The Hofstra Pride men’s basketball team is playing perhaps their best basketball of the season right now. Following a pair of back-to-back blowout victories over Monmouth University and the University of Delaware, the Pride are riding a four-game winning streak into a crucial conference battle with the Towson University Tigers on Monday.
Towson and Hofstra entered this season as the class of the Colonial Athletic Association, as they were projected to finish first and second, respectively, in the preseason conference poll. After a mediocre 6-6 start to the season, it appears that Speedy Claxton and the Hofstra are finally hitting their stride and playing up to expectations, with wins in six of their last seven contests. Hofstra currently holds a 4-1 record in conference play and has defeated CAA opponents by an average of 18 points. However, the Pride will need to overcome their demons on the road if they want to keep up their torrid pace. Hofstra is just 5-6 on the road this season and will play six of their final 12 games away from home.
While Hofstra’s season appears to be taking off after a rocky start, Towson’s campaign seems to be heading in the opposite direction. After beginning the season 8-1, the Tigers have since dropped five straight games and opened CAA play with a middling 3-2 record. The Tigers are led by the senior trio of Cam Holden, Charles Thompson and Nicholas Timberlake, all of whom earned first-team all-conference honors prior to the season. All three stars have seen their scoring averages hit double figures this year, with Timberlake leading the way with 15.4 points per game.
With Timberlake handling much of the scoring, Holden is Towson’s primary facilitator on offense and leads the conference averaging 4.7 assists while also pouring in 14.5 points per game. The Tigers have assisted on 56.4% of their made field goals this season, the highest percentage in the conference by a wide margin. Much like the Pride, the Tigers are a dangerous team on the perimeter as they shoot a conference-best 40% from three-point range against CAA teams. Defensively, Towson excels at putting pressure on ball handlers and generating steals, as they’ve forced turnovers on a 20% of their defensive possessions, with Holden leading the charge in that department with 2.2 steals per game, which places him within the top three in the conference.
Throughout their recent string of success, Hofstra has developed into an offensive juggernaut with scoring threats all over the floor as the Pride has taken on a much more balanced attack in recent games than they had earlier this season. Throughout their four-game winning streak, the Pride has had four scorers hit double figures in every game. Entering Monday, Hofstra ranks first among CAA teams in offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage and turnover margin since the beginning of conference play.
Tip-off from SECU Arena is scheduled for noon on Monday. FloHoops will have video coverage, while an audio-only broadcast will be available on 88.7FM WRHU. Live stats can be found on GoHofstra.com
Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman/The Hofstra Chronicle
