Ohhh ****. Look at that door, dude. The one marked Pirate? You think Hampton lives there? (Probably not, it's my dentist's office)
Well, now what? Do the Flying Dutchmen alternate wins with losses for the first time in more than three months or will they lose a second straight at an inconvenient time? The answer comes tonight, when the Dutchmen begin the closing stretch of the regular season in the jam-packed CAA by hosting Hampton at the rare tip time of 8 PM on CBS Sports Network.
As will hopefully become the routine once again the rest of the season, I ran down the boilerplate material from Saturday afternoon’s loss to UNC Wilmington in yesterday’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that loss as well as a preview of the Pirates. Enjoy!
NO DRIVE FOR FIVE
Old-school Islanders reference! The Dutchmen’s four-game winning streak ended with Saturday’s loss. The four-game streak was the second-longest of the season for the Dutchmen, who won eight in a row from Dec. 7 through Jan. 10. (And then lost five straight because this season is craaaaazy) This is the fourth time in Speedy Claxton’s five seasons as head coach that the Dutchmen have authored at least two four-game winning streaks. They had three winning streaks of four games or longer in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 before posting one four-game winning streak last season.
DOWN A TOUCHDOWN TO START…
Football reference! Neat! UNC Wilmington, which does not play football, raced out to a 7-0 lead Saturday afternoon. That was the most unanswered points the Dutchmen allowed to start a game since Nov. 22, 2024, when no. 7 Houston also scored the first seven points in an 80-44 win. The Dutchmen hadn’t given up at least seven unanswered points to start a game against a CAA foe since way back on Mar. 6, 2022, when Charleston scored the first seven points on its way to a 92-76 win in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals.
…AND DOWN A TOUCHDOWN TO FINISH
The Dutchmen also allowed the final six points Saturday as UNC Wilmington overcame a two-point deficit to earn the win. This factoid took a lot less time to look up, because…Saturday marked the first time an opponent overcame a deficit and earned a win by scoring at least six straight unanswered points to end the game since last Mar. 8, when Monmouth (which DOES play football!) scored the final six points in a 65-60 win over the Dutchmen in the second round of the CAA Tournament, So both these touchdown-related blurbs circle back to a season-ending CAA Tournament loss. We like pain here.
THREE-ON-FIVE
The trio of Cruz Davis (22 points), Preston Edmead (21 points) and Joshua DeCady (14 points) combined for 57 points Saturday afternoon, or 86.3 percent of the Dutchmen’s 66 points. That’s a pretty large share of points for the trio, but it’s only the second-largest percentage of the Dutchmen’s points accounted for by a threesome this season. Davis (30 points), Edmead (20 points) and Jaeden Roberts (20 points) combined for 70 points, or 89.7 percent of the Dutchmen’s 78 points, in 79-78 loss to North Carolina A&T on Jan. 22. And that was the highest percentage of points scored by a trio of Dutchmen since Jan. 4, 2024, when Tyler Thomas (21 points), Darlinstone Dubar (20 points) and Jaquan Carlos (14 points) accounted for 55 of the Dutchmen’s 61 points — or 90.1 percent — in a 73-61 loss to Charleston.
TWO WITH ONE
Now this is quirky. Starters German Plotnikov and Silas Sunday each scored exactly one point Saturday afternoon. It’s the first time two Hofstra players have finished with exactly one point since way back on Jan. 19, 2014, when Jordan Allen and Stephen Nwaukoni had one point apiece in a 73-49 loss to SMU. That was Joe Mihalich’s 18th game at the helm and a whopping 398 games ago! Allen and Nwaukoni were also starters in that game.
STINGY FROM THREE IN DEFEAT
The Dutchmen lost Saturday despite limiting UNC Wilmington to just 4-of-14 shooting from 3-point land. It’s the second time this season the Dutchmen have lost a game in which they allowed four or fewer 3-pointers Charleston was 3-of-18 from beyond the arc in a 66-64 win on Jan. 28. This is the first time the Dutchmen have lost multiple games in which they allowed four or fewer 3-pointers since the 2020-21 season, when they also had two such games.
STAYING (within) SINGLE (digits)
Well, for a hot minute Saturday afternoon, it looked like the Dutchmen might either fall off this list or knock UNC Wilmington off it! Oh well. The loss Saturday was by just four points (obvs), so the Dutchmen (17-10) have still yet to lose a game this season by more than eight points. They are one of just 12 Division I schools nationwide without a double-digit loss this season — and one of two in the CAA, where UNC Wilmington (22-4) has yet to lose a game by more than nine points. The Dutchmen and Seahawks are two of just five mid-majors who have yet to suffer a double-digit loss and the CAA is the only mid-major league with two such teams.
HOFSTRA (17-10)
Miami Ohio (26-0)
Saint Louis (24-2)
Stephen F. Austin (24-3)
UNC Wilmington (22-4)
And I guess here are the other teams yet to suffer a double-digit loss:
Arizona (24-2)
Connecticut (24-3)
Duke (24-2)
Michigan (25-1)
Nebraska (22-4)
Houston (23-3)
Florida (20-6)
Connecticut almost fell off the list last night, when the Huskies trailed Creighton by 12 points in th final minute, but the Huskies only lost 91-84. So close.
This is pretty good company for the Dutchmen, UNC Wilmington and the CAA in general. The only other leagues with multiple teams who have yet to suffer a double-digit loss are the Big 10 and Big 12.
PRESTO!
Preston Edmead continued the most impressive freshman season by a Hofstra player this decade — or maybe a lot longer — Saturday afternoon, when he finished with 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting — including 3-of-6 from 3-point land — while adding four assists, four rebounds and one steal. Edmead has scored in double figures in 22 games this season, which is one more than Eli Pemberton’s total in 2016-17 and is now the most double-figure scoring efforts by a Hofstra freshman since Charles Jenkins scored in double figures 27 times in 29 games in 2007-08. That’s…that’s pretty good. So is this: Edmead’s 417 points (15.4 ppg) through 26 games are five more than Jenkins had through 27 games during his freshman season in 2007-08, 22 more than Antoine Agudio had through 27 games during his freshman season in 2004-05 and 11 more than Speedy Claxton had in his freshman season in 1997-97, which lasted 27 games. Pretty good company. (Yes I finally added Jenkins to the group, not sure what took me so long there)
PRESTON VS. SPEEDY
Speaking of which…Preston Edmead has now officially been as impressive through 27 games as a true freshman point guard as Speedy Claxton was as a freshman way back in 1996-97, when the Flying Dutchmen — who really WERE nicknamed the Flying Dutchmen back then! — completed their season with a 12-15 record.
Speedy Claxton: 15.0 points per game/3.4 assists per game/4.6 rebounds per game
Preston Edmead: 15.2 ppg/4.6 apg/3.5 rpg
Pretty quirky and neat!
CRUZ CLIMBING THE LIST
Cruz Davis, playing his first full game as the newest member of the Hofstra 1,000-point club, continued climbing the all-time scoring list Saturday afternoon, when he finished with a team-high 22 points to increase his career total to 1.032 points and leapfrog John Irving and James Shaffer into 41st place. Davis enters tonight 14 points shy of surpassing Percy Johnson for 40th place and 29 points away from moving past Darius Burton for 39th place.
38.) Derrick Flowers 1,069
39.) Darius Burton 1,060
40.) Percy Johnson 1,045
41.) CRUZ DAVIS 1,032
42.) James Shaffer 1,022
43.) John Irving 1,018
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis struggled down the stretch Saturday — when he missed his final five shots, including three in the last 95 seconds that could have tied the score or given the Dutchmen the lead — but he still continued bouncing back from his mini-slump by scoring a game-high 22 points while adding two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Davis, whose career-long streak of 21 straight double-digit scoring efforts ended when he was held to seven points in the 66-64 loss to Charleston on Jan. 29, has 101 points on 37-of-76 shooting from the field, including 11-of-31 from 3-point land, over his last five games after going 8-of-35 from the field, including 3-of-16 from beyond the arc, against William & Mary and Charleston from Jan. 24-29. He was 7-of-23 shooting Saturday, including 3-of-9 from 3-point land. Davis has scored in double figures in 47 of the 58 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 29-18 when Davis scores in double figures.
DECADY DANCE
Joshua DeCady recovered from a pair of quiet games Saturday, when he scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting — including 2-of-5 from 3-point land — while adding five rebounds and one block in 32 minutes. DeCady did most of his damage in the first half, when he collected 11 points. He gave the Dutchmen their final lead at 67-66 by sinking a 3-pointer with 2:20 left but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining. DeCady had just eight points combined on 4-of-11 shooting, including 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, in the previous two games. The 32 minutes were hist most since Jan. 24, when he logged 33 minutes in an 89-82 loss to William & Mary in his final appearance before a two-game absence due to injury. The Dutchmen fell to 10-5 when DeCady starts. They are 6-4 when he comes off the bench.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu was limited by foul trouble again Saturday afternoon, when he had two points and seven reboudns while drawing four fouls in 13 minutes. Onuetu has scored two points or fewer in six of his last nine games dating back to Jan. 17, a span in which he’s fouled out three times and been ejected once. He has also come off the bench in each of the last six games after starting 17 of the first 21 games. However, the seven rebounds marked the 15th time Onuetu has recorded at least seven boards in a game this season.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
Silas Sunday continued doing whatever the Dutchmen need from him at center on Saturday afternoon, when, with Victory Onuetu battling foul trouble again, he had one point, five rebounds, one block and one steal over 24 minutes while being tasked with defending UNC Wilmington 7-footer Patrick Wessler. The 24 minutes were tied for the second-most Sunday has logged in the six games since he returned to the starting lineup on Jan. 29. Sunday, who finished with exactly one point for the third time this season, has scored in all 27 games this season after scoring in 26 of 33 games last season.
BIGGIE OFF THE BENCH
The Dutchmen suffered their first loss this season with Biggie Patterson coming off the bench Saturday afternoon, when he had three points and two rebounds in 10 minutes. Patterson’s lone basket — a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 12:18 left that gave the Dutchmen a 45-42 lead — looked like it might stand up as a quirky Keith Hernandez when it sparked a 9-0 run before UNC Wilmington mounted its comeback. The 10 minutes were the fewest for Patterson since he played 10 injury-interrupted minutes in a 70-67 win over Drexel on Jan. 3, which was the final game for Patterson before he missed four straight contests due to injury. The three-point effort continues a quirky statistical, well, quirk for Patterson, who has 11 double-digit scoring efforts and has scored six points or fewer 11 other times. The Dutchmen are now 8-1 when Patterson comes off the bench and 7-7 when he starts.
GERMAN’S QUIRKY O-FER
German Plotnikov had one of the quirkiest games of any college basketball player this season Saturday afternoon, when he scored one point while not attempting a field goal in 35 minutes. Per StatHead, Plotnikov — who finished one 3-pointer shy of his career-high while setting a career-high in attempts when he scored 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc in last Thursday’s 66-62 win over Charleston — is the first Division I player to play at least 35 minutes without hoisting a shot this season and the first to do so since Peyton Rogers of Houston Christian didn’t attempt a field goal over 37 minutes on Jan. 27, 2025. He is also the first Hofstra player to play at least 35 minutes without a field goal attempt since at least the 2004-05 season, Rokas Gustys, who played 30 minutes without a field goal attempt in an 88-82 win over Rider on Dec. 9, 2017, is the only other Hofstra player to log at least 30 minutes without hoisting a shot since at least 2004-05. Like we said, quirky! Plotnikov added three rebounds and one assist while playing at least 30 minutes for the 18th time in 25 games this season.
ALEX ANSWERS THE CALL
Graduate student Alex Tsynkevich extended his season-long playing streak to six games Saturday afternoon, when he scored two points and had one rebound while playing two first-half minutes. Tsynkevich has six points and eight reboudns in 28-plus minutes over the last five games after collecting six points and 12 rebounds over 29 minutes in his first seven appearances of the season. The six consecutive games for Tsynkevich mark his longest streak at the Division I level since he played in a career-high 13 straight games for Alcorn State from Nov. 6 through Dec. 21, 2023.
JUST JOSH-IN
Graduate student Joshua Aaron Reaves also extended a season-long playing streak Saturday afternoon, when he played in his seventh straight game while missing his lone shot, a 3-pointer, and collecting a rebound over nine minutes. It was the second straight scoreless game and the third scoreless effort in the last four games for Reaves since he scored a season-high 17 points in a 73-57 win over Monmouth on Jan. 31. He has 29 points and 20 reboudns over the last six games after recording just 10 points — all against non-Division I foes — over 71 minutes in his first 12 appearances of the season. Reaves played in each of the Dutchmen’s first five games this season before sitting out 10 of the next 15 games from Nov. 28 through Jan. 22. The seven consecutive games for Reaves marks his longest streak since he played in seven straight games for Illinois-Chicago from Jan. 22 through Feb. 11, 2025.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’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. Fun fact: The Dutchmen are 1-7 in their last eight games on CBS Sports Network following the loss to UNC Wilmington. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING HAMPTON
The Pirates, under second-year head coach Ivan Thomas, are 12-14 overall and 6-7 in CAA play after falling to North Carolina A&T, 71-70, last Friday night in the NBA HBCU Classic as part of NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. Hampton had a 98% win probability per KenPom.com before surrendering a game-ending 9-2 run by the Aggies. The Pirates nearly won it at the buzzer, but Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt’s floater rolled around the rim and out. North Carolina A&T’s win was the most unlikely victory of the CAA season per KenPom.com's win probability, surpassing the Aggies’ 79-79 win over the Dutchmen on Jaan, 22 in which North Carolina A&T’s win probability fell to 2.4 percent before its comeback from a 55-40 deficit. So thanks for that, I guess?
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for Hampton, which has yet to alternate wins with losses in CAA play. The Pirates opened 2-0, lost three straight, won two straight and then lost three straight prior to their most recent winning streak. Something’s gotta give tonight! Hampton is the last CAA team the Dutchmen are opposing for the first time this season.
The Dutchmen and Pirates had no common opponents during non-league play. In CAA play, the Dutchmen swept Monmouth, whom Hampton beat, and Towson, with whom the Pirates split. The Dutchmen beat Campbell and Drexel, each of whom defeated Hampton, and split with Charleston, which beat the Pirates. Hofstra lost to Stony Brook, ELO and William & Mary, all of whom Hampton beat, as well as to UNC Wilmington, which swept the Pirates, and North Carolina A&T, who split the season series.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish tied for eighth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked a CAA-best 103rd at KenPom.com. That’s 59 spots higher than they were to open the season, six spots lower than their season-high entering the Jan. 10 game against Monmouth and one spots lower than their ranking prior to Saturday’s loss. The Pirates, who were picked to finish fifth, are ranked 256th, which is 30 spots lower than their preseason ranking, 38 spots lower than their season-high entering the Nov. 6 game against non-NCAA Mid Atlantic Christian and the same spot they were in prior to Friday’s loss.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank third in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (113.3 points per 100 possessions) and seventh in defensive efficiency (106.0 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.8 possessions per 40 minutes, the 11th-most in league play. The Pirates rank 13th and last in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (100.7 points per 100 possessions) and sixth in defensive efficiency (104.5 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.5 possessions per 40 minutes, the 12th-most in league play.
The Pirates return five players from last year’s team. Senior Michael Eley, who opened his career with two seasons at Siena and one season at Tulane, leads Hampton with 12.7 points per game but has missed the last five contests due to a foot injury. Junior Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt, a native of Wyandanch who opened his career with two seasons at Alcorn State, is averaging 12.1 points and a team-high 3.1 assists per game. Senior Xzavier Long, a preseason all-CAA honorable mention selection who began his career with two seasons at Canisius, is averaging 9.9 points and a team-high 10.1 rebounds per game. Returning sophomore Daniel Johnson is averaging 9.5 points per game and ranks second on the team with 4.9 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 74-62 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 11 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 15-10 against the spread this season after their four-game spread winning streak (and overall winning streak) ended last Saturday.
THE CAA RACE
With only two-plus weekends left in the regular season (which ends on a Tuesday, quirky), it’s definitely no longer too early to start wondering about the seeding implications of each game while we continue to marvel at the crazy balance/parity in the CAA, where nine of the 13 teams have between six and eight wins. How many teams have between six and eight wins?
UNC Wilmington 11-2
Charleston 10-4
Monmouth 8-5
Stony Brook 8-6
HOFSTRA 8-6
Drexel 7-7
William & Mary 7-7
Campbell 6-7
Hampton 6-7
Towson 6-8
ELO 6-8
North Carolina A&T 3-10
Northeastern 2-11
I broke the ties via the head-to-head records and thus the Dutchmen are the fifth seed and would have to do the four-games-in-four-days gauntlet if the season ended today. But the good news is a.) the season does not end today and b,) they will be the no. 3 seed if they win out. Of course, that’s easier said than done in a league where all of last weekend’s games were decided by five points or fewer.
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DUTCHMEN
Maybe we can do stupid human tricks at halftime? Or have Conan O’Brien toss the ceremonial opening tip? Or just make sure Jimmy Fallon doesn’t come within 50 miles of the Arena entrance? Anyway, tonight’s 8 PM start is the latest home start for the Dutchmen since way back on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, when the Dutchmen fell to Towson, 86-72, in a game that started at 8 PM and was televised by SNY. This is the info you come here to get!
ALL-TIME VS. HAMPTON
The Dutchmen are 4-1 all-time against Hampton in a series that began with the Pirates joining the CAA in 2022-23. Hampton earned its first win in dominating fashion in the lone meeting between the teams last season on Feb. 15, 2025, when the Pirates raced out to a 19-point lead in a 67-49 victory. Jaquan Sanders (12 points) and Jean Aranguren (10 points) were the lone players to score in double figures for the Dutchmen.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Suffolk County bias! (As noted, Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt is a Wyandanch native)
Ivan Thomas is sartorially splendid bias! (Thomas is one of the few coaches who wears a suit on the sidelines in the post-pandemic era)
Justin Bieber’s DJ bias! (Per Wikipedia, which is never wrong, DJ Tay James, who graduated from Hampton in 2009, was Bieber’s DJ on his first two tours, ugh did I just make a Justin Bieber reference?)
Hey do you think a bunch of privates play there? (An Always Sunny oldie but goodie)
