Phil Hartman: The true SNL GOAT.
The Flying Dutchmen took advantage of a get-right spot last Sunday by winning the only local rivalry game that really matters by leading wire-to-wire and doubling up John Jay in a 102-51 victory. The Dutchmen will take one more shot at a Goliath tonight, when they’re scheduled to oppose no. 24 Arkansas in Little Rock, which is officially a neutral site game. I don’t know much but I do know that Little Rock is decidedly IN ARKANSAS. Anyway, here’s a look back at the win over the Bloodhounds and a look ahead to the fighting Bill Clintons. Or Razorbacks. One or the other.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen scored the first 12 points of the game and were only threatened briefly by John Jay, which twice closed within eight points late in the first half before the Dutchmen went into the locker room on a 19-4 run. The Dutchmen then opened the second half on a 12-0 run, removing all suspense except for whether or not they’d hit 100 points…which they did on Jaquan Carlos’ 3-pointer that extended the lead to a game-high 55 points at 102-47 with 2:12 left. Darlinstone Dubar scored a game-high 24 points — and added seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks — to lead a trio of 20-point scorers for the Dutchmen. Jalen Ray (22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 6-of-7 from 3-point land) snapped out of a slump while Omar Silverio added 20 points off the bench. Abayomi Iyiola (12 points, 14 rebounds) posted a double-double while Zach Cooks had 14 points, five assists and four steals. Aaron Estrada flirted with his own double-double by finishing with seven points and 10 assists.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. John Jay, 12/12)
3: Darlinstone Dubar
2: Abayomi Iyiola
1: Jalen Ray
SEASON STANDINGS
Darlinstone Dubar 18
Zach Cooks 13
Aaron Estrada 12
Jalen Ray 10
Omar Silverio 5
Abayomi Iyiola 4
Kvonn Cramer 4
MILESTONE WIN
The victory was the 1,300th in program history. That’s a lot of wins! Alas, it’s hard to measure just how that measures up to the rest of the teams in Division I. College Basketball Reference has Hofstra with a mere 846 wins. Where are those missing 454 wins?! Anyway, 1,300 is a cool round number worth observing and commemorating.
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
Yes! No surprise, since the Dutchmen reached 100 points for just the 38th time in program history. The Dutchmen have recorded five straight unicorn score victories and (checks notes) five unicorn score victories this 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
12/1/21: 81-77 over Princeton
12/4/21: 88-69 over Bucknell
12/12/21: 102-52 over John Jay
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ELEVEN GAMES
With Sunday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 6-5, which is tied for the 38th-best start in program history. It’s the second straight 6-5 start for the Dutchmen and the 10th 6-5 start in program history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 11 games.
NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 5-6
1976-77: 8-3
1999-2000: 7-4
2000-01: 8-3
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 7-4 (most recent 7-4 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 7-4
2004-05: 10-1 (most recent 10-1 start)
2005-06: 9-2 (most recent 9-2 start)
2006-07: 7-4
2015-16: 7-4
2018-19: 8-3 (most recent 8-3 start, victory marked fifth win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 7-4
1961-62: 10-1
1962-63: 8-3
1963-64: 10-1
Some other notable 11-game starts:
2013-14: 3-8 (most recent 3-8 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2011-12: 4-7 (most recent 4-7 start)
2007-08: 2-9 (most recent 2-9 start)
2002-03: 1-10 (most recent 1-10 start)
2001-02: 5-6 (Tom Pecora’s first team, most recent 5-6 start, never got back to .500 again)
1994-95: 2-9 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 2-9 (VBK’s last team)
1979-80: 5-6 (Joe Harrington’s only season, under .500 for the last time)
1965-66: 6-5 (over .500 for good)
1959-60: 10-1 (Hofstra’s winningest team, percentage-wise)
1955-56: 11-0 (most recent 11-0 start)
1951-52: 11-0 (first 11-0 start)
1940-41: 6-5 (over .500 for good)
The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-11.
Full records not available for the following seasons: 1936-37, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1949-50, 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.
NUMBER TEN THROUGH ELEVEN
With Sunday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 6-5 as head coach. Only Claxton and Mike Farrelly have opened 6-5 at Hofstra. Five other coaches had winning records through 11 games in their first season (or the first season of their second stints). Jack McDonald steered the Dutchmen to an 8-1 start in the first (and only) season of his second stint while Frank Reilly (1947-48) began 9-2 and Butch van Breda Kolff began 11-0 in his first stint (1955-56). Paul Lynner opened 8-3 in 1962-63 and Mo Cassara started 7-4 in 2010-11.
WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN
The Dutchmen never trailed Sunday. It was their second wire-to-wire win of the season and first since a 98-84 win over Detroit Mercy on Nov. 27.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
The Dutchmen scored at least 100 points Sunday for the 38th time in program history and the first time a 102-75 win over Elon on Jan, 4, 2020. Ahh, simpler times.
FAST START
The Dutchmen raced out to a 12-0 lead Sunday, which was their biggest game-opening run since they scored the first 13 points of a 68-67 win over Delaware on Jan. 17.
TRIPLE THE 20-POINT FUN
The Dutchmen had three players score 20 points Sunday, when Darlinstone Dubar had 24 points, Jalen Ray finished with 22 points and Omar Silverio added 20 points off the bench. It was the first time the Dutchmen had a trio of 20-point scorers sine Jan. 21, 2016, when Juan’ya Green (23 points), Rokas Gustys (23 points) and Denton Koon (22 points) all exceeded 20 points in that bonkers 96-92 triple-overtime win over Northeastern.
1010101010 WINS
The Dutchmen had at least five players score in double digits Sunday for the third time this season. Five players scored in double figures in the 87-49 win over Molloy on Nov. 24 while six players did so against Detroit Mercy Nov. 27.
OPEN 24/7
Darlinstone Dubar finished with a career-high 24 points and added seven rebounds Sunday. He is the second Hofstra player to score at least 24 points and finish with at least seven rebounds this season — following in the footsteps of Zach Cooks, who had 29 points and seven rebounds in the 73-63 win over Duquesne on Nov. 13 — and the 12th player to do so since the 2010-11 season (the first season in which player game logs are available at College Basketball Reference).
SHOPPING AT THE FIVE (AND FIVE AND FIVE) AND DIME
Aaron Estrada had an all-around impressive game Sunday, when he finished with 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals. He’s just the fourth Hofstra player to have at least 10 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals in a game since 2010-11 but the second to do so this season. Zach Cooks had 20 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 27. The only other players with a 10-5-5-5 game since 2010-11 are Brad Kelleher, who had nine points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals against William & Mary on Feb. 15, 2011 and Desure Buie, who had 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and six steals against Towson on Jan. 26, 2019.
NUMBER ONE AND A LUCKY 13 FOR IYIOLA
Abayomi Iyiola posted his first double-double with the Dutchmen Sunday, when he finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Iyiola is the third Hofstra player to post a double-double this season. Kvonn Cramer (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Darlinstone Dubar (11 points. 12 rebounds) each posted double-doubles against Molloy on Nov. 24. It was the 13th double-double overall for Iyiola, who had 12 double-doubles in his two seasons at Stetson.
ZACH STILL COOKIN’
Zach Cooks scored 14 points Sunday as he extended his career-opening (well, at Hofstra, at least) streak of double-digit scoring efforts to 11 games. Cooks is just the third player in the last 30 years to begin his Hofstra career by scoring in double figures in at least 11 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)
ZACH COOKS 11 games (2021-22 season)
Seth Meyers 8 games (1995-96 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.
OMAR OFF THE BENCH
Omar Silverio scored 20 points off the bench Sunday, which marked the sixth time this season he’s scored in double digits off the bench and the second time he’s scored 20 points. Silverio’s six double-digit efforts as a reserve are the most in a single season by a Hofstra player since Jalen Ray scored at least 10 points 10 times in 2018-19. In addition, Silverio is the first Hofstra player with multiple 20-point games off the bench since Justin Wright-Foreman scored at least 20 points three times in 2016-17.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
Some order to the universe was restored Sunday, when Jalen Ray scored 22 points and DIDN’T lead the Dutchmen in rebounding (he had two boards). That snapped a streak of three straight games in which Ray led the Dutchmen in rebounding, which came immediately after he didn’t even hold a share of the team lead in rebounds in any of his first 128 games with the Dutchmen.
(Because it’s sort of tradition to do this now…if the Dutchmen win the CAA championship and advance to the national championship game, they would play 29 more games. Ray would need to average 33.4 rebounds over those 30 games in order to break Rokas Gustys’ Division I-era record of 1,305 rebounds)
RAY MOVIN’ ON UP
Jalen Ray snapped out of a slump Sunday, when he scored 22 points — four fewer than he had in his previous three games combined. But all Ray needed to move up the all-time Hofstra scoring list was his first basket, which vaulted him past Frank Walker into 12th place (on 12/12, neat!).
11.) Norman Richardson 1,677
12.) JALEN RAY 1,458
13.) Frank Walker 1,437
14.) Leroy Allen 1,435
15.) Rick Apodaca 1,422
Ray has gained at least a half-spot on the all-time Hofstra scoring list in 21 of the 26 games he’s played since joining the 1,000-point club last Dec. 22. Of course, that pace is likely to slow considerably, given that Ray is 220 points away from moving past Richardson. Better get going, Jalen.
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
Dec. 4: 14th place
Dec. 8: 13th place
Dec. 12: 12th place
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will not be televised or streamed. Honest to goodness, a basketball game not being televised or streamed in the year 2021. To be fair, it’s not like Arkansas is a major school ranked in the national polls or anything. Maybe people will stop complaining about FloHoops.com now. In lieu of actually watching the game, you can call TeamLine for updates (this is a joke only a certain old demo will get). Arkansas will provide a radio feed here, though that may require a subscription. SiriusXM will carry the game at channel 111 on Sirius radios, channel 190 on XM radios and channel 953 online. Live stats will be available at the Pride Productions hub. (The over the air graph should never take this long to write, I really can’t believe this game isn’t airing anywhere)
HOFSTRA VS. TOP 25 TEAMS
Arkansas is ranked no. 24 in the AP poll and no. 19 in the coaches’ poll. This marks 23rd time the Dutchmen have faced a top 25 team in the DD Era. The Dutchmen are 2-20 in the previous 22 games after the 69-67 loss to then-no. 20/21 Maryland on Nov. 19.
This marks the first time in the DD Era the Dutchmen have faced three top 25 foes.
11/19/21: no. 20 Maryland 69-67 L
11/9/21: no. 15 Houston 83-75 L (OT)
12/22/20: no. 23 Richmond 76-71 W
11/29/20: no. 24 Rutgers 70-56 L
12/22/17: no. 1 Villanova 95-71 L
12/11/16: no. 6 Kentucky 96-73 L
11/12/13: no. 3 Louisville 97-69 L
11/18/10: no. 8 North Carolina 107-63 L
11/13/09 no. 1 Kansas 101-65 L
11/17/09 no. 12 UConn 76-67 L
12/22/06 no. 23 Syracuse 85-60 L
2/23/06 no. 25 George Mason 77-68 W
12/30/04 no. 7 Syracuse 80-75 L
11/22/02 no. 21 Gonzaga 69-61 L
12/4/01 no. 9 Syracuse 91-65 L
3/15/01 no. 15 UCLA 61-48 L***
3/17/00 no. 14 Oklahoma State 86-66 L***
11/20/98 no. 6 Maryland 89-59 L
12/2/98 no. 25 St. John’s 70-49 L
11/27/97 no. 19 Louisville 75-66 L
12/14/96 no. 19 Xavier 79-43 L
12/28/95 no. 8 Villanova 91-57 L
***NCAA Tournament
ARKANSAS AND THE SEC
Arkansas, under third-year head coach Eric Musselman, is 9-1 this season after falling to Oklahoma, 88-66, last Saturday. The Razorbacks reached the Elite Eight last season, when they fell to Baylor, who then beat another Flying Dutchmen non-conference foe, Houston, in the Final Four. (And in the Sweet 16, Baylor beat Villanova) For Arkansas, the Elite Eight trip was the farthest the school has advanced in the NCAA Tournament since Nolan Richardson coached the then-defending national champions to the title game in 1995.
Arkansas was picked third in the SEC preseason poll.
Senior guard JD Notae leads the Razorbacks in scoring at 18.1 points per game. Senior guard Au’Diese Toney (12.4 points per game), graduate senior guard Chris Lykes (11.8 points per game) and sophomore guard Davonte Davis (11.4 points per game) are also averaging in double figures. Sophomore forward Jaylin Williams leads Arkansas with 8.5 rebounds per game.
The Dutchmen and Arkansas have one common opponent. The Razorbacks are scheduled to complete a back-to-back set against CAA teams on Tuesday, when they are slated to welcome Elon.
Hofstra is 0-2 all-time against Arkansas, which beat the Flying Dutchmen — who really were nicknamed the Flying Dutchmen back then! — 63-58 on Dec. 12, 1974 and 95-70 on Jan. 4, 1978. Arkansas, led by future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Sidney Moncrief, reached the Final Four in 1978.
This marks just the sixth all-time meeting between the schools in any sport. The Flying Dutchwomen softball team is 2-1 against Arkansas, with a loss in 1997 and a pair of wins in 2013.
The Dutchmen are 2-12 all-time against current Southeastern Conference schools. Hofstra edged Florida 68-67 during the 1977-78 season and beat Mississippi 78-73 during the 1990-91 season. The Dutchmen last faced an SEC foe on Nov. 19, 2017, when they fell to Auburn 89-78.
More importantly, the Dutchmen are 0-6 all-time against schools I associate with Arkansas’ classic old home, the Southwest Conference. Hofstra, of course, fell to fellow SWC old-timer Houston, 83-75, in overtime in the season opener Nov. 9.
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 142nd while Arkansas is ranked 34th. KenPom.com predicts an 83-71 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 9.5-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 5-4 against the spread this season.
REUNITED, PART ONE
Starting center Abayomi Iyiola returns to Arkansas, where he played one game for the Razorbacks last season. The last Flying Dutchmen player to oppose his former school was Tareq Coburn, who began his career at St. Bonaventure and scored four points against the Bonnies in Hofstra’s 73-45 loss on Dec. 7, 2019.
REUNITED, PART TWO
Of course, the big reunion will take place on the sidelines, where Speedy Claxton will oppose Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman, who coached Claxton with the Golden State Warriors during the 2003-04 season. Claxton had an amusing Tweet about how he and Musselman might have come up with the idea meeting might have come about, but I think he just Tweeted so we could all get a look at these glorious early 2000s Warriors uniforms and shorts.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
40 Minutes of Hell bias! (Every fast-paced team of the last quarter-century couldn’t hold a candle to Nolan Richardson’s teams)
Bill Clinton bias! (He taught law there, might have added to his resume after that, not sure)
Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones couldn’t get along so that’s why the Cowboys didn’t win four straight Super Bowls bias! (It’s a mouthful but it’s fine)
Kevin McReynolds bias! (The two-time Mets outfielder played at Arkansas)
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