MBB Game 35 vs. Alabama, March 20 (Fri) 3:15 PM - NCAAT Round 1

[Wags]

Good omen? Wright State (of all team names) hanging with Virginia right before Hofstra takes the floor in an NCAA tournament game for the first time since Jay Wright took them there.

[Jojogunne]

These TV announcers are terrible. In the bag for Alabama.

[RainDelay]

Let’s get the momentum back out of halftime… please!

[dutchPride86]

Speedy nailed it with W&M on steroids comparison. 4 of Bama's 5 threes from their bigs. Holding up as well as you can hope on Philon and Whitesell. Bama playing very physical defensively and refs letting them play, leading to some of our turnovers.

Hofstra fans doing a PHENOMENAL job here. Late 1st half the Bama section seemed to realize they might have to wake up to try match our energy

[Wags]

The whole 37-35 halftime score on three runs:

8-2. Alabama
26-10, Hofstra
19-7, Alabama

That was the most impactful I've seen Victory be all season in the first half.

German hot early, then as usual, they mostly forgot about him.

They had a great chance to really take control after the 26-10 run, up 28-18, but then got cold and a little sloppy offensively, to allow Alabama back in it.

Now 12-4, Alabama to start the second half for the Crimson Tide's first double-digit lead, 49-39.

31-11, Alabama since Hofstra led, 28-18.

[RainDelay]

Let’s do another 26-10 run…

[RainDelay]

Not over yet but it sure feels like it

[Wags]

Nice run here. Edmead kept them in it. Started the second half 5/8 and 3/4 from 3.

They actually looked for Plotnikov on a cut for a layup and then he gets a transition bucket off a TO.

Got it down to 5, now 67-59 at the MTO with 8:01 left. Hofstra has yet to lose a game by double digits this year. They are remaining competitive when it looked as though Alabama may pull away comfortably.

[Hofstra97]

It's the free throw differential plus Sunday not contributing much making the difference.

[Pbdutch]

We just got manhandled in that second half. They’re so much more athletic than us and it was quite obvious. To at least still be in the game mid way through the 2ND half was impressive, but it caught up to us quickly.

Hopefully this will be the start of a great bball program. We need to make the tourney year in and year out moving forward. We have more NIL money coming and it’ll help with recruiting. Time to step up

[Wags]

90-70 final, but it was 71-66 with 4:49 left. It was a lot more competitive than the final score.

Great season for the Pride. No guarantees, but this loss ironically increases the chances that Davis and Edmead stay, and make another run under Speedy.

Considering where they were: 11th-place finish last year, and as the 3 seed, 12-6 in the CAA, after a five-game losing streak to drop to 4-5 in the CAA, I'm good with it. Learn from this, get better, take another step next year.

[Wags]

Kind of ironic that the scores were so similar for Speedy the second time around:

2000: Oklahoma State 86, Hofstra 66
2026: Alabama 90, Hofstra 70

But Hofstra returned to the NCAA tournament in 2001 and the Pride definitely can again in 2027.

[dutchPride86]

Shame score got out of hand really did play a lot better than a 20 point game. Dont lose 5 in a row in Jan and maybe get an 11 or 12 and dont have to play a team as good as Bama next year!

Philon is an NBA player. Just couldn't contain him off the dribble in the 2nd half. The 3rd shot tip out open 3 was a back breaker after we first cut it back to 5. Bama did not take us lightly either. Their size and athleticism just won out, and too many wasted possessions on offense. But nothing for team to hang their heads about.

And the fans, cant say enough. Really showed out down here. Super super impressed by the Hofstra contingent. As an out of town non alumni fan, there's plenty of times it feels like this board is the entirety of the Hofstra fan base for me. But seeing so many Hofstra fans down here truly was awesome.

Also if I had a dollar for every person who stopped me to ask where Hofstra is, I might have been able to afford 1 arena beer!

Just build off the momentum and keep growing! Make this the beginning of something and not the pinnacle.

Plenty to be proud of here despite the final score.

[UncleVegas]

Kind of ironic that the scores were so similar for Speedy the second time around:

2000: Oklahoma State 86, Hofstra 66
2026: Alabama 90, Hofstra 70

But Hofstra returned to the NCAA tournament in 2001 and the Pride definitely can again in 2027.

I was at that game. Oklahoma st ran us out of the gym the first 10 minutes and I dont think we were with 15 points the rest of the game. Much different feel in this one. They hung in there. Team will really miss plotnikov next season.

[ZMAN3]

Didn't expect them to win but they played their butts off. Obviously the game much closer than the score. Sunday and DeCady big zeros. Biggie and Onuetu were the better choices. As pointed out Plotnikov gets a fast start and then they forget about him. Should have been more backdoor cuts - not enough "plays" Bama too much talent.

[JoeyBagODonuts1]

They definitely put up a fight for longer than I expected
against a bigger, faster, more talented team. Not going to nitpick about individual performances. We looked like the JV squad playing the Varsity and we held our own for most of the game. Great job and a great season!
One thing I would like to see before next season is Preston hitting the weight room. I think I have said this before, but at times it looked to me like he was being thrown around like a rag doll.

[Wags]

Charles Barkley and Clark Kellogg takin Hofstra basketball on national TV. That's gotta be a good thing for recruiting.

May not make any difference but it can ONLY help.

[Wags]

Also if I had a dollar for every person who stopped me to ask where Hofstra is, I might have been able to afford 1 arena beer!

Keep making the tournament and they'll know.

[Wags]

One thing I would like to see before next season is Preston hitting the weight room. I think I have said this before, but at times it looked to me like he was being thrown around like a rag doll.

And yet, despite that, he still had the most points by a Hofstra player in an NCAA tournament game since Rich Laurel's 35 against Notre Dame in 1977.

But let's first see him return first and not hit the weight room for someone else.

[Wags]

Kind of ironic that the scores were so similar for Speedy the second time around:

2000: Oklahoma State 86, Hofstra 66
2026: Alabama 90, Hofstra 70

But Hofstra returned to the NCAA tournament in 2001 and the Pride definitely can again in 2027.

I was at that game. Oklahoma st ran us out of the gym the first 10 minutes and I dont think we were with 15 points the rest of the game. Much different feel in this one. They hung in there. Team will really miss plotnikov next season.

Yes, almost an identical score but two very different games. In 2000, Speedy had 20 pts but hurt his pinky early, and they weren't in it for long. Today, they were down just 5 with under 5 left.