Larry Johnson would probably take a paycut in the NIL era.
The Flying Dutchmen ended a brief losing streak Saturday afternoon, when they took the idea of a well-distributed offense to potentially historic heights while pulling away from Norfolk State in the second half of a 74-58 win. The Dutchmen will hit the road in search of a defining upset win tonight, when they trek all the way across the country to visit UNLV. I smell a lot of good biases coming, Here’s a look back at the win over the Spartans and a look ahead to the Fighting Larry Johnsons (or Runnin’ Rebels, I can’t remember which).
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Tyler Thomas scored a game-high 22 points, but Bryce Washington and Jaquan Carlos sparked the decisive second half runs that turned a nail-biter into a comfortable win for the Dutchmen, who finished with a whopping 23 assists on 26 field goals. The Dutchmen led just twice in the first half against Norfolk State, which led by as many as seven points before entering the locker room with a 32-31 lead. Thomas and Washington had five points apiece — and Washington had assists on both of Thomas’ field goals — as the Dutchmen opened the second half on a 10-1 run. Norfolk State responded by scoring the next nine points, a stretch in which the Dutchmen missed five shots. Darlinstone Dubar ended the drought with a 3-pointer and Christian Ings hit a layup to tie the score at 44-44 before Thomas and Carlos combined to hit three 3-pointers in a 36-second span to begin a game-ending 30-14 run. Carlos capped his double-double (10 points, 10 assists) by scoring 10 points and collecting five assists in the surge. He also had just one turnover after committing 14 turnovers in the previous three games. Washington had eight points, two assists and both his steals in the second half and finished with 13 points and three assists. Dubar collected 13 points and seven rebounds in another solid effort while Jacco Fritz (nine points) just missed turning the quartet of double-digit scorer into a quintet.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Norfolk State, 12/16)
3: Jaquan Carlos
2: Tyler Thomas
1: Bryce Washington
SEASON STANDINGS
Tyler Thomas 23
Darlinstone Dubar 20
Jaquan Carlos 13
Jacco Fritz 6
Bryce Washington 3
KiJan Robinson 1
WAS THIS A UNICORN SCORE?
No! But this was only the Dutchmen’s second 74-58 win and their first since Feb. 12, 1983, when the Flying Dutchmen — who really were the Flying Dutchmen back then! — beat Drexel, much to the delight of fourth-grade me. Long time ago!
The Dutchmen have earned four unicorn score victories this season after recording 12 unicorn score victories last season, 11 unicorn score victories in 2021-22, no unicorn score victories in 2020-21, 13 unicorn score victories in 2019-20 and 10 unicorn score victories 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. You may also know it as a “Scorigami,” a term popularized in the NFL.
WHO HAD THE KEITH HERNANDEZ?
Tyler Thomas became the second player this season with multiple Keith Hernandezes when he hit the tie-breaking 3-pointer to put the Dutchmen up 47-44 with 13:45 left. It was the second time Thomas has recorded a Keith Hernandez by hitting a tie-breaking 3-pointer in the second half (that’s a mouthful).
Darlinstone Dubar go-ahead layup vs. St. Joseph’s (NY), 11/6/23 (14:30 left 1H)
Jaquan Carlos tie-breaking 3-pointer vs. Buffalo, 11/20/23 (19:33 left 1H)
Tyler Thomas tie-breaking free throw vs. Wright State, 11/21/23 (4:16 left 2H)
Darlinstone Dubar tie-breaking jumper vs. High Point, 11/22/23 (4:47 left OT)
Darlinstone Dubar tie-breaking layup vs. South Florida, 11/30/23 (19:42 left 1H)
Jacco Fritz tie-breaking jumper vs. Iona, 12/6/23 (12:37 left 1H)
Tyler Thomas tie-breaking 3-pointer vs. Norfolk State, 12/16/23 (13:45 left 2H)
SEASON STANDINGS
Darlinstone Dubar 3
Tyler Thomas 2
Jacco Fritz 1
Jaquan Carlos 1
ALL-TIME STANDINGS (or at least since last season)
Tyler Thomas 12
Darlinstone Dubar 8
Aaron Estrada 4
Warren Williams 3
Jaquan Carlos 2
German Plotnikov 2
Jacco Fritz 1
The Keith Hernandez is bestowed upon the player who scores the points that put the Dutchmen ahead for good in a victory. The stat pays homage to Hernandez, the World Series-winning Cardinals and Mets first baseman who had a record 129 game-winning RBIs when the stat was inexplicably discontinued after the 1988 season.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER ELEVEN GAMES
With Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 7-4. This ties the 2023-24 team for the 23rd-best record in school history through 11 games. This is the first time the Dutchmen have opened 7-4 since 2019-20 and the 16th time overall in school 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
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)
2022-23: 6-5 (most recent 6-5 start)
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.
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 SEVENTY-EIGHT
With Saturday’s win, Speedy Claxton improved to 53-25 (.679) as head coach. That’s the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 78 games at the helm. The last 24 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 55-23 (.705, 78th game was the 19th game of his third season in 1964-65)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 53-25 (.679, 78th game was the 11th game of his third season in 2023-24)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 49-29 (.628, 78th game was the third game of his fourth season in 1957-58)
Dick Berg 41-37 (.526, 78th game was the 23rd game of his third season in 1982-83)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 39-39 (.500, 78th game was the 21st game of his third season in 1990-91)
Joe Mihalich 37-41 (.474, 78th game was the 11th game of his third season in 2015-16)
Mo Cassara 34-44 (.436, 78th game was the 13th game of his third season in 2012-13)
Roger Gaeckler 30-48 (.385, 78th game was the sixth game of his fourth season in 1975-76)
Jay Wright 30-48 (.385, 78th game was the 23rd game of his third season in 1996-97)
Tom Pecora 27-51 (.346, 78th game was the 17th game of his third season in 2003-04)
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.
COMEBACK KIDS
The Dutchmen, who trailed Norfolk State 32-31 at the half, improved to 2-4 when trailing at the half this season — they trailed Wright State by 10 points at halftime of an 85-76 win on Nov 21 — and 9-9 when trailing at the half since the start of last season.
DROPPING THE DIMES (part one)
Led by Jaquan Carlos, the Dutchmen distributed the ball Saturday as well as just about anyone in the country this season — and as well as any Hofstra team since, well, maybe ever. The Dutchmen finished with 23 assists on 26 field goals, which means they had an assist on 88.4 percent of their baskets. (Once again, math only remains useful for sports-related reasons) Through Tuesday, only four Division I teams had a better assist-to-field-goal percentage (minimum of 20 assists) in a game this season against a fellow Division I school.
UT Arlington vs. Abilene Christian 11/29/23 (25/27, 92.6%)
Southern Illinois vs. New Mexico State 11/22/23 (22/24, 91.7%)
Wofford vs. Coastal Carolina 12/9/23 (28/31, 90.3%)
Virginia Tech vs. Coppin State 11/6/23 (29/32, 90.1%)
Hofstra vs. Norfolk State 12/16/23 (23/26, 88.4%)
The assist-to-field goal percentage registered by the Dutchmen is their best in a game in which they had at least 20 assists since at least the 2002-03 season, which is as far back as my boxscores go at home. Prior to Saturday, the Dutchmen’s highest assist-to-field goal percentage in a game in which they had at least 20 assists was set Feb. 25, 2012, when they had 25 assists on 30 field goals (83.3 percent).
DROPPING THE DIMES (part two)
As noted, the Dutchmen finished with 23 assists Saturday, their highest single-game total against a Division I foe since collecting 24 assists in an 86-57 win over Monmouth on Feb. 11. The Dutchmen had 28 assists in a 101-48 win over Division III St. Joseph’s (NY) on Nov. 6.
10 TO ONE, THOSE ARE GOOD ODDS
Jaquan Carlos had 10 assists and just one turnover Saturday afternoon. He’s the first Hofstra player to have at least 10 assists and one turnover or fewer since…Jaquan Carlos had 10 assists and one turnover in a 79-58 win over Stony Brook on Feb. 4. Carlos is the only Hofstra player to finish with at least 10 assists and one turnover or fewer against in two games against Division I foes since the 2010-11 season, the start of the Play Index Era at College Basketball Reference. The only other players to achieve the feat once are Stevie Mejia (10 assists and one turnover in a 70-59 win over Old Dominion on Feb. 24, 2013) and Desure Buie (10 assist and one turnover in a 99-95 win over Charleston on Feb. 14, 2019).
JC’S DOUBLE-DOUBLE MIX
Jaquan Carlos posted his third career double-double Saturday afternoon, when he had 10 points and 10 assists. Carlos recorded a rebounds-assists double-double (10 rebounds, 10 assists) in a 79-58 win over Stony Brook on Feb. 4 before racking up a points-assists double-double (11 points, 10 assists) in an 82-63 win over South Florida on Nov. 30.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Tyler Thomas returned to his familiar spot as the Dutchmen’s leading scorer Saturday afternoon, when he finished with 22 points. Thomas has led the Dutchmen in scoring seven times in 11 games this season. He has also scored in double figures in 34 of his last 36 games and 39 times in 46 games overall since joining the Dutchmen last season.
D-STONE DEALING
You know a team had a pretty good day when a player finishes with 13 points and seven rebounds and doesn’t make the 3 Stars of the Game. Darlinstone Dubar extended the longest active streak of double-digit scoring performances by a Hofstra player after he finished with — you guessed it — 13 points Saturday afternoon. Dubar has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season, which is his longest single-season stretch of consecutive double-figure efforts, and in 13 straight games overall dating back to the 88-86 overtime win over Rutgers in the first round of the NIT on Mar. 14.
FIVE BY SEVEN
Darlinstone Dubar also finished with at least seven rebounds for the fifth straight game Saturday. Prior to this current stretch, Dubar had as many as two straight games with at least seven rebounds just once. He pulled down seven rebounds apiece against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 31 before again recording seven rebounds against Hampton on Jan. 5.
BRYCE THE GLUE GUY
Bryce Washington bounced back from a quiet game against Duke by finishing with 13 points in 32 minutes Saturday afternoon. Washington has scored in double figures four times in 11 games this season after doing so four times in a combined 40 games the previous two seasons for Hofstra and Pennsylvania. In addition, the 32 minutes Washington played Saturday were his most in regulation this season and his most in regulation since he logged 35 minutes in a 79-58 win over Stony Brook on Feb. 4.
PUTTING ON THE FRITZ
Jacco Fritz once again played a key role in a Dutchmen victory Saturday afternoon, when he scored nine points while adding four rebounds, two assists and two blocks over 27 minutes. Fritz also drew just three fouls as the Dutchmen improved to 6-1 this season in games in which he doesn’t foul out. The Dutchmen are 1-3 when Fritz fouls out.
GO FOURTH YOUNG MEN
Bryce Washington and Jacco Fritz were each 4-of-4 from inside the 3-point line Saturday afternoon. They are the first pair of Dutchmen to make all their 2-point field goal attempts (minimum four attempts) since Dec. 1, 2021, when Darlinstone Dubar was 6-of-6 from inside the arc while Kvonn Cramer was 4-of-4 on his 2-point attempts in an 81-77 win over Princeton.
FIVE FOR KIJAN
Freshman KiJan Robinson continued chipping in Saturday afternoon, when he had five points in eight minutes. It was the second straight game in which Robinson scored five points and the fourth time he’s scored at least five points in 11 games this season.
WELCOME BACK
German Plotnikov, who missed the previous four games with an injury, returned to action Saturday and had one rebound in four minutes.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on the Mountain West Network, which I believe can be streamed for free here. I guess we’ll find out together! Hofstra will also provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
UNLV AND THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
UNLV, under third-year head coach Kevin Kruger, is 4-5 this season after a 69-67 double overtime loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
UNLV — or, as the cool kids called it back in the day, Nevada-Las Vegas — was picked to finish sixth in the 11-team Mountain West. Dedan Thomas Jr., who was selected the Mountain West’s preseason freshman of the year, shares the team lead in scoring at 13.6 points per game with fifth-year senior Kalib Boone, who opened his career at Oklahoma State. Fifth-year senior Luis Rodriguez, a transfer from Mississippi, is averaging 11.6 points per game while fifth-year senior Jalen Hill, a transfer from Oklahoma, is averaging 11.5 points per game. Hill (6.8 rebounds per game) and Rodriguez (5.9 reboudns per game) are UNLV’s top rebounders.
The Dutchmen and Runnin’ Rebels have no common opponents this season.
At KenPom.com, UNLV is ranked 63rd nationally in offensive efficiency (111.0 points per 100 possessions) and 180th in defensive efficiency (104.9 points per 100 minutes) while ranking 294th in tempo (66.6 possessions per 40 minutes, they should play Iron Maiden at the Thomas & Mack Center).
The Dutchmen lost their lone previous meeting against UNLV way back on Dec. 30, 1992 — so long ago that I was not even two months removed from my first visit to the Hofstra campus! — when future NBA star and rabble rouser J.R. Rider scored 20 points to lead 16th-ranked Running Rebels to a 79-41 win over the Flying Dutchmen, who were playing the season as an independent. UNLV’s head coach that season was the late great Rollie Massimino, whose assistants included some guys named Jay Wright and Tom Pecora. I wonder if they ever got head coaching jobs!
Hofstra is 0-7 in all sports all-time against UNLV. Hmm I smell some family business getting settled tonight. The Flying Dutchwomen softball and volleyball teams are each 0-2 against UNLV — the softball team’s first loss to the Runnin’ Rebels was in the 1993 NCAA Tournament at Hofstra — while the men’s soccer and women’s basketball teams are each 0-1.
Hofstra is 2-2 all-time against current Mountain West schools. The Dutchmen beat San Jose State, 85-76, on Nov 17, 2022 to even the all-time series with the Spartans. The Dutchmen beat Air Force during the 1991-92 season before falling to UNLV the following season.
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 98th while UNLV is ranked 101st. That’s close! KenPom.com predicts a 73-71 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 5-point favorites. That’s a big swing. The Dutchmen are 5-5 against the spread this season.
WEST COAST IS THE BEST COAST
Is there anything better than watching a local team play a late-night game on the west coast ? Well, I guess it’s not that great if you don’t have the hours of a vampire like me. Anyway! The Dutchmen are 2-3 in west coast games that tip off after 10 PM EST in the CAA era (2001-present, though tonight is the fourth such game in the last five seasons — a pretty remarkable feat considering the Dutchmen were mostly limited to the east coast due to the pandemic in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons).
San Jose State 85-76 W 11/17/22
San Diego 79-69 L 11/27/19
UCLA 88-78 W 11/21/19
Oregon State 82-72 L 11/16/11
Gonzaga 69-61 L 11/22/02
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
That call was so bad, the NCAA just put Cleveland State on probation bias! (The late Jerry Tarkanian was in fact a renegade, but he wasn’t wrong about the NCAA’s idea of selective punishment)
Game fixers in the hot tub bias! (That’s what finally did in UNLV)
Grandmama bias! (Duh)
Why did you have to lose your perfect season to Duke in 1991 bias? (Sure, it was one of the most seismic games in NCAA history, but ugh. Also, I just realized how awesome it would have been to play Duke & UNLV in consecutive games, maybe next year)
Guy Fieri bias! (The chef went to UNLV)
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