MBB Game 09 - @ Coppin State - 12/10/14, 7:30 PM

[Dooku25]

This one looks like a laugher. Nothing wrong with that, good teams should take care of business against bad teams. It looks like our next opponent might present a challenge. Columbia is down 2 @ #1 Kentucky with 12 minutes left. Impressive.

[EvanJ]

Hofstra leads 48-26 at halftime. Green has 12 points, Tanksley has 11, and Bernardi has 8, which is more than half their average for all three of them. Nesmith, Robinson, and Gonzalez have 5 points each. Nichols has 2 and Walker has 2 fouls in 2 minutes without scoring. Nichols leads all players in rebounds with 8 and assists with 3.

[HofstraHockey]

Kentucky is starting to pull away. Nothing against Columbia though. The Kentucky players getting really excited about taking a lead that is still under double digits against an Ivy, though, sheesh.

[EvanJ]

Hofstra made 4 out of 4 three-pointers to start the second half and take a 63-32 lead with 15:26 left, which puts Hofstra on pace to score 103 points. Tanksley has 18 points, Bernardi has 14, and Green has 12.

[cactus]

nice to see them feast against bad teams. shows they are on another level this year.

[ProudofPride]

Coppin State lost to Towson 84-76 only a week ago, so that makes us seem much better than another CAA team.

[cactus]

green veering into triple double territory with 17 pts, 10 boards, and 6 assists with just under 7 to play.

[Cards]

105-64 final. They continue to shoot well and have everyone contribute. Everyone scored.
10 days off now - hope the guys can practice well and keep momentum going.
Listening to mike Farelly being interiewed. He was not happy...said we were pretty sloppy. wheh....tough crowd!

[ProudofPride]

2nd straight double double for Malik Nichols. Green also had one.

Also for comparison, Oregon beat Coppin State 107-65, Illinois beat them 114-56, and Notre Dame beat them 104-67. Obviously not to get ahead of the team, but that's pretty darn good for us to have similar scores as these teams.

[stuball888]

Mike probably because we had 17 turnovers. Only negative about this game. Still 105 points we cannot complain about. Green had efficient game and filled up the stat sheet as did Robinson off the bench. We out rebounded them 49 to 29.

[stuball888]

This team is fun to watch.

[EvanJ]

Listening to mike Farelly being interiewed. He was not happy...said we were pretty sloppy. wheh....tough crowd!

You could criticize Hofstra for having 15 turnovers, but 24 assists (four players had at least 3) made it a good assist/turnover ratio. The 24 assists were the second time we had that many this season (also against Jacksonville) and 1 short of the team record. Nine players (five on Hofstra) scored in double-digits and seven Hofstra players scored at least 8 points. Hofstra made 13 out of 25 three-pointers (.520) and if the other teams remain the same Hofstra will be 7th out of 351 Division I teams in three-point field goal percentage at .438. Tanksley scored 23 to raise his average to 18.3. Bernardi scored 20 to raise his average to 14.4. Green scored 17 to lower his average to exactly 18. Robinson scored 14 to raise his average to 6.2. Nichols scored 10 to raise his average to 6.7 and had 15 rebounds to raise his average to exactly 5. Walker blocked 3 shots to raise his average to exactly 2.

Edit: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400597901 is the Associated Press recap titled "Hofstra coasts past Coppin State in 105-64 win" which says Hofstra reached triple-digits in regulation for the first time since 1992, but that isn't true if you include the non-Division I win over Farmingdale State in 2010 when Hofstra scored 102. The last time Hofstra scored 105 was in the second game of 1984-1985 on December 1, 1984 in a 105-74 win over Virginia Wesleyan. That was 909 games ago, before Hofstra was in Division I, and before I was born. Hofstra hasn't scored more than 105 since a 118-88 win over Wagner in 1971-1972 which is the team record for points in a game.

Edit: http://gohofstra.com/news/2014/12/10/MB ... 42138.aspx is Hofstra's recap. http://gohofstra.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=6413 is the box score. The attendance was 618.

[Polito]

Felt like HU should demolish this team, but didn't want to jinx! Figured by 25, def didn't expect 100+ to win by 40+!!

I know CSU is not a good team this yr, but understand what HU is doing - they STILL played a bit sloppy, have a lone freshman guy in the post, a 3 playing the 4, and destroyed a D1 team on the road

This team clearly has talent, and they can score in bunches, but the thing I'm most impressed with is this staff - THIS is a quality coaching staff - they can really get the best out of their players, they have a plan, and they know how to adjust accordingly

In my fan era HU has never had a combo of excellent talent from top to bottom AND super coaching - this program is poised for new heights, and this team can do special things

And I love that the coaches have been hard on the team from day 1 - they are pleased but not impressed, they realize there's a lot of work to be done, and how good these guys really can be with more development - there's no reading press clippings around this staff, and that's how a consistent winning atmosphere is created and sustained - kudos

Columbia is a solid mid major and a good test of this teams real improvement thus far; let's however take the UK game with a grain of salt - there is absolutely no way in heck that UK is only 10 Pts better than Columbia - they are a decent mid, but they ain't that good - hats off to them for taking advantage and making this a game...i would be jacked for HU to do that - but it was a fluke - UK has and will continue to take most everyone they play to the woodshed on their way to the FF

10 days to get get better, both on the court and off - and then let's get a quality road W - ROLL PRIDE

[HofstraHockey]

What I like most is that there hasn't been a bad game yet. NC State could have been played a little less sloppy, USF could have been a little better coached and guys could have executed better, and Stony Brook shouldn't have come down to the end, but in all it's been good. And it's still only December, but I don't see a 20 point loss to Fairleigh Dickinson coming anytime soon.

[daHUPride]

I agree with HH, "hasn't been a bad game since NCS"..no big upset defeats and "its been good". They are finding themselves and their rolls and they are trending up. AND with the squad as it is now, other then Nesmith (since Kone has played all of 5 minutes), they are all back next year (with or bigs with a full year of playing time under their belts. I hope for these next 16 months to be some of the best HU basketball we have had in a long, long time.

Also last night was watching Fordham and Tommy Boy vs Monmouth, sorry I don't miss watching those type of games at HU anymore.

[stuball888]

Watching a Pecora offense is like watching paint dry. Rather have root canal, its less painful.

[Jojogunne]

How does "routing" Coppin State, with an RPI around 300, help us? If anything, it gives us a false sense of confidence.

[Polito]

incorrect Jojo, this team has no false sense of confidence, understand why JAM and staff have been downplaying things from the start and been tough/critical of mistakes - they have real confidence because they are talented but grounded, experienced, playing together as a team, well coached, and winning

us fans should follow the above in our understanding of where things are -> good, very good at times, but working to be great

every team in America plays some cupcakes - why? because it adds W's to your win column which is very important, esp for an HU program that is looking for it's true 'bounce back' yr and return to relevance


man, would really like to have that USF game back - that should've been a 10 pt W - alas, hoping that experience (the loss of focus, the feeling of a tough L, etc) will prove invaluable to them come post-season time

Right now its about pure focus on the game at hand - playing hard, playing together, improving every day, and just keep winning...just keep winning - ROLL PRIDE

[Cards]

I think you both raise valid points (jojo and polito). Its odd when you keep winning and your RPI goes up....its simply a matter of us having a SOS rating of around 300. So yes, you wonder how routing CSU helps us. Well, at least we do gain some confidence and as the season progresses into CAA play our SOS will improve as UNCW, Northeastern, JMU, etc all currently have decent RPIs. I am also OK with an "easier" schedule so far, considering the injuries we are dealing with.

All in all, for a first "real" season, JAM is developing a winning culture and every good program must have that. It brings in higher level recuits, fans, money, and excitement. Winning the CAA this year would be great, getting enough W's to go NIT would be great too. I think for this year, the program is steadily and quickly moving forward even with a easier schedule. With essentailly the same team or better next year, we should make even greater strides. Down the road, or even next year, I don't envision our OCC SOS to be where it is today. With program success will come better quality opponents (as evidenced by next falls tourney with a bunch of big name schools).

[stuball888]

Another thing to ponder. We routed a team we were supposed to win big against. We did not play down to their level which we did several times under Pecora. Its a small sample but have we played any stinkers under JAM. Players have bought into their roles, enjoy sharing the rock and it looks like they are having fun on the court.