Boston music legend Nuno Bettencourt was much happier to finally win his first Grammy on Sunday night!
New month, new attitude! Fresh off ending a rough January with a win, the Flying Dutchmen will look to get back over .500 in CAA play tonight, when they open a two-game homestand by hosting our old pals Northeastern.
As will hopefully become the routine once again the rest of the season, I ran down the boilerplate material from Saturday afternoon’s win over Monmouth in last night’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that loss as well as a preview of the Huskies. Enjoy!
WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN
The Dutchmen never trailed Saturday afternoon. It was their third wire-to-wire win of the season and their first since beating Drexel, 70-67, on Jan. 3. The Dutchmen also never trailed in a 92-23 win over Division III Old Westbury 92-23 on Dec. 10.
NO LONGER STREAKING
As you may have gathered by now, the Dutchmen halted their five-game losing streak with Saturday’s 73-57 win over Monmouth. The losing streak was the second-longest of the Speedy Claxton era behind the six-game skid from Feb. 1-20, 2025. It was also tied for the second-longest active losing streak in the CAA with Campbell, which also ended its streak in wire-to-wire fashion Saturday with a 104-96 win over William & Mary. The longest active losing streak in the CAA now belongs to Northeastern, which has lost four straight entering tonight. Oh no.
BACK-TO-BACK (sorta)
The Dutchmen’s win last Saturday was their first since Jan. 10, when they beat…Monmouth. This is the first time the Dutchmen have bookended wins over the same opponent around a losing streak since Jan 18-27, 2018, when they beat Delaware twice while losing consecutive games in the middle to Charleston and Northeastern, and the fourth time it’s happened since joining the CAA in 2001-02. The Dutchmen bracketed wins against Towson around eight straight losses from Jan. 30, 2002 through Mar. 1, 2002, when the second win over the Tigers came in the first round of the CAA Tournament. The Dutchmen then lost five straight in between wins over Delaware from Jan. 29 through Feb. 19, 2002. A quirky side note: The Dutchmen lost consecutive CAA games in between their wins over Towson from Dec. 5, 2009 through Jan. 6, 2010 (wow! spanning two years!), but that was when the CAA schedule included a standalone December opener. The Dutchmen were actually 3-4 in between the wins over Towson with losses to William & Mary and George Mason to open January. The loss to George Mason happened an hour or so before a drunken Mason grad crashed into me south of Baltimore. Those were good times!
DRY JANUARY (or slightly less so)
With Saturday afternoon’s win, the Dutchmen finished 4-5 in January and improved to 12-14 in January over the last three years. They’ve lost consecutive games in January once in each of the last three years. They were 19-6 in January from 2021 through 2023, a span in which they had just one losing streak (a three-game skid from Jan. 7-15, 2021, in the midst of the condensed pandemic season).
STAYING (within) SINGLE (digits)
Since the Dutchmen won Saturday, that means this stat remains intact! The Dutchmen (14-9) have yet to lose a game this season by more than eight points. They are one of just 14 Division I schools nationwide without a double-digit loss this season — and one of two in the CAA, where UNC Wilmington (19-3) has yet to lose a game by more than nine points. The Dutchmen and Seahawks are two of just six mid-majors who have yet to suffer a double-digit loss and the CAA is the only mid-major league with two such teams.
HOFSTRA (14-9)
Miami Ohio (23-0)
Saint Louis (22-1)
Belmont (21-3)
Stephen F. Austin (20-3)
UNC Wilmington (19-3)
And I guess here are the other teams yet to suffer a double-digit loss:
Arizona (22-0)
Connecticut (22-1)
Duke (21-1)
Michigan (20-1)
Nebraska (20-2)
Houston (20-2)
Clemson (19-4)
Florida (16-6)
Michigan State fell off the list last Friday with an 83-71 loss to Michigan. This is pretty good company for the Dutchmen, UNC Wilmington and the CAA in general. The only other leagues with multiple teams who have yet to suffer a double-digit loss are the Big 10, Big 12 and ACC.
AS EASY AS ONE, TWO, THREE…
The Dutchmen had another terrific game defending the 3-pointer Saturday, when they held Monmouth to 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the arc. It’s the second straight game in which an opponent made only three 3-pointers. Charleston somehow earned a 66-64 win last Thursday despite also going 3-of-18 from 3-point land. The consecutive stingy efforts follows a six-game span in which the Dutchmen allowed opponents to shoot 38.3 percent (62-of-161) from 3-point land — a stretch that ended with William & Mary shooting 40.9 percent (18-of-44) in a 89-82 win on Jan. 24.
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis bounced back from his worst game of the season in impressive fashion Saturday afternoon, when he scored a game-high 24 points while adding four rebounds and two assists. Davis, whose streak of 21 straight double-digit scoring efforts ended when he was held to seven points in last Thursday’s 66-64 loss to Charleston, was 9-of-15 from the field Saturday, including 4-of-7 from 3-point land. He was just 8-of-35 from the field in his previous two games, including 3-of-16 from beyond the arc. Davis has scored in double figures in 43 of the 54 games in which he’s played for Hofstra after reaching double figures just five times over 28 games in his first two seasons at Iona and St. John’s. The Dutchmen are 26-17 when Davis scores in double figures.
JUST JOSH-IN
Graduate student Joshua Aaron Reaves continued his surprising emergence into the rotation Saturday afternoon, when he scored a season-high 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting — including 4-of-5 from 3-point land — over a season-high 34 minutes while adding four rebounds off the bench. The 17 points were just two fewer than Reaves had in his first 12 games this season while the four 3-pointers were one fewer than he had all season entering Saturday. The 17 points and four 3-pointers were his most since Nov. 16, 2024, when he had 21 points while going 5-of-8 from beyond the arc for Illinois-Chicago in a 117-59 win over Division III St. Mary’s. Reaves previously had at least 17 points and four 3-pointers against a Division I foe on Mar. 9, 2024 when he finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc for Mount St. Mary’s in a 96-92 win over Fairfield. The 34 minutes Reaves logged Saturday were also his most against any foe since since he played 35 minutes in that win over Fairfield. Reaves has 26 points over 71 minutes in the lats three games after recording just 10 points — all against non-Division I foes — over 71 minutes in his first 12 appearances of the season. He didn’t play in four straight games prior to his appearance against William & Mary on Jan. 24 and sat for 10 of the Dutchmen’s first 20 games.
MVP OFF THE BENCH
Here’s something fun and quirky: Joshua Aaron Reaves earned KenPom.com MVP honors Saturday after scoring 17 points over 34 minutes off the bench. He’s the first Hofstra reserve to be named a KenPom.com game MVP since Warren Williams flirted with a double-double (19 points, nine rebounds) off the bench in an 84-52 win over Northeastern on Feb. 25, 2023.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
Silas Sunday continued a quietly terrific season Saturday afternoon, when he posted his first career-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) while going a career-best 6-of-6 from the field over 22 minutes. The six field goals without a miss are the most by a Hofstra player since Jacco Fritz went 6-of-6 from the field in a 76-71 win over Delaware on Jan. 6, 2024. Sunday went 5-of-5 from the field twice previously, most recently last Feb. 20 in a 68-62 loss to Monmouth. The 12 points Saturday were the most for Sunday since he scored a career-high 15 points in a 78-58 win over Merrimack on Nov. 29 while the 10 rebounds were his most since he pulled down a career-high 15 boards in a 89-85 loss to ELO on Jan. 17. Sunday has at least six points in 10 games this season after recording six or more points 12 times over 66 games in the previous two seasons. He has also scored in all 23 games this season after scoring in 26 of 33 games last season.
PRESTO!
Preston Edmead continued the most impressive freshman season by a Hofstra player this decade Saturday afternoon, when he scored 13 points while adding four rebounds and eight assists. Edmead has scored in double figures in 19 games this season, the most double-figure scoring efforts by a Hofstra freshman since Eli Pemberton scored in double figures 21 times in 31 games in 2016-17. The eight assists tied a season-high for Edmead, who also had eight assists in a 77-60 win over Pennsylvania on Nov. 30. He has 15 assists over the last two games after collecting just 15 assists in his previous five games dating back to Jan. 10. Edmead’s 355 points (15.4 ppg) through 23 games are 12 more than Antoine Agudio had through 23 games during his freshman season in 2004-05 and 10 more than Speedy Claxton had through 23 games during his freshman season in 1996-97. Pretty good company.
PRESTON VS. SPEEDY
Speaking of which…Preston Edmead’s first 23 games as a true freshman point guard have been just as impressive as Speedy Claxton’s first 22 games as a true freshman point guard way back in 1996-97.
Speedy Claxton: 15.0 points per game/3.3 assists per game/4.7 rebounds per game
Preston Edmead: 15.4 ppg/4.3 apg/3.0 rpg
Pretty quirky and neat!
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov had one of his patented solid glue guy games Saturday afternoon, when he finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting — including 1-of-2 from 3-point land — while adding two rebounds, two assists and one steal over 31 minutes. Plotnikov has scored at lest seven points in 16 of the 21 games in which he’s played this season after scoring at least eight points 34 times in his first 95 games over the previous three seasons. He has also scored in a career-high 30 straight games dating back to last Feb. 8.
ALL OR NOTHING FOR PATTERSON
Biggie Patterson continued doing an uncanny impersonation of fellow hot-and-cold scorer Tareq Coburn Saturday afternoon, when he was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting over 16 minutes one game after he scored a career-high 21 points in the 66-64 loss to Charleston. Patterson, who wears no. 0 like Coburn, is the first Hofstra player to go scoreless immediately after a game in which he scored at least 20 points since Coburn, who had a then-career high 24 points in a 72-59 win over Drexel on Jan. 25, 2020, five days before he went scoreless while missing all five of his shots in an 86-63 win over ELO. Quirky, right? Despite Patterson’s quiet game, the Dutchmen improved to 6-7 with him in the starting lineup. They are 6-0 when he comes off the bench.
A DISQUALIFIED VICTORY
This is getting quirkier by the day. Victory Onuetu fouled out after 17 scoreless minutes Saturday afternoon, when he had six rebounds, one block and one steal while missing his only field goal attempt (obvs). It was the second straight game in which Onuetu has been disqualified without scoring a point — he was ejected after fewer than two minutes in last Thursday’s 66-64 loss to Charleston — and the third time he’s done so in the last four games. Onuetu played 11 scoreless minutes before fouling out in a 79-78 loss to North Carolina A&T on Jan. 22. He is the first Hofstra player to be disqualified without scoring a point three times in a season since Mike Davis-Sabb did it three times during the 2007-08 season. A Mike Davis-Sabb reference here in the dystopia that is 2026! Onuetu is averaging 2.0 points and 6.5 rebounds over 15 minutes per game over the last six games after he averaged 4.9 points and 8.6 rebounds over 22.8 minutes per game during the eight-game winning streak from Dec. 7 through Jan. 10.
JAEDEN JUMPS INTO ACTION
Freshman Jaeden Roberts was scoreless with three rebounds and one assist while playing just four minutes Thursday night. Roberts has played six scoreless minutes over the last two games after averaging 7.5 points over 13.6 minutes per game in the 11 previous games in which he played from Dec. 7 through Jan. 24. The Dutchmen are 12-4 in Roberts’ appearances.
CLUB TRILLION FOR TSYNKEVICH
Graduate student Alex Tsynkevich, who had perhaps his best game at Division I in last Thursday’s 66-64 loss to Charleston, replaced Victory Onuetu after the latter fouled out and played the final 35 seconds without recording a stat last Saturday afternoon. Tsynkevich, who had four points and six rebounds against Charleston, has played in consecutive games for the first time since he appeared against La Salle and Merrimack on Nov. 28-29.
FEBRUARY = CRUNCH TIME
Last February didn’t go well at all for the Flying Dutchmen, who went 2-7 in regular season games played after Feb. 1. But the final month and change of the regular season is usually a successful one for the Dutchmen. Since joining the CAA in 2001-02, the Dutchmen are 122-77 (.613) in regular season games played on or after Feb. 1. Last year marked the first time the Dutchmen hd a losing record in regular season games played on or after Feb. 1 since 2021, when they went 1-3 before the rest of the regular season was canceled due to COVID issues. Prior to last year, the Dutchmen hadn’t posted a losing record in regular season games played after Feb. 1 since 2013, when they were 2-7 in Joe Mihalich’s first season at the helm.
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 MSG Networks if you are in the New York area and/or somehow paid one billion dollars (approx) for the Gotham Sports app. Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
The Huskies, under 20th-year head coach Bill Coen, are 6-15 this season and 2-8 in CAA play following a 89-84 loss to Charleston last Saturday afternoon. It was the fourth straight loss for Northeastern, who were knotted at 78-78 with 2:48 to go before Jlynn Counter went on a 9-0 run for the Cougars.
The Dutchmen and Huskies had one common opponent during non-league play. The Dutchmen upset Syracuse 70-69 on Dec. 13, one week before the Orange beat Northeastern, 91-83. In CAA play, both teams have lost to Stony Brook and Charleston. The Dutchmen beat Campbell, Towson and Drexel, all of whom defeated Northeastern, and swept Monmouth, which also beat the Huskies. Hofstra lost to ELO, which split with Northeastern, and to North Carolina A&T, whom the Huskies defeated.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish tied for eighth with Northeastern in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked 115th at KenPom.com, second in the CAA and just four spots behind UNC Wilmington. The current ranking for the Dutchmen is 47 spots higher than they were to open the season but 18 spots lower than their season-high entering the Jan. 10 game against Monmouth. The Huskies are ranked a season-low 255th, which is 37 spots lower their preseason ranking as well as 97 spots lower than their season-high entering the Nov. 15 game against Vermont.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (114.9 points per 100 possessions) and eighth in defensive efficiency (110.7 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.8 possessions per 40 minutes, the 11th-most in league play. The Huskies rank third in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (114.3 points per 100 possessions) and 13th and last in defensive efficiency (123.5 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 70.8 possessions per 40 minutes, the second-most in league play.
The Huskies return five players from last year’s team, but LA Pratt is out for the season with a broken foot suffered Nov. 11 while Youri Fritz, the younger brother of former Hofstra center Jacco Fritz, has missed the last five games with a knee injury suffered Jan. 10. In addition, Northeastern has also lost redshirt freshman Xander Alarie and true freshman Miles Newton, each of whom began the campaign in the starting lineup alongside Pratt and Fritz, to season-ending injuries.
Junior William Kermoury, who has spent his entire career with Northeastern and is the lone remaining member of the opening night lineup, leads the Huskies with 13.3 points per game. True freshman Xavier Abreu is averaging 11.8 points per game. Fritz is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 4.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Mike Loughnane, who opened his career with two seasons at Davidson, is averaging a team-high 3.7 assists per game. Sophomore guard Luca Soroa Schaller ranks second on the Huskies with 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
KenPom.com predicts an 84-73 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 10 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 12-9 against the spread this season after snapping a six-game spread losing streak Saturday, when they covered for just the second time in the last nine contests.
ALL-TIME VS. NORTHEASTERN
Hofstra is 32-27 against Northeastern in a series that began during the 1949-50 season. All but three of the meetings have come in conference play since the 1994-95 season, when Hofstra joined the North Atlantic Conference. Northeastern is the only school the Dutchmen have played twice per regular season since 2005-06, the Huskies’ first season in the CAA.
The teams split the season series last year, when the Dutchmen rode a dominant defensive effort to a 55-37 win in Boston on Jan. 4, 2025 before the Huskies overcame Jean Aranguren’s monster game (35 points, eight rebounds) in a 77-68 win at Hofstra on Feb. 6. Hey! That’s 52 weeks ago tonight.
THE BARONE BOWL
The Barone Bowl was established by me and Northeastern graduate Mike Brodsky during the 2009-10 season, after Northeastern and Hofstra dropped football within two weeks of one another (Hofstra’s decision, of course, was reached after a multi-year study, wink wink nudge nudge).
The Barone Bowl pays homage to the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in which a Hofstra kicker boots a 68-yard field goal against Northeastern but Frank Barone catches the ball and refuses to give it up. Apparently that wasn’t the type of publicity either school liked. Anyway.
Hofstra enters tonight with an 18-17 lead in the Barone Bowl series. The Dutchmen, who have ended the season with the all-time series lead just four times, have won 15 of the last 22 clashes between the teams since Northeastern’s eight-game winning streak from the 2011-12 through the 2014-15 seasons. The Dutchmen can position themselves to retain the trophy with one regular season win this year, but the trophy can be wrested away by the trailing team if it wins a CAA Tournament game between the rivals.
This, unfortunately, is a purely symbolic trophy, one which you will not find displayed by either school. But you can find me and Brodsky talking about it on Twitter! Along with Immaculate Grid, which he’s much better at than me.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Nuno Bettencourt is finally a Grammy winner bias! (Homer Simpson may make fun of the Grammys but we’ll never mock anything won by the world’s greatest living guitarist)
Matt Janning also looks like Nathan Scott bias! (If you’re a longtime reader, you know the former Huskies star and current assistant coach was a Nathan Scott lookalike long before German Plotnikov ever arrived on the Hofstra campus)
You get a new arena soon bias! (But we’re gonna miss Matthews Arena, which closed its doors Dec. 13)
Oh come on the Patriots can’t already be back in the Super Bowl bias! (A terrible part of American life that ceased to torment us from 2021-24 is back, well that’s just a little on the nose, isn’t it?)
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