They're back, apparently? And so is CAA play!
Happy New Year! And as is the custom in these parts, we acknowledge the flipping of the calendar by diving into the essentially human experience that is CAA play. We’ll laugh, we’ll tear our hair out, we’ll daydream of championship runs, we’ll give up all hope. Probably all by the under-12 in the first half tonight against William & Mary. You wouldn’t recommend this to anyone else, but if you’ve lived it, you can’t imagine spending the winter months in any other fashion.
Anyway, as will hopefully be the case now that conference play has begun, I ran down the boilerplate material from Sunday’s 75-69 overtime loss to Tom Pecora and Quinnipiac in yesterday's Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that loss as well as a review of the 2023 calendar year and a preview of the Tribe on the 25th anniversary of the opening of Hofstra Arena. Yes. You and I are very old. Enjoy!
PUTTING A BOW ON 2024
The Dutchmen ended the calendar year with a loss for the fourth straight year. But as has often been the case this century, the Dutchmen still had a pretty good calendar year! (If this sounds familiar, it’s because I wrote the exact same thing in last year’s review of the 2023 calendar year)
The Dutchmen finished 21-12 RUSH BIAS in 2024, which is a winning percentage of .636. That ties the 2024 Dutchmen with the 2022 calendar year editions for the 11th-best record compiled by the Dutchmen during a calendar year in the 2000s. Pretty good century so far in basketball, all things considered.
Here’s the full list led, not surprisingly, by 2000 (Conan O’Brien voice goes here), when the Dutchmen made their first NCAA Tournament in March and began building towards a repeat over the final two months.
2000: 27-6 (.818)
2019: 26-9 (.743)
2006: 26-9 (.743)
2020: 19-7 (.731)
2023: 24-9 (.727)
2018: 24-9 (.727)
2001: 23-9 (.719)
2016: 24-11(.686)
2005: 20-10 (.667)
2004: 19-10 (.655)
2024: 21-12 (.636)
2022: 21-12 (.636)
2009: 20-13 (.606)
2008: 19-13 (.594)
2015: 20-14 (.588)
2011: 20-14 (.588)
2021: 17-12 (.586)
2010: 18-15 (.545)
2007: 16-14 (.533)
2017: 13-15 (.464)
2014: 15-19 (.441)
2003: 11-19 (.367)
2002: 9-21 (.300)
2012: 7-24 (.292)
2013: 8-24 (.250)
THE BEST OF ’24
Like the very existence of I’ll Be Quirky, this idea comes from Islanders statistician and The Skinny author Eric Hornick, who compiled the Islanders’ 2024 leaderboard following their New Year’s Eve loss to the Maple Leafs. Without further ado, here’s the Dutchmen’s leaders in the major statistical categories in 2024:
Points per game: Tyler Thomas, 22.7 ppg
Rebounds per game: Darlinstone Dubar, 7.1 rpg
Assists per game: Jaquan Carlos, 6.0 apg
Most total points: Tyler Thomas, 454
Most total rebounds: Darlinstone Dubar, 142
Most total assists: Jaquan Carlos, 120
Most points in a game: Tyler Thomas (34 vs. Drexel, Feb. 15)
Most rebounds in a game: Michael Graham (15 vs. Rice, Nov. 29)
Most assists in a game: Jaquan Carlos (19 vs. Northeastern, Feb. 17)***
***single-game school record
Michael Graham keeps the ’23-24 trio of Thomas, Dubar and Carlos from sweeping the three major categories.
GET TO THE WORKIN’ OVERTIME PART (part one)
The loss Sunday afternoon dropped the Dutchmen to 5-4 in overtime under Speedy Claxton and ended a streak of four straight overtime victories for the Dutchmen dating back to Mar. 14, 2023, when the Dutchmen beat Rutgers 88-86 in the first round of the NIT. The Dutchmen then edged High Point 97-92 in the Gulf Coast Showcase championship game on Nov. 22, 2023 before knocking off UMass 75-71 on Nov. 16 and defeating Rice 68-63 on Nov. 29.
GET TO THE WORKIN’ OVERTIME PART (part two)
The three overtime games for the Dutchmen this season are already their most in the regular season since the 2018-19 season, when they played four regular season overtime games and five overtime games overall. The Dutchmen played three overtime games during the 2022-23 campaign, but the final two such games were in the CAA Tournament (a 79-73 loss to UNC Wilmington in the semifinals Mar. 6) and in the NIT (an 88-86 win over Rutgers Mar. 14).
BURYING THE LEAD
A quasi-journalism reference! The Dutchmen forced overtime Sunday despite never leading in the second half. It was the first time the Dutchmen went to overtime in a game they didn’t lead in the second half since Jan. 24, 2011, when they edged James Madison 92-90 in a instant classic.
PERFECTION NOT ENOUGH
This was a truly quirky game. The Dutchmen lost despite going a perfect 17-of-17 from the line — the most makes without a miss in a Division I game this season and the most makes without a miss in a defeat since last Feb. 21, when DePaul was 23-of-23 from the line in a 105-71 (!!!) loss to Marquette.
PERFECT IN DEFEAT…AND ANYWHERE ELSE
Wait! It gets quirkier! The Dutchmen’s 17-of-17 effort from the free throw line was not only their most makes without a miss in at least 45 years, it’s their most makes without a miss in ANY game, win or loss, in at least 45 years. The Dutchmen’s previous best known performance from the free throw line was a 15-of-15 effort Feb. 26, 2011, when they beat Delaware 79-60. Per Stathead and my collection of media guides, the Dutchmen have just six other perfect performances from the line since Dec. 12, 1980, when they were 9-of-9 in a 76-72 loss to Stetson. That was the most makes without a miss at the line for the Dutchmen until Nov. 29, 1997, when they were 11-of-11 in a 64-59 win over American-Puerto Rico in the fifth-place game in the Puerto Rico Shootout. So it’s possible the Dutchmen have exceeded their 17-of-17 effort at the line, but I doubt it!
And for record-keeping purposes…prior to Sunday, the best performance from the free throw line in defeat for the Dutchmen was an 11-of-11 effort against George Mason (who else?) in an 87-68 loss on Feb. 2, 2011.
A GOOD DEFENSE WASN’T ENOUGH
This is also quirky! The Dutchmen lost Sunday despite limiting Quinnipiac to 29.3 percent shooting from the field (22-of-75). That’s the lowest a Hofstra opponent has shot in a defeat since at least the start of the 2002-03 season, which is as far back as my boxscores go at home. It was also just the seventh time this season a Division I team has lost despite holding its opponent to under 30 percent shooting. So we’ve got that going for us!
NO OFFENSE TO THE OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING, BUT…
…the Dutchmen recorded a season-low three offensive rebounds Sunday. The three offensive rebounds were the fewest for the Dutchmen since last Feb. 15, when they had two offensive rebounds in a 79-77 loss to Drexel.
REUNITED
With Sunday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 3-11 when opposing a former head coach. The Dutchmen were 3-8 against Lafayette and Butch van Breda Kolff from the 1984-85 through the 1987-88 seasons, after which van Breda Kolff returned to Hofstra for his second stint. The Dutchmen also lost their lone matchups against Joe Harrington with Long Beach State (Dec. 28, 1989) and Jay Wright with Villanova (Dec. 22, 2017) before falling to Tom Pecora.
JEAN FITS
OK, time for some individual news and notes. Jean Aranguren continued his strong season Sunday, when he led the Dutchmen with 23 points, six assists and three steals while adding eight rebounds and one block. The 23 points were two shy of Aranguren’s career-high, set against Division III Old Westbury on Nov. 4, and his most ever against a Division I opponent.
THE 20/5/5 CLUB
Jean Aranguren became the second Hofstra player this season to collect at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game Sunday afternoon. KiJan Robinson had 28 points, five rebounds and seven assists in a 114-46 win over Division III St. Joseph’s (NY) on Dec. 6. Aranguren is the first Hofstra player with a 20/5/5 line against a Division I foe since Tyler Thomas closed out his career by finishing with 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the 63-59 loss to Stony Brook in the CAA Tournament semifinals last Mar. 11.
PERFECT AT THE LINE
Jean Aranguren was perfect from the free throw line (obvs) Sunday afternoon, when he finished 8-of-8. Aranguren is the first Hofstra player to enjoy a perfect game from the line (minimum eight attempts) since Tyler Thomas was 10-of-10 in the 97-92 overtime win over High Point on Nov. 22, 2023.
JEAN NO LONGER BLUE
Jean Aranguren continued bouncing back from a brief slump Sunday, when he had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Aranguren has 94 points, 38 rebounds and 25 assists in his last six games after scoring just two points with three assists and five rebounds in two games against Houston and Rice from Nov. 22-29.
MICHAEL THE MARATHON MAN
Michael Graham, appearing in his 124th collegiate game Sunday, played a career-high 34 minutes Sunday, when he finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Graham’s previous single-game high for minutes was 33, set Nov. 29 in the 68-63 overtime win over Rice. The Dutchmen fell to 5-2 this season when Graham plays at least 20 minutes.
LUCKY THIRTEEN
Michael Graham reached double figures in rebounds for the third time this season Sunday, when he had 13 boards. Graham collected at least 10 reboudns just seven times in 62 games over his previous two seasons at Loyola Marymount.
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis, who missed the Dutchmen’s previous game Dec. 15 due to illness, finished with 14 points Sunday. Davis has scored in double figures in eight of his first 12 games this season after doing so just five times in his first 28 games the previous two seasons with Iona and St. John’s.
DAVIS’ DIFFICULTIES
However, it wasn’t the most efficient of games Sunday for Cruz Davis, who scored his 14 points while going 4-of-17 from the field. The 17 field goal attempts were the most for a Hofstra player who scored 14 points or fewer since last Jan. 25, when Tyler Thomas also had 14 points on 4-of-17 shooting in a 64-55 win over William & Mary.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov, the lone returning player who made a start last season for the Dutchmen, made his third straight start Sunday, when he finished with six points, two assists, two blocks and one rebounds in a season-high 34 minutes. The 34 minutes were the most for Plotnikov since last Mar. 10, when he played 36 minutes in a 73-58 win over Delaware in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals. Plotnikov, who has started over TJ Gadsden in each of the last two games, has scored in each of the last seven games after scoring just once in the first six games.
SANDERS SLUMPING
Some time off didn’t help Jaquan Sanders snap out of his slump Sunday, when he finished with three points on 1-of-7 shooting — including 1-of-3 from 3-point land — over 19 minutes. Sanders’ 3-pointer — on his first shot attempt fewer than four minutes into the game — accounted for his first points since Dec. 1. Sanders, who missed the Dec. 15 game against Temple with an injury, has scored 32 points over his last seven games, a span in which he is 12-of-58 from the field, including 6-of-35 from beyond the arc. 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 his last seven games after draining at least two 3-pointers in each of the first five games.
HERE’S TO YOU MR. ROBINSON
With Cruz Davis and Jaquan Sanders back in the lineup, KiJan Robinson returned to his reserve role Sunday, when he finished with six points in 16 minutes. Robinson has scored at least six points in 11 of his 13 games this season after scoring at least six points seven times in 32 games as a freshman last season.
FARMER TOILS
Khalil Farmer, who also made his first carer start Dec, 15 with Cruz Davis and Jaquan Sanders sidelined, returned to his bench role Sunday, when he finished with four points in 10 minutes. The 10 minutes were the fewest for Farmer since he played four scoreless minutes against Florida State on Nov. 19. Farmer has scored in each of the last eight games after scoring in just 14 of his first 26 games with the Dutchmen.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
Silas Sunday continued to serve a versatile role as the backup to Michael Graham Sunday, when, err, Sunday scored three points and pulled down one rebound in 11 minutes. With Graham handling most of the action at center against Quinnipiac, the 11 minutes were Sunday’s fewest this season against a Division I foe.
DECADY’S DANCE
Freshman Joshua DeCady saw his first action in more than three weeks Sunday, when he scored two points in 14 minutes. The 14 minutes were the most against a Division I foe this season for DeCady, who sat out the previous two games against Norfolk State and Temple.
TJ TO THE EXTREME
TJ Gadsden continued to slip out of the rotation Sunday, when he once again almost pulled the Club Trillion by going scoreless with no rebounds and no assists while committing one turnover in a season-low five minutes off the bench. Gadsden, who started the first 10 games for the Dutchmen before sitting out the game against Norfolk State on Dec, 9, has just 32 points and 26 rebounds in the 11 games outside of a 75-71 win over Massachusetts on Nov. 16, when he finished with nine points and 11 rebounds in the 75-71 overtime victory. He has yet to reach double figures in 12 games this season after scoring at least 10 points in 11 of 25 games last season for Canisius.
PARNELL’S CAMEO
Redshirt sophomore Eric Parnell was scoreless while missing his lone attempt over four minutes Sunday. Parnell has played in each of the Dutchmen’s last two games after appearing in just four of the first 11 games.
WINNING THE NON-CONFERENCE SEASON
With Sunday’s loss, the Dutchmen finished the non-conference season 8-5. This marks the 11th straight season in which the Dutchmen hit the CAA schedule with a winning record and the 17th time they’ve done so in 23 seasons in the CAA. (League games that were played in the middle of the non-conference schedule were not counted but are listed separately)
2004-05: 8-1 (.889) 1-0 CAA
2018-19: 10-3 (.769)
2005-06: 6-2 (.750) 2-0 CAA
2008-09: 8-3 (.727) 1-0 CAA
2019-20: 9-4 (.692)
2014-15: 9-4 (.692)
2015-16: 8-4 (.667)
2006-07: 7-4 (.636) 1-0 CAA
2024-24: 8-5 (.615)
2021-22: 8-5 (.615)
2016-17: 8-5 (.615)
2017-18: 7-5 (.583)
2009-10: 7-5 (.583) 1-0 CAA
2020-21: 4-3 (.571)
2010-11: 6-5 (.545) 1-0 CAA
2023-23: 7-6 (.538)
2022-23: 7-6 (.538)
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 and/or somehow paid one billion dollars (approx) for the Gotham Sports app. And if you living under the ruthless rule of Altice, I sure hope you have the Gotham Sports app! Ahh, Optimum, always looking out for us little guys. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
HOFSTRA AND THE CAA
As noted in an above, err, note, this is Hofstra’s 24th season in the CAA. The 24-year tenure in the CAA is the longest Hofstra has been in one league in Division I and tied for the third-longest tenure among current CAA members with fellow former North Atlantic Conference/America East members Drexel, Towson and Delaware (for now, anyway) behind only William & Mary (a founding member in 1982-83) and UNC Wilmington (1984-85).
The Flying Dutchmen spent 20 years in the ECC counting the 1992-93 season, when Hofstra played an independent schedule but was still considered a member of the ECC along with Central Connecticut State. In between exiting the ECC and joining the CAA, the Flying Dutchmen spent seven years in the North Atlantic Conference/America East.
WE’RE NUMBER ONE! (by at least two specially selected statistical measures)
The Flying Dutchmen have won 237 regular season league games since joining the CAA, the most among the seven schools that have been in the league since at least 2005-06, when Northeastern joined the CAA.
Hofstra: 237-171 (.581)
Northeastern 181-151 (.545)
Drexel: 210-193 (.521)
UNCW: 208-193 (.519)
Delaware: 181-222 (.449)
W&M: 170-234 (.421)
Towson: 169-237 (.406)
In addition, the Dutchmen have won 228 games since start of the 2013-14 season, the first season of the Joe Mihalich/Mike Farrelly/Speedy Claxton era. That’s the most wins for any school (just ahead of Charleston) that’s spent any time in the CAA over the last 11-plus seasons (‘sup James Madison).
HOFSTRA 228
Charleston 226
Stony Brook 209
UNC Wilmington 201
Towson 199
Monmouth 187
James Madison 183
Delaware 180
Northeastern 179
Campbell 174
William & Mary 172
Hampton 167
Elon 155
Drexel 154
North Carolina A&T 134
THE DUTCHMEN IN CAA OPENERS
The Dutchmen are 13-10 in the first game of league play since joining the CAA in 2001-02. They’ve won five of the last seven openers following a 73-61 loss to Charleston last Jan. 4.
The Dutchmen are playing William & Mary in the CAA opener for the fourth time, all since the 2017-18 season. The Dutchmen are 1-2 in CAA openers against the Tribe with a win in the 2020-21 opener sandwiched by losses in 2017-18 and 2021-22.
HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY TO THE ARENA
The David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex, which you should always call Hofstra Arena or The House Speedy Built, turns 25 years old today! Speedy Claxton helped christen the place in style on Jan. 2, 2000, when he led the Dutchmen with 19 points and five assists in a 74-46 win over Boston University. (That was, as far as I can tell, a unicorn score!)
The win was a sign of things to come for the Dutchmen, who won their first 10 games at the Arena, including the 2000 America East championship game, went went 20-1 in their first two seasons in the building and are now a robust 237-97 (.710) all-time at the Arena. Pretty good!
Even better: The Dutchmen’s 47-7 (.870) record with Claxton either on the floor as the point guard or on the sidelines as the head coach.
The Dutchmen, who won a building-record 21 straight home games from Jan. 22, 2005 through the loss to Old Dominion in the NIT Quarterfinals on Mar. 22, 2006, have posted a winning home record in 20 of their first 25 seasons in the building and are 3-1 there this season. Here’s to many more seasons and many more wins!
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe, under first-year head coach Brian Earl, is 6-7 this season after ending their non-conference schedule by beating Navy, 82-76, last Saturday. Earl spent the previous seven seasons at Cornell, where he directed the Big Red to a 54-30 record during his final three years at the helm
The Dutchmen and Tribe had one common opponent in non-conference play. The Dutchmen beat Norfolk State 80-67 on Dec. 9, just under a month after the Tribe earned an 84-73 victory over the Spartans on Nov. 12.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 178th at KenPom.com. That’s one spot higher than they were to open the season, though the Dutchmen were ranked as high as no. 133 entering play Nov. 19 and were at no. 143 before ending non-conference play with back-to-back losses. The Tribe, which was picked to finish seventh, is ranked 220th, four spots higher than their preseason ranking but just 21 spots below their peak entering play Nov. 22.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank 13th in the CAA in offensive efficiency (100.9 points per 100 possessions) and first in defensive efficiency (102.1 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 65.8 possessions per 40 minutes, the 12th-most in the league. Strange numbers, especially on offense. The Tribe rank first in the CAA in offensive efficiency (109.8 points per 100 possessions) but last in defensive efficiency (114.6 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 72.3 possessions per 40 minutes, the third-most in the league. Bah Gawd is that Tony Shaver’s music I hear?!
The Tribe return seven players from last year’s team. Senior Noah Collier, who opened his career with two seasons at Pittsburgh, leads William & Mary with 13.8 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. Senior Gabe Dorsey, who began his career with one season at Vanderbilt, is averaging 12.0 points per game. Junior Kyle Pulliam, a transfer from Division II St. Thomas Aquinas, is averaging 10.2 points per game. Junior Chase Lowe, who has spent his entire career with the Tribe, is averaging 7.6 points per game and a team-high 2.4 assists per game while ranking second with 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior Caleb Dorsey, who opened his career with two seasons at Penn State, is averaging 8.9 points per game, though he missed nine games from Nov. 12 through Dec. 4.
KenPom.com predicts a 77-72 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 5 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 6-5 against the spread this season.
ALL-TIME VS. WILLIAM & MARY
Hofstra is 29-15 against William & Mary in a series that began when the Dutchmen joined the CAA prior to the 2001-02 season. The Dutchmen won the lone meeting between the teams last season, when German Plotnikov scored 15 points to lead three players in double figures in a 64-55 victory.
The Hofstra-William & Mary series has lately been one of the CAA’s most exciting and competitive rivalries. Twelve of the last 25 games between the teams have been decided by six points or fewer or in overtime, including back-to-back barnburners in the CAA Tournament in 2015 (shudders) and 2016. But January 2 dates against the Tribe haven’t been kind to the Dutchmen, who suffered the wraith of Daniel Dixon in a 95-93 buzzer-beating overtime loss on Jan. 2, 2017 before being routed 88-61 on Jan. 2, 2020. Things got a little better that year, at least on the court, until, well, you know.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Scrubs reboot bias! (Apparently it’s happening and I trust Bill Lawrence to ensure it doesn’t suck like so many other reboots, don’t let me down Bill)
Shrinking bias! (Bill’s latest streaming hit is, err, Shrinking, which stars Harrison Ford, so you know it’s got to be good)
Hey little brother bias! (Used this last year with the Dorseys but it also works here because Brian Earl’s older brother, Dan, is the head coach at Chattanooga)
Tony Shaver should still be there bias! (Dane Fischer was a great guy thrust into an impossible situation and Brian Earl seems to have the Tribe on the right path, but Shaver was done wrong by Samantha Huge)
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