Reboots for Scrubs AND the Hofstra-William & Mary CAA Tournament rivalry! What a time in our dystopia.
Facing William & Mary in the CAA Tournament on Sunday, March 8. What’s the worst that could poss-i-bly happen?
The second far more stressful season FINALLY begins tonight for the Flying Dutchmen, who are slated to play the sixth-seeded Tribe tonight at 8:30 PM (or maybe 9 PM, depending on when the Charleston-Towson game ends). William & Mary advanced to the quarterfinals by beating no. 11 ELO, 72-62, in Saturday night’s final second-round game.
As will hopefully become the routine once again the rest of the season, I ran down the boilerplate material from Tuesday’s win over Drexel in last night’s Keep It Perky. Today will be about the individual news and notes from that win as well as a look at the Dutchmen’s CAA Tournament history and a preview of the Tribe. Enjoy!
SENIOR MOMENTS
The Dutchmen continued their uncanny success on Senior Day with Tuesday night’s win, which improved them to 27-5 in known home finales in the DD Era (1994-present). This discounts the 2020-21 pandemic season, when the home finale happened without anyone being aware of it with a 79-74 win over Drexel on Feb. 7, 2021.
The Dutchmen have won six straight home finales since 2019, when they fell to James Madison 104-99 in overtime, The other losses were absorbed in 1994 (Army won 87-76), 2002 (Towson won 61-60), 2013 (Delaware won 57-56) and 2017 (UNC Wilmington won 83-76). 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 now 14-2 on Senior Day — 4-0 when he was in uniform from 1997 through 2000 and 10-2 since he joined the coaching staff for the 2013-14 season, including 5-0 as a head coach.
FINALES WITH A FLOURISH
With last Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 18-7 in regular season finales during the CAA era (2001-pres). However, said era began with three straight losses in the regular season finale for the Dutchmen, whose won eight straight regular season finales before dropping the final game of the 2012-13 regular season. The Dutchmen also lost their CAA regular season finale in 2015 and 2021 — which happened two weeks earlier than scheduled because of pandemic-related cancellations — and 2024.
NOT-SO-STUPID SMARCH WEATHER
With last Saturday’s win, the Dutchmen improved to 5-3 in regular season games played in March in the CAA era. The Dutchmen earned regular season finale wins in March in 2008 (56-48 over Drexel on Mar. 1), 2014 (82-71 over James Madison on Mar. 1), 2019 (92-70 over Delaware on Mar. 2) and 2025 (beat North Carolina A&T 70-49 on Mar. 1) and lost regular season finales in March in 2003 (77-46 to Old Dominion on Mar. 1), 2013 (67-64 to Towson on Mar. 2) and 2024 (87-76 to Charleston on Mar. 2). This is (obviously) the latest in a season the Dutchmen have played their regular season finale.
SPEEDY’S SELECT COMPANY
Forgot to note this Tuesday, but Speedy Claxton is just the fourth head coach hired prior to the 2021-22 season to record at least four 20-win seasons in his first five campaigns. Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and North Carolina’s Hubert Davis have each recorded at least 20 wins in all five of their seasons while Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger has four 20-win seasons (and 19 wins in the other). Not too shabby.
DOUBLE-DIGIT COMEBACK
The Dutchmen, who trailed by 10 points late in the first half Tuesday night, overcame a double-digit deficit in a win for the second time this season and the first time since Nov. 14, when they trailed Bucknell by 11 points in the second half of an 83-77 victory. This was the Dutchmen’s first comeback from a double-digit deficit since Feb. 1, 2024, when they trailed Stony Brook by 13 points in the second half before Tyler Thomas sank the game-winning shot just before the buzzer in a 72-71 victory. Under Speedy Claxton, the Dutchmen have won 11 games in which they overcame a double-digit deficit.
CRUZ FIT TO BE TIED
Cruz Davis, the newest member of the Hofstra 1,000-point club, tied Ameen Tanksley for 37th place on the all-time scoring list Tuesday night, when he finished with eight points to increase his career total to 1,090 points. Davis enters tonight one point away (obvs) from taking over sole possession of 37th place and 18 points away from moving past Richie Swartz for 36th place.
35.) Mike Moore 1,128
36.) Richie Swartz 1,107
T37.) Ameen Tanksley 1,090
T37.) CRUZ DAVIS 1,090
39.) Derrick Flowers 1,069
40.) Darius Burton 1,060
41.) Percy Johnson 1,045
42.) James Shaffer 1,022
43.) John Irving 1,018
BIGGIE OFF THE BENCH
Biggie Patterson once again provided plenty of energy off the bench Tuesday night, when he finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes. Patterson collected 13 points and five rebounds after the Dutchmen fell behind 32-22 late in the first half. The 16-point effort continued a quirky season-long statistical trend for Patterson, who has played in 27 games and has 14 double-digit scoring efforts while scoring six points or fewer 12 other times. Speaking of season-long trends, the Dutchmen are now 12-1 when Patterson comes off the bench and 7-7 when he starts. They are also 9-1 when he pulls down at least seven rebounds.
PRESTO!
Preston Edmead continued the most impressive freshman season by a Hofstra player this decade — or maybe a lot longer — Tuesday night, when he finished with a game-high 19 points while adding seven rebounds and two assists. Edmead, who had 10 points and six rebounds in the second half to help the Dutchmen complete their comeback, has scored in double figures in 25 games this season, the most double-figure scoring efforts by a Hofstra freshman since Charles Jenkins scored in double figures 27 times in 29 games in 2007-08. That’s…that’s pretty good.
PRESTON VS. SPEEDY
Speaking of pretty good company and something very quirky and cool: Speedy Claxton, whose freshman season lasted 27 games in 1996-97, played the fourth game of his sophomore season on Nov. 28, 1997, when he scored 22 points in a 65-56 win over Wichita State. So that means Edmead (478 points) has TWO fewer points than Claxton (480 points) through the first 31 games of their Hofstra careers. What’d I tell you? Quirky and cool! Not surprisingly, their stats through 31 games are remarkably similar.
Speedy Claxton: 15.5 points per game/3.6 assists per game/4.5 rebounds per game
Preston Edmead: 15.3 ppg/4.7 apg/3.5 rpg
Two points apart and Claxton had 28 more rebounds while Edmead has 29 more assists. Wild.
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!
Silas Sunday had what is turning into his usual solid game Tuesday night, when he finished with five points, nine rebounds, two blocks, one stela and one assist over 25 minutes. Sunday, who scored the Dutchmen’s first four points and ended his night by hoisting the first 3-pointer of his career (it rimmed out, bummer), has scored at least five points 15 times this season after doing so 15 times in his first two seasons at Hofstra. He has also recorded at least eight rebounds in a game 11 times this season after doing so just twice in his first 92 games between Hofstra and Iona and logged at least 20 minutes in a game 18 times after doing so just seven times over the previous three seasons.
CRUZ-IN
Cruz Davis had another quiet game Tuesday night, when he finished with eight points on 4-of-14 shooting — including 0-of-3 from 3-point land — while adding three assists, two rebounds, three steals and one block in 39 minutes. It was the second straight game in which Davis was held to fewer than 10 points and just the third time he’s scored in single digits this season. Davis last scored in single digits in consecutive games on Feb. 15-20, 2025, when he had four points in a 67-49 loss to Hampton and six points in a 68-62 loss to Monmouth. The three steals were the most for Davis since he had a career-high four thefts in a 79-43 win over Hampton on Feb. 19.
GERMAN FOR STARTERS
German Plotnikov pulled a mini-Christian Laettner Tuesday night, when he scored six points while shooting 2-of-2 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line and adding one rebound and one assist. Plotnikov has 48 points on 16-of-29 shooting, including 7-of-18 from 3-point land, over the last four games after he had 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-18 from 3-point land, in his previous three games from Feb. 5-14. Plotnikov has scored at least six points in a game 23 times this season after doing so 15 times last season.
DECADY DANCE
Joshua DeCady battled foul trouble Tuesday night, when he finished with four points and two rebounds in 11 minutes. DeCady, who sat out the final 16:25 after picking up his third foul, tied his season-low for minutes set previously in a 77-60 win over Pennsylvania on Nov. 30. The four-point effort marked just the second time DeCady has scored fewer than five points in his last nine games. The Dutchmen are 14-5 this season when DeCady starts and 6-4 when he comes off the bench.
JUST JOSH-IN
Graduate student Joshua Aaron Reaves saw his most extensive playing time in almost a month Tuesday night, when he scored three points and added three rebounds and two steals over 17 minutes. The points were the first for Reaves since Feb. 19, when he had four points in a 79-43 win over Hampton, while the 17 minutes were the most Reaves has logged since he played 17 minutes in 71-49 win over Towson on Feb. 7. The two steals tied a season-high for Reaves set in a 66-64 loss to Charleston on Jan. 29. Reaves entered Tuesday with five scoreless efforts in seven games since he scored a season-high 17 points in a 73-57 win over Monmouth on Jan. 31. He has 36 points and 26 rebounds over the last 11 games after recording just 10 points — all against non-Division I foes — over 71 minutes in his first 12 appearances of the season. Reaves played in each of the Dutchmen’s first five games this season before sitting out 10 of the next 15 games from Nov. 28 through Jan. 22. The 11 consecutive appearances for Reaves marks his longest streak since he played in all 32 games for Mount St. Mary’s during the 2023-24 season.
VICTORY!
Junior newcomer Victory Onuetu once again battled foul trouble Tuesday night, when he had one point and three rebounds while collecting for fouls over 13 minutes. It was the 15th time in 18 CAA games Onuetu has either fouled out, drawn at least three fouls or been ejected. He has also come off the bench in each of the last 10 games after starting 17 of the first 21 games.
ALEX ANSWERS THE CALL
Graduate student Alex Tsynkevich got on to the court for Senior Night Tuesday, when he played the final 2:02 without recording a stat. Tsynkevich has six points and nine rebounds in 35-plus minutes over the last seven games in which he’s played after collecting six points and 12 rebounds over 29 minutes in his first seven appearances of the season.
JAEDEN JUMPS INTO ACTION
Freshman Jaeden Roberts also posted a Club Trillion line Tuesday night, when he played the final 1:24 without recording a stat. Roberts has scored just six points total while playing fewer than 10 minutes in each of his eight appearances dating back to Jan. 29 after he averaged 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 18-4 in Roberts’ appearances this season.
AWARDS SEASON
Congrats again to Cruz Davis and Preston Edmead, who both continued a Hofstra tradition and made CAA history by being named the CAA Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively, on Friday. This is the first time since the CAA was founded as the ECAC South in 1982-83 that one school has accounted for the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Pretty neat!
Davis’ honor is the fourth in the last five seasons for a Hofstra player. Tyler Thomas won the award in 2024, succeeding repeat winner Aaron Estrada (2022-23). Overall, Davis is the seventh Hofstra player to earn Player of the Year honors, joining Thomas and Estrada as well as Loren Stokes (2006), Charles Jenkins (2010-11), Juan’ya Green (2016) and Justin Wright-Foreman (2018-19). The seven Player of the Year honorees and 10 awards are each the most in CAA history, which is pretty impressive considering Hofstra didn’t join the league until 2001-02.
Edmead is the fourth Hofstra player to win Rookie of the Year honors and the first since Jenkins way back in 2008. Kenny Adeleke (2002) and Antoine Agudio (2005).
Edmead was also named to the all-CAA second team while Joshua DeCady made the all-CAA defensive team. The Dutchmen have been represented on the all-CAA first and second teams eight times since 2014, when the Joe Mihalich/Mike Farrelly/Speedy Claxton era began, and had players on the first and third teams in 2018 and 2022 and players on the second and third teams in 2014. DeCady is the first Hofstra player to make the all-defensive team since Jaquan Carlos in 2024.
THE CAA RACE
The Flying Dutchmen finished in sole possession of third place in the CAA with aa 12-6 record. This marks the fourth time the Dutchmen have gone 12-6 in league play (2005, 2018 and 2024).
GO FOR FOURTH, YOUNG MEN
The Dutchmen earned a top-four seed in the CAA Tournament for the eighth time in the last nine years, which is tied with Charleston for the most top-four finishes since 2017. UNC Wilmington and William & Mary are the only other schools with five top-four finishes in the last nine years,
THE DUTCHMEN IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PLAY
The Flying Dutchmen enter today 22-23 in CAA Tournament play since 2002, 31-28 in conference tournament play in the NAC/America East/CAA era (1994-present) and 34-28 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 once again, 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 six times while being eliminated in the quarterfinals nine times, losing in the second round once (last season, when Monmouth eliminated the Dutchmen with a 65-60 win) and losing on Pillowfight Friday four times.
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 nine 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 38 of the 43 championships in CAA history. The top seed has won 22 titles, the second seed has won 12 titles and the three seed has cut down the net four times. However, two of the Cinderella runs were mounted in the last five seasons, when sixth-seeded Drexel won it all in 2021 before fifth-seeded Delaware took home the title in 2022. In addition, a team seeded lower than fourth has reached the title game in each of the last six years.
THE DUTCHMEN AS THE THREE SEED
This is the sixth time the Dutchmen have earned the three seed since joining the CAA in 2001-02 and the first time since 2023-24. 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 4-4 as the three seed in CAA Tournament play and 5-5 as the three seed overall.
2024 CAA: beat no. 6 Delaware in QFs, lost to no. 7 Stony Brook in SFs (aaarghh)
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 SFs
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 50-39 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 16 times and lost its first game 12 times.
Since 2002, the three seed is 29-21, including 17-7 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. The third seed has not reached the title game since Northeastern won the championship in 2015.
ONE LOSS REMATCH
This will be the fifth time the Dutchmen play a CAA Tournament game against a team that beat them in the only regular season meeting between the teams (yay, unbalanced schedule). The Dutchmen are 1-3 in such games with three straight losses to Monmouth (last year), Georgia State (2012) and Old Dominion (2011) since beating VCU in 2006. So we’re due, is what you’re saying?
TRIBE TANGO
The Dutchmen are 4-1 against William & Mary in the CAA Tournament. The only teams Hofstra has faced more often in the CAA Tournament are Delaware (4-3), who I guess doesn’t count anymore, and UNC Wilmington (2-4).
This is the first postseason clash between Hofstra and William & Mary since Mar. 5, 2023, when the Dutchmen set a CAA Tournament records for margin of victory in a 94-46 win in the quarterfinals. The Tribe earned its lone CAA Tournament win over Hofstra in epic fashion on Mar. 8, 2015, when Daniel freaking Dixon hit a 3-pointer in the final second of double overtime to lift William & Mary to a 92-91 victory. Oh great. Eleven years ago TODAY.
2003 CAA 1R: Hofstra 74-64
2011 CAA QFs: Hofstra 72-56
2015 CAA SFs: William & Mary 92-91 (2 OT)
2016 CAA SFs: Hofstra 70-67
2023 CAA QFs: Hofstra 94-46
OVER THE AIR
Tonight’s game is slated to be carried live on FloHoops.com (subscription required, click here for options). Hofstra will provide a radio feed as well as live stats at the Pride Productions hub.
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe, under second-year head coach Brian Earl, advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating ELO, 72-62, in Saturday night’s final second-round game. The win was the first for Earl in the CAA Tournament. William & Mary, which improved to 20-11, earned the no. 6 seed by finishing 10-8 in CAA play. The Tribe lost a tiebreaker with Drexel, which also finished 10-8, by virtue of a 64-58 loss on Jan. 10.
The Dutchmen and Tribe had no common opponents during non-league play. In CAA play, both teams swept Northeastern. The Dutchmen swept Monmouth and Drexel, each of whom beat William & Mary, and Towson, which lost to the Tribe. Hofstra beat Campbell, which swept William & Mary, and Hampton, which split with the Tribe. The Dutchmen lost to North Carolina A&T and UNC Wilmington, each of whom William & Mary swept, and split with Stony Brook, whom the Tribe defeated. The Dutchmen split with Charleston, which beat William & Mary, and lost to ELO, which won both regular season meetings against the Tribe.
The Dutchmen, who were picked to finish tied for eighth in the CAA preseason poll, are ranked a CAA-best 92nd at KenPom.com. That’s 70 spots higher than they were to open the season, 25 spots higher than they were while carrying a five-game losing streak into the Jan. 31 game against Monmouth and the same spot they occupied entering Tuesday night’s regular season finale. The Tribe, which was picked to finish fourth, are ranked 132nd, which is 99 spots higher than their preseason ranking, 18 spots lower than its season-high entering consecutive games against Stony Brook and Monmouth on Dec. 31 and Jan. 5 — wow, spanning two years! — and two spots higher than its ranking prior to Saturday’s win.
According to KenPom.com, the Dutchmen rank second in the CAA in conference-only offensive efficiency (113.8 points per 100 possessions) and second in defensive efficiency (102.0 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 64.4 possessions per 40 minutes, the 12th-most in league play. The Tribe ranks first in the CAA in offensive efficiency (114.4 points per 100 possessions) and ninth in defensive efficiency (109.5 points per 100 possessions) while averaging 72.1 possessions per 40 minutes, the most in league play.
The Tribe returns five players from last year’s team. Junior Reese Miller, who spent two seasons at Blinn Community College after redshirting as a freshman at Abilene Christian, leads William & Mary with 12.3 points per game despite coming off the bench in all 29 of his appearances. Junior Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, who opened his career with two seasons at La Salle, ranks second on the Tribe with 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. That’s a quirky Triple Crown! Junior Killian Brockhoff, who has a really cool name and began his career with one season each at UC-Santa Barbara and Saint Louis, is averaging 10.8 points per game. Returning senior Kyle Pulliam, who began his career with two seasons at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas, is averaging 10.7 points per game. Senior Chase Lowe, a four-year member of the Tribe (!!!!) and this year’s winner of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award, is averaging 9.2 points per game while leading the team with 5.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
KenPom.com predicts a 79-75 win for the Dutchmen. Per the wise guys in Vegas, for entertainment purposes only, the Dutchmen are 4 1/2-point favorites. The Dutchmen are 18-11 against the spread this season.
ALL-TIME VS. WILLIAM & MARY
Hofstra is 29-18 against William & Mary in a series that began when the Dutchmen joined the CAA prior to the 2001-02 season. The Tribe has won the last three games between the teams, including the lone regular season clash this season on Jan. 24, when Preston Edmead scored 18 points in an 89-82 loss. William & Mary led by as many as 17, the biggest deficit the Dutchmen have faced in CAA play this season. Nine of the last 12 meetings between the schools dating back to 2019-20 have been decided by more than six points after a whopping 10 of 14 games were decided by six points or fewer from 2013-14 through 2018-19 — including, of course, both CAA Tournament clashes.
THINGS YOU CAN SHOUT ON TWITTER (OR BLUESKY) IF CALLS GO DO NOT GO HOFSTRA’S WAY
Daniel Dixon probably can’t hurt us today bias! (But I wouldn’t be stunned if he did)
Killian Brockhoff has the most awesome William & Mary name ever bias! (It’s true)
Your head coach has two first names bias! (Also true)
Scrubs is back and it’s shockingly good bias! (Reboot five!)
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