Let's hope it's Taylor Swift's Dad who has to shake it off tonight! (This is a shameless attempt to game the SEO)
Hey! Wake up! The Flying Dutchmen, who last played when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, will finally begin CAA Tournament play tonight, when your beloved no. 3 seed opposes sixth-seeded Delaware at 8:30 PM. I will not think worst-case scenarios, I will not think worst-case scenarios, I will not think worst-case scenarios.
We already ran down the boilerplate postgame material as well as all the team-related quirkiness and individual news and notes from last Saturday’s 87-76 loss to Charleston in Saturday’s Keep It Perky. Today will be all about another impressive awards haul for the Dutchmen as well as CAA Tournament historical nuggets about Hofstra and the no. 3 seed and the preview of the Blue Hens. Enjoy!
AWARDS SEASON
Congrats again to Tyler Thomas, who continued a Hofstra tradition by being named the CAA’s Player of the Year Thursday. Thomas is the third straight Hofstra player to win the award, following in the footsteps of 2021-22 winner Aaron Estrada. Hofstra is the first school with three straight CAA Player of the Year winners since George Mason from 1999 through 2001, when George Evans three-peated, and the first school to win three straight awards with multiple honorees. The only other school to have a player win Player of the Year three straight seasons was Navy from 1985-87, when some guy named David Robinson pulled off the feat. Pretty good company!
So, too, is this: Thomas is the sixth Hofstra player to earn Player of the Year honors, joining Estrada, Loren Stokes (2006), Charles Jenkins (2010-11), Juan’ya Green (2016) and Justin Wright-Foreman (2018-19). The six Player of the Year honorees and nine awards are each the most in CAA history, which is pretty impressive considering Hofstra didn’t join the league until 2001-02.
In addition, Darlinstone Dubar was named to the all-CAA second team. The Dutchmen have had at least two players make an all-CAA team in each of the last seven seasons, the longest active streak in the league. Jaquan Carlos also made the all-CAA defensive team for the second straight season, the first time a Hofstra player has done that since Desure Buie did so in 2019-20.
THE CAA RACE
The Flying Dutchmen tied UNC Wilmington for third place in the CAA with a 12-6 record but earned the no. 3 seed by virtue of their 69-58 win over the Seahawks on Feb. 29. Once again, viva la unbalanced schedule! This marks the third time the Dutchmen have gone 12-6 in league play (2005 and 2018).
GO FOR FOURTH, YOUNG MEN
The Dutchmen earned a top-four seed in the CAA Tournament for the seventh straight season, which is the longest streak in the league since William & Mary was a top-four seed for seven straight years from 2014 through 2020. The Dutchmen’s run of consecutive top-four finishes in their league is matched or exceeded by just five other Division I schools:
Gonzaga (West Coast Conference), 33
Vermont (America East), 18
Yale (Ivy League), 15***
South Dakota State (Summit), 13
UC Irvine (Big West), 12
***Yale’s streak dates back to the 2008-09 season, but the Ivy League didn’t hold a postseason tournament until 2017 and didn’t compete in 2020-21 due to the pandemic.
THE DUTCHMEN IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PLAY
The Flying Dutchmen enter today 20-21 in CAA Tournament play since 2002, 29-26 in conference tournament play in the NAC/America East/CAA era (1994-present) and 32-26 in conference tournament play in the Defiantly Dutch era (1993-present), which, let’s face it, is the only era that matters because it includes the ECC. Hello Litos.
In the CAA, the Dutchmen fell in the title game three times — in 2006, 2016 and 2019 — before finally breaking through and winning it all by beating Northeastern 70-61 in the title game on Mar. 10, 2020. It was a nice 24 hours.
In addition to the one title game win and three title game losses as a CAA member, the Dutchmen have fallen in the semifinals five times — including last year, when they lost to UNC Wilmington, 79-73, in overtime — while being eliminated in the quarterfinals nine times and losing on Pillowfight Friday four times since 2002. Dating back to 1994, the Dutchmen have won four championships (1994 ECC, 2000 America East, 2001 America East, 2020 CAA), fallen in the title game three times, lost in the semifinals eight times, fallen in the quarterfinals 10 times and been eliminated in an outbracket game five times (we didn’t call it Pillowfight Friday back in the NAC).
TOP THREE OR ELSE?
History suggests it was better the Dutchmen finished third rather than fourth or fifth. Top three seeds have accounted for 36 of the 41 championships in CAA history. The top seed has won 21 titles, the second seed has won 11 titles and the three seed has cut down the net four times. However, two of the Cinderella runs were mounted in the last three seasons, when sixth-seeded Drexel won it all in 2021 before fifth-seeded Delaware took home the title in 2022.
THE DUTCHMEN AS THE THREE SEED
This is the fifth time the Dutchmen have earned the three seed since joining the CAA in 2001-02 and the first time since 2017-18. Earlier, the Dutchmen earned the three seed in the America East tournament in 1999, when they fell in the semifinals (because Speedy Claxton was hurt, damnit).
The Dutchmen are 3-3 as the three seed in CAA Tournament play and 4-4 as the three seed overall.
2018 CAA: lost to no. 6 UNC Wilmington in QFs
2011 CAA: beat no. 11 William & Mary in QFs, lost to no. 2 Old Dominion in championship
2007 CAA: lost to no. 6 George Mason in QFs (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLAY STATION PASS THE BALL TO AGUDIO HE’S WIDE OPEN FOR THREE)
2006 CAA: beat no. 6 VCU in QFs, beat no. 2 George Mason in SFs (grr), lost to no. 1 UNC Wilmington in championship (double grr)
1999 A-East: beat no. 6 Vermont in QFs, lost to no. 2 Drexel in SFs
IS THREE THE MAGIC NUMBER?
The three seed is 48-37 all-time in CAA Tournament play and, as noted, has won the championship four times (Northeastern in 2015, James Madison in 2013, George Mason in 2008, Richmond in 1998), lost in the finals 11 times, lost in the semifinals 14 times and lost in the first round 12 times.
Since 2002, the three seed is 27-19, including 15-7 in its first game. In addition to winning three titles, the third seed has lost in the finals six times since 2002, lost in the semifinals four times and been eliminated in the quarterfinals seven times — including four times in the last six years, a stretch that began with Hofstra’s loss to UNC Wilmington in 2018, and three straight years before Towson beat Delaware last season. Gulp. The third seed has not reached the title game since Northeastern won the championship in 2015.
SEEING THE BLUE HENS AGAIN
The Dutchmen are 3-3 against Delaware in the CAA Tournament and 5-5 against the Blue Hens in conference tournaments dating back to 1994-95, when Hofstra joined the North Atlantic Conference. The Blue Hens are the Dutchmen’s most common conference tournament foe of the last 31 seasons and their second-most frequent CAA Tournament foe. The Dutchmen are 2-5 against UNC Wilmington.
This is the first postseason clash between the rivals since Mar. 7, 2021, when the Dutchmen ran their postseason winning streak over Delaware to three games with an 83-75 victory in a quarterfinal game. Will this one be the last postseason clash between Hofstra and the Blue Hens? Stupid Division I-A football.
1997 America East QFs: Delaware 86-73
1998 America East SFs: Delaware 60-51
2000 America East championship: Hofstra 76-69
2001 America East championship: Hofstra 68-54
2013 CAA QFs: Delaware 62-57
2014 CAA QFs: Delaware 87-76
2017 CAA PFF: Delaware 81-76
2019 CAA SFs: Hofstra 78-74 (overtime)
2020 CAA SFs: Hofstra 75-61
2021 CAA QFs: Hofstra 83-75
SCOUTING DELAWARE
The Blue Hens, under eighth-year head coach Martin Ingelsby, advanced to the quarterfinals by routing Hampton, 80-50, in Saturday night’s final second-round game. The 30-point margin of victory was tied for the fourth-largest in CAA Tournament history. Delaware, which improved to 19-13, earned the no. 6 seed by finishing 10-8 in CAA play.
The Dutchmen and Blue Hens had two common opponents in non-conference play. The Dutchmen lost to Princeton 74-67 on Nov. 10 and fell to George Washington, 71-60, on Nov. 14. The Blue Hens also lost to both teams, dropping an 81-71 decision to George Washington on Nov. 26 and falling to Princeton 84-82 on Dec. 30.
In CAA play, the Dutchmen swept Hampton, whom Delaware beat in the lone regular season meeting between the teams, as well as Stony Brook, with whom the Blue Hens split. The Dutchmen won their lone games against North Carolina A&T and William & Mary, each of whom were swept by the Blue Hens. The Dutchmen beat UNC Wilmington and Not Twitter Guy, each of whom defeated Delaware. Hofstra split with Northeastern, whom Delaware beat in the lone meetings between the teams, and lost to Campbell and Monmouth, each of whom the Blue Hens defeated. The Dutchmen split with Drexel which swept Delaware, and won their lone game against Towson, which split with the Blue Hens. Hofstra was swept y Charleston, which won the lone game against Delaware.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 116th at KenPom.com. The Blue Hens, who were picked to finish tied for fifth with Towson, are ranked 166th.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank fourth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (111.3 points per 100 possessions) and second in defensive efficiency (102.6 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 65.7 possessions per 40 minutes, the ninth-most in the league. The Blue Hens rank eighth in the CAA in offensive efficiency (106.3 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defensive efficiency (104.2 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 66.6 possessions per 40 minutes, the sixth-most in the league. IRON MAIDEN BIAS!
Junior Jyáre Davis, who was named to the all-CAA second team, leads the Blue Hens with 17.2 points per game and ranks second with 7.6 rebounds per game. Graduate student Gerald Drumgoole Jr., who opened his career with two seasons apiece at Pittsburgh and Albany, is averaging 13.6 points per game. Fifth-year senior Christian Ray, who played his first three seasons at La Salle, leads Delaware with a CAA-high 8.8 rebounds per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 72-69 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 13-17 against the spread this season.
ALL-TIME VS. DELAWARE
Hofstra is 68-34 against Delaware in a series that began during the 1954-55 season. The Dutchmen won the lone meeting between the teams this season on Jan. 6, when Tyler Thomas scored 22 points and Darlinstone Dubar (18 points, nine rebounds), Jaquan Carlos (nine points, 10 assists) and Jacco Fritz (15 points, nine rebounds) all flirted with double-doubles in a 76-71 victory.
This year marks the second straight season in which the Dutchmen are playing a CAA Tournament game against a team they opposed just once in the regular season. The Dutchmen beat William & Mary 94-46 in the quarterfinals last year before falling to UNC Wilmington, 79-73, in overtime in the semifinals.
The Blue Hens are Hofstra’s most common foe. The Dutchmen and Delaware were rivals in the East Coast Conference and the North Atlantic Conference/America East before heading to the CAA, along with Drexel and Towson, for the 2001-02 season. I bet we’re together forever!
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Taylor Swift’s Dad provided publicity for I-AA football by playing at Delaware bias! (I’ve referenced Scott Swift before but, you know, you can never mention Taylor Swift enough TAYLOR SWIFT TAYLOR SWIFT TAYLOR SWIFT)
Marriott bias! (J.W. Marriott Jr. received an honorary degree form Delaware in 2005, which has me wondering why I always slummed it in the beat-up Howard Johnson’s right near campus)
Wikipedia bias! (Former Delaware professor Thomas Leitch wrote a book about Wikipedia)
Mike Pegues’ team should be playing Hofstra every year bias! (Pegues is an assistant at Butler, c’mon Mike and Speedy, get that series going)
No comments:
Post a Comment