As always, the only Tesla we recognize.
Well, so much for asking if fabulous five would turn into the sensational six. The Flying Dutchmen will look to bounce back form yet another heartening loss to Stony Brook this afternoon, when they host Not Twitter Guy at noon for a nationally televised contest.
As will hopefully become the routine once again the rest of the season, I ran down the boilerplate material from Thursday’s loss to the Seawolves in last night’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that victory as well as a preview of the Phoenix. Enjoy!
EIGHT WAS ENOUGH
Sigh. Still glad I got to make a ‘70s TV reference, though! The Dutchmen’s winning streak ended at eight games with Thursday’s 76-71 loss. The winning streak was the longest for the Dutchmen since a 12-game run from Jan. 19 through Mar. 5, 2023. In addition, per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, it was also the 23rd winning streak of eight games or longer in program history.
NO DRIVE FOR FIVE
The loss Thursday night dropped the Dutchmen to 4-1 in CAA play and ended their longest unbeaten start in league action since 2018-19, when the Dutchmen raced out to a program-best 9-0 start. It was the fifth time overall the Dutchmen have started 4-0 or better. With the Dutchmen and Charleston both losing Thursday night, the lone unbeaten team in the CAA is UNC Wilmington (5-0), which trailed Stony Brook by 24 points early in the second half last Saturday and vaulted into first place without even playing Thursday. Why do drugs when you can just watch college basketball?
NOT SEVENTH HEAVEN
The Dutchmen played just seven players Thursday, when new rotation mainstay Jaeden Roberts did not play and Biggie Patterson missed his third straight game with an injury suffered Jan. 3. The seven players were the fewest for the Dutchmen since Mar. 11, 2024, when seven players saw the floor in the season-ending 63-59 loss to Stony Brook in the CAA Tournament semifinals. Hmm. Just to be safe, let’s get eight guys into the game by the first media timeout for the rematch at Hofstra on Feb. 28.
SKIDDING AGAINST THE SEAWOLVES
We talk about it all here, the good and the bad, so it’s my duty to inform you that the Dutchmen’s four-game losing streak against Stony Brook is their longest active skid against a CAA foe. The only other active losing streak is a three-game losing streak against Charleston, whom the Dutchmen are slated to play on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12. So there’s a chance this streak could be surpassed before the Dutchmen host Stony Brook on Feb. 28! Yay? The four-game losing streak is the longest for the Dutchmen against a CAA foe since they lost four straight to Charleston from Jan. 7, 2017 through Feb. 3, 2018. The Dutchmen last lost at least five straight games to a CAA foe when Northeastern won eight in a row from Jan. 11, 2012 through Feb. 12, 2015. Great.
TOUGH SLEDDING FROM TWO
Speaking of mentioning the good and not-so-good: Cruz Davis (0-for-7), German Plotnikov (0-for-5) and Joshua DeCady (0-for-3) were all scoreless form inside the 3-point line Thursday night. Per StatHead, it was the first time three Hofstra players were all scoreless from inside the 3-point line (minimum three attempts each) since way back on Feb. 26, 2014, when Zeke Upshaw (0-for-5), Jordan Allen (0-for-3) and Stephen Nwaukoni (0-for-3) combined to miss all 11 of their 2-point field goal attempts in a 79-74 loss to William & Mary.
PRESTO!
Preston Edmead continued the most impressive freshman season by a Hofstra player this decade Thursday night, when he scored 22 points, pulled down a career-high eight rebounds and added three assists. It was the second straight 20-point game for Edmead, who scored a career-high 24 points in last Saturday’s 67-64 overtime win over Monmouth. Edmead is the first Hofstra freshman to score at least 20 points in back-to-back games since Eli Pemberton opened his career from Nov 11-15, 2016 by scoring 20 points against Coppin State and 23 points against Sacred Heart. Edmead’s four 20-point games this season are also the most for a Hofstra freshman since Pemberton had six 20-point games in 2017-18. He has scored in double figures in 15 games this season, the most double-figure scoring efforts by a Hofstra freshman since…you guessed it, Pemberton scored in double figures 21 times in 31 games in 2016-17. Edmead’s 277 points (15.4 ppg) through 18 games are 15 more than Antoine Agudio had through 18 games during his freshman season in 2004-05 and 17 more than Speedy Claxton had through 18 games during his freshman season in 1996-97. Pretty good company.
PRESTON VS. SPEEDY
Speaking of which…Preston Edmead’s first 17 games as a true freshman point guard have been just as impressive as Speedy Claxton’s first 17 games as a true freshman point guard way back in 1996-97.
Speedy Claxton: 14.4 points per game/2.8 assists per game/4.8 rebounds per game
Preston Edmead: 15.4 ppg/4.2 apg/2.8 rpg
Pretty quirky and neat!
PRESTON ON THE REBOUND
Preston Edmead recorded a career-high eight rebounds Thursday night, one week after he established a new career-high with seven rebounds in a 78-67 win over Towson. Edmead has at least six rebounds in each of the last four games after collecting six rebounds in a game just once in his first 14 games.
WHERE THERE’S A WILLS THERE’S A WAY
A.J. Wills, fresh off a second clutch late-game performance in last Saturday’s 67-64 overtime win over Monmouth, surged into the rotation in place of a struggling Joshua DeCady Thursday night, when he set season-highs with 10 points over 32 minutes while adding three assists and a steal. Wills, who came off the bench to play key minutes in the second half against Drexel on Jan. 3 and in the second half and overtime against Monmouth, entered Thursday having played just 57 minutes while drawing five DNP-CDs over the previous nine games. He surpassed his previous season-highs of nine points, set in a 92-23 win over Division III Old Westbury on Dec. 10, and 25 minutes, which he recorded in a 77-60 win over Pennsylvania on Nov. 30. The three assists also tied a season-high set against Old Westbury. The 10 points were the most for Wills since he scored 12 points for Wyoming in a 71-67 loss to New Mexico last Feb. 12 while the 32 minutes were his most since he logged 36 minutes in a 69-62 win over Air Force last Feb. 18.
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis struggled from inside the 3-point arc while continuing his impressive season Thursday night, when he finished with 16 points (all in the second half) while adding seven assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block. Davis was 4-of-12 from the field but 4-of-5 from 3-point land and 0-of-7 from inside the arc. The seven assists were the most for Davis since he had seven assists in an 86-72 win over Campbell on Dec. 29. Davis has scored in double figures in all 18 games this season — a career-long streak and the longest streak by a Hofstra player since Tyler Thomas ended his collegiate career by scoring in double figures in 25 straight games from Dec. 9, 2023 through Mar. 11, 2024. Davis has scored in double figures in 39 of the 50 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 25-14 when Davis scores in double figures.
SECOND-HALF CRUZ
As you may have read by now, Cruz Davis scored all 16 of his points in the second half Thursday. He’s the first Hofstra player to reach double figures in points after going scoreless in the first half since…Preston Edmead, who had all 18 of his points after halftime in a 74-66 win over Quinnipiac on Dec. 21. Quirky!
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov also struggled from inside the arc Thursday night, when he finished with 12 points on 3-of-16 shooting — including 3-of-11 from 3-point land and 0-of-5 from inside the arc — while adding five rebounds, one assist and one block in 40 minutes Plotnikov has scored 15 points on 4-of-23 shooting — including 4-of-17 from 3-point land — over the last two games sine setting a season high with 17 points in a 78-67 win over Towson on Jan, 8. He has scored in double figures a career-high eight times this season, breaking his previous mark of seven double-figure efforts over 31 games last season.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu continued his impressive work on the boards Thursday, when he had four points, 11 rebounds and two blocks over 29 minutes. The 11 rebounds marked the sixth time this season Onuetu has recored at least 10 rebounds and the first time since he tied his season-high by puling down 12 rebounds in an 86-72 win over Campbell on Dec 29. Onuetu has at least nine rebounds in six of the last eight games and 11 times in 18 games overall this season. In addition, the playing time was the most extensive for Onuetu since he logged a season-high 34 minutes in the 70-69 win over Syracuse on Dec. 13.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
With Victory Onuetu faring well, Silas Sunday played a limited role Thursday night, when he had four points, one rebound and one block in 11 minutes. Sunday, who tied a career-high by recording 11 rebounds and logging 29 minutes in last Saturday’s 67-64 overtime win over Monmouth, played his fewest minutes of the CAA season Thursday and his fewest since he played a season-low six minutes in the 70-69 win over Syracuse on Dec. 13. He has scored in all 18 games this season, seven more than his previous career-long streak set from Jan. 9-Feb. 8, 2025.
DECADY’S STRUGGLES
Defensive specialist Joshua DeCady’s struggles on offense cost him playing time Thursday night, when he had three points on 1-of-5 shooting while adding two rebounds, one steal and two turnovers in just 14 minutes. DeCady was pulled for A.J. Wills after committing a shot clock violation with 12:30 left in the first half and didn’t return until he replaced Wills with 23 seconds left in the half. Notably, Wills opened the second half on the floor instead of DeCady, who entered with 16:43 left and exited for good with 10:42 remaining, albeit after draining his first 3-pointer since Nov. 19. DeCady has just 11 points on 3-of-23 shooting over the last four games after tying his career-high with 15 points against Campbell in an 86-72 win on Dec. 29. The 14 minutes were the fewest for DeCady since he played a season-low 11 minutes in a 77-60 win over Pennsylvania on Nov. 30. DeCady entered Thursday having matched or exceeded his previous career-high for minutes in each of the last three games. The loss Thursday dropped the Dutchmen to 8-1 since DeCady moved into the starting lineup Dec. 7.
BANGED-UP BIGGIE
The struggles of Joshua DeCady amplified the absence of senior Biggie Patterson, who missed his third straight game Thursday after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury Jan 3, when he collided with Jaeden Roberts underneath the basket in the first half of the 70-67 win over Drexel. Patterson is averaging 7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in six games as a reserve — all wins for the Dutchmen — after averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds over the first nine games, all as a starter.
OVER THE AIR
This afternoon’s game is slated to be carried live on CBS Sports Network, which is channel 215 in the Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords Universe, at least until our Optimum/Altice overlords decide to drop CBSSN in a carriage dispute. Not-so-fun fact: The Dutchmen went 0-4 on CBS Sports Network last season and squandered a double-digit lead in all four games. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING NOT TWITTER GUY
The Phoenix, under fourth-year head coach Billy Taylor, are 11-7 overall and 3-2 in CAA play following an 85-78 loss to Northeastern on Thursday night. Quirky: That game completed the home-and-home series with the Huskies.
The Dutchmen and Phoenix had no common opponents during non-league play. In CAA play, both teams have defeated Campbell.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish tied for eighth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked a CAA-best 104th at KenPom.com. That’s 58 spots higher than they were to open the season but seven spots lower than their season-high entering last Saturday’s game against Monmouth and five spots lower than their spot prior to Thursday’s game. The Phoenix, who were picked to finish 12th, are ranked 159th, a whopping 113 spots higher than its preseason ranking and 10 spots lower than its season-high prior to the Dec. 31 game against Charleston.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in offensive efficiency (114.1 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defensive efficiency (107.4 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 66.0 possessions per 40 minutes, the eighth-most in the league. The Phoenix rank first in the CAA in offensive efficiency (115.4 points per 100 possessions) and 12th in defensive efficiency (115.2 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 68.0 possessions per 40 minutes, the fourth-most in the league. So expect some fireworks today. (Also. Charleston is also averaging 68.0 possessions per 40 minutes but is ranked one spot lower than Not Twitter Guy nationwide. Quirky!)
The Phoenix return four players from last year’s team. Graduate student Chandler Cuthrell, who opened his career with two seasons at Odessa College, a junior college, before playing one season apiece at Texas-San Antonio and Purdue Fort Wayne, leads Not Twitter Guy with 21.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Junior Randal Pettus II, who played the previous two seasons at Northern Kentucky, is averaging 13.6 points per game. Graduate student Kacper Klaczek, who was born in Poland but went to Long Island Lutheran before spending three seasons at Saint Joseph’s (the Atlantic 10 one) and one season at Albany, ranks third on the Phoenix with 12.2 points per game while ranking second with 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Sophomore Bryson Cokley, who played last season at George Mason (well, at least he left?), is averaging 11.7 points per game. Graduate student Ja’Juan Carr, who redshirted at UNC Wilmington during the 2020-21 season before playing one season at Cape Fear Community College and three seasons at Division II UNC Pembroke, leads the Phoenix with 4.6 assists per game. Junior Isaac Harrell, a three-year member of the Phoenix, is averaging 6.5 points per game.
KenPom.com predicts an 81-74 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 11-5 against the spread this season after failing to cover in their last two games and three times in the last four contests.
ALL-TIME VS. NOT TWITTER GUY
Hofstra is 14-5 against Not Twitter Guy, which joined the CAA prior to the 2014-15 season. The Dutchmen have won the last three meetings between the schools, including last Jan. 30, when Michael Graham (15 points, 13 rebounds) posted a double-double in a 74-63 win in North Carolina. This is the fourth straight season in which Hofstra and Not Twitter Guy oppose each other just once. The only other CAA opponents the Dutchmen have faced just once in each of the last four seasons are UNC Wilmington and North Carolina A&T.
Hofstra and Not Twitter Guy first opposed each other on Nov. 23, 2009, when the Dutchmen cruised past the Phoenix, 70-46, in a preseason NIT game at the Arena.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Please seriously consider changing your name bias! (This one may sadly remain here forever)
Thanks for beating Stony Brook in the CAA men’s soccer championship game bias! (No really, thank you)
Your coach is a certified public accountant bias! (Really, Billy Taylor is a CPA)
Mike Schrage is enjoying this Mets offseason bias! (The former Not Twitter Guy head coach and current Duke assistant is a big Braves fan)
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