Great win for Hofstra beating Arkansas.

Hofstra was one of the teams hurt by the pandemic in 2020. They had finished the CAA Tournament and won it and would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament (there's no argument here) for the first time since 2001. That was so long ago that the head coach for Hofstra in 2001 was a guy named Jay Wright.

There's more of a Philly connection to Hofstra. Their head coach is former 76er Speedy Claxton. Claxton is also an alumni of Hofstra and played for Wright. He also played for the Warriors under current Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman (the reason why they played I assume).

I've mentioned the story about the 2006 Hofstra team. In the 2006 CAA semifinals, they beat George Mason. It was the second time they beat them that year in two games. In that game, one player for GMU punched a Hofstra player in the groin. George Mason made the NCAA Tournament, Hofstra was left out. George Mason's athletic director was on the selection committee that year. Do you think it was a coincidence George Mason got in over a team that beat them twice? We all know what happened to Mason. They also got to play their Sweet 16 and regional final games in DC! Coincidence? What if Hofstra had gotten in that year instead of George Mason? Could they have gotten in the Final Four and had been the darlings? Could they be in the A-10 right now instead of GMU (if the A-10 could have a second DC team why couldn't they have a second NY team?) Since Hofstra got screwed out of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, they've STILL not made the NCAA Tournament! Hopefully this will be the year they finally get there!

(12-19-2021 06:43 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Great win for Hofstra beating Arkansas.

Hofstra was one of the teams hurt by the pandemic in 2020. They had finished the CAA Tournament and won it and would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament (there's no argument here) for the first time since 2001. That was so long ago that the head coach for Hofstra in 2001 was a guy named Jay Wright.

There's more of a Philly connection to Hofstra. Their head coach is former 76er Speedy Claxton. Claxton is also an alumni of Hofstra and played for Wright. He also played for the Warriors under current Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman (the reason why they played I assume).

I've mentioned the story about the 2006 Hofstra team. In the 2006 CAA semifinals, they beat George Mason. It was the second time they beat them that year in two games. In that game, one player for GMU punched a Hofstra player in the groin. George Mason made the NCAA Tournament, Hofstra was left out. George Mason's athletic director was on the selection committee that year. Do you think it was a coincidence George Mason got in over a team that beat them twice? We all know what happened to Mason. They also got to play their Sweet 16 and regional final games in DC! Coincidence? What if Hofstra had gotten in that year instead of George Mason? Could they have gotten in the Final Four and had been the darlings? Could they be in the A-10 right now instead of GMU (if the A-10 could have a second DC team why couldn't they have a second NY team?) Since Hofstra got screwed out of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, they've STILL not made the NCAA Tournament! Hopefully this will be the year they finally get there!

thanks for posting, as I did not know Speedy Claxton is the Hofstra coach. Strong win for the Pride.

(12-18-2021 09:22 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(12-18-2021 06:57 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-18-2021 04:51 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(12-18-2021 04:47 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(12-17-2021 11:42 PM)stever20 Wrote:  We'll know about UCLA on the 30th when they play Arizona. But yeah could be.

The thing about Nova is they'd be a team with all their experience that you'd think they'd start out really strong and as the younger teams get more footing, they'd catch up a bit towards them.

Villanova is not average. That is ridiculous. There is way too much overanalyzing of every win and loss in November and December. Villanova beat Tennessee by 18 and Tennessee beat North Carolina by 17. If Villanova is average, then how bad is Tennessee and how bad is North Carolina? Marquette was losing to UCLA 33-10 with just over three minutes to go in the first half on their home floor. Marquette beat Illinois. Creighton beats Villanova by 20 at home, but lost a few nights earlier to Arizona State at home. Arizona State lost at home to Washington State, 51-29.

A lot of these games don't make sense at this point of the season. You have young players, injuries, player rotations that you are trying to figure out, games where your team is not focused, games where your team cannot hit the broadside of a barn. Arizona-UCLA should be a great game, but the game is not going to reveal a lot about either team. Both are good teams. UCLA has not had their starting center in the lineup this season because of an MCL injury. They lost two freshmen for the season to ACL injuries. Their five star recruit, the top player in California, has had a difficult time working into the rotation. He only played six minutes in the Villanova game because Cronin felt he was not ready for that type of game. Same with Wright, who did not play his freshman in the game because they were not ready for that type of game.

Cronin and Wright will have their teams ready in March. It is fun to watch these games in November and December, but it is just too soon to make predictions about later in the season based on the early season non-conference games.

So you're saying they're below average? Got it.

No, it’s just that you are so obsessed with trolling that as soon as a team on the east coast loses, your first thought is always going to be, “How can I spin this to smear a west coast team?”

First off, just because someone gives a take you don't like, doesn't make them a troll. Second I didn't smear UCLA. Nor was it even in my mind to do so. I actuality have a ton of respect for Cronin and have no problem seeing him do well. Hell I was pulling for them to make the title game last year. That said I'm going to call it how I see it. If my takes are wrong, which they often are I'm man enough to eat crow. However so far, my Nova take has been vindicated. Maybe they'll rebound against Xavier and get rolling but I think they're going to find the BE a tougher challenge than normal.

I don’t know if I’d look at it from a lens of average and whether they’re above or below the line. I think, from that perspective, they’re well above it. They’ll definitely win games and will probably find themselves between the 2-5 seed line. That’s quite ideal, in fact.

I think a bigger issue is that they’re one-dimensional and flat. The style is what it is. You can either brace up and push Villanova hard and hope their shooting is off, or just keep up with challenging them defensively on that shooting. A good coach and good enough team is going to see that aspect of their game and cause this team fits. Get them to miss, and VU is toast. And you won’t see this Villanova squad adjust.

Wright has said in local media interviews that he got away from going after the big/tall guys, and that when he was doing that was during those “funk” years when he couldn’t escape the first weekend of the tournament. His adjustments got him two championships, but, I don’t see adjustments since. Too much reliance on the point/shooting guard. And frankly, Wright really needs two strong and a few deep on the bench in that position to really strike fear into other teams. Seeing how much reliance the team has with Gillespie this year, if you’re an opposing coach, you know who you have to challenge there.

Southern University ................... 78

Kent State ................................ 76


Kent State was a 15-point favorite and was modeled as having an 89.7% chance to win the game. Kent State led by 17 at the half, and with 4:25 to go, led 73-60 and had a 98.6% chance to win. But Southern closed the game on an 18-3 run, winning with a layup at the buzzer.

Great comeback victory by my Jaguars!