McDonald's football cards!
Ahh yes, one of those losses that reminds us we can still feel pain in a world conditioned to numb us to our surroundings. The Flying Dutchmen, already with two contenders for best win of the season, suffered what better be their worst loss of the season Saturday afternoon, when they fell to undermanned and no-longer-number-314-at-Ken-Pom Tarleton State, 61-59.
The Dutchmen will attempt to salvage a 2-1 record at the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship this afternoon, when they play Arkansas State, which entered the tournament with the highest KenPom ranking of anyone, which means the Dutchmen will probably win. (I wasn’t kidding when I said the entire Mets season reminded me of a Hofstra season on all sorts of illegal supplements) Anyway, here’s a look back at the annoying loss to the Texans and a look ahead to…the Red Wolves? The Red Wolves.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Jean Aranguren (21 points) snapped out of a two-game slump, but he was a one-man show against Tarleton State, which played the same five guys for more than 32 consecutive minutes but still earned its first win over a Division I team this season by outlasting the Dutchmen, who endured a field goal drought lasting more than 13 minutes spanning the halves before they missed four potential go-ahead layups in the final 35 seconds. KiJan Robinson’s 3-pointer with 10:13 left in the first half gave the Dutchmen an 18-14 lead, but they missed their next nine shots — a span in which they were only outscored 19-11 — before TJ Gadsden scored five straight points to give the Dutchmen their last lead of the game. Silas Sunday’s nostalgic 3-point play tied the game for the final time at 37-37 with 14:26 left, after which Tarleton State went on a 22-12 run in which the Dutchmen were 4-for-9 from the field with four turnovers. A pair of free throws by Jaquan Sanders with 4:27 left began a furious rally by the Dutchmen, who pulled within 60-59 on Khalil Farmer’s 3-pointer with 1:31 left. The Dutchmen forced the Texans — who missed their final four shots and went 2-for-6 from the free throw line in the final five minutes — into a shot clock violation on their next possession, after which Cruz Davis and Sanders each missed layups. Jordan Mizell, the only player to come off the bench for the Texans in the final 35 minutes, then missed two free throws, but Joshua DeCady missed a dunk and Sanders couldn’t put back the rebound. Mizell split a pair of free throws with six seconds left and Davis hoisted an airball 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Dutchmen, who had a timeout but didn’t use it. Aranguren, the lone player in double figures for the Dutchmen, added three steals, three rebounds and two assists. Sanders scored seven points but was 2-of-11 from the field. Cruz Davis scored five points — all from the free throw line because he was 0-for-9 from the field. Gadsden and Robinson had six points each while Farmer scored five points in a season-high 25 minutes. Sunday had a team-high seven rebounds while playing 21 minutes in place of Michael Graham, who scored two points while fouling out in just nine minutes.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Tarleton State, 11/30)
3: Jean Aranguren
2: Khalil Farmer
1: TJ Gadsden
SEASON STANDINGS
Jean Aranguren 18
Cruz Davis 12
Jaquan Sanders 9
KiJan Robinson 4
Khalil Farmer 2
TJ Gadsden 2
Michael Graham 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER EIGHT GAMES
With Saturday’s bizarre loss, the Dutchmen fell to 5-3 this season. This ties the 2024-25 team for the 25th-best record in school history through eight games. It’s the first time since 2020-21 the Dutchmen have opened 5-3 and the 17th time overall in school history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through eight games:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 4-4
1976-77: 6-2
1999-2000: 4-4
2000-01: 6-2
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 5-3
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 4-4
2004-05: 8-0 (most recent 8-0 start)
2005-06: 6-2
2006-07: 5-3
2015-16: 6-2
2018-19: 5-3 (marked second win in the 16-game winning streak)
2022-23: 6-2
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 4-4
1961-62: 7-1
1962-63: 6-2
1963-64: 7-1
Some other notable eight-game starts:
2021-22: 4-4 (most recent 4-4 start)
2020-21: 5-3 (most recent 5-3 start)
2013-14: 2-6 (most recent 2-6 start)
2012-13: 3-5 (most recent 3-5 start)
2008-09: 7-1 (most recent 7-1 start)
2002-03: 1-7 (most recent 1-7 start)
1994-95: 2-6 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-7 (VBK’s last team)
1960-61: 8-0
1959-60: 8-0
1955-56: 8-0
1951-52: 8-0
1947-48: 8-0
The Dutchmen have never opened 0-8.
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 EIGHT
With Saturday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 71-37 (.657) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 108 games at the helm.
Butch van Breda Kolff I 74-34 (.685, 108th game was the sixth game of his fifth season in 1959-60)
Frank Reilly 74-34 (.685, 108th game was the eighth game of his fifth season in 1951-52)
Paul Lynner 72-36 (.667, 108th game was the 24th game of his fourth season in 1965-66)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 71-37 (.657, 108th game was the eighth game of his fourth season in 2024-25)
Joe Mihalich 58-50 (.537, 108th game was the seventh game of his fourth season in 2016-17)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 56-52 (.519, 108th game was the 23rd game of his fourth season in 1991-92)
Dick Berg 55-53 (.509, 108th game was the 26th game of his fourth season in 1983-84)
Roger Gaeckler 50-58 (.463, 108th game was the sixth game of his fifth season in 1976-77)
Jay Wright 46-62 (.426, 108th game was the 26th game of his fourth season in 1997-98)
Tom Pecora 46-62 (.426, 108th game was the 18th game of his fourth season in 2004-05)
Claxton falls back into sole possession of fourth, one game behind Paul Lynner. Everyone else remains in the spot he occupied after 107 games except those perpetual slackers Jay Wright and Tom Pecora, who are now tied for last after Wright lost game no. 108 and Pecora won game no. 108. 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.
THE BEST DEFENSE IS MORE OFFENSE
The Dutchmen lost Saturday despite giving up just 61 points. That’s the fewest points the Dutchmen have allowed in defeat since way back on Feb. 10, 2014, when they fell to James Madison 59-53. That was 338 games ago!
IMPERFECT 300S
The loss Saturday to Tarleton State — which entered the day ranked 314th at KenPom.com — marked the third time in the last four seasons the Dutchmen have lost to a team that entered the day ranked 300th or lower at KenPom.com. The Dutchmen fell to then-no. 342 William & Mary 63-62 FRED BROWN BIAS on Dec, 29, 2021 before losing to then-no. 321 Campbell, 69-68, on Jan. 13. The Dutchmen got off frantic ill-advised shots at the buzzer in all three losses. Not that I remember or anything.
IMPERFECT TEN
This was such a weird game. All 10 players who saw the court for the Dutchmen scored, yet the Dutchmen still lost to a team that only played seven players, five of whom played at least 35 minutes! Anyway, it was the second straight game in which every player who saw the court for the Dutchmen scored — nine players scored in Friday’s 68-63 overtime win over Rice — and the first time 10 players have scored for the Dutchmen since Nov. 20, 2023, when 10 of the 11 players to take the floor scored in a 102-68 win over Buffalo in the Gulf Coast Showcase. It’s also the first time 10 players have scored for the Dutchmen in a loss since Nov. 30, 2022 — hey, that was two years ago yesterday — when the Dutchmen fell to George Mason (grrr) 81-77 in overtime.
NOT GOING FOR TWO
It’s not just for football teams! Despite going against an undersized and undermanned Tarleton State squad — the Texans’ tallest player on the floor Friday was 6-foot-7 Bubu Benjamin — the Dutchmen spent most of their time trying to come back from outside. The Dutchmen finished 9-of-28 from 3-point land but just 7-of-22 from inside the arc. The seven two-pointers were the Dutchmen’s fewest in a game since way back on Jan. 19, 2014, when they finished with six two-pointers in a 73-49 loss to SMU. Maybe it’s a Texas school thing?
DRIVING IN THE 60S
The Dutchmen scored fewer than 60 points Saturday for the third time in eight games this season, equaling their total in 33 games last season. The Dutchmen scored fewer than 60 points four times during the 2022-23 season and once during Speedy Claxton’s first season as head coach in 2021-22.
ALL A’S FOR ARANGUREN
Jean Aranguren snapped out of his two-game slump in impressive fashion Saturday, when he scored 21 points while collecting a team-high three steals and adding three rebounds and two assists. Aranguren was 6-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point land, after going just 1-of-9, including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc, while scoring a total of two points in his previous two games. Aranguren has scored at least 20 points in three games this season, matching his total in 33 games last season for Iona.
PRODUCTIVE FARMER
Khalil Farmer continued his solid weekend Saturday, when he had five points — including the 3-pointer that provided the Dutchmen’s final field goal and pulled them within 60-59 with 1:31 left — in a season-high 25 minutes. Farmer played just 26 minutes in the first seven games of the season. The 25 minutes were Farmer’s most since he played a career-high 26 minutes in the 89-68 loss to Duke last Dec. 12.
TJ TO THE EXTREME
TJ Gadsden’s hot-and-cold season once again continued in micro and macro fashion Saturday afternoon, when he had six points and two rebounds in 18 minutes. Gadsden scored all six of his points during a span of 3:24 early in the second half and drained both his field goals on consecutive possessions during a 37-second sequence — and then didn’t play at all over the final 12:25. He has just 25 points and 23 rebounds in the seven 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. Gadsden 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.
NOT CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis, who scored a career-high 22 points in Friday’s 68-63 overtime win over Rice, scored five points but was 0-for-9 from the field Saturday. Davis is the first Hofstra player to go scoreless from the field while hoisting at least nine shots since Jaquan Carlos was also 0-for-9 in a 68-65 win over Stony Brook on Feb. 18, 2023.
SANDERS SLUMPING
No question mark this time, alas. Jaquan Sanders continued cooling off Saturday, when he had seven points while going 2-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-6 from 3-point land. Sanders’ costliest misses were the pair of potential go-ahead layups he couldn’t convert in the final 31 seconds. Sanders has scored 22 points over his final three games, a span in which he’s 8-of-31 from the field, including 4-of-20 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. Sanders has hit just one 3-pointer in each of the last two gams after draining at least two 3-pointers in each of the first five games.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
With Michael Graham battling foul trouble, Silas Sunday tied a career-high by pulling down seven rebounds and adding three points over 21 minutes Saturday. It was the third career seven-rebound effort for Sunday and his first since he had seven boards against Hampton on Feb. 8.
GRAHAM’S FOUL TROUBLE
Michael Graham, who had seven points and 15 rebounds in his best game of the season Friday night, was limited to two points and three rebounds before he fouled out in just nine minutes Saturday. The nine minutes were a season-low for Graham and marked the first time he fouled out in fewer than 10 minutes since Dec. 10, 2022, when he he drew five fouls in nine minutes for Loyola Marymount against Utah State.
HERE’S TO YOU MR. ROBINSON
KiJan Robinson continued to look like the Dutchmen’s version of The Microwave (AGAIN HAVE YOU GOOGLED THIS YET CRAIN) Saturday, when he had six points while going 2-of-4 from 3-point land over 14 minutes, Robinson has scored at least six points in each of the last six games after scoring six points seven times in his first 34 career games
DECADY’S RETURN
With Michael Graham in foul trouble, freshman Joshua DeCady had three points and four rebounds in 10 minutes Saturday. DeCady played in just 14 scoreless minutes over the Dutchmen’s previous six games, during which he had three DNP-CDs. The points Saturday were DeCady’s first since he had 11 points in the 89-62 win over Division III Old Westbury in the season opener Nov. 4.
ONE FOR PLOTNIKOV
German Plotnikov, the lone returning player who made a start last season for the Dutchmen, flirted with a Club Trillion line Saturday, when he had one point and one foul over eight minutes. Plotnikov is the first Hofstra player to score exactly one point since Silas Sunday did so in the 63-59 loss to Stony Brook in the CAA Tournament semifinals on Mar. 10.
OVER THE AIR
This afternoon’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops. For subscription options, click here. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
ARKANSAS STATE AND THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
Arkansas State, under second-year head coach Bryan Hodgson, is 5-2 this season following Saturday night’s 75-67 loss to Rice.
Arkansas State was picked to finish first in the 14-team Sun Belt Conference. The Red Wolves (cool nickname) return four of their top six scorers from the team that lost to old friends James Madison in the Sun Belt title game last season — but also lost Freddy Hicks to Tarleton State (hey where have we heard that name before) while picking up preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Kobe Julien from conference rival Louisiana. Strange days.
Anyway. senior Taryn Todd, a preseason all-Sun Belt second team selection who is in his second season at Arkansas State after beginning his career with one season apiece at TCU and New Mexico, leads the Red Wolves with 13.7 points per game. Julien, a redshirt senior who spent the previous five seasons at Louisiana, is averaging 12.9 points per game. Todd and Julien are also tied for second with 4.9 rebounds per game. Junior Derrian Ford, who is in his second season at Arkansas State after opening his career at Arkansas, is averaging 10.3 points per game while redshirt sophomore Terrance Ford Jr. is averaging 9.5 points per game. Sophomore Rashaud Marshall, a transfer from Mississippi, leads the Red Wolves with 8.0 rebounds per game. True junior Izayiah Nelson, a preseason all-Sun Belt third team selection, missed the first five games before debuting Friday in an 86-81 win over Indiana State.
Per KenPom.com, Tarleton State ranks 142nd nationally in offensive efficiency (106.7 points per 100 possessions) and 97th in defensive efficiency (101.9 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 120th in tempo (69.4 possessions per 40 minutes).
The Dutchmen and Texans have one common opponent this season. The Dutchmen beat Rice 68-63 in overtime in the Baha Mar Nassau Championship opener Friday night.
This marks the first meeting between Hofstra and Arkansas State in men’s basketball and just the second all-time meeting between the schools in any sport. The Flying Dutchwomen volleyball team fell to Arkansas State, 3-2, in the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational in Missouri on Sept. 10, 2011.
The Flying Dutchmen are 46-41 all-time against schools currently in the Sun Belt, which includes former CAA foes Georgia State, James Madison and Old Dominion as well as former East Coast Conference rival Troy (it’s true Litos). The Dutchmen last played a Sun Belt team when it was actually in the Sun Belt on Dec 6, 2015, when they beat Appalachian State 86-80 at Madison Square Garden.
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 172nd (a drop of 20 spots from yesterday) while Arkansas State is ranked 112th. KenPom.com predicts a 70-66 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 4-3 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Maurice Carthon bias! (The former Super Bowl-winning Giants running back graduated from Arkansas State and is in the school’s ring of honor)
You’re not even in the sun belt bias! (Jonesboro is in northern Arkansas and the sun belt only runs through southern Arkansas, but geography is optional for conferences these days anyway)
Al Joyner bias! (The Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump graduated from Arkansas State)
Most recent Democratic governor of Arkansas bias! (No, not Bill…Arkansas State alum Mike Beebe)
No comments:
Post a Comment