Hofstra hosted Delaware won by 45 after being favored by 10.5. Hofstra led 48-18 at halftime, which would have been enough to win without scoring in the second half. Justin Wright-Foreman scored 29 in 29 minutes. Hofstra used all 12 players, and substitute Jalen Ray led in minuted with 30. Eli Pemberton scored 17 in his return after missing one game due to injury. Wright-Foreman made 5 of 6 threes, but Pemberton missed both of his. Pemberton made 15 threes in his first 7 games, but in his last 6 games he has made 1 and 0 three times each. Tareq Coburn was Hofstra’s third and final double-digit scorer with 12. Desure Buie had 9 points and 5 assists. Forwards Jacquil Taylor and Dan Dwyer shoot well, but rarely shoot. Taylor made 1 of 2 field goals and scored 2 in 20 minutes. He had 12 rebounds, which made him the only double-digit rebounder on either team. Dan Dwyer did not attempt a shot in 11 minutes, and he had only 1 rebound. Taylor averages 5.6 points with a field goal percentage of .654, and Dwyer averages 3.2 points with a field goal percentage of .609. Delaware’s Eric Carter was averaging 19.5 points and 10.2 rebounds. He committed his third foul with fewer than 11 minutes played, and he finished with 7 points and 8 rebounds. Nobody scored in double-digits for Delaware, with Matt Veretto leading them with 9. Ryan Allen and Kevin Anderson scored 8 each, but Allen made 3 of 10 field goals and Anderson made 1 of 9. Ithiel Horton led all players with 30 minutes, and he missed all 10 of his field goals and didn’t score. While Ray and Horton both played 30 minutes, Horton played 30:14 and Ray played 29:34.
Hofstra made 15 of 19 free throws (.789), had only 10 turnovers (which didn’t lead to any Delaware points), and had Delaware make 5 of 24 threes (.208). Hofstra leads the CAA and is third of 353 Division I teams in free throw percentage at .793, has the second fewest turnovers per game in the CAA at 11.8, leads the CAA in opponents’ three-point field goal percentage at .308. If a team makes free throws, doesn’t commit turnovers, and doesn’t let opponents make threes, it should be able to hold onto leads.
In a game between the bottom two CAA teams in some rankings, Elon led by 3 at halftime hosting Towson, before Towson had a big second half to win 77-60. Steven Santa Ana and Sheldon Eberhardt returned from injuries for Elon. Northeastern, who was picked first in the CAA in the preseason poll, won 93-83 hosting Drexel. William & Mary, who was picked fourth, won 79-74 hosting James Madison. College of Charleston, who was picked second, plays their first CAA game at UNC Wilmington tonight. With travel partners, Hofstra and Northeastern switch opponents, with Hofstra hosting Drexel tomorrow and Northeastern hosting Delaware. Hofstra and Northeastern will have played equally difficult CAA schedules after every weekend.
Hofstra’s big margin of victory makes them the best CAA team in the Sagarin in 88th and in KenPom in 90th. In the NET rankings made by the NCAA, College of Charleston leads in 65th and Hofstra is 85th.
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