Felipe Lopez on the cover of Sports Illustrated the same week Jay Wright made his head coaching debut? Bad job, SI. Bad job.
The Flying Dutchmen flirted with hitting triple sevens in Vegas (that’s a slot machine reference for you kids) but faded after a second-half comeback on Dec. 21 and fell to UNLV, 74-56. The Dutchmen will look to complete their non-conference schedule with an upset this afternoon, when they visit UBS Arena for the first time to face St. John’s for the first time under a coach who’s not scared to play Hofstra. Prove me wrong, children! Here's a look back at the loss to the Runnin’ Rebels and a look ahead to Red Storm.
THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Flying Dutchmen overcame a 12-point halftime deficit by opening the final 20 minutes on a 16-2 run, but the Dutchmen went cold and UNLV ended the game on a 36-16 surge. UNLV held a pair of 13-point leads in the first half, when nine Dutchmen hit exactly one field goal each (how many Dutchmen hit exactly one field goal each?), and entered the locker room with a 36-24 lead. Darlinstone Dubar continued his second half success this season by scoring seven points in the 16-2 run, including the layup that gave the Dutchmen their lone lead at 40-38 with 15:26 left. Keylan Boone responded with five straight points for UNLV and the Dutchmen got within a basket twice more. Jaquan Carlos’ jumper with 12:36 left cut the Runnin’ Rebels lead to 46-44, after which the Dutchmen had eight straight empty trips as UNLV scored nine unanswered points. Tyler Thomas’ 3-pointer pulled the Dutchmen within single digits for the last time at 55-47 with 8:28 left. UNLV closed with an 11-4 run following Dubar’s layup with 5:33 left. Dubar scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the second half while Thomas shot just 4-of-20 from the field while finishing with 13 points, four assists and two steals. Carlos had seven points, four rebounds and four assists while Jacco Fritz and Bryce Washington shared the team lead with six rebounds. Silas Sunday added six points and five rebounds in 13 minutes.
3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. UNLV, 12/21)
3: Darlinstone Dubar
2: Tyler Thomas
1: Silas Sunday
SEASON STANDINGS
Tyler Thomas 25
Darlinstone Dubar 23
Jaquan Carlos 13
Jacco Fritz 6
Bryce Washington 3
Silas Sunday 1
KiJan Robinson 1
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER TWELVE GAMES
With the loss Dec. 21, the Dutchmen fell to 7-5. This ties the 2023-24 team for the 32nd-best record in school history through 12 games. This is the first time the Dutchmen have opened 7-5 since 2020-21 and the 14th time overall in school history. Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 12 games:
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1975-76: 6-6
1976-77: 9-3
1999-2000: 8-4
2000-01: 8-4
2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 8-4 (most recent 8-4 start)
NIT TEAMS
1998-99: 8-4
2004-05: 10-2
2005-06: 10-2 (most recent 10-2 start)
2006-07: 8-4
2015-16: 8-4
2018-19: 9-3 (most recent 9-3 start, marked sixth win in the 16-game winning streak)
2022-23 6-6 (most recent 6-6 start, obvs)
NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1958-59: 8-4
1961-62: 11-1
1962-63: 8-4
1963-64: 11-1 (most recent 11-1 start)
Some other notable 12-game starts:
2013-14: 4-8 (most recent 4-8 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)
2012-13: 3-9 (most recent 3-9 start)
2011-12: 5-7 (most recent 5-7 start)
2002-03: 2-10 (most recent 2-10 start)
1994-95: 2-10 (Jay Wright’s first team)
1993-94: 1-11 (VBK’s last team, most recent 1-11 start)
1959-60: 11-1 (win in 12th game marked first win in season-ending 13-game winning streak)
1955-56: 12-0 (only 12-0 start in school history)
The Dutchmen have never opened a season 0-12.
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-NINE
With the loss on Dec. 21, Speedy Claxton fell to 53-26 (.671) as head coach. That’s the second-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 79 games at the helm. The last 25 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 55-24 (.696, 79th game was the 20th game of his third season in 1964-65)
SPEEDY CLAXTON 53-26 (.671, 79th game was the 12th game of his third season in 2023-24)
Butch van Breda Kolff I 50-29 (.633, 79th game was the fourth game of his fourth season in 1957-58)
Dick Berg 41-38 (.519, 79th game was the 24th game of his third season in 1982-83)
Butch van Breda Kolff II 39-40 (.494, 79th game was the 22nd game of his third season in 1990-91)
Joe Mihalich 38-41 (.481, 79th game was the 12th game of his third season in 2015-16)
Mo Cassara 35-44 (.443, 79th game was the 14th game of his third season in 2012-13)
Roger Gaeckler 30-49 (.380, 79th game was the seventh game of his fourth season in 1975-76)
Jay Wright 30-49 (.380, 79th game was the 24th game of his third season in 1996-97)
Tom Pecora 28-51 (.354, 79th game was the 18th 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.
UNLUCKY THIRTEEN
The loss Dec. 21 marked the 13th straight time the Dutchmen have lost when scoring fewer than 60 points. The Dutchmen haven’t won a game while scoring fewer than 60 points since Dec. 31, 2016 — hey that’s seven years ago tomorrow! — when they edged Delaware 58-56.
A QUIET FIRST HALF
The Dutchmen trailed 36-24 at the half Dec. 21. The 24 points were the Dutchmen’s fewest in a first half since they scored 20 points in a 68-47 loss to Towson on Jan. 16.
DON'T BLINK
The Dutchmen led just once Dec. 21, when Darlinstone Dubar’s layup capped the half-opening 16-2 run and put Hofstra ahead 40-38 with 15:26 left. It was the first time the Dutchmen led just once in a game since Jan. 25, 2018, when they held a 14-12 lead in an 81-67 loss to Northeastern.
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICITS
Speaking of losses to Northeastern…the Dutchmen overcame a double-digit deficit to take a lead before losing by double digits (that’s a lot of double digits) Dec. 21 for the first time since Jan. 9, 2021, when they trailed Northeastern by 12 points in the first half and went ahead by eight points in the second half before suffering a 67-56 loss in Boston.
HOW MANY PLAYERS HIT EXACTLY ONE FIELD GOAL IN THE FIRST HALF?
And probably speaking again of losses to Northeastern…nine players hit exactly one field goal apiece for the Dutchmen in the first half Dec. 21. I am pretty certain that’s the first time nobody hit more than one field goal for the Dutchmen in the first half since way back on Jan. 7, 2009, when seven players had one field goal each in the first half of a 73-50 loss to Northeastern. I looked up all the boxscores for the 2012-13 season as well as a handful of other lean possibilities — such as the CBI game against IUPUI, shudder — but at least one player had at least two field goals ini the first half of all those games. If I have some time this week I may complete that research.
In the meantime, here’s the seven players who had one field goal apiece in the first half against Northeastern nearly 15 years ago: Tony Dennison, Dane Johnson, Greg Johnson, Miklos Szabo, Greg Washington, Cornelius Vines and Darren Townes. There’s some random dudes there!
D-STONE DEALING
Darlinstone Dubar continued his impressive season Dec. 21, when he finished with a team-high 17 points. Dubar has scored in double figures in all 12 games this season, which is his longest single-season stretch of consecutive double-figure efforts, and in 14 straight games overall dating back to the 88-86 overtime win over Rutgers in the first round of the NIT on Mar. 14.
SECOND HALF D-STONE
Darlinstone Dubar also continued his penchant for performing his best after halftime Dec. 21, when he scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half. Dubar has scored 213 points this season, including 123 in the second half or overtime. Shades of Justin Wright-Foreman’s breakout season in 2016-17.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Tyler Thomas finished second on the Dutchmen in scoring Dec. 21, when he had 13 points. Thomas has scored in double figures in 35 of his last 37 games and 40 times in 47 games overall since joining the Dutchmen last season.
THOMAS TOUGH FROM TWO
Tyler Thomas scored his 13 points Dec. 21 despite being just 4-of-20 from the field, including 1-of-9 from inside the 3-point line. Thomas is the first Hofstra player to hit one 2-point field goal or fewer while taking at least nine shots inside the arc since Dion Nesmith was 1-of-10 on 2-point field goals in a 59-53 loss to James Madison on Feb. 10, 2014.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
Silas Sunday had a solid game Dec. 21, when he scored six points, pulled down five rebounds and had one assist, one steal and one block in 13 minutes. It marked the first time Sunday filled in all five parts of the boxscore as a collegian. The six points were one shy of Sunday’s season-high, set against South Florida on Nov. 30, while the five reboudns tied his season-high against a Division I opponent, Sunday had seven rebounds against Division III St. Joseph’s in the season opener Nov. 6 and five rebounds apiece against George Washington on Nov. 14 and against Saint Louis on Dec. 9.
A PERFECT SUNDAY
Silas Sunday scored his six points Dec. 21 on 3-of-3 shooting from the field. It marked the second straight game in which at least one Hofstra player was perfect form inside the arc (minimum three attempts). Jacco Fritz and Bryce Washington were each 4-of-4 on 2-point field goal attempts against Norfolk State on Dec. 16.
BRYCE THE GLUE GUY
Bryce Washington had two points but had six rebounds — tied with Jacco Fritz for the team lead — in 27 minutes on Dec. 21. The six rebounds tied a season-high for Washington, who also shared the team lead with Darlinstone Dubar in the 74-67 loss to Princeton on Nov. 10.
NO SHOPPING AT THE FIVE-AND-DIME FOR CARLOS
Jaquan Carlos had a quiet game Dec. 21, when he finished with seven points and four assists. The seven points were the second-fewest this season for Carlos while he collected fewer than five assists for the third time. The Dutchmen are 1-2 this season when Carlos has fewer than 10 points and fewer than five assists.
OVER THE AIR
This afternoon’s game will be carried live on Fox Sports 1, which is channel 69 in the Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords Universe. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
ST. JOHN’S AND THE BIG EAST
St. John’s, under some no-name first-year head coach named Rick Pitino, is 8-4 this season and 1-1 in the Big East following last Saturday’s 69-65 loss to no. 5 Connecticut. The Red Storm led by as many as eight in the second half and held a 63-61 lead with 4:15 left before the Huskies fended off the upset bid.
St. John’s was picked to finish fifth in the 11-team Big East. Fifth-year senior why can’t Fordham get guys like Joel Soriano, who was selected to the preseason all-Big East first team, leads the Red Storm with 17.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He has posted five straight double-doubles and eight double-doubles overall this season. Soriano and sophomore Drissa Traore are the only returnees from last year’s team.
Graduate student Daniss Jenkins, who opened his career at Pacific before playing last season under Pitino at Iona, is averaging 11.3 points per game. Senior Jordan Dingle, who played his first three seasons at Pennsylvania, is averaging 11.0 points per game while graduate student Chris Ledlum is averaging 10.8 points per game and ranks second on the team with 7.8 rebounds per game. However, he will likely miss today's game due to a sprained ankle suffered against UConn.
The Dutchmen and Red Storm have one common opponent this season. St. John’s opened the Pitino Era on Nov. 7 with a 90-74 win over Stony Brook, which will host Hofstra on Jan. 22 before visiting the Arena on Feb. 1.
At KenPom.com, St. John’s is ranked 41st nationally in offensive efficiency (112.9 points per 100 possessions) and 64th in defensive efficiency (98.3 points per 100 minutes) while ranking 89th in tempo (71.1 possessions per 40 minutes).
Hofstra is 5-22 all-time against St. John’s. The teams haven’t opposed each other since Dec. 20, 2009, when the Red Storm beat the Dutchmen 72-60 in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. That ended a four-game winning streak for the Dutchmen in the series and marked just the second win for St. John’s in the last seven games between the schools dating back to the 2000-01 season. You know, just in case you were wondering why St. John’s stopped scheduling the Dutchmen.
Hofstra is 6-35 all-time against current Big East schools. The Dutchmen haven’t faced a Big East foe since Dec. 22, 2017, when they fell to no. 1 Villanova, 95-71, at Nassau Coliseum. Wait basketball games at Nassau Coliseum? Since when? And who was Villanova’s coach back then?
At KenPom.com this afternoon, Hofstra is ranked 108th while St. John’s is ranked 45th. KenPom.com predicts a 79-69 loss for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 8 1/2-point underdogs. That’s a big swing. The Dutchmen are 5-6 against the spread this season.
I previewed today's game for Field Level Media. Give it a click!
SO THAT’S WHY THEY DIDN’T WANT TO PLAY HOFSTRA
Since Dec. 20, 2009, St. John’s has 236 wins — 21 fewer than Hofstra and only sixth-most among the 22 metropolitan New York schools. I’m not gonna lie, I figured Hofstra was no. 1 on the list, but the Dutchmen rank fifth. Still pretty good! Here’s the full list of wins by local Division I teams since the last time the Dutchmen played St. John’s:
Iona 294
Stony Brook 268
Seton Hall 262
Princeton 261
HOFSTRA 257
St. John’s 236
Wagner 227
Rider 225
Long Island University 217
Monmouth 214
Fairfield 212
Saint Peter’s 209
Rutgers 204
Army West Point 195
NJIT 191
Manhattan 189
St. Francis (NY) 186
Sacred Heart 173
Columbia 161
Fairleigh Dickinson 157
Fordham 152
Marist 136
A FAMILIAR FACE
Rick Pitino will make a truly quirky bit of history at the opening tip, when he becomes the first coach to oppose the Flying Dutchmen with four different schools.
Pitino first faced the then-actual Flying Dutchmen way back on Dec. 29, 1986, when Providence cruised to a 97-61 win in Rhode Island. Future national champion head coach Billy Donovan was one of five Providence players to score in double figures. Almost exactly three months later, the Friars were in the Final Four. Gerald King scored 24 points for the Dutchmen.
And Pitino’s second game following his second national championship LUKE HANCOCK BIAS was against Hofstra on Nov. 12, 2013, when Louisville beat the Dutchmen, 97-69, in Joe Mihalich’s third game at the helm. Dion Nesmith led the Dutchmen with 24 points while the late great Zeke Upshaw had 17 points.
Pitino faced Hofstra in each of his three seasons at Iona, when he directed the Gaels to a pair of 82-74 wins on Dec. 5, 2020 and Nov. 16, 2021 before the Dutchmen finally got revenge upon him for his many decades of torment with an 83-78 victory on Nov. 11, 2022.
Pitino was one of just four coaches to oppose Hofstra with three different schools, joining Jim Lynam (Fairfield, American and Saint Joseph’s between the 1969-70 and 1980-81 seasons), Nick Macarchuk (Canisius, Fordham and Stony Brook between the 1977-78 and 1999-2000 seasons) and Jim Baron (St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island and Canisius between the 1992-93 and 2015-16 seasons).
A NEW ARENA
The Dutchmen will see a familiar foe in a new Islanders-specific place when they make their UBS Arena debut this afternoon. This is the first time the Dutchmen have played in a New York-area arena since Dec. 11, 2022, when they fell to Massachusetts, 71-56, at Barclays Center. It’s also the first time the Dutchmen have debuted at an arena since they played at Barclays Center for the first time on Dec. 22, 2012, when they lost to Tulane, 83-62. That was so long ago, the Islanders hadn't even tried playing there yet!
Per Hofstra SID Stephen Gorchov, the Dutchmen are 14-22 all-time at the area’s three arenas — Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center, The Dutchmen are 10-9 at MSG, 3-10 at Nassau Coliseum and 1-3 at Barclays Center. They are seeking their first win at a New York-area arena since an 86-80 victory over Appalachian State at MSG on Dec. 6, 2015.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
You’ve won as many NCAA Tournament games as us since 2001 bias! (It’s true)
We won the all-time football series bias! (This one comes courtesy of Jaden Daly, who notes Hofstra finished 4-3 against St. John’s on the gridiron and earned a 48-0 win in the last meeting between the schools on Nov. 10, 1990, when I was a high school senior, Joe Gardi was in his first year as the Flying Dutchmen’s head coach and both schools were in Division III)
Mike Francesa graduated from your school but he likes ours more bias! (Actually, I don’t think Mike likes anyone)
Felipe Lopez bias! (He played four years at St. John’s in the mid-to-late ‘90s but would be a one-and-done today)
This isn’t Rick Pitino’s last job bias! (Prove me wrong, Rick!)
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