Which team will deliver the booting tonight?
Welcome to the third edition of the slightly tweaked I’ll Be Quirky! Why am I alternating routine I’ll Be Quirkys with tweaked ones on the final weekend of February? Because adult ADHD is a real thing! Anyway, I posted Keep It Perky (once again, an inside joke rebranding) last night, which included a recap of the nice 69-57 win over Drexel as well as the usual post-victory boilerplate work — the 3 Stars of the Game, unicorn score and Keith Hernandez along with how the Flying Dutchmen are historically faring through this point in the season and Speedy Claxton’s standing with previous coaches through however many games — as well as a bit on how the Flying Dutchmen ONCE AGAIN won the ECC this year. Read that here.
Today’s IBQ will look at the team-related quirkiness from Thursday’s win as well as some of the individual news and notes before previewing Elon. Speaking of that, sorta, as always, please drop me a line on Twitter with any feedback on the new formats. In the meantime, read on to learn all about the Dutchmen’s success when scoring under 70 points, Tyler Thomas’ red-hot run and much more before a look at the Phoenix!
ONE POSSESSION OBSESSION
Hall & Oates reference! The Dutchmen didn’t come as close to leading wire-to-wire Thursday night as they did in last Saturday’s 82-62 win over Northeastern, when they only trailed 2-0. But the Dutchmen never trailed by more than one possession Thursday, when they were down by between one point and three points for 2:01 in the first half and down 43-41 for 33 seconds in the second half. This is the first time the Dutchmen have played two straight games in which they didn’t trail by more than a possession since Nov. 30-Dec. 6, when they led wire-to-wire in an 82-63 win over South Florida and a 62-57 victory over Iona.
RUN RUNAWAY
The Dutchmen took control Thursday night with a 16-0 second half run that turned a 43-41 deficit into a 57-43 lead. The run was the third-longest of the season for the Dutchmen behind a 17-0 run in an 86-77 win over Hampton on Jan. 18 and a 19-0 run in a 102-68 win over Buffalo on Nov. 20.
WINNING AT (OR JUST ABOVE) THE SPEED LIMIT
With Thursday night’s 69-57 win, the Dutchmen have won their last four games in which they’ve scored fewer than 70 points. The Dutchmen beat William & Mary 64-55 on Jan. 25 before edging Towson 59-56 on Feb. 3 and outlasting Hampton 63-59 on Feb. 8. This is the first time the Dutchmen have won at least four straight games in which they scored fewer than 70 points since they won five straight such games from Nov. 24-Dec. 13, 2008. All five of those victories occurred within an eight-game winning streak.
THE DEFENSE DOESN’T REST
As you may have surmised by now, the Dutchmen won while surrendering fewer than 60 points Thursday night. The Dutchmen are 8-0 this season when allowing fewer than 60 points and have won 55 straight games when surrendering fewer than 60 points dating back to Feb. 10, 2014, when they fell to James Madison, 59-53.
A SECOND-HALF TEAM
After scoring 41 points in both halves of last Saturday’s 82-62 win over Northeastern, the Dutchmen reverted to form — albeit barely — and scored more points in the second half (36 points) than the first half (33 points). The Dutchmen are averaging 39.8 points per second half (1,115 points overall) as opposed to averaging 34.3 points per first half (961 points overall). I’d have to imagine that’s one of the biggest discrepancies in Division I. Overall, the Dutchmen have scored more points in the first half than in the second half just eight times this season. (These figures don’t include the nine points the Dutchmen scored in overtime of the 97-92 win over High Point on Nov. 22)
DUBAR MOVIN’ ON UP
Darlinstone Dubar resumed climbing the all-time Hofstra scoring list Thursday night, when he scored 13 points to increase his career total to 1,230 points and leapfrogged four players — former teammate Aaron Estrada as well as John Mills, Demetrius Dudley and Carlos Rivera — to move into 23rd place. Dubar enters tonight 11 points away from moving past Roberto Gittens for 22nd place.
21.) Mike Tilley 1,286
22.) Roberto Gittens 1,240
23.) DARLINSTONE DUBAR 1,230
24.) Carlos Rivera 1,225
25t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220
25t.) John Mills 1,220
27.) Aaron Estrada 1,219
THOMAS MOVIN’ ON UP TOO
Tyler Thomas, who joined Dubar in the 1,000-point club on Jan. 25, also moved up the all-time Hofstra scoring list Thursday, when his 28 points increased his career total to 1,203 points and lifted him past a trio of Joe Mihalich-era players — Rokas Gustys, Juan’ya Green and Brian Bernardi — into 28th place. Thomas enters tonight 17 points away from surpassing former teammate Aaron Estrada for 27th place, 18 points away from moving past Demetrius Dudley and John Mills for 25th place and 23 points away from surging past Carlos Rivera for 24th place.
24.) Carlos Rivera 1,225
25t.) Demetrius Dudley 1,220
25t.) John Mills 1,220
27.) Aaron Estrada 1,219
28.) TYLER THOMAS 1,203
29t.) Brian Bernardi 1,186
29t.) Juan’ya Green 1,186
31.) Rokas Gustys 1,184
(This is the first time I’ve been tracking two 1,000-point scorers playing at the same time, which is sorta neat but also sorta depressing because in the NIL era the first time may be the last time, eat Arby’s)
DIMES FOR JAQUAN
We’re a little tardy on this one, but with his record-setting 19-assist performance last Saturday, Jaquan Carlos moved into the top 10 on the Hofstra all-time assist list. Carlos gained a half-spot on the list Thursday, when he had five assists to snap a tie with Woody Souffrant for 10th place. Pretty impressive considering Carlos had just 23 assists as a freshman two years ago. Carlos enters tonight 11 assists shy of moving past Loren Stokes for eighth place.
7.) Juan’ya Green 463
8.) Loren Stokes 377
9.) JAQUAN CARLOS 367
10.) Woody Souffrant 362
11.) Carlos Rivera 351
NO DOUBTING THOMAS
Tyler Thomas continued his resurgence Thursday night, when he scored 28 points while going 9-of-21 from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point land, Thomas is 30-of-69 from beyond the arc over his last eight games after going just 24-of-86 from 3-point land in eight games from Dec. 30-Jan. 25. He has scored in double figures in 20 straight games, 50 of his last 52 games and 58 times overall in the last two seasons. Thomas also has at least 20 points in six of the last eight games and 19 times overall this season.
THOMAS’ THEFTS
Tyler Thomas keyed an impressive defensive game by the Dutchmen Thursday night, when he collected a career-high five steals. Thomas had more than two steals in a game just once in his first 62 games at Hofstra. He recorded three steals in a 68-47 loss to Towson on Jan. 16, 2023. Thomas had four steals for Sacred Heart in a 65-48 win over Central Connecticut on Jan. 14, 2021.
JAQUAN THE STAT-STUFFER
Jaquan Carlos, as Tom Pecora used to say about Loren Stokes, stuffed the stat sheet Thursday night, when he finished with eight points as well as a team-high 10 rebounds and five assists. It marked the seventh time this season Carlos has finished with at least five points, five rebounds and five assists in a game and the 12th time he has done so in the last two seasons. Only two Hofstra players — Juan’ya Green (23 and Aaron Estrada (19) — have more such games since the 2010-11 season, the start of the Play Index era at College Basketball Reference.
DOUBLE-DIGIT BOARDS
The 10 rebounds were also a season-high and tied a career-high for Jaquan Carlos, who had also had 10 rebounds against Stony Brook on Feb. 4, 2023 and 10 rebounds against Hampton on Feb. 16, 2023.
CARLOS KEEPS CRACKING HIS SLUMP
The solid all-around game Thursday was the second straight for Jaquan Carlos, who has 13 points, 18 rebounds and a whopping 24 assists in the last two games after collecting just 23 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists in his previous four games.
HANDS AND BOARDS
Jaquan Carlos led the Dutchmen with 10 rebounds and five assists Thursday. It was the second straight game in which Carlos led Hofstra in assists and rebounds but not scoring. Carlos is the first player to lead the Dutchmen in assists and rebounds but not scoring in consecutive games since…Jaquan Carlos did so from Feb. 8-11, 2023, when he had nine rebounds and nine assists in a 72-53 win over Northeastern before racking up eight rebounds and seven assists in an 86-57 victory over Monmouth.
D-STONE’S BACK
Darlinstone Dubar recovered from a slow start Thursday to score 13 points and record seven rebounds. It was the 12th time this season Dubar has finished with at least 10 points and seven rebounds. He did so just 12 times in his first two seasons at Hofstra combined.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
Silas Sunday continued his emergence Thursday, when he tied a career-high with eight points while setting a career-high with three blocks and adding four rebounds. Sunday, who previously scored eight points in the season-opening 101-48 win over Division III St. Joseph’s (NY), was 4-of-4 from the field in the first perfect shooting night by a Hofstra player (minimum four attempts) since Jacco Fritz scored nine points while going 4-of-4 from the field in a 69-68 loss to Campbell on Jan. 13. The three blocks broke Sunday’s previous single-game best of two blocks, set against Towson on Feb. 3 and matched against Hampton five days later. Sunday has 16 points and 26 rebounds in the last five games after recording just two points seven rebounds in the first 10 games of the CAA season.
PUTTIN’ ON THE FRITZ
Jacco Fritz, who had his briefest stint of the CAA season when he played 12 minutes in last Saturday’s 82-62 win over Northeastern, scored eight points Thursday while playing 25 minutes — his most since he played 25 minutes in a 59-56 over Towson on Feb. 3. Fritz has scored at least six points in five straight games and 11 times in 15 CAA games overall.
SWEET SIXTEEN
The Dutchmen got their most offensive production from their big men in almost exactly a year Thursday night, when Jacco Fritz and Silas Sunday combined to score 16 points. A center duo hadn’t scored at least 16 points for the Dutchmen since last Feb. 25, when Warren Williams (19 points) and Nelson Boachie-Yiadom (four points) combined for 23 points in an 84-52 win over Northeastern.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov had four points in 27 minutes Thursday, when the Dutchmen improved to 9-2 since he moved into the starting lineup. Plotnikov is averaging 9.6 points and 2.5 rebounds over 29 minutes per game as a starter after averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 reboudns over 14 minutes per game in his first 13 appearances of the season.
CLUB TRILLION FOR WASHINGTON
Bryce Washington produced one of the quirkiest boxscores in memory Thursday, when he didn’t attempt a field goal and didn’t record any statistic in 16 minutes. Per the Play Index at College Basketball Reference, he is just the third Division I player this season to play at least 10 minutes without recording a statistic. Jaren Marshall did so in 27 minutes for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi against Long Island University on Nov. 24 before Eoin Nelson did so in 30 minutes for North Alabama against Lipscomb on Jan. 20.
Washington is the first Hofstra player to play at least 10 minutes without recording a statistic since at least the 2010-11 season, the start of the Play Index era at College Basketball Reference. Jamall Robinson was the most recent player to come closest to such a line on Feb 18, 2017, when he had one steal and one foul in 10 minutes of an 83-76 loss to UNC Wilmington.
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game will be carried live in the metro New York area on MSG, which is channel 72 in the Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords Universe. You can also catch it on the MSG app if you have an Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords subscription or somehow paid one billion dollars (approx) for the app. It will also 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.
SENIOR DAY (err, Night)
File this under things we no longer take for granted in the pandemic era — and things that are different in the NIL/instant transfer era. The Dutchmen will honor their five seniors — graduate students Jacco Fritz, Tyler Thomas and Bryce Washington as well as fourth-year players Darlinstone Dubar and Myles Wilmoth, each of whom have the option to play one more year (hopefully here!) due to the extra year awarded to those who played in the pandemic-wracked 2020-21 campaign — in a ceremony scheduled to begin at 6:40 PM. It will be the second Senior Day for Thomas, who was also honored last year, when he was a fourth-year player. THAT has got to be a first.
This will mark the third straight Senior Day after the scheduled home finale was canceled due to, well, you know, in February 2021. The Dutchmen’s final home game of that season turned out to be a 79-74 win over Drexel on Feb. 7, 2021. The 2022 Senior Day was held prior to the penultimate home game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 26, two days before a makeup game against Charleston.
While Senior Day is a bittersweet afternoon for players and coaches, the game itself has traditionally been a happy occasion for the Flying Dutchmen. The Dutchmen are 24-5 in home finales in the DD Era (1994-present) with losses absorbed in 1994 (Army won 87-76), 2002 (Towson won 61-60), 2013 (Delaware won 57-56), 2017 (UNC Wilmington won 83-76) and 2019 (James Madison won 104-99 in overtime). However, there were no seniors on the roster in 2002, which means the Dutchmen didn’t TECHNICALLY lose on Senior Day that year.
Not surprisingly, teams with Speedy Claxton either playing on the court or strolling the sideline have fared well on Senior Day. Claxton’s teams are 11-2 on Senior Day — 4-0 when he was in uniform from 1997 through 2000 and 7-2 since he joined the coaching staff for the 2013-14 season.
This will be the earliest Senior Day (err, Night) for Hofstra since 2019, when the Dutchmen fell to James Madison, 104-99, in overtime in the home finale for Justin Wright-Foreman.
Also, apropos of nothing, all Saturday games should be at night. Senior Day and otherwise. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
SCOUTING ELON
The Phoenix, under second-year head coach Billy Taylor, are 12-16 overall and 5-10 in CAA play following a 61-58 loss to Northeastern on Thursday night. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for Elon, which shocked UNC Wilmington 73-72 last Saturday on Isaac Harrell’s buzzer-beating tip-in.
The Dutchmen and Phoenix had no common opponents in non-conference play. In CAA play, both teams won their lone game against Delaware and lost their lone game against Charleston. The Dutchmen swept Hampton, whom Elon beat in the lone matchup between the schools, and beat North Carolina A&T, whom the Phoenix swept. The Dutchmen won their lone games against William & Mary and Towson, each of whom beat the Phoenix in the only meeting between the teams, and swept Stony Brook, which beat Elon. Hofstra lost its matchup against Campbell, which swept Elon. The Dutchmen split with Northeastern, which swept the Phoenix, as well as with Drexel, which beat Elon.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 129th at KenPom.com. The Phoenix, who were picked to finish 10th, are ranked 313th. The Dutchmen moved up seven spots in the KenPom.com rankings following Thursday’s win and have gained ground in a season-high four straight games. That immediately followed a stretch in which they lost ground following eight consecutive games. College basketball: The best way to drive yourself insane.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank fourth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (109.3 points per 100 possessions) and second in defensive efficiency (101.3 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 66.1 possessions per 40 minutes, the seventh-most in the league. The Phoenix rank 11th in the CAA in offensive efficiency (103.7 points per 100 possessions) and 13th in defensive efficiency (112.7 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 66.0 possessions per 40 minutes, eighth-most in the league. Hey! That’s right behind the Dutchmen!
Sophomore Max MacKinnon, who won the CAA Rookie of the Year last season and who was selected to the preseason all-CAA second team, leads the Phoenix with 12.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Sophomore TK Simpkins, who began his career by playing under former Hofstra assistant coach Steve DeMeo at Northwest Florida State College, ranks second on the Phoenix with 12.3 points and is averaging 3.0 assists per game, which is tied for the team lead. Fifth-year senior Rob Higgins, who played his first four seasons at St. Francis (NY) before the school dropped sports, is averaging 10.9 points per game and 3.0 assists per game. Junior Sam Sherry ranks second on Elon with 4.5 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 79-66 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 13 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 11-16 against the spread this season but have covered three straight to improve to 5-10 against the spread in CAA play.
THE CAA RACE
The Dutchmen continued their February tradition of Godfathering us all by beating Drexel to remain in control of their fate in the hunt for a double bye in the CAA Tournament and maintain their slim hopes of winning the regular season championship and the automatic bid to the NIT. Hold on, I am being told something.
1.) Charleston 12-3
2.) UNC Wilmington 11-4
3.) HOFSTRA 10-5
4.) Towson 10-5
5.) Drexel 10-5
6.) Delaware 9-6
7.) Monmouth 8-7
The Dutchmen are the third seed at the moment by virtue of their 2-1 record against Drexel and Towson. Towson is the fourth seed by virtue of its head-to-head win over the Dragons.
The Dutchmen can clinch no worse than the sixth seed today with a win and a loss by Monmouth, which is slated to host North Carolina A&T. Those results, plus a Delaware loss to Drexel on Monday, would ensure the Dutchmen no worse than the fifth seed. A win today will also, I think, keep the Dutchmen in the race for the no. 1 seed, though the tiebreakers get complicated with the dreadful unbalanced schedule.
ALL-TIME VS. ELON
Hofstra is 12-5 against Elon, which joined the CAA prior to the 2014-15 season. The Dutchmen won the lone meeting between the teams last season, when Aaron Estrada scored 40 points in an 82-65 victory in North Carolina on Jan. 26, 2023. It was the second straight season in which a Hofstra player victimized the Phoenix for a 40-point game. Omar Silverio scored 40 points off the bench in a 97-64 win on Feb. 15, 2022.
Hofstra and Elon first opposed each other on Nov. 23, 2009, when the Dutchmen cruised past the Phoenix, 70-46, in a preseason NIT game at the Arena.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
It’s not your fault there’s a complete idiot with the same name as your school bias! (Sadly, this one is a repeat from last year…please sell Twitter, you dummy)
Zac Ervin is your Andrey Semenov bias! (The graduate student began his career with the Phoenix in 2019-20, way back in the before times)
Joe West didn’t make the Baseball Hall of Fame bias! (And thank goodness for that)
Bart Simpson might have tricked Max MacKinnon into accepting a $900 collect call bias! (Probably not, but MacKinnon IS from Australia)
No comments:
Post a Comment