A non-conference Keep It Perky? What is this sorcery?! Well, after I went 19-for-20 with postgame Keep It Perkys (Perkies?) in CAA play, I figured I’d try to give these a shot with the non-conference slate.
(Also, I was 19-for-19 before the season-ending loss to Monmouth, one of these years I’ll try to get the season in review up before the, you know, next season)
Anyway, as a reminder for readers old and new alike, Keep It Perky presents the postgame boilerplate material — recap, 3 Stars, the Dutchmen’s record through however many games and Speedy Claxton’s standing with previous Hofstra coaches through however many games, plus, hopefully, the unicorn score and Keith Hernandez bits — in one file. This allows me to keep I’ll Be Quirky focused solely on the bits and bites of the preceding game and the preview of the next contest. It worked pretty well when I debuted it late in the 2023-24 season and again during CAA games last year, so let’s see if Ic an do it over an entire season.
And another reminder that as is the case with IBQ, none of this is solely or even mostly my idea. Loyal readers Jaden Daly, Stephen Gorchov and Jess Kalbfleisch all suggested this to me and Jess came up with the different moniker. Thanks to them for their help and input. And without further ado, the first-ever #Redundant non-conference Keep It Perky!
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Flying Dutchmen displayed plenty of promise Monday night and flirted with the program’s first-ever #StillRedundant win over a Big 12 team before the usual power five home whistle ended any upset hopes in an 82-78 loss to Central Florida. Last-second addition Victory Onuetu had six points and four rebounds during a game-opening 16-7 run before the Knights mounted a 29-11 run over the next 10-plus minutes. A pair of German Plotnikov free throws and a 3-pointer by A.J. Wills just before the first half buzzer pulled the Dutchmen within 36-32. Central Florida scored the first four points of the second half before the Dutchmen went on a 27-18 run in which they took the lead four times, the last at 59-58 on a free throw by Joshua DeCady with 9:34 left. A 3-pointer by Preston Edmead tied the score for the final time at 64-64 with 8:10 remaining, after which Central Florida went on a 15-7 run. The Dutchmen inched within three points twice in the final 90 seconds, the last time when Plotnikov drained a pair of free throws to cut the gap to 81-78 with 45 seconds left. But the Dutchmen failed to box out following a missed free throw by Devan Cambridge with 16 seconds remaining and Themus Fulks iced the win by splitting a pair of free throws following the rebound. Davis scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and added five assists. Edmead had an impressive college debut with 16 points, including 13 in the second half, and six assists while Plotnikov (13 points) and Silas Sunday (10 points) also got into double figures. Onuetu had eight points and four rebounds in just 15 minutes before fouling out. DeCady added eight points off the bench while Sunday pulled down six rebounds.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Central Florida, 11/3)
3: Cruz Davis
2: Preston Edmead
1: Silas Sunday
SEASON STANDINGS (duh)
Cruz Davis 3
Preston Edmead 2
Silas Sunday 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ONE GAME
As you may have gathered by now, the Dutchmen are 0-1. This ties the 2025-26 team for the worst record in school history through one game! Or the 52nd-best record in school history through one game depending on how you want to look at it. Thirty-nine other teams began 0-1, most recently the 2021-22 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through one game:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 1-0
1976-77: 1-0
1999-2000: 0-1
2000-01: 0-1
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 0-1
NIT TEAMS
2005-06: 1-0
2006-07: 0-1
2015-16: 1-0
2018-19: 1-0
2022-23: 1-0
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 0-1
1961-62: 1-0
1962-63: 1-0
1963-64: 1-0
Some other notable, uhh, one-game starts:
2021-22: Speedy Claxton loses his debut
2020-21: Mike Farrelly loses his debut
2013-14: Joe Mihalich loses his debut
2010-11: Mo Cassara wins his debut
2001-02: Tom Pecora wins his debut
1994-95: Jay Wright loses his debut, retires in shame
1988-89: Butch van Breda Kolff wins his re-debut
1980-81: Dick Berg wins his debut
1979-80: Joe Harrington loses his debut
1972-73: Roger Gaeckler loses his debut
1962-63: Paul Lynner wins his debut
1955-56: Butch van Breda Kolff wins his debut
1947-48: Frank Reilly wins his debut
1946-47: Jack McDonald wins his re-debut
1943-44: Jack Smith loses his debut
1936-37: Jack McDonald loses his debut in Hofstra’s first game
This feature is inspired by Mets superfan and blogger 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 THIRTY-FOUR
With Monday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 81-53 (.604) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 134 games at the helm.
Butch van Breda Kolff I 99-35 (.739, 134th game was the eighth game of his sixth season in 1960-61) 91-35
Frank Reilly 97-37 (.724, 134th game was the fifth game of his sixth season in 1952-53) 92-37
Paul Lynner 84-50 (.627, 134th game was the 24th game of his fifth season in 1966-67) 73-37
SPEEDY CLAXTON 81-53 (.604, 134th game was the first game of his fifth season in 2025-26) 81-52
Joe Mihalich 70-64 (.522, 134th game was the first game of his fifth season in 2017-18) 69-64
Roger Gaeckler 68-66 (.507, 134th game was the second game of his sixth season in 1977-78) 68-64
Dick Berg 68-66 (.507, 134th game was the 24th game of his fifth season in 1984-85) 56-54
Butch van Breda Kolff II 66-68 (.493, 134th game was the 20th game of his fifth season in 1992-93) 61-53
Tom Pecora 66-68 (.493, 134th game was the 14th game of his sixth season in 2005-06) 55-65
Jay Wright 64-70 (.478, 134th game was the 21st game of his fifth season in 1998-99) 50-63
Joe Mihalich begins his fifth season at the helm while Dick Berg climbs into a tie for sixth place with Roger Gaeckler, whose honeymoon period following back-to-back NCAA Tournaments will be unfortunately brief. Tom Pecora remains tied with Butch van Breda Kolff for eighth place and offers another sign he might emerge from his perpetual slacker phase Not so sure about last-place Jay Wright, though. Time might be running out for him!
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.
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