The Flying Dutchmen couldn’t recover from a slow start or the absence of Aaron Estrada Wednesday night, when no. 4 Purdue never trailed in an 85-66 win. But considering Estrada averages 21.7 points per game, I’m going to just add his points to the Dutchmen’s total and declare the Dutchmen won. We can still do that in America, right? Anyway, the Dutchmen will look to eliminate the need for a court challenge tonight, when they are slated to face Massachusetts at Barclays Center in the final game of the Hall of Fame Invitational. Here’s a look back at the “loss” to the Boilermakers and a look ahead to the Minutemen.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen ended the game on a 58-56 run over the final 30-plus minutes, so they were the better team longer and thus are the rightful winners! But seriously, the Dutchmen missed eight of their first nine shots, fell behind 20-2 fewer than six minutes into the game, joined the rest of the country in having no answer for 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey and never got closer than 12 thereafter. A true blowout was averted thanks to redshirt freshman Amar’e Marshall, who made his first career start with Estrada sidelined and produced a breakout performance by scoring a career-high 24 points and adding four rebounds and four assists. Darlinstone Dubar scored 14 points while Tyler Thomas had 10 points and a team-high five rebounds. Edey finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds but didn’t out-rebound the Dutchmen (20 total rebounds) all by himself, which is what he did against Minnesota last Sunday.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Purdue, 12/7)
3: Amar’e Marshall
2: Darlinstone Dubar
1: Tyler Thomas
SEASON STANDINGS
Aaron Estrada 21
Darlinstone Dubar 11
Tyler Thomas 11
Amar’e Marshall 6
Nelson Boachie-Yiadom 5
Jaquan Carlos 5
Warren Williams 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TEN GAMES
With Wednesday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 6-4. This ties the 2022-23 team for the 28th-best record in school history through 10 games. Fifteen other teams began 6-4, most recently the 2020-21 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 10 games:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 5-5
1976-77: 7-3
1999-2000: 6-4
2000-01: 7-3
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 6-4
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 6-4
2004-05: 9-1 (most recent 9-1 start, loss to Syracuse in 10th game was first of season)
2005-06: 8-2
2006-07: 6-4
2015-16: 6-4
2018-19: 7-3 (most recent 7-3 start, marked fourth win in the 16-game winning streak)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 6-4
1961-62: 9-1
1962-63: 7-3
1963-64: 9-1
Some other notable eight-game starts:
2021-22: 5-5 (most recent 5-5 start)
2013-14: 3-7 (most recent 3-7 start)
2008-09: 8-2 (most recent 8-2 start)
2007-08: 2-8 (most recent 2-8 start)
2003-04: 4-6 (most recent 4-6 start)
2002-03: 1-9 (most recent 1-9 start)
2001-02: 5-5 (at .500 for the last time)
1994-95: 2-8 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-9 (VBK’s last team)
1960-61: 10-0 (most recent 10-0 start)
1959-60: 10-0
1955-56: 10-0
1947-48: 9-1 (loss to Brooklyn Polytech in 10th game was first of season)
The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-10.
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 FORTY-TWO
With Wednesday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 27-15 (.643) as head coach. That’s the third-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 42 games at the helm.
Paul Lynner 34-8 (.810, 42nd game was the 12th game of his second season in 1963-64)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 30-12 (.714, 42nd game was the 16th game of his second season in 1956-57)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 27-15 (.643, 42nd game was the 10th game of his second season in 2022-23)
Mo Cassara 24-18 (.571, 42nd game was the ninth game of his second season in 2011-12)
Dick Berg 20-22 (.476, 42nd game was the 15th game of his second season in 1981-82)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 19-23 (.453, 42nd game was the 13th game of his second season in 1989-90)
Jay Wright 17-25 (.405, 42nd game was the 14th game of his second season in 1995-96)
Joe Mihalich 17-25 (.405, 42nd game was the ninth game of his second season in 2013-14)
Tom Pecora 13-29 (.310, 42nd game was the 10th game of his second season in 2002-03)
Roger Gaeckler 12-30 (.286, 42nd game was the 18th game of his second season in 1973-74)
The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenures of Jack Smith (1943-46) and Frank Reilly (1947-55).
Three coaches had one-season tenures lasting fewer than 33 games at Hofstra. McDonald went 18-6 in the lone season of his second stint in 1946-47 while Joe Harrington went 14-14 in 1979-80 and Mike Farrelly went 13-10 in 2020-21.
WIRE-TO-WIRE LOSS
The Dutchmen didn’t lead in a loss for the second time this season. They also trailed the entire way in a 64-54 loss to Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 25. The Dutchmen have suffered just five wire-to-wire losses since the start of the 2019-20 season.
DOWN IN A HOLE
The Dutchmen trailed 54-34 at the half. It was both their biggest halftime deficit and the most points they’ve given up in the first half since Charleston raced out to a 55-33 lead at halftime of the CAA quarterfinals on Mar. 6. You didn’t read much about that one at the time because it was the last game of the season!
ALL A’S FOR Z(ACH)
Purdue center Zach Edey was as advertised Wednesday, when he finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds. The rebounds were the most collected by a Hofstra opponent since Delaware’s Dylan Painter had 19 rebounds in the Blue Hens’ 74-56 win on Jan. 15, 2021. Edey is also the first player to have at least 20 points and 15 rebounds against the Dutchmen since William & Mary’s Justin Pierce had 24 points and 15 rebounds in the Dutchmen’s 93-90 triple-overtime win on Jan. 10, 2019. The previous player to finish with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds against the Dutchmen in regulation was UNC Wilmington’s Devontae Cacok, who had 25 points and 16 rebounds in the Seahawks’ 90-70 win on Feb 10, 2018.
THAT’S AMAR’E (part one)
OK enough about Purdue’s big win. How about Amar’e Marshall doing his best Aaron Estrada imitation? Marshall’s 24 points were the most by a Hofstra freshman since Eli Pemberton scored 26 points for the Dutchmen in an 86-80 loss to Towson on Jan. 19, 2017.
THAT’S AMAR’E (part two)
In addition, Marshall’s 24 points in his first career start were, as far as I can tell, the most by a freshman in his first career start since at least the 1991-92 season and the most by any Hofstra player in his first career start since the late great Demetrius Dudley, a transfer from Saint Peter’s, scored 33 points against Navy on Nov. 23, 1991. Prior to Marshall, the only players to score at least 23 points in their first career starts in the interim were James Parisi, who had 23 points in his collegiate debut against Lehigh on Nov. 27, 1993, and freshman Eli Pemberton, who scored 23 points against Sacred Heart on Nov. 15, 2016. I hedged this somewhat as I don’t have games started data for games prior to this century, but a scan of the game logs didn’t show any players with as many or more than 24 points before Marshall.
THAT’S AMAR’E (part three)
Thanks to Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, we can safely declare Marshall’s 24 points are the most a Hofstra freshman has scored against a ranked opponent in the CAA era (2001-present). The 24 points are tied for the fourth-most by a Flying Dutchman player against a ranked opponent since 2001-02. Zach Cooks had 26 points against Houston on Nov. 9, 2021 while Charles Jenkins (against UConn on Nov. 17, 2009) and Justin Wright-Foreman (against Villanova on Dec 22, 2017) each scored 25 points. Jenkins had 24 points against North Carolina on Nov. 18, 2010, as did Dion Nesmith against Louisville on Nov. 12, 2013.
DOUBLE DIGITS FOR DD AND TT
Darlinstone Dubar (14 points) and Tyler Thomas (10 points) joined Marshall in double figures Wednesday night. It was the sixth time each player has reached double digits this season, ranking them tied for second behind, of course, Aaron Estrada, who has scored at least 10 points in eight of his nine games.
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Warren Williams scored a season-high eight points Wednesday night. The eight points were the most for Williams since he finished with eight points for Manhattan in the Jaspers’ season-ending 79-67 loss to Rider in the MAAC Tournament on Mar. 8.
THRICE AS NICE FROM THREE
German Plotnikov finished with six points Wednesday via a pair of 3-pointers. The two 3-pointers tied a season high for Plotnikov, who also sank two 3-pointers against Iona on Nov. 11 and against George Washington three nights later.
ESTRADA’S IRONMAN STREAK ENDS
Aaron Estrada sat out Wednesday’s game with the ankle injury he suffered against George Mason on Nov. 30. The DNP snapped Estrada’s consecutive games and consecutive starts streak at 38 games apiece. The 38 straight starts were the most by a Hofstra player since Isaac Kante started all 57 games he played for the Dutchmen from 2019-20 through 2020-21. Hey, Isaac Kante. I wonder if we’ll hear that name again today?
SO WHO ARE THE NEW IRONMEN?
Tyler Thomas, Nelson Boachie-Yiadom and Darlinstone Dubar — the latter of whom came back Wednesday from the head injury he suffered fewer than four minutes into the game against George Mason — are now the Ironmen with 10 straight starts (all this season, obviously). Dubar, who came off the bench on Senior Day in February, has the longest active streak of consecutive games played at 42 straight games dating back to his debut in November 2021.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will be carried on YES Network, which is channel 70 here in the Altice is our overlord universe. Games on over-the-air TV are still a big deal to those of us of a certain age! Hofstra will also provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
MASSACHUSETTS AND THE ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE
Massachusetts (also dubbed UMass), under first-year head coach Frank Martin, is 7-2 this season after falling Thursday to UMass-Lowell, 85-80. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Minutemen.
UMass was picked to finish eighth in the 15-team Atlantic 10 (for the second time in 11 days and the third time this season, math is hard). Senior guard Noah Fernandes, who was selected to the preseason all-A10 second team, leads the Minutemen with 11.4 points per game, though he’s missed the last two games. Junior forward Matt Cross, a Louisville transfer, is averaging 10.8 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. Senior forward Wildens Leveque, who accompanied Martin from South Carolina prior to this season, is averaging a team-high 5.1 rebounds per game. Graduate senior Isaac Kante, whom you may remember from such CAA champions as the Hofstra Flying Dutchmen of 2020, is averaging 8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
At KenPom.com, UMass is ranked 159th nationally in offensive efficiency (103.8 points per 100 possessions) and 117th in defensive efficiency (100.1 points per 100 possessions) while ranking 29th in tempo (72.3 possessions per 40 minutes).
The Dutchmen and Patriots have four common opponents. UMass has already fallen to the CAA’s Towson, 67-55, and beaten South Florida, 73-67. The Dutchmen are slated to visit South Florida Dec. 19. In A-10 play, UMass is scheduled to play one game apiece against George Washington, whom Hofstra beat 85-80 on Nov, 14, and George Mason, to whom the Dutchmen lost 81-77 in overtime on Nov, 30 (sigh).
At KenPom.com this morning, Hofstra is ranked 124th while UMass is ranked 133rd. KenPom.com predicts an 77-76 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 1-point underdogs. The Dutchmen are 4-5-1 against the spread, at least at America’s Line. I know of at least one degenerate who bet Purdue giving 22 points at one of the popular betting apps closer to opening tip, when the Aaron Estrada news was presumably known. Ha ha sucker!
Hofstra is 1-2 all-time against UMass. The teams haven’t opposed each other since Dec. 20, 2008, when the Minutemen overcame big games by Cornelius Vines (21 points) and Miklos Szabo (10 points, 17 rebounds) to earn a 97-81 win in Amherst.
Hofstra is 39-108 all-time against current Atlantic 10 schools, a membership that includes former conference foes George Mason as well as La Salle (ECC) and VCU (CAA).
This marks the 10th straight season in which Hofstra has faced at least one A-10 school and the most A-10 foes the Dutchmen have faced since the 2015-16 season, though that comes with an asterisk because the Dutchmen fell to George Washington in the NIT after beating St. Bonaventure and La Salle in the regular season, The Dutchmen last faced three A-10 teams in the regular season in 2007-08, when they beat Charlotte and fell to Fordham and Rhode Island.
THE KANTE KUP
(It’s either that or the Chaz Cup.)
UMass graduate student Isaac Kante, as noted earlier, had a terrific career with the Dutchmen, for whom he averaged 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds over 57 games in two seasons before graduating and transferring to Long Island University prior to last season. Kante will be the first former Hofstra player to oppose the Dutchmen since Dec. 28, 2015, when Sacred Heart’s Jordan Allen finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in the Dutchmen’s 80-73 win.
HOME SWEET HOME (sort of but not really)
After a road trip that’s taken them to California, Canada, Virginia and Indiana over the last three weeks, the Dutchmen get to sleep in their own beds before this game. It marks the fourth time the Dutchmen have played at Barclays Center and the first time since — whoa! — six years ago today, when they fell to no. 6 Kentucky, 96-73.
The Dutchmen’s first three games at Barclays were all noteworthy. Against Tulane on Dec. 22, 2012, the depleted Dutchmen headed to the locker room tied but gave up the first 20 points of the second half in what turned out to be an 83-62 loss. On Dec. 28, 2014, Juan’ya Green recorded the only triple-double in school history when he finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an 88-62 win over Long Island University. And the loss to Kentucky is now better known as the coming-out party for Justin Wright-Foreman, who scored 14 points to begin his legendary 88-game streak of double-digit scoring performances.
The Dutchmen are 14-21 all-time at the area’s three big arenas. In addition to going 1-2 at Barclays Center, they are 10-9 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and 3-10 at Nassau Coliseum, located across the street from campus. Hofstra has yet to play at UBS Arena. What are you waiting for, UBS?!
HALL OF FAME INVITATIONAL
Tonight marks the third time in the Defiantly Dutch era (1993-present) that Hofstra has participated in an event conducted by the Basketball Hall of Fame. The Dutchmen lost to Maryland and Hartford at the Hall of Fame Classic at UMass (!!!) during the 1993-94 season and went 1-2 with a win over Hartford (!!!) And losses to Louisville and Richmond during the Hall of Fame Tipoff, an MTE during Joe Mihalich’s first season in 2013-14.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Chaz Williams should have been the one to get us to the NCAA Tournament bias! (Sigh, what could have been in 2010-11)
We earned our last-ever football win against you bias! (Double sigh, but hey, we’ve got an unbeaten streak spanning parts of three decades!)
Dr. J bias! (The great Long Islanders played at UMass before his Hall of fame career)
Marcus Camby bias! (The future Knicks forward led UMass to a vacated Final Four berth in 1996)
Greg Landry bias! (The erstwhile placeholder NFL quarterback went to UMass)
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