Game 4 - @Maryland, 11/19/21, 6:30 PM EST

[cactus]

Best 1-3 team in the country

[cactus]

Having Isaac Kante would feel really good right around now. Poor Cramer has probably spent 80% of his time on the court this year playing center.

I like the 4 guard plus Cramer lineup

[RollPride15]

Another busted inbound play as Maryland wins it. Just disgusting, another total meltdown. I know it's not a game we're supposed to win, but when you're up by 4 with less than two minutes left, you HAVE to win it.

[Pride97]

Absolutely disappointing. Awful they couldn't hold on to one of these games.

The only silver lining is that a team that took #15 to OT and lost to #20 by two should be very tough to beat in the CAA. Really hope these games prep them for conference.

[Polito]

I want to say I like this team, TONS of potential, and they are fun and exciting to watch - loving the D, night and day compared to years past - and they really do play their balls off. It was awesome to see them attacking the basket completely undersized. Great stuff there. BUT in the end, that was...

DISGUSTING. That's not even strong enough of a word, but I don't want to say things that I will definitely regret.

Silverio... Good Lord. I don't want to bash a student, but Speedy, YOU need to figure sh!t out with this kid. It's ATROCIOUS. Hard enough to beat a top 25 D1 defense, don't need guys doing it for them. How many times you going to let this kind of play happen? C'mon dude. Time to be a HC now and strategically use the bench. WHERE IS BETHEA?? How many friggin guys are injured on this team?? Where is the strength and conditioning??

Damn straight RP15. Only losers talk about not 'supposed' to win. That's weak sauce from a fan base and admin that have low standards. Let's grow a pair, expect better, and own the chokes. That's number 2 by my book, with 2 years in a row letting Iona from the MAAC own the matchup.

Granted they were two ranked chokes - there are def worse losses out there lol, and this team is earning some cred in the game. IF this team can ever actually get healthy, and keep certain guys from killing the team, they might actually be able to do some real damage. I'm bullish on that.

But choking is never a good thing, and I don't sugar coat that. That leads to building the habit of losing and failing. Some believe this all makes them magically great for conf play, but that's largely a fantasy to help get through the L's. Literally every team says that every year. Obviously it doesn't always do that. Definitely better than playing Kennesaw St, so I'm not complaining on the schedule at all. But I expect this program to be better than what we've seen when the game is winnable.

These guys looked real deflated tonight, as they should. I respect and love that passion. I want them to HATE losing. And I think they do. But at some point you gotta start winning games you're in position to win. Otherwise it can have the opposite effect.

This is on Speedy and staff. Get the friggin roster in check. Didn't recruit the post properly and now have none. And this isn't a freshman we're talking about losing games for the team. Another pitiful ending, and it wasn't because Maryland was ranked - the team tanked on basic fundamental ball when it mattered most, yet again. Not a good trend. I'm not hating, I'm annoyed because this team has REAL ability, but the garbage basic play needs swift correction.


Richmond should be... interesting. This group plays TOUGH - but hard matchup in a revenge game for them. Largely a different group for HU though, so we shall see...

[Hofstra]

Another typical Hofstra loss. I am sure most will come on here and be excited we were in a game we werent supposed to be in, but at the end of the day, we've seen this way too often. How many times can we blow the game late? This isnt a Speedy thing, its a Hofstra thing now. Just brutal.

Why was Silverio even in the game? His basketball acumen is below average. Just a terrible, terrible ending yet again.

[Dooku25]

A beautiful performance for 39 minutes completely thrown away in the last minute. I still can't believe how this went down. Cooks receives the pass and gets rid of it like a hot potato across the court to the last person I want with the ball. And of course he chucks a 30 footer that gets partially blocked and then he fouls the guy! YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS UP. Then of course they cannot even inbound the ball for a final shot. Just brutal.

They should have 2 top 20 wins. Credit to Speedy for having these guys play with great effort and confidence but man we need to figure out the last few minutes please. We got Burgess off the court in crunch time now we have to figure out how to get Silverio out. Both of these guys should be playing 10-15 mins tops as a role players and should not see the court in close games down the stretch. Cooks, Ray, Estrada, Dubar and Cramer was the winning formula tonight. Too much Silverio tonight and it cost us.

Big picture I think Speedy is going to turn this program into a mid major power whether it's later this year or over the next few years. Speedy will get Hofstra to reach it's full potential. I fully believe it and that belief is keeping me from exploding over these 2 epic last minute collapses against ranked opponents.

[triplec2195]

Another typical Hofstra loss. I am sure most will come on here and be excited we were in a game we werent supposed to be in, but at the end of the day, we've seen this way too often. How many times can we blow the game late? This isnt a Speedy thing, its a Hofstra thing now. Just brutal.

Why was Silverio even in the game? His basketball acumen is below average. Just a terrible, terrible ending yet again.

Clearly in no way excited I think I ran out of profanities while watching this game and seeing all the numerous ways to lose a game that we really should have won. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise to not have our bigs since they sat their big guy most of the game. It became a guard oriented game but they still out rebounded us by 16 rebounds. Clearly we're a much better three point shooting team then they're but bone head plays the entire game with IMO Estrada making the most also turning the ball over with traveling calls. He also missed 3 after 3 after 3 and a few were wide open looks. Zach Cooks had his share of bad shot selections but still an overall plus. I think an impressive performance for Dubar who did show he has some shooting range and can rebound but Silverio is this the best we have? I guess Speedy wasn't taking any chances with inexperienced players in this game. He felt a win and I'm sure he'll allude to this in his post presser. I'm at a loss to define what has happened to Burgess? Is he told not to shoot just play D and dish? I know some things don't show up in the box score but this is ridiculous.
So the Houston loss partially gets blamed on a bad in bounds pass and this one on just a stupid foul. Worst case scenario this game goes to O/T and on a well played last minute we win. Just inexcusable! Ugly

[RollPride15]

I do not think Maryland is a real top 25 team, for one thing. This one was gettable, and we let it slip away.

We clearly have a lot of talent -- the top 6 of Ray/Cooks/Estrada/Dubar/Iyiola with Cramer first off the bench can hang with anyone. Fit and familiarity need to improve, as does figuring out who else on the bench makes the most sense...I'm hoping by midseason that Carlos is ready to assume the mantle that Desure Buie did as a freshman, like 10-15 minutes per game.

I get why Speedy is giving Silverio burn because this team does need shooters and Silverio is one, at least in theory. That said, the guy has been around for years now and just does not show enough to be out there at the end of games.

RE frontcourt depth: No doubt we should have done a better job in the offseason, though I suspect the Kante roller coaster made it hard to plan. It is unfortunate to have both your centers out at once, a lot of teams would be hard-pressed if put in the same situation. But we did foresee this as a possibility, and so the staff should have too. Hope Tomasco is the real deal. Don't expect him to play this year but next year Simmons and Iyiola leave anyway and we'll be scouring the market for big men again.

[cactus]

I thought Iyiola was a JR in terms of eligibility.

[daHUPride]

I waited my 12 hour rule in posting after a frustrating loss.

This - and the Houston - loss SUCKS.

Like others - I too dont see THIS November Maryland team as a top 20 team - however "you are what they list you as".

WHAT SUCKS:
Not being able to close - with leads like we had, the foulshooters we have - in Maryland and Houston - we need to be able to come out and maintain the lead and control of the game.
Our lack of inbounding and handling pressure - (as someone said "this a Hofstra thing" now-AGREE) - that said the teams we've played this year that have done it to us Houston (a Top D in the country), Iona (well coached /end to end pressure) and Maryland (a bigger top-notched-ranked-Power 5 conference team) - are not Molly/John Jay - they know how to D and press with top athletes with size
Limited roster - I was OK with Silvero (over Burgess) in the game at that time - he was having an OK shooting night. Bonehead play YES! In the final seconds we needed as name guys that "could" (or would) shot the ball - that is NOT Burgess.

I LIKED:
We have played some good GOOD teams that we will all be seeing in March - and we are 1-3 - in regulation time of those 4 games we have scored 283 points to our opponents 283 points. I think there is silver lining in those numbers.
Last night our biggest fear was Marylands size - and wed be manhandled by a team coming off a bad (George Mason) lose - we battled and more interesting Maryland bailed on on trying to muscle us with their size and changed their game plan to combat with our 5-guard lineup(s).

INTERESTING:
These quality road teams we've played and are going to play (Richmond and Arkansas) - I hope will payoff BIG against more-like mid-major opponents (Detroit, Delaware and the rest of the CAA)
In our games played we have only gotten 1/2 the games/minutes out of Ray; 1/2 the games/minutes out of the two-headed Iyiola/Simmons - I think missing your best player (Ray) for half the games and no "starting" bigs (Iyola/Simmons) for half the games is tough
I hope Iyiola and Simmons are back for the CAA - because I hate seeing guys "having" to play 35-40 minutes per-night
Freethrows - we as a team have a decent group from the line - unfortunately the way we hoist 3's as opposed to in the paint points - we are going to the line much this year - the big problem I see with that...we are going to get any of our opponents in much foul trouble
I think Ray, Cooks, Dubar and Estrada (and Speedy) are going to figure this out

I dont like these loses - especially when one shot and/or one play are the differences
BUT - the day after I find myself a bit more accepting - and look forward to playing with a full squad; that has better continuity against quality mid-major opponents - Bring on the CAA!

[triplec2195]

Like what u say hear daHUPride and good you waited 12 hours otherwise we would have to use expletives here. People are talking about these close losses and you want to bring on the CAA. Well maybe be careful what you wish for while all the focus has been on P5 teams last night NE beat Duquesne by 15 points, JMU beat George Mason by 4 and is 4-0. We will be in for the typical dogfights game in and game out in the CAA. These close games will help us but make no mistake IDK there will be many gimmes.

[Dooku25]

I waited my 12 hour rule in posting after a frustrating loss.

I like this rule and probably need to adopt it. Definitely calmer this morning but the way the game was squandered obviously brings out some negative emotions. We have a promising team to root for here. There are plenty of positives to take out of games where they were up 5 with 2 minutes left at #15 Houston and up 4 with 1 minute left at #20 Maryland. It was a great team effort last night. I mentioned to Cactus last night that they were playing "Jay Wright era" defense. They crashed the boards as a team all night and the help defense was outstanding.

The CAA might be better than we think this year so this OOC schedule will help prepare them tremendously. Lessons are being learned now and the lineups used to close games are still being determined. I think they will figure it out by conference play and HU will have as good a shot as any to cut down the nets, which is the only goal here.

[cactus]

I really liked the swarming defense with the smaller lineups. It is like Jay wright era, those teams lacked size too, played a lot of man, contested shots, trapped down low, competed for rebounds

Is jmu not eligible to play in the tournament? Because they look really good right now.

[Wags]

I waited my 12 hour rule in posting after a frustrating loss.

I like this rule and probably need to adopt it.

After that loss, which needed more digesting than after a Thanksgiving meal, I nearly doubled the 12 hours.

[Wags]

Best 1-3 team in the country

I think SO, cactus! And I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing in November. In fact, wins at Houston and at Marlyand might've, in a weird way, been worse in the bigger picture, because they might have gotten too full of themselves. Knowing they can play with teams of that caliber on the road - but losing both close - should (in theory) give them a lot of confidence while at the same time, keep them very hungry and help the staff have the team's attention on how to close out close games when it matters most as the season moves on.

[Wags]

Absolutely disappointing. Awful they couldn't hold on to one of these games.

The only silver lining is that a team that took #15 to OT and lost to #20 by two should be very tough to beat in the CAA. Really hope these games prep them for conference.

I think it will and that's exactly why the staff scheduled these games. And as frustrating as it is to let these two games slip away and to not be talked about nationally with a couple of Top 25 road wins at 1-3 in November, we may look back at these two losses as the thing that could help them tremendously in Jan, Feb and especially when it matters most, in March. So I'll just leave it as: sucks right now, but in the grander scheme, could be very helpful later. And if they don't get it done in Jan-Mar then these two losses won't matter anyway (because that point, wins at Houston and Maryland wouldn't help get an at-large anyway). So I really only see the possible benefit from having competed very well but losing close in those games. The only way it could hurt is if they have a great season from here and lose close in the CAA title game - then wins at Houston and Maryland might've put them on the bubble. But realistically, even winning those two games, the most likely path is still to cut the nets again in D.C. If two close losses in Houston and Maryland help them do that, then these were not terrible losses at all. But we will see.

[Wags]

I do not think Maryland is a real top 25 team, for one thing. This one was gettable, and we let it slip away.

I don't think so either - it's why I said what I did in the non-conference schedule thread about Maryland in their first couple of games before Mason and especially after the Mason loss, and why I thought HU had a great chance to beat Maryland. And almost did. But have to hope Maryland has a good year because the better year the Terps have, the more Speedy and the staff and instill confidence and belief into their team for nearly beat Maryland (and Houston - but unlike with the uncertainty about Maryland, Houston will have a good year).

I get why Speedy is giving Silverio burn because this team does need shooters and Silverio is one, at least in theory. That said, the guy has been around for years now and just does not show enough to be out there at the end of games.

After the end of regulation at Houston and the end of this Maryland game, it can't happen again. His bad late-game decisions and lack of execution are costing close games.

[daHUPride]

Like what u say hear daHUPride and good you waited 12 hours otherwise we would have to use expletives here. People are talking about these close losses and you want to bring on the CAA. Well maybe be careful what you wish for while all the focus has been on P5 teams last night NE beat Duquesne by 15 points, JMU beat George Mason by 4 and is 4-0. We will be in for the typical dogfights game in and game out in the CAA. These close games will help us but make no mistake IDK there will be many gimmes.

CAA for us will be a night-in night-out dog fight, for sure.
As a former athlete and now a fan - in preparing for a conference season with a out of conference schedule that we've played - YEAH, bring on the CAA - we will be experienced against tough quality teams - that will make us battle tested.
Agree with you triplec2195 "be careful what you wish for" - and I know that in the CAA "on any given night" a team can win - but I hope that these out of conference teams we are playing now will have us ready for Jan/Feb/Mar.
So I double down - "bring on the CAA".

[HUSID74]

Ok so its pretty amazing how when the schedule was first posted, NOBODY thought we would have a chance against these guys.

IMO, the only real disappointment was the Iona game where we came out flat and unprepared for their intensity and pressing defense,

Right now this team is flawed with no bigs available at all...I think Tomasco will be red-shirted along with Barouk so we'll go into Richmond pretty much the same way we played against Maryland...guards and KVonn.

Of course, as is Hofstra protocol, only a brief mention of iliola (still can't spell his name) something about Covid so that means at least two weeks I believe, and who knows when Simmons will be back.

So, here we are at 1-3, disappointing yes, but the best we could have hoped for in pre-season would be 2-2 at this juncture...

My only real criticism of this team as it stands is how we take care of the ball on inbounds plays and at the end of games...HORRIBLE...we need to find some combination that works WITHOUT Silverio and even Burgess on the floor at those moments.

Surely Speedy can figure something out for those moments.

On to Richmond for another tough games, especially after they just lost last night and want to avenge their loss to us last year.