Keep It Perky: Stony Brook postgame

It's a post-truth society, so I can say we finally banished that awful lemon tree to Stony Brook while I drink more turnip juice. 

I think we can cancel those NCAA Tournament plans. The Flying Dutchmen traveled east and reverted to form Thursday night, when Stony Brook — STONY BROOK — completed a regular season sweep by scoring the final eight points to hand the Dutchmen an agonizing 59-56 loss.

It’ll all be over soon, but we will chronicle it all until then. And thus, for the 17th time in as many CAA games, here’s the postgame boilerplate material in Keep It Perky form. The individual news and news from Thursday’s loss and the North Carolina A&T preview will be posted tomorrow morning. Try and enjoy this anyway.

THE MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIZED IN ONE PARAGRAPH

Jean Aranguren (a team-high 17 points) went on a 5-0 run in a 61-second span to gave the Dutchmen a 56-51 lead with 3:49 left and put them in position to overcome a double-digit deficit in a victory for the first time this season. But the Dutchmen lost yet another game in which they had a win probability north of 80 percent as Stony Brook ended on an 8-0 run. The Seawolves looked as if they might cruise to victory when they raced out to a 27-16 lead while the Dutchmen opened 7-of-26 from the field, including 1-of-14 from 3-point land. But the Dutchmen scored on their final six possessions — a last-possession score, in this economy! — to close the deficit to 31-26 and begin a 24-11 run that ended when Aranguren’s layup put them ahead 40-38. Stony Brook responded with a 10-3 run before the Dutchmen seemed to take control by scoring 13 of the next 16 points, a stretch in which Aranguren, German Plotnikov and Khalil Farmer all hit 3-pointers. But the Dutchmen missed their final six shots from the field while Stony Brook came back while going just 2-of-5 from the field. Andre Snoddy’s emphatic dunk out of a timeout put the Seawolves ahead 57-56 and the Dutchmen did not use one of their three timeouts before Snoddy blocked Aranguren’s layup with four seconds left. A spate of timeouts and fouls delayed the inevitable before Snoddy drained two more free throws and Cruz Davis missed a half-courter at the buzzer. Sigh. Aranguren also led the Dutchmen with eight rebounds and shared the team lead with four assists. Plotnikov (13 points, seven rebounds) flirted with a double-double while adding two blocks and two steals. Davis scored all 11 of his points in the second half and added four assists and two steals. Farmer, who made his second straight start in place of an inactive TJ Gadsden, added five points and six rebounds.

3 STARS OF THE GAME (vs. Stony Brook, 2/27)

3: Jean Aranguren

2: German Plotnikov

1: Cruz Davis 

SEASON STANDINGS

Jean Aranguren 53

Cruz Davis 42

Michael Graham 23

Jaquan Sanders 15

German Plotnikov 12

KiJan Robinson 9

Khalil Farmer 7

TJ Gadsden 7

Silas Sunday 6

Eric Parnell 3

Joshua DeCady 3

THE FLYING DUTCHMEN AFTER THIRTY GAMES

With Thursday’s loss, the Dutchmen fell to 13-17 this season. This means the 2024-25 team has the 24th-best record in school history through 30 games…or the sixth-worst record in school history through 30 games. In a quirky bit of history, this is the first time the Dutchmen have ever opened 13-17! It’s the first time the Dutchmen have had a record through ‘X’ games for the first time in school history since they opened 25-9 in 2022-23, when they tied the school record by playing 35 games. Neat, I guess? Here is how some notable Hofstra teams have fared through 30 games:

NCAA DIVISION I TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1975-76: 18-12 (season ended with an 80-78 loss to Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which left me as the most disappointed two-year-old toddler in the Nutmeg State, first NCAA Tournament as a D-I program, only 18-12 start in program history) 

1976-77: 23-7 (season ended with a 90-83 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, most recent 23-7 start)

1999-2000: 24-6 (America East champs! Win in 30th game was a 76-69 victory over Delaware at Hofstra Arena that clinched the Dutchmen’s first NCAA Tournament berth since *checks notes* 1977)

2000-01: 26-4 (America East champs again! Win in 30th game was a 68-54 victory over Delaware at Hofstra Arena that marked the final win in program-record, single-season 18-game winning streak and sent the Dutchmen to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, only 26-4 start in school history)

2019-20 (IT COUNTS TO US): 22-8 (loss in 30th game snapped an eight-game winning streak and was the final loss of the season)

NIT TEAMS

1998-99: 22-8 (win over Vermont in America East quarterfinals was final win of season)

2004-05: 21-9 (season ended with 53-44 loss to Saint Joseph’s, only 21-9 start in school history)

2005-06: 24-6 (loss in 30th game came against UNC Wilmington in CAA championship game, but don’t worry, the Dutchmen will definitely get an at-large bid six days from now)

2006-07: 22-8 (won regular season finale, final win of season)

2015-16: 22-8 (won regular season finale to clinch no. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament)

2018-19: 24-6 (most recent 24-6 start, win in 30th game clinched tie for the CAA regular season title)

2022-23: 22-8 (most recent 22-8 start, win in 30th game marked 10th win of 12-game winning streak that continued into the CAA Tournament)

NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT TEAMS

1962-63: 23-7 (season ended with 78-71 win over Mount St. Mary’s in an NCAA Tournament game)

The 1958-59 team, Hofstra’s first to reach the NCAA Tournament, completed its season in 27 games (20-7), while the 1961-62 team, Hofstra’s second to reach the NCAA Tournament, completed its season in 28 games (24-4) and the 1963-64 team completed its season in 29 games (23-6).

Some other notable 30-game records — in fact, all of them!

2017-18: 19-11 (won regular season finale for final win of season)

2016-17: 14-16 (only 14-16 start)

2014-15: 19-11

2013-14: 8-22 (only 8-22 start, Joe Mihalich’s first team)

2012-13: 7-23 (only 7-23 start, worst 30-game record in school history)

2011-12: 9-21 (only 9-21 start)

2010-11: 20-10 (won regular season finale)

2009-10: 17-13 (most recent 17-13 start, win in 30th game marked fifth win of seven-game winning streak)

2008-09: 20-10 (won regular season finale)

2007-08: 12-18 (season ended with 81-66 loss to Towson in a CAA Tournament outbracket game, only 12-18 start)

2001-02: 11-19 (only 11-19 start, 72-52 win over Towson in CAA Tournament first-round game ended Tom Pecora-era record-tying eight-game losing streak)

1997-98: 19-11 (win over Hartford in America East quarterfinal was final win of season)

1985-86: 17-13 (season ended with 80-76 loss to Drexel in ECC championship game)

Hofstra has never been 30-0, 29-1, 28-2, 27-3, 25-5, 16-14, 15-15, 13-17, 10-20, 6-24, 5-25, 4-26, 3-27, 2-28, 1-29 or 0-30 through 30 games.

Sixty seasons were completed in fewer than 30 games:

1936-37 (7-10)

1937-38 (10-4)

1938-39 (10-8)

1939-40 (12-9)

1940-41 (13-7)

1941-42 (15-6)

1942-43 (15-6)

1943-44 (7-12)

1944-45 (8-13)

1945-46 (12-7)

1946-47 (18-6)

1947-48 (13-6)

1948-49 (18-8)

1949-50 (17-9)

1950-51 (18-11)

1951-52 (26-3)

1952-53 (20-7)

1953-54 (15-9)

1954-55 (19-7)

1955-56 (22-4)

1956-57 (11-15)

1957-58 (15-8)

1958-59 (20-7)

1959-60 (23-1)

1960-61 (21-4)

1961-62 (24-4)

1963-64 (23-6)

1964-65 (11-14)

1965-66 (16-10)

1966-67 (12-13)

1967-68 (13-12)

1968-69 (12-13)

1969-70 (13-13)

1970-71 (18-8)

1971-72 (11-14)

1972-73 (8-16)

1973-74 (8-16)

1974-75 (11-13)

1977-78 (8-19)

1978-79 (8-19)

1979-80 (14-14)

1980-81 (12-15)

1981-82 (12-16)

1982-83 (18-9)

1983-84 (14-14)

1984-85 (14-15)

1986-87 (10-18)

1987-88 (6-21)

1988-89 (14-15)

1989-90 (13-15)

1990-91 (14-14)

1991-92 (20-9)

1992-93 (9-18)

1993-94 (9-20)

1994-95 (10-18)

1995-96 (9-18)

1996-97 (12-15)

2002-03 (8-21)

2003-04 (14-15)

2020-21 (13-10)

(Well) more than half the previous Hofstra seasons were completed by this point.

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 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY

With Thursday’s loss, Speedy Claxton fell to 79-51 (.608) as head coach. That’s the fourth-best known winning percentage for a Hofstra coach through his first 130 games at the helm.

Butch van Breda Kolff I 95-35 (.731, 130th game was the fourth game of his sixth season in 1960-61)

Frank Reilly 93-37 (.715, 130th game was the first game of his sixth season in 1952-53)

Paul Lynner 82-48 (.631, 130th game was the 20th game of his fifth season in 1966-67)

SPEEDY CLAXTON 79-51 (.608, 130th game was the 30th game of his fourth season in 2024-25)

Joe Mihalich 67-63 (.515, 130th game was the 29th game of his fourth season in 2016-17)

Roger Gaeckler 67-63 (.515, 130th game was the 28th game of his fifth season in 1976-77)

Dick Berg 66-64 (.508, 129th game was the 19th game of his fifth season in 1984-85)

Butch van Breda Kolff II 65-65 (.500, 130th game was the 16th game of his fifth season in 1992-93)

Tom Pecora 63-67 (.485, 130th game was the 10th game of his sixth season in 2005-06)

Jay Wright 61-69 (.469, 130th game was the 17th game of his fifth season in 1998-99)

Game no. 130 is another milestone one for Roger Gaeckler, who climbs into a tie for sixth place with Joe Mihalich — his highest spot ever in the standings — as the ’76-77 Flying Dutchmen beat Temple to advance to the ECC championship game against…La Salle, where Mihalich is a reserve. I love it when a quirky fact comes together. Everything else stays the same, including at the bottom, where Tom Pecora stays two games ahead of fellow perpetual slacker Jay Wright as each wins his 130th game at the helm. Perpetual slackers!

The records are incomplete for Jack McDonald’s first stint from 1936 through 1943 as well as the tenure of Jack Smith (1943-46).

Smith finished 27-32 in his three seasons while Mo Cassara finished 38-59 in his three seasons. 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.

I'll Be Quirky: Hofstra at Stony Brook

We gaze longingly at our lemon tree and bragging rights, which have been behind the wall at an impound lot off Nicolls Road for the last 353 days (but who's counting)?

First victory. Then revenge? Sounds like a familiar American plan! The Flying Dutchmen will aim to win consecutive games for the first time in nearly three months (!) and extract some payback in the process tonight, when they trek out east to see our pals at Stony Brook. 

As will hopefully remain the routine throughout conference play, I ran down the boilerplate material from Saturday’s win over Delaware in Wednesday’s Keep It Perky. That was fun! Today will be about the individual news and notes from that loss as well as a preview of the Seawolves. Enjoy!

WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN

The Dutchmen never trailed Saturday. It was second wire-to-wire win of the season and their first since a 114-46 victory over Division III St. Joseph’s (NY) on Dec. 6. The Dutchmen had five wire-to-wire wins last season.

IT’S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME

I always thought it was cool that “Long Time” was preceded by an epically long instrumental GOOGLE IT CRAIN. The Dutchmen, as you have probably heard me say by now, snapped their six-game losing streak with Saturday’s 78-65 win over Delaware. The losing streak was the longest of the Speedy Claxton Era and the longest since a six-game skid from Jan. 2-19, 2017 — the longest losing streak of the Joe Mihalich Era.

Put another way: The Dutchmen went 22 days in between victories, which was only their second-longest drought in the Claxton Era — they endured a four-game losing streak in the 24 days between wins over Quinnipiac and Old Westbury from Nov. 27 through Dec. 22, 2023 — but their longest CAA drought in a non-pandemic season since they went 27 days in between wins over William & Mary and UNC Wilmington from Jan. 12 through Feb. 9, 2013. The Dutchmen went 27 days between wins from Feb. 7 through Mar. 7, 2021, but that drought included just two losses, both to James Madison, before the regular season ended due to COVID issues.

FARING WELL AGAINST THE BLUE HENS

Not going to try and tempt fate here, since there’s a pretty good chance the Dutchmen and Delaware could face off once more next Friday in an out-outbracket game. But Saturday’s wire-to-wire victory continued a recent trend of convincing victories over the Blue Hens by the Dutchmen, who have won the last nine games between the teams and only trailed by more than three points once in the last seven games. And that deficit was a four-point hole last Mar. 10, when the Dutchmen earned a 73-58 victory in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals. (Don’t hex this, dummy)

FAREWELL TO THE BOB

No hexing this, as the Dutchmen are sadly done playing Delaware — at least as a conference foe — in New-ARK at The Bob Carpenter Center. The Dutchmen finished 17-16 NICE FOOTBALL SCORE against the Blue Hens at the Bob, which is pretty good considering they lost their first eight games there before finally earning a 68-55 win on Feb. 4, 2000, which was Jay Wright’s final visit to Delaware as Hofstra’s head coach, That record includes an 0-2 mark against the Blue Hens in America East tournament games. The Dutchmen were 6-2 in America East tournament action against non-Delaware foes. Until we meet again at the Bob and/or you come to your senses about Division I-A football, Delaware…

DOUBLE DIGITS FINALLY ENOUGH

The Dutchmen led by as many as 15 points in the first half — when Delaware pulled within one by intermission — and held a handful of double-digit leads over the final 20 minutes before ending the game on a 7-0 run to take their biggest lead of the half. The Dutchmen, who squandered a 16-point first-half lead in last Thursday’s 68-62 loss to Monmouth, are 11-4 in games this season in which they’ve opened up a double-digit lead. 

THE SIXTIES ARE A LITTLE GROOVIER

The win Saturday was the first for the Dutchmen in a game in which they held their opponent to fewer than 70 points since their previous win Jan. 30, when they beat Not Twitter Guy 74-63. The last three defeats in the Dutchmen’s losing streak all came in games in which their opponent scored fewer than 70 points, which was the longest such streak for the Dutchmen since a season-ending three-game losing streak from Feb. 27 through Mar. 9, 2013. The Dutchmen are 11-9 when allowing fewer than 70 points this season after going 63-9 in such contests over the previous five seasons.

HITTING FROM DOWNTOWN

Not surprisingly the Dutchmen’s streak-snapping win came in a game in which they ended their lengthy shooting slump from 3-point land. The Dutchmen shot a season-best 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from beyond the arc after shooting just 29.5 percent (38-of-129) from deep over the previous six games. The shooting percentage was the Dutchmen’s best from 3-point land since Mar. 5, 2023, when they shot a blistering 61.9 percent (13-of-21) in the 94-46 win over William & Mary in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals, the 13 made 3-pointers were the most for the Dutchmen since they drained 13 treys against Delaware in a 93-68 win on Jan. 23.

FIRST HALF FADE

The Dutchmen’s struggles in the final minutes of the first half — at least on offense — continued Saturday, when they were outscored by a whopping 2-0 over the last two minutes, a span in which the Dutchmen were 0-for-2 from the field with one turnover while the Blue Hens were 1-for-4 with a last-second dunk by Izaiah Pasha. Overall this season in CAA play, the Dutchmen have been outscored 53-38 in the final two minutes of the first half in 16 league games, during which their opponent has shot 17-of-41 from the field (41.5 percent) in the last two minutes and scored on their final possession seven times. The Dutchmen have shot 15-of-44 from the field (34.1 percent) in the last two minutes of the first half and scored on their last possession four times. But the Dutchmen have not scored on their last possession of the first half in any of their last eight games. They last scored on their last possession of the first half on Jan. 25, when Michael Graham’s dunk preceded a free throw by Campbell’s Cam Gregory. 

THE CAA RACE

The Dutchmen’s skid-snapping win Saturday, coupled with Northeastern’s 78-73 loss to Monmouth on Monday night, maintained the Dutchmen’s slim hopes of avoiding a bottom-four seed and a spot in the out-outbracket games to open the CAA Tournament on Mar. 7. 

9.) Northeastern 7-9

10.) Drexel 7-9

11.) HOFSTRA 5-11

12.) Delaware 5-11

13.) North Carolina A&T 3-13

14.) Stony Brook 2-14

But the Dutchmen (5-11 CAA) can finish no higher than 10th and will only do so if they win their final two games and Northeastern (7-9) loses its final two games AND the Dutchmen win the tiebreaker, which will go to the team with the win over the highest seed since the Dutchmen and Huskies split their season series. The Dutchmen lost their head-to-head meeting against Drexel and thus cannot finish ahead of the Dragons.

The Dutchmen are assured of not finishing last following Stony Brook’s 81-49 loss to Hampton on Monday afternoon. The Dutchmen will be assured of finishing no lower than 12th if they win one more game or North Carolina A&T loses one more game. The Dutchmen swept the season series from Delaware so their magic number for ensuring they’ll finish ahead of the Blue Hens is any combination of Hofstra wins and Delaware losses adding up to two.

tl;dr — there’s a really good chance Hofstra and Stony Brook are slated to play again a week from tomorrow. 

CRUZ-IN

Time for some individual notes! Cruz Davis snapped out of his two-game slump in convincing fashion Saturday afternoon, when he tied a career-high with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting — including a nice 6-of-9 from 3-point land — while adding five rebounds, four assists, two steals and just one turnover in 40 minutes. The six 3-pointers were a career-high for Davis and the most by a Hofstra player against a Division I foe this season. KiJan Robinson had eight 3-pointers in a 114-46 win over Division III St. Joseph’s (NY) on Dec. 6. Davis entered Saturday with just 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting in his previous two games after he scored in double figures in eight straight games from Jan. 16 through Feb. 13. The Dutchmen are now 10-8 when Davis scores in double figures and 8-4 when he leads or shares the team lead in scoring.

FARMER AID

Should we just call Khalil Farmer the start in case of emergency guy? Farmer, who started in place of an inactive TJ Gadsden Saturday, snapped his lengthy slump by setting career-highs with 19 points and seven rebounds while tying his single-game best with three assists and one steal in a career-best 40 minutes. Farmer, who was 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point land, easily exceeded his previous bests of 16 points (set in a 114-46 win over Division III St. Josephs on Dec. 6) and four rebounds (set last Thursday in the 68-62 loss to Monmouth). The three 3-pointers tied a career-high for Farmer while the points and minutes were his most since Jan. 11, when he made a last-second start in place of an injured German Plotnikov and scored 13 points over 38 minutes while helping the Dutchmen to a 66-63 upset of UNC Wilmington. Farmer entered Saturday with just 18 points and eight rebounds over 127 minutes in his last seven games. Overall, Farmer has scored in 20 of the last 24 games in which he’s played after he didn’t score in his first two games of the season.

POTENT PARNELL

As surprising as Khalil Farmer was Saturday, the most unexpected contribution may have come from redshirt sophomore Eric Parnell, who scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting — including 2-of-5 from 3-point land — while playing 24 minutes on an afternoon in which Jaquan Sanders was inactive. Parnell played in just three of the Dutchmen’s first six games this month, during which he had 10 points over 26 minutes. The 10 points Saturday were Parnell’s most against a Division I foe and his most since he had 19 points in a 114-46 win over Division III St. Joseph’s (NY) on Dec. 6. The 24 minutes were easily a career-high for Parnell and his most since he played 18 minutes in the 60-42 loss to Temple on Dec. 15. 

GERMAN FOR STARTERS

German Plotnikov, the lone returning player who made a start last season for the Dutchmen, enjoyed a solid game Saturday afternoon, when he finished with eight points, three assists, three steals and two reboudns over 40 minutes. The three-steal game marked the fourth time in the last nine games in which he’s played that Plotnikov has recorded at least three thefts. He had at least three steals in a game just twice in his first 82 games at Hofstra. The 40 minutes were the most for Plotnikov since Jan. 25, when he he logged a career-high 43 minutes in the 69-67 overtime loss to Campbell. Plotnikov, who made his fifth straight start Saturday, has scored in 20 of the last 21 games in which he’s played after scoring just once in the first six games. 

JEAN FITS

Jean Aranguren was effective in limited action Saturday afternoon, when he scored six points and added a team-high six assists despite playing a season-low 15 minutes. It was the second straight game in which Aranguren scored in single digits, his first such streak since he had two total points against Houston and Rice from Nov. 22-29, and the third time he’s done so in the last four games. Aranguren has 30 points on 12-of-40 shooting in the last four games after scoring in double figures in 15 straight games from Dec. 9 through Feb. 8, a stretch in which he averaged 16.6 points per game while shooting 40.9 percent from the field. He has scored in double figures 23 times in 30 games this season after reaching double figures just nine times in 33 games last season with Iona.

GRAHAM CRACKIN’

Michael Graham did most of his damage in the first half Saturday afternoon, when he finished with four points, six rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes. Graham scored all his points — including the Keith Hernandez! — and pulled down five of his rebounds and recorded one steal in the first half. Graham was 2-for-3 from the field Saturday and is shooting 60.4 percent (58-for-96) in 16 CAA games, a stretch that includes two games against William & Mary in which he didn’t attempt a shot as well as a 3-of-12 game against Northeastern on Feb. 6.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

Silas Sunday was solid in his usual backup center role Saturday afternoon, when he had two points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 16 minutes. Sunday hit his only field goal attempt and has drained his last seven shots dating back to the second half of a 67-49 loss to Hampton on Feb. 15. He has played at least 10 minutes in 23 of 29 games this season after logging 10 minutes 17 times in 32 games last season.

DECADY DRIVES ROUTE 111

Long Island road reference! Freshman Joshua DeCady had a quirky line while continuing to see some time in a big man rotation with Michael Graham and Silas Sunday on Saturday afternoon, when DeCady had one point, one rebound and one assist (plus one turnover and one foul) in six minutes. DeCady is the first Hofstra player to finish with exactly one point, one rebound and one assist since German Plotnikov did so in a 76-72 win over Towson on Feb. 2, 2023. Quirky! DeCady has played in a career-high 10 straight games after appearing in just 12 of the Dutchmen’s first 19 games.

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, MR. ROBINSON

KiJan Robinson’s quiet stretch continued Saturday afternoon, when he didn’t record a stat while playing the final 28 seconds of the first half. It was the second straight Club Trillion line for Robinson, who has played eight minutes or fewer in each of the last five games, a stretch that began with his first DNP of the season Feb. 8. He played fewer than 10 minutes just five times in the first 24 games this season. He has just 17 points over 76 minutes in the last 10 games he’s played, a span in which Robinson was held scoreless four times. Robinson was held scoreless just twice in the Dutchmen’s first 18 games, a span in which he averaged 8.1 points and 21 minutes per game.

OVER THE AIR

Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required, click here for options) as well as on SNY, which is channel 60 in the Optimum/Altice Are Our Overlords Universe. And you might need that broadcast, if last week’s Flo issues are any indication. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.

SCOUTING STONY BROOK

The Seawolves, under sixth-year head coach Geno Ford, are 6-23 overall and 2-14 in CAA play after falling to Hampton, 81-49, in a makeup game Monday afternoon. Stony Brook has lost four straight since ruining homecoming for the Dutchmen with an 80-75 win on Feb. 8. Sigh.

The Dutchmen and Seawolves had two common opponents in non-conference play. The Dutchmen beat Division III St. Joseph’s (NY) 114-46 on Dec. 6, just under three weeks after Stony Brook earned a 93-45 win over the Golden Eagles on Nov. 16. The Dutchmen also defeated Norfolk State 80-67 on Dec. 9, eight days after the Spartans knocked off the Seawolves 77-66. 

In CAA play, both teams have lost to Drexel, Charleston and Hampton. The Dutchmen swept Delaware and beat UNC Wilmington, each of whom won their lone meetings with Stony Brook, and split with Northeastern, which swept the Seawolves. The Dutchmen were swept by William & Mary and Campbell, each of whom won their lone meetings with Stony Brook, and lost to Monmouth and Towson, each of whom swept Stony Brook.

The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 225th at KenPom.com, which is their second-lowest ranking of the season but a six-spot increase from Saturday. The Seawolves, who were picked to finish ninth, are ranked 338th, 68 spots lower than their preseason ranking but an improvement of four spots from their season-low the morning of Jan. 25, when Stony Brook beat North Carolina A&T for its first CAA win.

According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank 13th in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (99.8 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defensive efficiency (102.5 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.1 possessions per 40 minutes, the 11th-most in the league. The Seawolves rank 12th in the CAA in offensive efficiency (102.5 points per 100 possessions) and are last in defensive efficiency (116.8 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 63.9 possessions per 40 minutes, the 12th-most in the league.

The Seawolves return six players from last year’s team, though four of their top five scorers from the squad that made a Cinderella run to the CAA championship game graduated. Graduated?! In this economy?! Junior CJ Luster, who played a season apiece at Kilgore College and Salt Lake Community College, leads Stony Brook with 16.0 points per game. Senior Andre Snoddy, in his second season at Stony Brook after two seasons with Central Connecticut State (my parents’ alma mater!), is averaging 9.9 points per game and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game while ranking second with 1.7 assists per game. Graduate student Ben Wight, who played his first three seasons at William & Mary before spending last season with Toledo, is averaging 8.4 points per game and is tied for second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game. True freshman Collin O’Connor leads the Seawolves with 3.2 assists per game. Graduate student Joe Octave, a preseason all-CAA honorable mention selection who opened his career with two seasons apiece at Air Force and Holy Cross, is averaging 13.3 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game but has missed the last nine games 

KenPom.com predicts a 68-63 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 6-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 12-15 against the spread this season.

ALL-TIME VS. STONY BROOK

Hofstra is 28-8 all-time against Stony Brook, including 10-4 since the series resumed in 2014. Neither one of those are football scores you can eat. However, the Dutchmen have lost the last two games between the rivals in painful fashion. The Seawolves overcame a eight-point deficit in the final 6:52 on Feb. 8, when they scored on 14 of their final 15 possessions to earn an 80-75 win. That, of course, followed the Seawolves’ 63-59 upset win in the CAA Tournament semifinals last Mar. 11. Bro, the pain. 

Hofstra is 52-50-3 in all sports against Stony Brook since the two schools began scheduling each other again in the spring of 2014, including 48-39-3 since the 2016-17 school year began. However, the Dutchmen are 6-10-1 against the Seawolves dating back to Mar. 11. 

THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY

You have a new president bias! (Andrea Goldsmith was named Stony Brook’s seventh president last week and will officially take office on Sept. 1…for your sake, Seawolves fans, I hope she likes football)

Intraconference transfer bias! (Back in the old days — i.e. 2019 — a guy like Ben Wight would have had to sit out two years in order to transfer within the CAA)

Your SID has the same name as 1980s slugger Jack Clark! (It’s true)

Stop making us drink turnip juice bias! (Maybe tonight’s the night we bring the lemon tree back from the Stony Brook car impound lot?)