By Kevin Carroll — SPORTS EDITOR
The CAA Tournament is just days away, and the field of competitors for this year’s tournament is as wide-open as it has been in recent memory. There are many different teams that could take home the coveted CAA title, and punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The Hofstra men’s basketball team heads down to Baltimore as the hottest team in the conference riding a six-game winning streak, including a thrilling come-from-behind victory over UNCW. The win allowed them to slide past the Seahawks in the standings, and secure the top seed in this weekend’s tournament.
But in a field this deep, while being the top seed is an advantage for the Pride, it is anything but a guarantee of victory.
No, to punch a ticket to the Big Dance this season, Hofstra is going to have to earn it. They will have to run a gauntlet that could potentially include a matchup with James Madison, who swept the Pride this season, as well as a possible rubber match with UNCW.
On paper, Hofstra comes in as the strongest team in the CAA. No other team could say that all five of its starters average in double-digit scoring figures. But the balanced attack of Juan’ya Green (17.7 points per game), Ameen Tanksley (15.6 PPG), Rokas Gustys (13.6 PPG), Brian Bernardi (12.5 PPG) and Denton Koon (11.6 PPG) is as formidable an attack as any in the conference right now.
Green and Gustys, in particular, have been the core of Hofstra this season. Green averages over seven assists and four rebounds per game, and has been receiving some much-deserved attention at the national level. Gustys, just a sophomore, has been a force on the glass, pulling down 12.7 rebounds a night, including two games in a row where the big man from Lithuania put up 20 points and 20 rebounds.
This starting five has held the bulk of the load on both sides of the ball for one reason: they don’t really have anybody else. With the loss of Malik Nichols due to a knee injury in January, the Pride only has eight active players on the roster. Only one of them, Desure Buie, averages more than five minutes per game. Meanwhile, the starters all log over 30 minutes per game, with Green routinely playing all 40 minutes.
This lack of depth could prove to be the Achilles’ heel for the Pride in the tournament. While other teams will be able to go to the bench to give players a rest, Hofstra could end up playing on three consecutive days without much bench support. This could prove fatal to the Pride.
But despite the small bench, head coach Joe Mihalich has his guys ready for the long haul, and the Pride has been cruising as of late.
What the Pride needs to do in order to raise the trophy and cut down the nets in Baltimore is close out games. Time and time again, Hofstra has watched late-game leads slowly slip away. In back-to-back games, the Pride blew double-digit second half leads to UNCW and James Madison, and narrowly escaped the same fate against Elon.
In a scenario where one loss could send the Pride home, it is crucial that the team holds onto leads late in the game.
What will also be crucial for Hofstra is the play of the supporting cast around Green and Gustys. With such a small team, an off-night from any one of the Pride could prove costly. Guys like Bernardi, Koon and Buie off the bench need to bring their A-game to the Royal Farms Arena, or risk seeing their season end in heartbreak.
Hofstra begins its quest for a CAA title Saturday afternoon, taking on the winner of Drexel-Elon at noon in the quarterfinals. If Hofstra can avoid the mistakes that have plagued it in the past and play three days of top-notch basketball, then on Monday night, Hofstra will win the CAA and secure a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
