MBB Game 25 - Stony Brook, 2/4/23 (Sat), 4 PM

[HofstraMathew]

I was just going to quickly mention since someone brought up Dubar and after his 18 points against COC he has been in a funk. He wasn't hitting many shots beyond the ARC in practice. Thank God for Plotnikov. Also was going to mention the inability of Carlos to hit a shot today 4 points all from the FT line but nevertheless a solid game for him with 10 rebounds 10 assists and 4 steals. I'll take those stats any day of the week along with his 4 points.

I was at the game so I just now scanned through the box score. As you noted Triplec, 10 boards and 10 assist for JQ!!! WOW, it ooked like he played a solid game, but I never would have guessed he put up those kinds of numbers - sneaky good numbers. Another surprise was TT - not that he scored a bunch, but that he had 11 rebounds, WOW.

He stole that last rebound from Williams. Wanted the double double. If he hit a few shots would have been a triple double.

[EvanJ]

Some teams bring in subs with a late lead. We made our last substitution with 14:40 left.

Thomas shot field goals 13-17 (.765). He became our first player from 2010-2011 to now to score at least 29 points, shoot field goals at least .765, have at least 10 rebounds, and have at least 3 assists. He became the first CAA player to do that since Delaware's Eric Carter on December 9, 2018.

Carlos became the twelfth player from 2010-2011 to now to have a double-double without making a field goal. That is about once a season. He became the first player to do that for or against a CAA team during that time, and the first player to do that this season.

In the Analytics tab, Thomas was the best player in efficiency, game score, and net points. Williams was second best in all three, and better than Stony Brook's top player in all three. Thomas, Williams, Carlos, Plotnikov, and Washington had higher game scores than everybody on Stony Brook. It says Carlos and Thomas played 100.5 percent of the minutes.

We were shooting free throws worse recently including 5-10 in our previous game. Today we shot 10-11.

18 assists and 6 turnovers will help our ratio that already leads the CAA. Stony Brook had 2 points off turnovers, 2 bench points, and 0 fast break points. Carlos had 10 assists and 1 turnover. He became the fifth player to have multiple games this season with at least 10 assists and 0 or 1 turnover. He did it against Old Westbury.

We were better in almost every statistic. Stony Brook shot threes slightly better .364 to .350, and each team had 7 offensive rebounds.

Estrada and Thomas have the most combined points per game by CAA teammates. Thomas is seventh.

The attendance was 3,901.

Before the game, I thought that we should win if Estrada and Tyler Stephenson-Moore did not play, and at that point I did not know Estrada would not play. I turned out to be right.

The other scores were:

Monmouth came back from down 12 at halftime to win 69-67 hosting Drexel. The final shot was a missed three by Drexel's Amari Williams, who entered the game with 6 made threes in 65 career games. Monmouth's Tahron Allen led all players with 19 points.

Charleston only led by 2 at halftime, but had a great second half to win 84-67 at Delaware. Charleston's Dalton Bolon and Delaware's Jameer Nelson Jr. and Jyare Davis tied for the most points with 18.

UNCW won 70-63 at William & Mary to make the away team win both games. UNCW's Trazarien White led all players with 21 points, and teammate Donovan Newby scored 20 points in 29 minutes off the bench. There were not many rebounds with 24 by W&M and 22 by UNCW.

Elon led by 11 at halftime and won 74-73 at Northeastern. The game was decided by Elon's Sam Sherry blocking Northeastern's final shot, and Elon averages the fewest blocked shots in the CAA. Northeastern's Chris Doherty shot 8-11 and had 22 points, which was the most points today by a CAA player other than Thomas. Elon was led by Max Mackinnon who shot 9-12 and had 20 points and 8 assists.

In a nonconference HBCU game at Prudential Center in Newark, as expected, Norfolk State beat Hampton 83-71. Hampton led by 1 at halftime. The CAA ends the regular season 59-91 (.393) nonconference vs. Division I. The CAA is 24th of 32 in the Conference NET. Norfolk State's Joe Bryant scored 29.

The CAA standings through 75 of 117 games are:

1. Hofstra: 10-2
2. Charleston: 10-2
3. UNCW: 9-3
4. Towson: 8-3
5. Drexel: 7-5
6. North Carolina A&T: 6-6
7. Stony Brook: 4-7 (1-1 vs. Northeastern, both are winless against the top four, Stony Brook has a better record against Drexel)
8. Northeastern: 4-7
9. Delaware: 4-8 (defeated William & Mary and they do not play again)
10. William & Mary: 4-8
11. Monmouth: 3-8*
12. Elon: 3-8*
13. Hampton: 3-8*

* Since Elon did not play Monmouth or Hampton yet, I ignored Hampton's win over Monmouth and went to record against teams in standings order. Monmouth and Elon had their best win against Drexel. Hampton had their best win against Delaware, who is below Drexel, so Hampton is last. Monmouth's second best win is against North Carolina A&T, and Elon's second best win is a tie between Stony Brook and Northeastern, both of whom are below North Carolina A&T, so Monmouth is above Elon.
Elon: beat DU/SB/NU

[Wags]

Strange that Carlos' first carer double-double occurs in a game in which he went 0/8 from the floor. But that's a testament to him that he still had 10 boards at just 6-0, 170 and 10 assists with only one turnover and played pretty good D despite an 0-fer from the floor.

Thomas' double-double was (as we all can probably guess) his first with Hofstra. It was only the second of his career.

Thanks to those two on the glass, it was 34-26, HU on the boards, just the ninth time in 25 games (the 8th against D-I teams) that HU has outrebounded an opponent this season.

[Wags]

The attendance was 3,901.

Saw the same in the boxscore and wondered why it was announced as 3,827 at the game.

[triplec2195]

Strange that Carlos' first carer double-double occurs in a game in which he went 0/8 from the floor. But that's a testament to him that he still had 10 boards at just 6-0, 170 and 10 assists with only one turnover and played pretty good D despite an 0-fer from the floor.

Thomas' double-double was (as we all can probably guess) his first with Hofstra. It was only the second of his career.

Thanks to those two on the glass, it was 34-26, HU on the boards, just the ninth time in 25 games (the 8th against D-I teams) that HU has outrebounded an opponent this season.

I'm sure I'm not the only one and have been critical of Carlos when I've felt he hasn't played well especially on defense. I was at the game as usual and thought to myself man he's having a bad game missing open three's etc. even 10 foot chip shots not seeing the "forest from the trees". Not realizing that he has made some big plays like on a steal of a 50/50 loose ball he has the wherewithal to make a perfect pass to Dubar who was racing down the floor for a dunk. As far as the rebounds in the post presser he credited both Williams and Nelson for doing the boxing out allowing him to sneak in a grab the boards. It was smart to throw them some love on those boards.

[triplec2195]

It's funny that not that long ago a lot of us including myself had this team finishing in the middle of the pack but as we see now this team is getting it together at the perfect time of the year. Estrada and Thomas compliment each other and are playing at a high level not forcing shots. We're getting good smart play from Nelson down low who can block shots and pass the ball. Dubar even though his outside shot is off still is a plus with his presence and size down low. Carlos even when he's not scoring much doesn't generally turn the ball over and totally buys into the philosophy of this team to run the ball and set up the big scorers. Without him we never would have won the COC game making big shot after big shot. Then you bring in subs like Williams who has been very tough to stop down low he scores blocks shots hustles up and down the court. The throw in bonus now with Marshall coming off an injury is Bryce Washington with his basketball IQ and athleticism he has been a big plus. He has played in a lot of games and is not afraid to be in the limelight. We're playing better defense and we will be tough to beat since this team can score in a multitude of ways. So is our rebounding our kryptonite here? We have proved we can and do win game after game even though we constantly get outrebounded.

[stuball888]

Actually we outrebounded SBU who have a 7ft and 6ft10 front line

[Wags]

is our rebounding our kryptonite here? We have proved we can and do win game after game even though we constantly get outrebounded.

They've been outrebounded in 16 of 25 games this year, yet have won basically the opposite, 17 of 25.

Certainly makes it easier when you can rebound (Pat Riley used to say, "No rebounds, no rings" for a reason), but they can win without that.

But also, they're 33rd in the nation in FG%. When you make shots, there aren't a lot of offensive rebounds to be had. Really, it's just cleaning up their own glass and limiting second-chance opportunities. When they do that, they are extremely tough to beat in this conference.

[Wags]

Actually we outrebounded SBU who have a 7ft and 6ft10 front line

Yes, thanks to Thomas and Carlos - their 21 combined boards nearly matched Stony Brook's 26.

[Wags]

https://twitter.com/JonathanJWagner/sta ... 5110716417

[triplec2195]

Actually we outrebounded SBU who have a 7ft and 6ft10 front line

Yes, thanks to Thomas and Carlos - their 21 combined boards nearly matched Stony Brook's 26.

If u look at these guys stats both Fitzmorris and Keenan Sarvan they only average around 3 .5 boards a game. They're really not post players especially Sarvan who has taken 158 three's. Fitz only 22 but he seemed to have a nice mid-range touch. Sarvan had no rebounds in this game and Fitz only 1.

[EvanJ]

The America East passed the CAA in the Conference NET, and the CAA fell to 25th, and behind two of the three conferences that had teams come to the CAA. In the NET, our SOS is 126th, and our nonconference SOS was 22nd. The median is 182nd, and I would guess we will be 150th or worse after our next six games. The CAA is bad enough that it takes an elite nonconference SOS to have an SOS in the top half, and playing UNCW and Charleston once was bad for our SOS. If we win every game through the CAA Tournament, and San Jose State (104th) and Princeton (105th) remain outside the top 100, we will have 25 Division I wins on Selection Sunday with one or two against the top 100 depending on if we beat Charleston in the CAA Tournament. UNCW has the third best NET in the CAA in 129th, so I do not think they will finish in the top 100.

Of 363 teams, we are 32nd in field goal percentage differential, 38th in three-point field goal percentage differential, and 32nd in free throw percentage differential. No teams are above us in all three. We have the sixth fewest free throw attempts per game, and the seventh fewest missed free throws per games.

Estrada and Thomas must be among the best teammates on a team with no chance at an at-large bid.

[stuball888]

This is what expansion has done for the CAA. Lets get some more teams with a NET rating of 250 or more

[Cards]

Here we come to the stretch drive to finish the season, what should be some of the most exciting games, and we don't play anyone better than a 200 NET ranked team (Drexel). In fact, after Drexel, the next best ranked opponent is NU at 280. The rest of the games are against 300+ ranked teams. Good for HUs conf record (we should run the table the rest of the way), really poor for CAA overall. If they were really trying to improve the CAA, how they let Hampton and some of the other schools in is baffling! I guess the operative words are "IF they were REALLY TRYING"! I think we all know the answer.

[Flying Dutchmen]

So is our rebounding our kryptonite here? We have proved we can and do win game after game even though we constantly get outrebounded.

In short, yes. Someone will pick us off in the CAAT if we give up offensive rebounds on 32.5% of missed shots, 41% against Towson on Thursday. Better against Stony Brook though, only 21%

Also we're 360th in the nation in point percentage from Free Throws, 12.8%, crazy low.

We're not a physical, aggressive team, I get that, with the amount of skill our shooters have, I completely understand why that is not our identity. But sometimes you just have to get to the hoop and draw a foul. I give Plotnikov a lot of credit yesterday for bringing some physicality to the game, it turned it in our favor. I think Marshall is a guy who can get to the hoop and draw fouls, hopefully he keeps getting healthier down the stretch and the staff can give him some more minutes.

Rebounding wise, I think some of our issues are that we are committed to our defense and lose the ball, which I accept because our defensive prowess has improved a bunch in the past month. Sometimes though, I think Williams and NBY get positioning and look to get the rebound below the hoop to initiate the fast break, instead of going over the top for the board. Maybe that is just a tradeoff the staff is willing to accept.

[triplec2195]

A nice article I thought people would like to read. https://www.amny.com/sports/hofstra-bas ... ng-stride/

[Wags]

Actually we outrebounded SBU who have a 7ft and 6ft10 front line

Yes, thanks to Thomas and Carlos - their 21 combined boards nearly matched Stony Brook's 26.

If u look at these guys stats both Fitzmorris and Keenan Sarvan they only average around 3 .5 boards a game. They're really not post players especially Sarvan who has taken 158 three's. Fitz only 22 but he seemed to have a nice mid-range touch. Sarvan had no rebounds in this game and Fitz only 1.

Definitely true about Stony Brook's rebounding despite their size, but the rebounding margin would've been about even or in SBU's favor instead of +8, HU without Thomas and Carlos both uncharacteristically each reach double figs in boards on Sat.

[Wags]

Someone will pick us off in the CAAT if we give up offensive rebounds on 32.5% of missed shots, 41% against Towson on Thursday

Maybe, but maybe not, especially if they keep shooting 50% or better, like they've been doing a lot lately. That can make up for a lot of the offensive rebounding & second chances they allow. They were -10 on the glass, including -7 on the offensive glass (giving up 15 offensive rebs) against Towson last week, and despite that 41%, they shot 50% and still won.

Also we're 360th in the nation in point percentage from Free Throws, 12.8%, crazy low.

We're not a physical, aggressive team, I get that, with the amount of skill our shooters have, I completely understand why that is not our identity. But sometimes you just have to get to the hoop and draw a foul. I give Plotnikov a lot of credit yesterday for bringing some physicality to the game, it turned it in our favor. I think Marshall is a guy who can get to the hoop and draw fouls, hopefully he keeps getting healthier down the stretch and the staff can give him some more minutes.

This is something I always want to see more (in past years as well as with this team), even if they want to shoot a lot of 3s because that would only open on looks from 3 even better. But I've kind of begrudgingly accepted it with this year's team because as long as they're shooting well and scoring plenty (which they normally do), and as long as they're winning in conference play (which they are, can't do any better than first place), I feel like... let them do their thing even without the FTs. But you're right, that is an astoundingly low portion of points coming from the FT line.

Rebounding wise, I think some of our issues are that we are committed to our defense and lose the ball, which I accept because our defensive prowess has improved a bunch in the past month. Sometimes though, I think Williams and NBY get positioning and look to get the rebound below the hoop to initiate the fast break, instead of going over the top for the board. Maybe that is just a tradeoff the staff is willing to accept.

Maybe what they found on Saturday with this -- with those two boxing out and then a much smaller guy like Carlos taking advantage of that and sneaking in for rebounds -- is something they can do more of (although granted, that may not work so well against others like it did against Stony Brook).

[Wags]

This is what expansion has done for the CAA. Lets get some more teams with a NET rating of 250 or more

Well, Campbell (currently 271) is coming. (funny, but not really.)

[HUSID80]

The CAA has clearly been diluted with the addition of these new schools. I hope/pray that the school presidents who wanted this expansion, have impressed upon these schools the importance of investing in their respective programs...If not this conference will fall apart.