MBB @ Delaware, Saturday, 2/12/22, 6:30 PM

[EvanJ]

We led by 10, but Ryan Allen made two threes in the last 42 seconds to go down 39-35. He became third in career points for them. After Burgess missed the rim for a shot clock violation, Delaware had 7.4 seconds, and I'm wondering if Burgess didn't expect Allen to shoot that soon. Estrada, Simmons, Silverio, Andrew Carr, and Jyare Davis are tied for the most points with 8. Simmons shot 4-5, but had only 2 rebounds. Silverio shot 2-6 but making 1 of 3 twos, 1 of 3 threes, and 3 free throws. He attempted a long three and got fouled. I wish I could find out where he ranks in the most times fouled while shooting a three. Estrada shot 3-8 including making both threes. He had 3 rebounds and no assists in 14 minutes, and he left after committing his second foul with 6:07 left and did not return. Iyiola committed a foul 30 seconds in, a foul 10 seconds later, and did not return. Simmons played most of the forward minutes with 14, and Cramer played 5. Cramer had 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 fouls. Dubar shot 3-3 to score 6, and had 3 rebounds. Burgess shot 2-5 and free throws 1-2 to score 5. He had 2 assists, and he was our only player with more than 1. Ray shot 1-5 to score 2. Cooks shot 0-4 to not score. He had 3 rebounds, and Delaware's announcer complained that he's 5'11'' and got an offensive rebound. We attempted 38 field goals, of which only 8 were threes, and we made 3. Both teams shot free throws well, but Delaware shot 12-14 to our 4-5. We had 9 more rebounds, and offensive rebounds were 9 to 1.

Edit: We're on a 7-2 run to start the half, and our 46-37 lead made Delaware call timeout. Estrada made 2 twos, and Ray made a three. In one first half possession, we missed 4 shots. Delaware quickly got an offensive rebound, which was as many as they had in the first half, but Jameer Nelson Jr. quickly missed a three to not get second chance points.

Edit: We went up 52-41. Jameer Nelson Jr. made two threes, but we made threes also and have the ball up 57-47 with 14:35 left. We made 4 of 5 threes in the half with 2 by Ray, 1 by Estrada, 1 by Dubar, and a miss by Burgess.

Edit: We lead 62-47 with 11:50 left. After committed 8 fouls in the first half, it took us 7:07 to commit a foul in the second half, and we just committed our second. Dylan Painter has 2 points in 10 minutes. Cooks hasn't scored. Delaware's announcer said it sounds like a library.

[Wags]

Hofstra adding in the 3 now in the second half: 5/6 in the half, 8/14 for the game.

This is what I've been saying all season: attack first, score on 2s and in the paint first, let that open up the 3, because HU's 3-point shooters are very capable when that part of the game is opened up rather than when it's forced early. Hopefully they use this game as a blueprint.

62-47 lead at the U-12 (11:50).

[Wags]

Ray: 1/5 in the first half (led 39-35 at halftime); 4/5 in the second half, all from 3 (up 65-52). He is the key on this team. He takes them from playing in the confernece anyone close to being very tough to beat in the CAA.

[EvanJ]

Delaware is on an 11-2 run to go down 67-60 with 6:58 left. We committed 6 fouls in 4:06, so Delaware is in the bonus. Delaware just committed their second foul.

[Wags]

STILL can't get Cooks and Ray to play well in the same game. They continue to take turns this season.

Cooks is scoreless on 7 shots - BUT when Silverio and Simmons are both in double figures (two of five for HU in double figs), it doesn't matter.

78-65, Hofstra with just over 3 left.

[Hofstra]

Thorough butt whooping today. Great win.

[Wags]

Very solid 80-66 win, and that's with Cooks going scoreless on eight shots.

5 in double figures.

4 straight wins, 8 of 10.

Team is peaking at the right time. Good effort at Elon then close out strong at home and get ready for D.C.

They will be a legit title contender in D.C. Towson seems to be the worst matchup for them, but they will be very much in the mix for the CAA title next month.

[EvanJ]

We won 80-66. We outrebounded Delaware 43-28 and had six players with at least 5 rebounds. Dubar, Estrada, Simmons, and Silverio had at least 10 points and at least 5 rebounds. It was the second time this season and fourteenth time from 2010-2011 that we had at least four players do that. The previous time was at Duquesne.

[stuball888]

The teams depth is now showing. Bey and Simmons in the post are no longer a weakness for us. Killed them in the paint and on the boards. Like others have said by attacking the basket we opened up the 3 for us in the second half. Game was never in doubt.

[HUSID80]

Great road win. We are asserting ourselves as a top tier team in the CAA…LIKE WHAT I see from this team down the stretch.

[stuball888]

I guess Speedy and his staff knew what they were doing all along. Thats why we sit in the stands and they sit on the bench. Team just needed to get healthy and all the pieces are fitting very nicely now.

[joeg1]

We led by 10, but Ryan Allen made two threes in the last 42 seconds to go down 39-35. He became third in career points for them. After Burgess missed the rim for a shot clock violation, Delaware had 7.4 seconds, and I'm wondering if Burgess didn't expect Allen to shoot that soon. Estrada, Simmons, Silverio, Andrew Carr, and Jyare Davis are tied for the most points with 8. Simmons shot 4-5, but had only 2 rebounds. Silverio shot 2-6 but making 1 of 3 twos, 1 of 3 threes, and 3 free throws. He attempted a long three and got fouled. I wish I could find out where he ranks in the most times fouled while shooting a three. Estrada shot 3-8 including making both threes. He had 3 rebounds and no assists in 14 minutes, and he left after committing his second foul with 6:07 left and did not return. Iyiola committed a foul 30 seconds in, a foul 10 seconds later, and did not return. Simmons played most of the forward minutes with 14, and Cramer played 5. Cramer had 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 fouls. Dubar shot 3-3 to score 6, and had 3 rebounds. Burgess shot 2-5 and free throws 1-2 to score 5. He had 2 assists, and he was our only player with more than 1. Ray shot 1-5 to score 2. Cooks shot 0-4 to not score. He had 3 rebounds, and Delaware's announcer complained that he's 5'11'' and got an offensive rebound. We attempted 38 field goals, of which only 8 were threes, and we made 3. Both teams shot free throws well, but Delaware shot 12-14 to our 4-5. We had 9 more rebounds, and offensive rebounds were 9 to 1.

Edit: We're on a 7-2 run to start the half, and our 46-37 lead made Delaware call timeout. Estrada made 2 twos, and Ray made a three. In one first half possession, we missed 4 shots. Delaware quickly got an offensive rebound, which was as many as they had in the first half, but Jameer Nelson Jr. quickly missed a three to not get second chance points.

Edit: We went up 52-41. Jameer Nelson Jr. made two threes, but we made threes also and have the ball up 57-47 with 14:35 left. We made 4 of 5 threes in the half with 2 by Ray, 1 by Estrada, 1 by Dubar, and a miss by Burgess.

Edit: We lead 62-47 with 11:50 left. After committed 8 fouls in the first half, it took us 7:07 to commit a foul in the second half, and we just committed our second. Dylan Painter has 2 points in 10 minutes. Cooks hasn't scored. Delaware's announcer said it sounds like a library.

Brevity is a virtue

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[Wags]

I guess Speedy and his staff knew what they were doing all along. Thats why we sit in the stands and they sit on the bench. Team just needed to get healthy and all the pieces are fitting very nicely now.

How many times did past coaches have to mention it's a marathon, not a sprint? Be good in February, great in March.

I am glad everyone here is now back in off that January ledge.

[Wags]

UNCW 11-2
Towson 10-3
Hofstra 9-4

Realistically, two behind UNCW in the loss column and one behind Towson (really two since Towson swept HU) with five games left for HU, I think the thing to root for now (besides the obvious of HU finishing out strong with momentum heading to D.C. and holding on to at least third) is for Towson to overtake UNCW and finish first.

I think HU's best path is to avoid their worst matchup (Towson) until the finals, which would mean (2) UNCW vs. (3) Hofstra in the semis and then see if Towson would have trouble beating HU for a third time in the finals.

[EvanJ]

Cooks became our first player to go scoreless with at least 5 rebounds and at least 5 assists since Shemiye McLendon on January 12, 2011.

We outrebounded a team by at least 15 for the first time since a 96-88 win at Monmouth on December 15, 2020.

UNCW won at Towson and hosts Towson on Thursday. If UNCW wins hosting W&M on Monday and hosting Towson, UNCW will almost certainly finish first. We don't play Thursday, so if you pay for Flo you can watch what CAA game(s) you want.

[Wags]

UNCW won at Towson and hosts Towson on Thursday. If UNCW wins hosting W&M on Monday and hosting Towson, UNCW will almost certainly finish first. We don't play Thursday, so if you pay for Flo you can watch what CAA game(s) you want.

Towson at UNCW is on CBS SportsNetwork at 6 pm on Thursday.

Like UNCW at Hofstra last Monday on the same network, another big statement game in the CAA. But as Evan says, also with a huge impact on the top of the CAA standings.

[triplec2195]

A lot of talk and rightfully so re the games Estrada, Ray and even Simmons had but I want to give a shout out to Cooks who didn't score had a few in and outs but seemed selfless in setting up players 5 rebounds 5 assists and only two turnovers. He knew his shots weren't dropping but there weren't many forces from him and appeared very content getting assists. Also nobody really mentioned the game Cramer had after coming back missing numerous games. We really miss his game his over the top energy so in only 5 minutes he gets 3 boards all O rebounds a block and a thunderous dunk on an O rebound putback.

[triplec2195]

UNCW 11-2
Towson 10-3
Hofstra 9-4

Realistically, two behind UNCW in the loss column and one behind Towson (really two since Towson swept HU) with five games left for HU, I think the thing to root for now (besides the obvious of HU finishing out strong with momentum heading to D.C. and holding on to at least third) is for Towson to overtake UNCW and finish first.

I think HU's best path is to avoid their worst matchup (Towson) until the finals, which would mean (2) UNCW vs. (3) Hofstra in the semis and then see if Towson would have trouble beating HU for a third time in the finals.

Whoever the commentators were in the win over Drexel and at least one if not both were former coaches they were saying that US and Towson are the teams to beat in this conference with UNCW another team that has a shot. Anyone who saw the the loss to Towson I think will agree that we not only were outplayed in that game but if Timberlake is on they are a better team then us IMO. But the game after that game Timberlake wasn't good 0-9 from three in the next game. They beat us twice but can they beat us a third time?? It will certainly be an epic battle if it comes to pass.

[EvanJ]

Delaware's announcer pointed out that Estrada leads in points and assists, and only two players have led the CAA in points and assists. Both won POY and played in the NBA. They were Northeastern's Jose Juan Barea in 2005-2006, and VCU's Eric Maynor in 2008-2009.

Ray played in his 147th game. The NCAA Record Book lists the top 30 in career games, which goes down to 147. The record was 157, but six active players have at least 157, and the record is up to 165. I wonder how many spots in the top 30 will be by guys who played this season. The NCAA has the active leaders combining the divisions. SUNY Cortland has the active leader in rebounds per game, and SUNY Canton has the active leader in career blocked shots.

https://gohofstra.com/news/2022/2/12/me ... fstra.aspx is titled "MBB: Balanced Pride Attack Downs Blue Hens; Fourth Straight Win For Hofstra."

https://bluehens.com/news/2022/2/12/men ... fstra.aspx is titled "Blue Hens Drop 80-66 Home Contest To Hofstra."

Ryan Allen moved up to third in points for Delaware, but would rank eleventh if he played for us.

The CAA has three games tomorrow including W&M at UNCW at 2:00 P.M.

[Polito]

Gotta love this win, this team seems to be figuring some things out, settling into itself, and now that they are hopefully at full strength, can put this all together at the right time. I didn't give up on them, I refused to watch the nonsense in Jan anymore from a group that was highly underperforming and should be playing like it is now with all its talent. They clearly weren't ready in Jan, but here in Feb looking to see if they've got themselves together... and to their credit they are starting to show true form - very exciting and encouraging to see

Amazing that Cooks goes 0-fer - that should never happen - his entire skill set is firepower - disappointed in his game this late in the season when it all matters most, BUT as noted here, he did at least provide some other supportive elements, and the team compensated extremely well with numerous other dangerous offensive weapons - clearly that's the power of having everyone ready to go - having the full roster is a diff maker

Again, if Ray can manage to turn himself on Feb and Mar to compliment Estrada and bring the kind of impact he can and the team has been counting on all year, this group can do big things.

I don't want to count on Ray and Cooks having it at the same time, all the evidence is they won't, but A) they don't need to necessarily as long as the rest of the team makes up for it, and B) IF they ever do, and who knows perhaps they do come tourney time, then this team will win going away.

As it is, momentum is building just when you want to see it - very positive signs - still not the clear cut fav yet, but they could be on their way.