I'm going to assume this is Otto's Poochie phase. That or he's furious that the Syracuse Mets might be better than the real thing next year.
Well this is a bends-inducing experience. The Flying Dutchmen will conclude what can only be called a wacky three-game stretch this afternoon, when they visit Syracuse for their second ACC game of the week, In the middle of course the Dutchmen beat Division III Old Westbury, which doesn’t even have an “a” or a “c” in its name.
Anyway, as will hopefully remain the routine following all games this year (not just CAA clashes), I ran down the boilerplate material from Wednesday’s win in Friday’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that win as well as a preview of the Orange. Enjoy!
EXHALE
The win over Old Westbury marked the Dutchmen’s 28th 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 earned their first wire-to-wire win of the season Wednesday night, when they (obviously) never trailed against Old Westbury. It was the first wire-to-wire win for the Dutchmen since Mar. 7, when they beat North Carolina A&T, 77-75.
A HISTORIC WIN
All caveats apply about how the Dutchmen played a Division III team Wednesday night. But the 69-point margin of victory was the largest in program history for the Dutchmen, exceeding the 68-point margin of victory set in a 114-48 win over Division III St. Joseph’s on Dec. 6, 2024. Hey! That was 53 weeks ago today! It was also the fifth time the Dutchmen have won by at least 50 points over the last eight seasons. All five wins came against Division III foes.
69 (92-23 Old Westbury, 12/9/25)
68 (114-48 St. Joseph’s, 12/6/24)
53 (107-54 Rosemont, 12/22/18)
53 (101-48 St. Joseph’s, 11/6/23)
51 (102-51 John Jay, 12/12/21)
I’d usually list all the times the Dutchmen have won a game by at least 50 points, but I found during research Wednesday night that the 75-10 win over USMMA during the 1955-56 season was actually a misprint in the media guide. The Dutchmen won that game 75-70. We apologize to all USMMA alums for the error…and are considering digging deep into the Newsday archives to double check the older Hofstra schedules. That sounds really fun and nerdy Anyway, given that all the previous known 50-point wins occurred before 1955-56, I’m not going to list them today in case some aren’t accurate.
THE DEFENSE DIDN’T REST
Again, all caveats apply about how the Dutchmen played a Division III team Wednesday night. Then again, allowing just 23 points over 40 minutes in a college basketball game is an awfully impressive feat regardless of opponent. The 23 points allowed were the fewest allowed by Hofstra since waaaaay back on Jan. 26, 1949, when the Flying Dutchmen (who really WERE the Flying Dutchmen back then) beat Webb Institute 60-22. My Mom was just shy of 18 months old and my Dad was not yet a year old!
In addition, the 23 points allowed by the Dutchmen are the fewest surrendered by a Division I team this season and the fewest surrendered by a Division I team since Nov. 18, 2024, when Kansas City beat Calvary 119-19. Yowzas.
EVERYONE’S GOT A POINT
All 12 players to appear for the Dutchmen in Wednesday night’s game scored at least one point (actually, at least two points). It marked the first time 12 players scored for the Dutchmen since Dec. 6, 2024, when 12 players scored in a 114-46 win over Division III St. Joseph’s. The Dutchmen last had 12 players score against a Division I foe on Dec. 17, 2005, when they beat Dartmouth 74-59 at Madison Square Garden.
BIGGIE’S BIG NIGHT
Biggie Patterson crammed an awful lot into a small amount of time Wednesday night, when he posted his first double-double of the season while leading the Dutchmen with 17 points and 12 rebounds in just 16 minutes off the bench. The double-double was the first of the season for Patterson and his second at the Division I level. He had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Iona in a 72-63 in over Saint Peter’s on Dec. 8, 2024. Hey! That was one year and two days before Wednesday! When Patterson exited for good with 10:56 left Wednesday, he had two fewer points and two fewer rebounds than Old Westbury had as a team. The 17 points Wednesday tied a season-high for Patterson, who also had 17 points in an 83-77 win over Bucknell on Nov. 13, while the 12 rebounds were a season-high and his most since last Dec. 29, when he pulled down 15 rebounds for Iona in a 67-61 loss to Harvard.
JAEDEN JUMPS INTO ACTION
Freshman Jaeden Roberts continued his emergence Wednesday night, when he set career-highs with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals over 25 minutes. Roberts, who was 5-of-11 from 3-point land, entered Wednesday with 12 points, one rebound and two assists over 18 minutes in his first four appearances, though he had seven points in seven minutes in Sunday’s 80-73 win over Pittsburgh.
CRUZ-IN
Reigning CAA Player of the Week Cruz Davis continued his impressive season Wednesday, when he finished with 15 points, three rebounds and three assists over 23 minutes. Davis has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season, the longest streak by a Hofstra player since Jean Aranguren scored in double figures in 15 straight games from Dec. 9, 2024 through Feb. 8, 2025. The 11 straight double-figure scoring efforts are a career-high for Davis, who previously scored in double figures in eight straight games from Jan. 20 through Feb. 13. Davis has scored in double figures in 32 of the 43 games in which he’s played for Hofstra after reaching double figures just five times over 28 games in his first two seasons at Iona and St. John’s. The Dutchmen are 19-13 when Davis scores in double figures.
PRESTO!
Freshman Preston Edmead had a solid game in limited action Wednesday, when he finished with eight points, six assists and three rebounds in 21 minutes. Edmead has at least five assists in nine of 11 games this season. In addition, his 151 points (13.7 ppg) through 11 games are just two fewer than Antoine Agudio during his freshman season in 2004-05 and four fewer than Speedy Claxton during his freshman season in 1996-97. Pretty good company.
PRESTON VS. SPEEDY
Speaking of which…Preston Edmead’s first 11 games as a true freshman point guard have been just as impressive as Speedy Claxton’s first 11 games as a true freshman point guard way back in 1996-97.
Speedy Claxton: 14.1 points per game/2.4 assists per game/4.5 rebounds per game
Preston Edmead: 13.7 ppg/5.3 apg/1.8 rpg
Pretty quirky and neat!
WHERE THERE’S A WILLS THERE’S A WAY
AJ Wills returned from a one-game absence Wednesday, when he had a season-high nine points and three assists while playing 17 minutes. The nine points were the most for Wills since Feb. 12, when he scored 17 points for Wyoming in a 71-67 loss to New Mexico, while the three assists were his most since he collected three assists Mar. 12 in a 66-61 loss to San Jose State in the Mountain West Conference tournament.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu continued to offer intrigue Wednesday, when he had four points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes, Onuetu was 2-of-2 from the field and has drained his last seven field goals dating back to Sunday’s 80-73 win over Pittsburgh. The nine rebounds were the most for Onuetu since Nov. 30, when he had nine rebounds in a 77-60 win over Pennsylvania.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
Silas Sunday had a mini-Christian Laettner on Wednesday night, when he scored four points and added five reboudns while playing a season-low 10 minutes in the lopsided win. Sunday hit his only field goal attempt and went 2-of-2 from the free throw line. He has scored in all 11 games this season, one more than his previous career-long streak set from Jan. 9 through Feb. 8.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov did a little bit of everything in limited playing time Wednesday, when he had two points, four rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 18 minutes. Plotnikov played fewer than 20 minutes for just the second time this season, He logged 16 minutes in an 81-73 loss to Iona on Nov. 7. Plotnikov has scored in a career-high 20 straight games dating back to Feb. 8 and has scored at least eight points in eight of the Dutchmen’s first 11 games after collecting at least eight points 10 times in 31 games last season.
DECADY DANCE
Joshua DeCady made his second career start Wednesday, when he again replaced Biggie Patterson in the lineup and finished with three points and three rebounds in 16 minutes. DeCady, who was scoreless against Pittsburgh last Sunday, has scored in nine of 11 games this season after scoring in 14 of the 25 games in which he played last season.
THAT’S AMIR
Sophomore Amir Williams joined the all-time Hofstra scoring list Wednesday, when he had four points while adding three rebounds and three steals in 11 minutes. Williams, who redshirted last season, collected his first points on a dunk following his steal with 8:40 left in the game before hitting a jumper with 3:01 remaining. The appearance was the third of the season for Williams.
REAVES RETURNS
Joshua Aaron Reaves played for the first time in three games Wednesday, when he tied a season-high with five points over 13 minutes. Reaves, who also had five points against Division II Molloy on Nov. 10, has played 17 minutes while sitting out three times over the last six games after opening the season by playing 52 minutes in the first five games.
TWO (BUCKETS) FOR TSYNKEVICH
Graduate student Alex Tsynkevich snapped a quirky streak Wednesday, when he scored four points on 2-of-2 shooting while adding six rebounds in 11 minutes. The field goals were the first at the Division I level for Tsynkevich since Dec. 17, 2023, when he hit his lone field goal attempt for Alcorn State in a 100-82 loss to Northern Iowa. Tsynkevich spent last season at Division II Kentucky Wesleyan.. The six rebounds were the most in a single game at the Division I level for Tsynkevich since Nov. 24, 2023, when he had a career-high eight rebounds for Alcorn State in a 90-60 loss to Clemson. The 11 minutes Wednesday were also his most since he logged 15 minutes against Clemson.
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game is slated to be carried live on ACC Network as well as on ESPNPlus, which you have if you have the Disney Bundle, which you have if you have a child under 18. (Alas mine mostly watches Max, Netflix and YouTube, sigh) Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SYRACUSE AND THE “ATLANTIC COAST” CONFERENCE
Syracuse, under third-year head coach Adrian Autry, is 6-3 this season after beating Saint Joseph’s, 71-63, on Wednesday night.
Syracuse was picked to finish ninth in the 18-team “Atlantic Coast” Conference, which remains as extremely overgrown and geographically challenged as it was when I wrote about it last week!
The Orange return just three players from last year’s team (but not former Hofstra point guard Jaquan Carlos and former Delaware forward Jyare Davis, both of whom graduated).
Freshman guard Kiyan Anthony, the son of national title-winning Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony, leads Syracuse with 10.7 points per game. That sound you hear is your bones creaking because you are OLD. Senior William Kyle III, who opened his career with two seasons at South Dakota State and one season at UCLA, is averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. Redshirt senior Nate Kingz, who began his career with one season apiece at NAIA Westmont, the junior college Southern Idaho and Oregon State, is averaging 10.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore Tyler Betsey, who played last season at Cincinnati, is averaging 9.8 points per game. Senior J.J. Starling, a preseason all-ACC second team selection who opened his career with one season at Notre Dame, is averaging 9.3 points per game. Junior Naithan George, who played the previous two seasons at Georgia Tech, leads the team with 5.0 assists per game. Sophomore donnie Freeman, another returnee, is averaging 17.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game but hasn’t played since Nov. 18 due to a right foot injury.
Per KenPom.com, Syracuse ranks 115th nationally in offensive efficiency (110.7 points per 100 possessions) and 34th in defensive efficiency (98.0 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 159th in tempo (69.1 possessions per 40 minutes).
The Dutchmen and Orange have four common opponents this season. Syracuse earned beat a pair of CAA teams in consecutive games from Nov. 15-18, when it followed up an 80-50 win over Drexel with a 78-73 victory over Monmouth, The Orange are slated to host another CAA team, Northeastern, on Dec. 20. Syracuse also plays two ACC games against Pittsburgh — whom, as you may know by now, the Dutchmen upset 80-73 last Sunday. Once again, both the Pittsburgh and Syracuse games should be against Big East opponents. Whatever.
Hofstra is 0-3 all-time against Syracuse. This is the first meeting between the schools since Dec. 22, 2006, when the Orange rolled to an 85-60 win at the Carrier Dome. What, you think Jim Boeheim was gonna come here?
Hofstra is 6-36 all-time against current ACC schools, though that ledger includes games against (deep breaths here) Boston College, California, Louisville, Notre Dame, SMU and Syracuse when they were all in their proper homes. This marks the third straight season Hofstra is playing at least one ACC foe. The Dutchmen fell to Duke, 89-68, on Dec. 12, 2023 before losing to Florida State, 79-61, on Nov. 19, 2024. This marks the first time Hofstra is playing two ACC teams in the same season since 2003-04, when the Dutchmen fell to Georgia Tech, 75-76, before losing to Maryland 87-72. This season is also the first time the Dutchmen are playing two schools from the same power conference in the regular season since 2009-10, when they lost to UConn, 76-67, in the preseason NIT before falling to St John’s. 72-60, in the Holiday Festival. The Dutchmen faced two Big 10 teams in 2022-23, but they lost to Purdue 85-66 in the regular season and upset Rutgers 88-86 in the NIT.
At KenPom.com, Hofstra is ranked 119th while Syracuse is ranked 67th. KenPom.com predicts a 75-66 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 10 1/2-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 7-2 against the spread this season.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
You stole Jaquan Carlos from us bias! (This year is evidence of what last year would have looked like with an experienced point guard, que sera sera)
Way too many sportswriters and broadcasters to mention bias! (They’re EVERYWHERE)
Jim Boeheim is a miserable grump bias! (Duh)
Don McPherson bias! (The Long Island native was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1987, when he led the Orange to an 11-0-1 record — the tie was in the Sugar Bowl! — and a no. 4 ranking)
You have a creepy mascot bias! (Seriously Otto what are you doing)
