 last year)
Why can’t Long Island get guys like Frankie Policelli bias! (He went to Long Island Lutheran before playing three seasons at Stony Brook, see, I’m sort of making fun of Hofstra here too!)
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