Still not that Boggs.
Did you have Omar Silverio leading the Flying Dutchmen to a key CAA road win by seamlessly replacing the production of Tareq Coburn on your bingo card? Silverio produced perhaps the most stunning out-of-nowhere performance in memory for the Dutchmen Saturday, when he scored a career-high 17 points to spark an 82-73 win over UNC Wilmington. The Dutchmen, who ran their winning streak to four games, will hope to complete the weekend sweep this afternoon, when they are scheduled to face the Seahawks again. Here’s a look back at the win over UNC Wilmington and a hopeful look ahead to…UNC Wilmington (yup, still weird).
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Reigning CAA Player of the Week Tareq Coburn was out with an injury, but Omar Silverio returned from a nearly six-week absence and scored 13 of his career-high 17 points as the Dutchmen rode a balanced attack to a win over UNC Wilmington. Silverio, who hadn’t played since Dec. 19, scored five straight points shortly beyond the midway point of the second half as the Dutchmen extended their lead to 63-57. UNC Wilmington pulled within 65-63 with 5:44 left, but Jalen Ray hit a 3-pointer on the next trip down the floor to begin a game-ending 17-10 run. Ray, who was scoreless in the second half prior to the 3-pointer, scored seven of his 17 points in the run. Isaac Kante finished with a team-high 18 points and added seven rebounds. KVonn Cramer had a career-high 16 points and added nine rebounds in just 26 minutes while Caleb Burgess had six assists and five rebounds. David Green, playing for the first time since Jan. 9, had seven points in 10 minutes.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. UNC Wilmington 1/30)
3: Omar Silverio
2: Jalen Ray
1: KVonn Cramer
SEASON STANDINGS
Jalen Ray 30
Isaac Kante 22
Tareq Coburn 19
Caleb Burgess 13
KVonn Cramer 8
Omar Silverio 3
Kevin Schutte 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
It wasn’t even a unicorn score for THIS MONTH! The Dutchmen beat William & Mary 82-73 on Jan. 3. That was the Dutchmen’s first 82-73 win since the 1958-59 season, so there have been more 82-73 wins in the last four weeks than in the preceding 62 years. Makes sense,
As you no doubt know by now, the Dutchmen have yet to record a unicorn score this season. *still making a begging motion* The Dutchmen recorded 13 unicorn score victories last season, three more than in 2018-19, which was when we first started tracking unicorn scores. I don’t think we’re approaching those numbers this season. 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 SIXTEEN GAMES
With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 10-6, which is tied for the 29th-best start in school history. Seven other teams have opened 10-6, most recently the 2008-09 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 16 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 8-8
1976-77: 11-5
1999-2000: 11-5
2000-01: 12-4
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 11-5
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 10-6
2004-05: 11-5
2005-06: 12-4
2006-07: 12-4
2015-16: 11-5
2018-19: 13-3 (marked ninth win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 11-5
1961-62: 15-1 (most recent 15-1 start)
1962-63: 11-5
1963-64: 13-3
Some other notable 16-game starts:
2017-18: 9-7 (most recent 9-7 start)
2014-15: 12-4 (most recent 12-4 start)
2013-14: 5-11 (most recent 5-11 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2011-12: 6-10 (most recent 6-10 start)
2007-08: 4-12 (most recent 4-12 start)
2001-02: 7-9 (most recent 7-9 start)
1994-95: 3-13 (only 3-13 start in program history, Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 2-14 (VBK’s last team, most recent 2-14 start)
1990-91: 8-8 (most recent 8-8 start)
1960-61: 14-2 (only 14-2 start in program history)
1959-60: 15-1 (Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise; win in 16th game was fifth win of season-ending 13-game winning streak)
Hofstra has never been 16–0, 1-15 or 0-16 through 16 games.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 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.
OMAR’S COMIN’
Seriously, who saw this happening? Omar Silverio, who scored 18 points off the bench in the first two games but just 10 in his next four games before missing nine consecutive contests, was 7-of-9 from the field as he scored a career-high 17 points in a career-high 28 minutes s the first player off the bench Saturday. The 17 points were the most by a Hofstra reserve since Jalen Ray had 17 points against Towson on Feb. 21, 2019 and the most surprising contribution off the bench since, well, who knows when? A quick glance at the last dozen years worth of media guides doesn’t reveal anyone who missed several games and promptly scored in double digits as a reserve in his return to action. The closest comp is Shemiye McLendon, who had 14 key points in a 92-90 overtime win over James Madison on Jan. 24, 2011. That was the fourth of five double-digit outings for McLendon, but he was the sixth man on the ’10-11 team. Tl;dr It’s been a long time since anyone did what Silverio did Saturday.
THE SUDDENLY DEEP DUTCHMEN
Silverio was the most surprising contributor Saturday, but far from the only unexpected one. Freshman Vukasin Masic, pressed into the starting lineup by Coburn’s injury, had six points in 20 minutes. Fellow freshman David Green, who missed the previous four games, had seven points on a perfect shooting afternoon (2-for-2 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line). And Kevin Schutte spelled a struggling Isaac Kante and had six rebounds, his most since Dec. 15, in just 10 minutes.
THE BO DEREK
With freshman Zion Bethea making his debut and Stafford Trueheart chipping in four minutes off the bench, the Dutchmen had at least 10 players appear in a game for the third time this season and the first time since Nov. 30, when 10 players played in the 73-58 win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
It was a Verve Pipe kind of afternoon (GOOGLE IT CRAIN) for the typically veteran-laden Dutchmen, who had four freshmen play a total of 55 minutes. Starters KVonn Cramer and Vukasin Masic led the way while David Green played 10 minutes and Zion Bethea made his Hofstra debut by playing a minute and drawing two fouls late in the first half. The 55 minutes by freshmen were the most for the Dutchmen since Jalen Ray, Stafford Trueheart and Matija Radovic played 59 minutes in a 91-86 win over Drexel on Jan. 13, 2018.
While it was technically the second time four freshmen have played in a game during the Joe Mihalich era, this marked the first time four freshmen have played meaningful minutes in a game since Mihalich and Mike Farrelly arrived prior to the 2013-14 season. Caleb Burgess, Jermaine Miranda, Hal Hughes and Carl Gibson Jr. combined to play 35 minutes in a 111-69 win over Division II New York Tech on Nov. 15, 2019. The last time Hofstra had four freshmen play meaningful minutes in a game was Nov. 11, 2012 when Jordan Allen and three of the They Who Shall Not Be Named group combined to play 97 minutes in an 83-54 loss to Purdue.
And the last time a Mihalich-coached team had four freshmen play meaningful minutes? That would be way back on Mar. 3, 2012, when guys named Juan’ya Green and Ameen Tanksley led a quartet of freshmen who played 120 minutes in Niagara’s 86-73 loss to Loyola in the MAAC tournament.
GOOD TO SEE ZION
The sight of Zion Bethea on the floor for the Dutchmen was a particularly poignant one. Bethea injured his hand in the preseason before missing time following the sudden death of his Dad in December. Acting head coach Mike Farrelly said Bethea only had a handful of practices under his belt prior to Saturday.
RAY MOVIN’ ON UP
With his 17 points Saturday, Jalen Ray snapped a tie with Ted Jackson and took over sole possession of 28th place on Hofstra’s all-time scoring list. Next up on the list are a trio of Joe Mihalich-era stars. Ray is nine points away from moving past Rokas Gustys and 11 points away from leapfrogging both Juan’ya Green and Brian Bernardi.
25t.) Juan’ya Green 1,186
25t.) Brian Bernardi 1,186
27.) Rokas Gustys 1,184
28.) JALEN RAY 1,176
29.) Ted Jackson 1,159
30.) Nathaniel Lester 1,139
31.) Wandy Williams 1,132
32.) Mike Moore 1,128
33.) Richie Swartz 1,107
34.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090
35.) Derrick Flowers 1,069
36.) Darius Burton 1,060
37.) Percy Johnson 1,045
38.) James Shaffer, 1,022
39.) John Irving 1,018
Since joining the 1,000-point club on Dec. 22, Ray has gained at least a half-spot on the all-time scoring list in every game.
Dec. 22: 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
OVER THE AIR
Today’s game will be aired on FloHoops.com (subscription required). Hofstra will provide a radio feed and live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING UNC WILMINGTON
The Seahawks, under first-year head coach Takayo Siddle, are 7-7 this season and 1-3 in CAA play after Saturday’s loss.
The Dutchmen and Seahawks had no common foes in non-league play.
The Dutchmen, who were picked first in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 163rd at KenPom.com. The Seahawks, who were picked eighth, are ranked 208th.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank first in the CAA in offensive efficiency (104.0) and fourth in defensive efficiency (104.1). The Seahawks are third in the CAA in offensive efficiency (102.1) and eighth in defensive efficiency (106.7).
The Seahawks absorbed a big loss this week when leading scorer Jaylen Sims suffered a season-ending injury. Sims, who was averaging 17.8 points per game, also ranked second in rebounding at 5.3 rebounds per game. Without Sims, UNC Wilmington basically played a six-man rotation Saturday. Senior guard Ty Gadsden scored 12 points Saturday and is the top active scorer with 14.5 ppg. Senior guard Mike Okauru posted a game-high 21 points and seven assists Saturday to increase his averages to 13.6 ppg and a team-high 3.9 assists per game. Sophomore transfer Joe Pridgen, who played against the Dutchmen last season while with Holy Cross, had 17 points and eight rebounds Saturday and is averaging 11.5 ppg and a team-high 8.7 rpg in 11 games since becoming eligible. Senior John Bowen, the Seahawks’ top reserve, had 12 points Saturday. Sophomore guard Jake Boggs scored four points and is averaging 10.1 ppg.
KenPom.com predicts a 73-72 win for the Dutchmen. (Prior to the series, he predicted a pair of 74-73 losses) Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 7-9 against the spread this season, including 2-7 in CAA play.
ALL-TIME VS. UNC WILMINGTON
Hofstra is 23-22 against UNC Wilmington in a series that began when the Dutchmen joined the CAA prior to the 2001-02 season. My apologies, I had Hofstra holding a 23-21 lead entering Saturday’s game. This, of course, means the Dutchmen took the all-time series lead with the win. The Dutchmen are looking for their second straight regular season sweep of UNC Wilmington. The Dutchmen haven’t swept the Seahawks in consecutive seasons since they did it three straight seasons from 2008-09 through 2010-11.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Casey Stanley tree bias! (Siddle worked alongside chum of the blog Casey Stanley while they teamed up with Kevin Keatts to regularly ether Hofstra’s soul from 2014-17)
The Gang Beats Boggs bias! (Once again, Jake isn’t related to Wade, at least I don’t think so, but it works for me)
Chicken superstitions bias! (See above)
One Tree Hill bias! (An oldie but goodie)
