I'll Be Quirky: Bucknell

I saved this JUST IN CASE I needed it for a blog 27 years later! Never let anyone tell you hoarding is a bad idea.

The Flying Dutchmen got back to .500 in surprisingly nail-biting fashion Wednesday night, when they expanded a 16-point halftime lead to 19 points before hanging on to edge Princeton, 81-77, to retain possession of the VBK Kup (which might really exist only in my head, unlike the ECC). The Dutchmen will look to extend their winning streak to four games and move over .500 for the first time under Speedy Claxton this afternoon, when they’re scheduled to host Bucknell, another alma mater of a little-known former Hofstra head coach. Here’s a look back at the win over the Tigers and a look ahead to the Bison.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Aaron Estrada collected 18 of his 20 points in the first half as the Dutchmen raced out to a fast start against Princeton before fending off a furious second-half comeback. The Dutchmen led by double digits for more than 20 minutes bridging the halves before Princeton got within a possession three times in the final 2:05 and cut the lead to one with 48 seconds left. But Jalen Ray, who missed eight of his first 10 field goal attempts, banked in a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer with 18 seconds remaining before Princeton missed a 3-pointer on its next possession. Estrada added seven assists while playing all 40 minutes. Omar Silverio continued emerging as a bench weapon by scoring 17 points in 34 minutes. Darlinstone Dubar had 15 points while going 7-of-8 from the field. Zach Cooks (13 points, seven assists, four steals) had another solid all-around game. Ray finished with eight points, as did Kvonn Cramer who was limited to seven minutes by what appeared to be an ankle injury.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Princeton, 12/1)

3: Aaron Estrada

2: Darlinstone Dubar

1: Omar Silverio

SEASON STANDINGS

Darlinstone Dubar 12

Aaron Estrada 9

Zach Cooks 9

Jalen Ray 9

Omar Silverio 4

Kvonn Cramer 4

Abayomi Iyiola 1

WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

Yes! Whoohoo! The Dutchmen came within a point of an 81-77 victory eight previous times, most recently an 80-77 win over Drexel on Feb. 28, 2019 and most notably the 82-77 upset win over Florida State on Nov. 20, 2015. And because this is apparently a thing now, one of the near 81-77 wins was over Wagner in an 81-78 win on Feb. 16, 1980.

This is the third straight unicorn score victory for the Dutchmen as well as (checks notes) their third of the season. This is the fourth time since we began tracking unicorn scores in 2018-19 that the Dutchmen have won three straight games by unicorn scores. The previous three times all happened during the 2019-20 season, which means the Dutchmen are going to win the CAA. Don’t look at me, I don’t make the rules. The Dutchmen have not won four straight games by unicorn scores in this unicorn score era.

The Dutchmen recorded no unicorn scores last season after recording 13 unicorn scores in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn scores in 2018-19. The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won. 

11/24/21: 87-49 over Molloy

11/27/21: 98-84 over Detroit Mercy

12/1/21: 81-77 over Princeton

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER EIGHT GAMES

With Wednesday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 4-4, which is tied for the 39th-best start in program history…or, if you’re a negative Nellie, tied for the 27th-worst start in program history! The gap between those numbers is closing. Seventeen other teams began 4-4, most recently the 1999-2000 team — which was Speedy Claxton’s senior year, which ended with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Again, it's meant to be, folks. 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 (over .500 for good)

2015-16: 6-2 (most recent 6-2 start)

2018-19: 5-3 (marked second win in the 16-game winning streak)

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:

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, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.

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.

SPEEDY THROUGH EIGHT

With Wednesday's win. Speedy Claxton improved to 4-4 as head coach. Only one other coach — Joe Harrington in his lone season in 1979-80 — to open 4-4 at Hofstra.

ZACH STILL COOKIN’

Zach Cooks scored 13 points Wednesday night as he extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to eight games. Cooks is just the fourth player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least eight straight games and the first since 2014-15, when Juan’ya Green scored in double figures in every game on his way to building a 43-game streak and Ameen Tanksley scored in double figures in his first 19 games.

Juan’ya Green 43 games (start of 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015)

Ameen Tanksley 19 games (2014-15 season)

Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)

ZACH COOKS 8 games (2021-22 season)

Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 season)***

***freshman

Speedy Claxton’s career-opening double-digit scoring streak lasted three games in 1996-97, while the late great Demetrius Dudley’s streak spanned four games in 1991-92.

ESTRADA'S 20/20 VISION

Aaron Estrada established a season-high for points scored Wednesday night, when he tied his career-high with 20 points. Estrada also scored 20 points for Saint Peter’s against Fairfield on Feb. 16, 2020.

NO STONE OF HANDS FOR DUBAR

Darlinstone Dubar was 7-of-8 from the field Wednesday night, including 6-for-6 from inside the 3-point line. Dubar is 9-for-9 on 2-point attempts in his last two games, which is the first time a Hofstra player has been perfect from inside the arc in back-to-back games (minimum three attempts per game) since Feb. 21-23, 2019, when Jacquil Taylor was 5-for-5 against both Towson and James Madison.

SMOKIN' SILVERIO

Omar Silverio continued his emergence as the Dutchmen’s sixth man Wednesday by scoring 17 points in 34 minutes. It was the third straight double-digit effort from Silverio, who’d scored at least 10 points in back-to-back games just once previously at Hofstra. In addition, the 34 minutes by Silverio were the most by a true reserver since Jalen Ray played 34 minutes against Delaware in the CAA semifinals on Mar. 11, 2019. Tareq Coburn played 35 minutes as a reserve against James Madison on Feb. 29, 2020, but he came off the bench on Senior Day so that Connor Klementowicz could earn the start.

REBOUNDING RAY

Here’s a fun stat for you inspired by a game note from Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov: While Jalen Ray struggled from the field Wednesday night, he pulled down a team-high seven rebounds — the first time in 129 career games he has even held a share of the team lead in rebounds. Seventeen other players have led or shared the team lead in rebounds in a single game during Ray’s five-year career. Here they are! Look at some of these deep cut names. (If a player shared the team lead, I gave him half a point…and the total adds up to 131 because Ray missed the first two games this season)

Isaac Kante 33.5

Rokas Gustys 27.5

Jacquil Taylor 22.5

Tareq Coburn 13

Eli Pemberton 10.5

Kvonn Cramer 6.5

Abraham Iyiola 2.5

Joel Angus II 2

Kevin Schutte 2

Stafford Trueheart 2

Justin Wright-Foreman 2

Desure Buie 1.5

Aaron Estrada 1.5

Zach Cooka 1

Dan Dwyer 1

Darlinstone Dubar 1

Hunter Sabety 0.5

RAY MOVIN' ON UP (part one)

Jalen Ray played in his 129th game for Hofstra Wednesday night, tied for second-most all-time with former teammate Eli Pemberton. As long as he plays tonight, Ray will move into sole possession of second place behind another former teammate — Desure Buie, who holds the program record with 141 games played.

RAY MOVIN’ ON UP (part two)

With his eight points Wednesday, Ray remained in 15th place on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. Ray has a chance to gain multiple spots this afternoon. He’s just five points shy of surpassing Rick Apodaca for 14th place all-time as well as 18 points shy of surpassing Leroy Allen for 13th place and 20 points away from moving past Fran Walker into 12th place.

12.) Frank Walker 1,437

13.) Leroy Allen 1,435

14.) Rick Apodaca 1,422

15.) JALEN RAY 1,418

16.) Ken Rood 1,368

Ray has finished each of the last five games in 15th place on the all-time scoring list — by far the longest he's gone without moving up a spot since he joined the 1,000-point club against Richmond on Dec. 22, 2020. Assuming he catches Walker, it will likely be a while before he catches Norman Richardson, who is 11th all-time with 1,677 points.

Dec. 22, 2020: Tied for 38th place

Jan. 2: 38th place

Jan. 3: 37th place

Jan. 7: 36th place

Jan. 9: 35th place

Jan. 15: 34th place

Jan. 17: 33rd place

Jan. 23: 29th place

Jan. 24: Tied for 28th place

Jan. 30: 28th place

Jan. 31: 25th place

Feb. 6: 23rd place

Feb. 7: 22nd place

Feb. 13: 21st place

Feb. 14: 21st place

Mar. 7: 18th place

Mar. 8: 17th place

Nov. 16: 16th place

Nov. 19: 15th place

Nov. 22: 15th place

Nov. 24: 15th place

Nov. 27: 15th place

Dec. 1: 15th place

10-FOR-10 WINS

The Dutchmen were a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line Wednesday. It was the first time the Dutchmen were perfect from the line (minimum 10 attempts) since they went 15-for-15 in a 79-60 win over Delaware on Feb. 26, 2011.

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

BUCKNELL AND THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

Bucknell, under seventh-year head coach Nathan Davis, is 2-6 this season after falling to St. Francis (PA), 93-67, on Wednesday.

Bucknell was tied for sixth in the Patriot League’s preseason poll. Senior guard Andrew Funk (great name) leads the Bison with 18.1 points per game. Junior guard Xander Rice is averaging 13.6 points per game while junior center Alex Timmerman (11.5 points per game. 7.5 rebounds per game) and senior center Andre Screen (11.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game) rank third and fourth in scoring and first and second in rebounding, respectively. Screen is 7-feet tall while Timmerman is 6-foot-9, which could present the undersized Dutchmen some issues.

The Dutchmen and Bison have two common opponents. In addition to beating Princeton on Wednesday, Hofstra fell to Richmond, 81-68, on Nov. 22. Bucknell is slated to visit Princeton on Tuesday before trekking to Richmond on Dec. 22. 

The Dutchmen are 10-20 all-time against Bucknell, which was an East Coast Conference rival long before I made up the league upon arriving at Hofstra. Bucknell won the most recent game between the schools Nov. 13, 2019, when the host Bison earned an 86-71 win.

Hofstra is 91-82 all-time against current Patriot League schools, which include five former conference foes (American, Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh in the East Coast Conference and Boston University in the NAC/America East).

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 135th while Bucknell is ranked 310th. KenPom.com predicts an 84-69 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 13.5-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 4-3 against the spread this season.

FROM THE VBK KUP TO...THE JAY JUG?

For the second straight game, the Dutchmen will oppose the alma mater of one of the school’s legendary coaches. Jay Wright played three seasons at Bucknell and graduated from the school in 1983– just 11 years before he was hired at Hofstra to replace Butch van Breda Kolff, who graduated from Princeton in 1946. This means we are further from Wright’s college graduation now than Wright was from van Breda Kolff’s in 1983. Welp. Anyway, I guess this means next we have to play La Salle (Joe Mihalich’s alma mater) or Adelphi (Tom Pecora’s alma mater) or maybe Hofs…oh yeah.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Jay Wright bias! (Again, stick with the classics)

Greg Schiano bias! (The former and now again Rutgers head football coach graduated from Rutgers)

The ECC was real and spectacular bias! (Again, the classics)

You’re just mad we owned you in I-AA football bias! (Hofstra won its last five football games against Bucknell, including a 45-21 victory on Sept. 10, 1994 in the first Hofstra road game I ever covered/attended in any sport. I got up at 5 AM to catch the fan bus there. Really! I got up before dawn!)

I'll Be Quirky: Princeton

 

This is as good as it gets right here.

Omar Silverio had the best game of his career Saturday afternoon, when he drained a school record-tying eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points as the Flying Dutchmen never trailed in beating Detroit Mercy, 98-84, to author the first winning streak of the Speedy Claxton era. The Dutchmen will look to make it three straight tonight when Princeton visits in what all the cool kids (or at least me) are calling the VBK Classic. Here’s a look back at the win over Detroit Mercy and a look ahead to the Tigers.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Omar Silverio put on perhaps the most impressive 3-point shooting display in program history as the Dutchmen scored the game’s first seven points and were never seriously threatened thereafter by Detroit Mercy. Silverio scored 22 points in the first half — shattering his previous single-game high of 17 points — and drained his first seven 3-point attempts on his way to finishing 8-for-10 from beyond the arc, tying Brian Bernardi and Jalen Ray for the most made 3-pointers in a single game. Zach Cooks made a bit of neat history himself by finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals while Aaron Estrada (16 points, nine assists) just missed posting the double-double. Jalen Ray (15 points) and Darlinstone Dubar (10 points) also got into double digits.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Detroit Mercy, 11/27)

3: Omar Silverio

2: Zach Cooks

1: Aaron Estrada

SEASON STANDINGS

Darlinstone Dubar 10

Zach Cooks 9

Jalen Ray 9

Aaron Estrada 6

Kvonn Cramer 4

Omar Silverio 3

Abayomi Iyiola 1

WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

Yes! And in the type of funky quirky thing we love around here, the games in which the Dutchmen previously came closest to a 98-84 victory were almost all wins over Wagner. The Dutchmen beat Wagner 98-83 during the 1965-66 season, 98-81 during the 1968-69 season, 98-85 during the 1975-76 season and 99-83 during the 1976-77 season. For good measure, they also beat St. Francis (NY), a future Northeast Conference rival of Wagner’s, 99-86 during the 1965-66 season. 

This is the second straight unicorn score victories for the Dutchmen as well as (checks notes) their second of the season. The Dutchmen recorded no unicorn scores last season after recording 13 unicorn scores in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn scores in 2018-19. The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won. 

11/24/21: 87-49 over Molloy

11/27/21: 98-84 over Detroit Mercy

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER SEVEN GAMES

With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 3-4, which is tied for the 50th-best start in franchise history…or, if you’re a negative Nellie, tied for the 17th-worst start in program history! Nineteen other teams began 3-4, most recently the 2012-13 squad, which, well, yeah. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through seven games.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 3-4

1976-77: 6-1

1999-2000: 3-4

2000-01: 5-2

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 4-3

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 3-4

2004-05: 7-0 (most recent 7-0 start)

2005-06: 5-2

2006-07: 4-3 (over .500 for good)

2015-16: 5-2 (most recent 5-2 start)

2018-19: 4-3 (marked first win in the 16-game winning streak)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1958-59: 4-3

1961-62: 6-1

1962-63: 5-2

1963-64: 6-1

Some other notable seven-game starts:

2020-21: 4-3 (most recent 4-3 start)

2013-14: 2-5 (most recent 2-5 start)

2012-13: 3-4 (under .500 for good because…well, you know)

2011-12: 3-4 (under .500 for good)

2008-09: 6-1 (most recent 6-1 start)

2002-03: 1-6 (most recent 1-6 start)

1994-95: 2-5 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 1-6 (VBK’s last team)

1982-83: 6-1 (first loss in 7th game)

1978-79: 3-4 (under .500 for good)

1973-74: 1-6 (win snapped the most recent season-opening six-game losing streak, the Dutchmen have never begun 0-7)

1960-61: 7-0

1959-60: 7-0

1955-56: 7-0

1954-55: 7-0

1951-52: 7-0

1947-48: 7-0

1943-44: 3-4 (under .500 for good)

Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.

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.

SPEEDY THROUGH SEVEN

With Saturday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 3-4 as head coach. He is the fourth coach to open 3-4 at Hofstra, which comes with a bit of an asterisk as the previous coach to start 3-4 in his “debut” season was Butch van Breda Kolff, who directed the Dutchmen to a 3-4 record in the first seven games of the first season of his second stint as head coach in 1988-89. Jack McDonald (in Hofstra’s first season of basketball competition in 1936-37) and Jack Smith (1943-44) also started 3-4.

WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN

The Dutchmen never trailed Saturday. It was their first wire-to-wire win since a 68-67 nail-biter over Delaware on Jan. 17.

SHARP-SHOOTING SILVERIO

Where to begin with Omar Silverio’s big game? Well, we can almost surely safely declare his seven straight 3-pointers to open the game are the most without a miss in school history. A player has hit at least seven 3-pointers in a game just 17 times and in none of the previous 14 instances did the player drain his first seven attempts. Tareq Coburn came closest on Feb. 7, 2019, when he hit seven of his first eight 3-point attempts. (I don’t have the play-by-play data for Frank Walker and Jason Hernandez, who became the first and second players in school history to hit seven 3-pointers in a game on Dec. 10, 1987 and Jan. 28, 2000, respectively)

BIG OFF THE BENCH

Silverio’s 28 points off the bench were the most by a Hofstra reserve since Justin Wright-Foreman scored 30 points in an 88-82 win over Rider on Dec. 9, 2017. That was the last game Wright-Foreman didn’t start for the Dutchmen. Eli Pemberton also had 28 points off the bench that game, which has me thinking it wasn’t just a strategy thing by Joe Mihalich. Wright-Foreman also had 25 points off the bench in a 62-54 loss to James Madison on Jan. 5, 2017 and 30 points in the 95-93 overtime loss to William & Mary three days earlier (in a game better known as Daniel Dixon Did It To Us Against II: Electric Boogaloo).

SILVERIO > SPEEDY

OK, not quite, but this is one of the great how has college basketball changed in a generation stats. The eight 3-pointers by Silverio Saturday were as many as Claxton had in his first 58 games combined as a freshman and sophomore. Really! People just didn’t shoot threes back then. Claxton was 8-for-49 from beyond the arc in his first two years and just 14-for-68 in his first three years before going 51-for-134 as a senior.

FUN WITH NUMBERS, THE 3-POINT RECORD EDITION

Along those lines…while the 3-pointer has become omnipresent in college basketball, Saturday marked just the ninth time since 2000 the single-game school record has been matched or broken. Frank Walker, the first Hofstra player to drain seven 3-pointers in a game on Dec. 10, 1987, held sole possession of the record for 355 games until Jason Hernandez tied it against Northeastern on Jan 28, 2000. Hernandez and Walker shared the record for another 317 games until Cornelius Vines hit seven 3-pointers against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 13, 2010. The mark was tied four more times (once apiece by Mike Moore and Taran Buie and twice by the late great Zeke Upshaw) over the next 171 games before Brian Bernardi broke it against Canisius on Nov. 13, 2015. And Bernardi held sole possession of the record for 182 games, a span in which four players had at least one game with seven 3-pointers (Justin Wright-Foreman 3, Tareq Coburn 2 and Bernardi and Desure Buie with one apiece), before Jalen Ray tied Bernardi by hitting eight 3-pointers against Towson on Feb. 6. Bernardi and Ray spent just 11 games as a duo before Silverio's record-tying effort.

ZACH STILL COOKIN’ (part one)

Zach Cooks scored 20 points Saturday afternoon as he extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to seven games. Cooks is just the fifth player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least six straight games and the first since 2014-15, when Juan’ya Green scored in double figures in every game on his way to building a 43-game streak and Ameen Tanksley scored in double figures in his first 19 games.

Juan’ya Green 43 games (start of 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015)

Ameen Tanksley 19 games (2014-15 season)

Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)

Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 season)***

ZACH COOKS 7 games (2021-22 season)

***freshman

Speedy Claxton’s career-opening double-digit scoring streak lasted three games in 1996-97, while the late great Demetrius Dudley’s streak spanned four games in 1991-92.

ZACH STILL COOKIN’ (part two)

Per loyal reader EvanJ, Cooks is the first Hofstra player since at least the 2002-03 season to finish with at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a single game. Cooks is almost surely the first Dutchman player to post a 20-5-5-5 game since that Speedy Claxton guy did it in a 90-57 win over New Hampshire on Feb. 18, 2000. Neither one of us has game-by-game logs from the 2001-02 season, but chances are it didn’t happen that year with the core of the back-to-back America East champs having graduated and the Dutchmen rebuilding.

RAY MOVIN' ON UP (part one)

Jalen Ray played in his 128th game for Hofstra Saturday afternoon, tied for third-most all-time with Charles Jenkins and Nathaniel Lester. As long as he plays tonight, Ray will move into a tie for second all-time with former teammate Eli Pemberton. Another former teammate of Ray’s, Desure Buie, holds the program record with 141 games played.

RAY MOVIN’ ON UP (part two)

With his 15 points Saturday, Ray crept closer to making more upward climbs on the all-time Hofstra scoring list. Ray enters tonight with 1,410 points, 13 shy of surpassing Rick Apodaca for 14th place all-time as well as 26 points shy of surpassing Leroy Allen for 13th place and 28 points away from moving past Fran Walker into 12th place.

12.) Frank Walker 1,437

13.) Leroy Allen 1,435

14.) Rick Apodaca 1,422

15.) JALEN RAY 1,410

16.) Ken Rood 1,368

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

PRINCETON AND THE IVY LEAGUE

Princeton, under 11th-year head coach Mitch Henderson, is 5-2 this season after beating Fairleigh Dickinson, 89-79, on Sunday. 

Princeton was picked to finish third in the Ivy League, which did not play last season due to the pandemic and did not have an all-preseason team this year. Senior guard Ethan Wright leads the Tigers with 15.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Senior guard Jaelin Llewellyn (14.3 points per game), junior guards Ryan Langborg (11.7 points per game) and junior forward Tosan Evbouwman (11.5 points per game) are also averaging in double figures.

The Dutchmen and Tigers have three common opponents. Princeton suffered its most recent loss Nov. 24 when it fell to Monmouth, 76-64. The Dutchmen are scheduled to play Monmouth Dec. 22. After facing Hofstra, the Tigers are slated to play CAA foe Drexel on Saturday and Bucknell on Dec. 7. The Dutchmen are scheduled to face Bucknell on Saturday.

Hofstra is 3-3 all-time against Princeton. The teams last opposed each other Dec. 19, 2019, when the Dutchmen trekked to New Jersey and earned an 87-72 win in the first game between the schools in more than 28 years.

Hofstra is 30-17 all-time against Ivy League schools.

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 136th while Princeton is ranked 152nd. KenPom.com predicts a 76-72 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 5-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 4-2 against the spread this season.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

VBK bias! (Stick with the classics)

Larry Lucchino bias! (Lucchino played for Butch van Breda Kolff on Princeton’s 1965 Final Four team)

Backdoor cut bias! (Pete Carril, who played under VBK at Lafayette, called the gorgeous play that resulted in Princeton upsetting UCLA in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament)

Chris Young bias! (The former Mets pitcher and current Rangers GM graduated from Princeton)

I'll Be Quirky: Detroit Mercy

Even Bob Seger can't believe this was his lone no. 1 hit.

The Flying Dutchmen finally returned from their epic season-opening road trip Wednesday afternoon, when they took advantage of a get-right spot by easing past Division II Molloy, 87-49. The Dutchmen will continue a four-game homestand by returning to the land of Division I foes this afternoon, when they are slated to host Detroit Mercy. Here’s a look back at the win over Molloy and a look ahead to *checks Detroit Mercy’s nickname* the Titans.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Jalen Ray, showing no ill effects from his injury scare two nights earlier, scored a game-high 20 points to lead six players in double figures for the Dutchmen, who spotted Molloy a pair of early leads and allowed the Lions to tie the score seven times before Kvonn Cramer and Ray combined to score nine straight points in a decisive run. Cramer (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Darlinstone Dubar (11 points, 12 rebounds) each had double-doubles, with Dubar actually posting a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in the second half. Zach Cooks and Aaron Estrada each had 14 points while Estrada added seven rebounds. Omar Silverio scored 12 points off the bench. 

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Molloy, 11/24)

3: Jalen Ray

2: Kvonn Cramer

1: Darlinstone Dubar

SEASON STANDINGS

Darlinstone Dubar 10

Jalen Ray 9

Zach Cooks 7

Aaron Estrada 5

Kvonn Cramer 4

Abayomi Iyiola 1

WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?

IT HAS HAPPENED! A unicorn score drought spanning 16 wins, 625 days and a whole lot of terrible stuff ended with the 87-49 win. Pop that champagne. Appropriately enough, the closest the Dutchmen came to an 87-49 victory prior to Wednesday was an 87-48 win over another Long Island-based non-Division I opponent, Division III Farmingdale State, on Nov. 20, 2009.

The Dutchmen recorded no unicorn scores last season after recording 13 unicorn scores in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn scores in 2018-19. The term unicorn score was coined by Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won. 

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER SIX GAMES

With Wednesday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 2-4, which is tied for the 65th-best start in franchise history…or, if you’re a negative Nellie, tied for the 22nd-worst start in program history! Thirteen other teams began 2-4, most recently the 2013-14 squad, which was Joe Mihalich’s first year at the helm. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through six games.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 3-3

1976-77: 5-1

1999-2000: 3-3

2000-01: 5-1

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 4-2 (most recent 4-2 start)

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 2-4

2004-05: 6-0 (most recent 6-0 start)

2005-06: 4-2

2006-07: 3-3

2015-16: 4-2

2018-19: 3-3

Some other notable six-game starts:

2020-21: 3-3 (most recent 3-3 start)

2012-13: 3-3 (last time at .500 that season because…well, you know)

2008-09: 5-1 (most recent 5-1 start)

2007-08: 1-5 (most recent 1-5 start)

1994-95: 1-5 (Jay Wright’s first team)

1993-94: 1-5 (VBK’s last team)

1982-83: 6-0

1978-79: 3-3 (last time at .500)

1973-74: 0-6 (most recent 0-6 start, Hofstra won game no. 7 and has never started 0-7)

1969-70: 0-6 (first 0-6 start)

1960-61: 6-0

1969-60: 6-0

1955-56: 6-0

1954-55: 6-0

1952-53: 5-1 (first loss in sixth game)

1951-52: 6-0

1948-49: 6-0

1947-48: 6-0

1943-44: 3-3 (last time at .500)

Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1957-58.

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.

SPEEDY THROUGH SIX

With Wednesday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 2-4 as head coach. He is the fourth coach to open 2-4 at Hofstra, following in the footsteps of Roger Gaeckler (1972-73), Dick Berg (1980-81) and Joe Mihalich (2013-14).

101010101010 WINS

The Dutchmen had six double-digit scorers Wednesday for the first time since a 94-74 win over Monmouth on Nov. 9, 2019, when Eli Pemberton and Desure Buie scored 17 points apiece to lead a sextet that included Isaac Kante (15 points), Jalen Ray (14 points), Omar Silverio (13 points) and Tareq Coburn (11 points). As was the case Wednesday, Silverio’s effort was produced as a reserve.

DOUBLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE FUN

Kvonn Cramer (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Darlinstone Dubar (11 points, 12 rebounds) became the first Dutchmen teammates to post double-doubles in the same game since Eli Pemberton (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Tareq Coburn (10 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles against Stony Brook on Dec. 10, 2019. Te double-double was the fifth of Cramer’s career and the first for Dubar.

ZACH STILL COOKIN’

It took until the final two minutes, but Zach Cooks extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to six games. Cooks hit a jumper with 1:41 left and then drained a 3-pointer 34 seconds later to finish with 14 points. Cooks is just the fifth player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least six straight games and the first since 2014-15, when Juan’ya Green scored in double figures in every game on his way to building a 43-game streak and Ameen Tanksley scored in double figures in his first 19 games.

Juan’ya Green 43 games (start of 2014-15 season through Dec. 9, 2015)

Ameen Tanksley 19 games (2014-15 season)

Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 season)

Antoine Agudio 7 games (2004-05 season)***

ZACH COOKS 6 games (2021-22 season)

***freshman

Speedy Claxton’s career-opening double-digit scoring streak lasted three games in 1996-97, while the late great Demetrius Dudley’s streak spanned four games in 1991-92.

(Correction: I had Darlinstone Dubar down as having scored in double figures in each of his first five games in Wednesday’s I’ll Be Quirky, but he had just nine points in the season opener against Houston. I blame my editor. My editor is me.)

NO HARM, NO FOULS

The Dutchmen had a historic second consecutive efficient game in at least one regard Wednesday, when they were whistled for just five fouls against Molloy. Remarkably, that’s one more foul than they earned two nights earlier against Richmond. (Another way to look at it: They fouled 20 percent more on Wednesday than on Monday)

The nine fouls in back-to-back games are surely the fewest the Dutchmen have committed in a two-game span dating back to at least the 2003-04 season. Prior to Monday, the Dutchmen had committed fewer than 10 fouls just six times since 2003-04.

In addition, per research by Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, the Dutchmen are just the 10th team since 2010-11 — the start of the Play Index era at College Basketball Reference — to commit five or fewer fouls in two games and the first to do it in back-to-back contests.

FOUR FOR THE FRESHMEN

Jaquan Carlos recorded the first points this season by a Hofstra freshman when he scored on back-to-back fast breaks late in the second half. This marks just the fourth time in the CAA era (2001-present) that the first points by a freshman have been scored in the sixth game or later. Kevin Schutte was the first freshman to score in the 2018-19 season, when he had six points against Rosemont in the seventh game of the campaign on Dec. 22, 2018. The Dutchmen didn’t have any freshmen score in 2006-07, when Mantas Leonavicius was scoreless in 11 games, or in 2008-09, when there were no freshmen on the roster.

BLOWOUTS ARE BORING (but sometimes they happen anyway)

The Dutchmen’s lopsided win Wednesday snapped their streak of games behind decided by 20 points or fewer at 38, the longest among Division I programs, dating back to an 83-60 win over William & Mary on Feb. 1, 2020.

OVER THE AIR

Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

http://streamwrhu.net/newPlayer/?hawc/newPlayer/?hawc=

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=369181&vislive=hofs

DETROIT MERCY AND THE HORIZON LEAGUE

Detroit Mercy, under fourth-year head coach Mike Davis (yup, that Mike Davis), is 0-4 this season after falling to Louisville, 73-67, last Saturday. Did you know Louisville’s interim head coach is Mike Pegues? Mike Davis, getting a tour of the turn-of-the-century America East! Detroit Mercy’s four opponents all entered today in the top 130 at KenPom.com. The Titans’ first nine games are all on the road.

Detroit Mercy was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League. Senior guard Antoine Davis, the son of Mike, was selected as the preseason Horizon League player of the year. Antoine Davis who ranked third in the country in scoring at 24.0 points per game last season, leads the Titans with 20.0 points per game this year. Junior forward Madut Akec ranks second with 14.5 points per game and leads Detroit Mercy with 8.8 rebounds per game. Graduate student Kevin McAdoo Jr. is averaging 10.8 points per game.

The Dutchmen and Titans have one common opponent. Detroit Mercy’s next game is scheduled for Tuesday at Northeastern, whom Hofstra is slated to face in CAA play on Jan. 22 and Feb. 19.

Today marks the first time Hofstra and Detroit Mercy have ever played in any sport — the first time a men’s basketball game marks Hofstra’s first athletic competition against another Division I school since the Flying Dutchmen beat North Carolina A&T, 92-72, on Nov 14, 2018.

The Dutchmen are 4-4 all-time against current Horizon League schools.

At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 142nd while Detroit Mercy is ranked 220th. KenPom.com predicts a 76-68 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 8-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 3-2 against the spread this season.

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

Almost won the national championship at Indiana bias! (Davis, pressed into the head coaching job when Bobby Knight finally pushed Indiana too far in 2000, led the Hoosiers to the title game in 2002)

Keegan-Michael Key bias! (The actor and comedian went to Detroit Mercy)

Bob Seger bias! (How can you not have a Bob Seger bias when opposing a Detroit-based school?)

Susan Poser used to oppose you all the time bias! (Hofstra’s new president spent the previous five years at the Horizon League’s Illinois-Chicago)