The Hofstra men’s basketball team opened their season on Monday, Nov. 7, when they travelled to Princeton to take on the Tigers. It was the opening game for both teams in their upcoming 2022-23 campaign.

The Pride is coming off of a 21-11 record in the 2021-22 season; however, Hofstra was unable to make any noise in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament, being soundly defeated by the College of Charleston in their opening game.

Aaron Estrada, the CAA Preseason Player of the Year, enters his second and final year with the Pride with high expectations. Estrada is joined by Darlinston Dubar, who was voted as an honorable mention on the all-CAA preseason team. Estrada and Dubar will be critical to any success the Pride hope to see this season. The Pride were chosen to finish second in the preseason coaches’ poll.

Monday’s game was Hofstra’s first meeting against the Tigers since their game last season at home, where the Pride were victorious 81-77. Last year, Estrada led the scoring for the Pride, playing the entire game and logging 20 points. Dubar wasn’t far behind him, scoring 15 of his own.

Princeton enters the season following a 23-7 campaign in 2021-22. Although the Tigers were Ivy League Regular Season Champions, they were unable to get through their conference tournament, falling to Yale University in the semifinals of the Ivy League tournament. While the Tigers did participate in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), they were defeated in the first round by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) .

Like the Pride, the Tigers were projected to finish second in the Ivy League coaches’ poll. Reigning Ivy League player of the year Tosan Evbuomwan will look to get the season started strong for the Tigers, as he hopes to build off of a very strong 2021-22 campaign. The Princeton Tigers are hoping to go one step further in 2023.

Both the Pride and Tigers looked to get off to strong starts this season. This was the first opportunity to see both freshman and transfers in action for their new teams. Although it is early, both teams have high expectations this season.

Photo Courtesy of Evan Bernstein/Hofstra Athletics