The ECC, always back when you least expected it.
The Flying Dutchmen fell to an unfamiliar place — below .500 — last Tuesday night, when they went ice cold from the field down the stretch in a 71-60 loss to George Washington. The Dutchmen will look to get back to the break-even mark and begin their pursuit of an MTE crown tonight, when they play old ECC foe Buffalo (it’s true, Litos) in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, FL. I don’t know where that is either. Here’s a look back at the loss to the Revolutionaries and a look ahead to the Bills, I mean, Bulls.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Dutchmen seemed ready to take control after opening the second half on a 24-14 run, but they were just 3-of-14 from the field with two turnovers the rest of the way as George Washington ended the game on a 22-7 surge. The Dutchmen never until they scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 36-35 lead. George Washington answered with a 9-2 run before the Dutchmen went on a 13-5 run to take their biggest lead a 53-49 on Darlinstone Dubar’s jumper with 9:35 left. But the Dutchmen missed their next seven shots, a span in which George Washington scored 13 unanswered points, and never got closer than seven after Tyler Thomas ended the drought by draining a jumper with 5:06 left. Thomas led all scorers with 20 points and also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Dubar scored 17 points, including 11 in the second half. Freshman KiJan Robinson had 10 points while Jaquan Carlos finished with six points, seven rebounds and three steals with five turnovers.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. George Washington, 11/14)
3: Tyler Thomas
2: Darlinstone Dubar
1: KiJan Robinson
SEASON STANDINGS
Tyler Thomas 6
Darlinstone Dubar 6
Jaquan Carlos 4
KiJan Robinson 1
Bryce Washington 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER THREE GAMES
With last Tuesday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 1-2. This ties the 2023-24 team for the 46th-best record in school history through three games. Or, if you’re a Debbie Downer, it ties the 2023-24 team for the ninth-worst record in school history through three games. Womp womp. Thirty-four other teams began 1-2, most recently the 2021-22 squad. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through three games:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 2-1
1976-77: 2-1
1999-2000: 1-2
2000-01: 3-0
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 1-2
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 1-2
2005-06: 2-1
2006-07: 0-3 (most recent 0-3 start)
2015-16: 3-0
2018-19: 2-1 (most recent 2-1 start)
2022-23: 3-0 (most recent 3-0 start, obvs)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 1-2
1961-62: 2-1
1962-63: 1-2
1963-64: 3-0
Some other notable three-game starts:
2013-14: 1-2 (under .500 for good in Joe Mihalich’s first year as head coach)
2011-12: 2-1 (over .500 for the last time)
2008-09: 2-1 (over .500 for good)
2007-08: 1-2 (under .500 for good)
2005-06: 2-1 (over .500 for good)
2002-03: 1-2 (win over Lehigh in third game was only win in the non-conference schedule)
2001-02: 2-1 (loss in third game was Tom Pecora’s first as head coach)
1997-98: 2-1 (over .500 for good)
1995-96: 2-1 (over .500 for the last time)
1994-95: 1-2 (under .500 for good, fire Jay Wright)
1987-88: 1-2 (under .500 for good)
1980-81: 2-1 (loss in third game was Dick Berg’s first as head coach, over .500 for the last time)
1974-75: 2-1 (over .500 for the last time)
1970-71: 2-1 (over .500 for good)
1957-58: 1-2 (under .500 for the last time)
1955-56: 3-0 (Butch van Breda Kolff improves to 3-0)
1947-48: 3-0 (Frank Reilly improves to 3-0)
1946-47: 2-1 (over .500 for good)
1943-44: 2-1 (over .500 for the last time)
1942-43: 1-2 (under .500 for the last time)
1938-39: 1-2 (under .500 for the last time)
1936-37: 1-2 (IT HAS HAPPENED: 42-40 overtime win over Staten Island is first win in program history)
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.
NUMBER TEN THROUGH SEVENTY
With last Tuesday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 47-23 (.671) as head coach. That’s the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 69 games at the helm. The last 17 games mark the highest Claxton has been in the all-time game-to-game standings since he became head coach in 2021-22.
Paul Lynner 53-17 (.757, 70th game was the 11th game of his third season in 1964-65)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 47-23 (.671, 70th game was the third game of his third season in 2023-24)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 45-25 (.643, 70th game was the 18th game of his third season in 1957-58)
Dick Berg 36-34 (.514, 70th game was the 15th game of his third season in 1982-83)
Mo Cassara 34-36 (.486, 70th game was the fifth game of his third season in 2012-13)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 33-37 (.471, 70th game was the 13th game of his third season in 1990-91)
Joe Mihalich 33-37 (.471, 70th game was the third game of his third season in 2015-16)
Jay Wright 25-45 (.357, 70th game was the 15th game of his third season in 1996-97)
Roger Gaeckler 25-45 (.357, 70th game was the 22nd game of his third season in 1974-75)
Tom Pecora 24-46 (.343, 70th game was the ninth game of his third season in 2003-04)
The 70th game for Mo Cassara and Joe Mihalich were pivotal for entirely different reasons. The Dutchmen improved to 3-2 with a 103-100 double-overtime win over Marshall on Nov. 18, 2012, but the bottom was about to fall out because 47 of those points were scored by dudes fewer than two weeks away from being arrested for trying to steal everything that wasn’t locked down in the dorms. In better news, Mihalich’s 70th game on Nov. 20, 2015 — eight years ago today! — was an 82-77 win over Florida State that marked the Dutchmen’s first win over a power conference foe under Mihalich, But not their last!
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 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.
0-FOR-II AGAINST DIVISION I
The Dutchmen are 1-2 but their lone win came in the season opener against Division III St. Joseph’s of Patchogue. This is the first time the Dutchmen have lost their first two games against Division I foes since 2012-13 and only the fifth time they’ve done so in the CAA era (2001-present). The eventual outcomes the first four times were ALL OVER THE MAP:
2002-03: opened 0-2 without the suspended Rick Apodaca and Wendell Gibson (#ThanksStu), finished 8-21
2006-07: opened 0-3, finished 22-10 and made the NIT in a strangely disappointing post-Tom O’Connor Screw Job season
2010-11: opened 1-3 (win over Division III Farmingdale State), finished 22-10 in Charles Jenkins’ senior year and “made” the CBI (shrieks)
2012-13: 0-2, finished 7-25 with a shell of a roster
UNLUCKY THIRTEEN
The loss last Tuesday marked the 13th straight time dating back to Jan. 5, 2017 that the Dutchmen have lost a game in which they scored 60 or fewer points. The Dutchmen last won a game with fewer than 60 points on Dec. 31, 2016 — just six days before their current streak started — when they edged Delaware 58-56.
THOMAS’ DOUBLE-DOUBLE (sort of)
Tyler Thomas led the Dutchmen with 20 points and eight rebounds last Tuesday night. It was the third time he’s at least held a share of the team lead in both categories since joining the Dutchmen last season. Thomas had 29 points and 11 rebounds (that’s a real double-double!) in a 79-58 win over Stony Brook on Feb. 4 and scored 28 points with seven rebounds, the latter of which tied him for the team lead with Aaron Estrada, in a 70-46 win over UNC Wilmington Jan. 19.
D-STONE STILL DOING SECOND HALF WORK
Darlinstone Dubar continued to thrive in the second half last Tuesday, when he scored 11 of his 17 points after halftime. Dubar has scored 52 points this season, including 38 in the second half. He’s not quite Justin Wright-Foreman in 2016-17, but if these trends continue…
KIJAN’S FAST START
Freshman KiJan Robinson scored the Dutchmen’s final five points last Tuesday to get into double figures with 10 points. Robinson, who scored 11 points against St. Joseph’s in the season opener on Nov. 6, is the first Hofstra freshman — true or redshirt — to score in double figures in at least two of his first three games since true freshman Eli Pemberton opened his career with five straight double-figure efforts in November 2016. Pretty good company.
CARLOS ON THE BOARDS
Jaquan Carlos pulled down seven rebounds last Tuesday, when he finished one shy of Tyler Thomas for the team lead. Carlos has recorded at least seven rebounds eight times — all in his last 23 games dating back to Jan. 5 against Hampton.
FOULING ON THE FRITZ
Graduate student Jacco Fritz fouled out after playing just eight minutes last Tuesday. That’s the fastest a Hofstra player has fouled out since Malik Nichols recorded five fouls in five minutes in an 86-82 loss to James Madison on Jan. 16, 2016. Fritz had no points and no rebounds — just as Nichols did against James Madison. Fritz and Nichols are the only Hofstra players since the 2010-11 season, the first season of the Play Index Era at College Basketball Reference, to foul out without recording a point or a rebound.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game, as well as the entire Gulf Coast Showcase, is slated to be carried live on Flo Hoops. For subscription options, click here. Hofstra will also provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
WHAT IS THE GULF COAST SHOWCASE?
It’s an actual tournament! Unlike that weird Northern Classic thingy last year. This will be the 11th edition of the Gulf Coast Showcase, a mid-major showcase event which debuted in 2013 and has been held every year since then aside from the pandemic season in 2020-21.
This year’s field also includes High Point, Illinois State, Iona, Long Beach State, Louisiana and Wright State. No, you’re already thinking of potential tie-ins to every school. The Dutchmen will oppose the winner or the loser of today’s Louisiana-Wright State game on Tuesday.
The Flying Dutchmen are participating in the Gulf Coast Showcase for the second time. They went 2-1 and finished in third place in November 2016, when the Dutchmen beat Bradley 92-90 in the first round and fell to Vermont (AMERICA EAST BIAS) 87-73 in the semifinals before beating South Dakota 65-57 in the consolation game.
A CAA team has participated in the Gulf Coast Showcase in six of the last seven tournaments. Towson won the tournament in 2017 while Northeastern finished seventh with a 1-2 record in 2019. Delaware went 2-1 and fell int he title game in2 2021 before Drexel went 1-2 and finished fourth last year.
The Dutchmen are aiming to win a preseason tournament for the first time since they won the Boca Raton Beach Classic at Florida Atlantic in December 2019. I’ll take being back in Florida as a sign they’re going to win this thing. This will mark the 14th time in the last 18 seasons the Dutchmen have participated in an MTE/preseason tournament.
BUFFALO AND THE MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Buffalo, under first-year head coach George Halcovage III, is 1-2 this season after beating Division II Roberts Wesleyan, 89-83, last Wednesday. Halcovage III is a former assistant at Villanova under Jay Wright while Roberts Wesleyan plays in the East Coast Conference. This is way too much stimulation for a Monday afternoon.
Buffalo was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team Mid-American Conference. Senior forward Jonnivius Smith, who played his sophomore season at Seton Hall, is averaging a double-double with 12.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Nifty! Graduate senior Sy Chatman, who previously played at Massachusetts and Illinois State, leads the Bulls with 15.0 ppg and ranks second with 8.0 rpg. Senior Isaiah Adams (14.7 ppg). sophomore Shawn Fulcher (11.3 ppg) and junior Kanye Jones (11/3 ppg) are also averaging in double figures in the early going.
The Dutchmen and Bulls have no common opponents this season, though in a slightly parallel universe, they would since Buffalo is slated to play James Madison on Nov. 29.
The all-time series between the teams is tied 2-2 but have not met since Buffalo earned a 71-57 win in ECC play on Jan. 15, 1994. That was the intersession of my first year at Hofstra and thus I wasn't watching or listening, which is a mistake I certainly hope to remedy tonight!
The Dutchmen are 5-12 all-time against current Mid-American Conference schools. Tonight marks the Dutchmen’s first game against a MAC foe since way back on Nov. 15, 2008, when the Dutchmen edged Western Michigan, 71-68, in overtime in a Charleston Classic game.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 146th while Buffalo is ranked 305th. KenPom.com predicts a 78-70 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 9 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 0-2 against the spread this season.
ECC REUNION AND IT FEELS SOOOOO GOOD
Buffalo, as you may have tried to forget if you’ve been unfortunate enough to read me the last 15 years, was a member of the East Coast Conference during Hofstra’s final two seasons in the greatest league I absolutely did not make up because I was a very lonely child too invested in his make believe worlds. The Bulls joined the ECC upon rejoining Division I in 1991-92, played as an independent along with Hofstra in 1992-93 and then rejoined the piecemeal ECC for one final glorious go-around in 1993-94 along with Hofstra, Central Connecticut State, Chicago (not a) State, Northeastern Illinois and Troy (not a) State. Buffalo moved to the Mid-Continent Conference along with the rest of the non-Hofstra ECC in 1994-95 before jumping to the Mid-American Conference in 1998-99.
Buffalo is just the second ECC school Hofstra has faced since the league sadly dissolved. The Dutchmen beat Central Connecticut in the Beach Bowls (my parents went there, how’s that for a butterfly effect for a Monday afternoon) 72-67 on Dec. 15, 2013 and 84-56 on Dec. 31, 2014. Troy (dropped the State) keeps ducking the Dutchmen while Chicago (still not a) State keeps finding ways not to play Hofstra despite their usually independent status. Northeastern Illinois unfortunately dropped sports in the late ‘90s. There’s like one reader out there who will find any of this interesting, what’s up Dave, appreciate you reading!
THE DUTCHMEN ON THIS DATE
New feature! At least if I can catch up on the rest of the calendar over the next few weeks. Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to see how the Dutchmen have historically fared on each of the days in which they are scheduled to play this season.
Thus, I am here to report the Dutchmen are 2-2 all-time on Nov. 20. In a quirky bit of quirkiness we like here at I’ll Be Quirky, Buffalo is the first non-power conference Division I foe Hofstra has ever faced on this date.
11/20/15: 82-77 W Florida State
11/20/09: 87-48 W Farmingdale State
11/20/03: 75-56 L Georgia Tech
11/20/98: 89-59 L Maryland
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
ECC forever bias! (Because duh)
Anquan Bolden bias! (Remember Anquan Bolden, the Hall of Fame-caliber receiver from 2003-16? His son plays for the Bulls. I have an extra AARP card application if you want one)
Jay Wright coaching tree bias! (Too obvious)
Wolf Blitzer bias! (The CNN anchor graduated from Buffalo, which is cool because Blitzer bias sounds cool)
Nate Oats bias! (The Alabama coach and all-around definitely not a bad guy who swiped Aaron Estrada from our loving embrace got his head coaching start at Buffalo)
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