Hello there and welcome to the FloHoops version of 'I’ll Be Quirky,' which is a feature I debuted on my Hofstra blog, Defiantly Dutch, during the 2016-17 season. 

I went to Hofstra from 1993 until my graduation in 1996 and covered the basketball team, then nicknamed the Flying Dutchmen, as it transitioned from the legendary Butch van Breda Kolff to some sharp-dressed youngster named Jay Wright. 

Whatever happened to that guy?

Anyway, Hofstra hoops was a passion then and remains one more than two decades after my graduation. As a sportswriter with nearly 30 years of experience, another passion is record-keeping and trying to put a team’s current achievements into a historical context. The inspiration for 'I’ll Be Quirky' comes from my friend Eric Hornick, who is the statistician for the New York Islanders and authors The Skinny, a collection of news, notes and stats about the Islanders, after every game.

I knew I wanted to give this feature a distinctive name, much like Eric gave to his, and “I’ll Be Quirky” was born as I was watching The Simpsons episode “Hungry Hungry Homer” for about the 100th time. 

Homer, the only person in town to realize the Springfield Isotopes baseball team is planning to move to Albuquerque, is told by Bart he spent the previous night yelling at the swing-set. Homer responds “You know me, occasionally I’ll be quirky” before realizing “I’ll be quirky” sounds an awful lot like “Albuquerque.” 

In other words, hope you all like Simpsons references!

My goal, here, with the FloHoops version of “I’ll Be Quirky” is to provide that contextual look at the Flying Dutchmen, err, Pride in a way that both glances back at the games of the previous week and looks ahead at the week to come — all in a way that appeals to the broad audience of CAA hoops fans. 

If you are interested in deeper dives (and more references to the Flying Dutchmen and the first season of “Friends”), check out my blog every game day. Thanks for reading and enjoy the season!

Win Some, Lose Some

The Pride are 2-2 after alternating losses with wins over their first four games. Hofstra fell to San Jose State, 79-71, in the season opener Nov. 6 and to Bucknell, 86-71, in its first road game last Wednesday. The Pride cruised to home wins over Monmouth (94-74 on Nov. 9) and Division II New York Tech (111-69 last Friday).

The 2-2 start is the 30th time Hofstra has split its first four games. The Pride was most recently 2-2 last season.

For Openers

The Pride lost its season and home opener for the first time since the 2013-14 season, which was Joe Mihalich’s first year at the helm. Hofstra has lost its road opener in each of the last four seasons.

Ken Pom Ponderings

The Pride entered its season opener as the top-ranked CAA team at KenPom.com. But Hofstra has fallen from 123rd to 153rd (as of the completion of last night’s games) over the first four games, the biggest drop among CAA teams. The Pride is still third among CAA teams at KenPom.com, just behind Northeastern (144) and Towson (145).

Extending The Non-Division I Win Streak

With last Friday’s win over New York Tech, the Pride has won its last 20 games against non-Division I foes dating back to a 70-54 loss to Florida Southern during the 1988-89 season. Hofstra has faced a non-Division I foe in each of the last five seasons. 

Who Has The Longest Double-Digit Scoring Streak Now?

As you may have heard, Justin Wright-Foreman enjoyed a monstrous final three seasons at Hofstra before he graduated and was drafted by the Utah Jazz in June. Wright-Foreman ended his Pride career by scoring in double figures in his final 88 games, a school and CAA record. 

The longest streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts now belongs to Jalen Ray, who scored 19 points last Friday and has reached at least 10 points in each of his last five games dating back to the NIT loss to North Carolina State last season.

What's A Unicorn Score And How Many Do The Pride Have Thus Far?

A unicorn score is a score by which the Pride have never won before. Both wins this season are unicorn scores, keeping alive the dream of a unicorn season! Hofstra had 10 unicorn scores last season. 

The term unicorn score was coined by New York Mets superfan, historian and blogger Greg Prince to describe a score by which the Mets had never previously won. 

Pemberton's Pace

Senior guard Eli Pemberton moved into 11th place on Hofstra’s all-time scoring list last Friday, when he scored eight points against New York Tech to leapfrog both Leroy Allen and Frank Walker. 

Pemberton has 1,441 points. Norman Richardson, who scored 1,677 points from 1997 through 2001, ranks 10th.

Give Buie A Hand

Senior guard Desure Buie moved into a tie for seventh place on Hofstra’s all-time assist list last Friday, when he collected 11 assists against New York Tech. Buie and Loren Stokes (2003-07) each have 377 assists. Juan’ya Green ranks sixth with 463 assists.

Going Back To Cali

The Pride embarks on what is by some standards its longest road trip ever this week, when it visits UCLA Thursday and Cal-State Fullerton Sunday to begin a three-game California swing and a stretch of six straight games away from home. 

Hofstra, which completes the California portion of the trip by visiting San Diego next Wednesday, last played consecutive road games in California in December 1989, when the then-Flying Dutchmen fell to Long Beach State, 89-69 on Dec. 28 and to Fresno State, 69-48, two days later.

Hofstra has not played three consecutive road games in the same state since January 1975, when the Flying Dutchmen went 1-2 with a 77-61 win over Florida Southern sandwiched between losses to Florida State (107-71) and Jacksonville (87-68).

The Pride is 0-4 against current Pac 12 schools. UCLA is the only Pac-12 opponent Hofstra has faced more than once. The Dutchmen opened the 1979-80 season with a 90-71 loss to UCLA. The Bruins knocked Hofstra out of the 2001 NCAA Tournament with a come-from-behind 61-48 win. It was the final game at Hofstra for Jay Wright, who was named Villanova’s head coach following the season.

The game against Cal-State Fullerton marks the back end of a home-and-home with the Titans. Hofstra earned an 80-71 win last Nov. 21. The Pride is 3-4 against current Big West schools.