Preview: Hofstra men's basketball goes to battle against UDel at CAA quarterfinals

The Hofstra University men’s basketball team will be taking the floor at the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) tournament on Sunday, March 10, as the Pride goes to battle with the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens.

Delaware, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, picked up a win over the last-place Hampton University Pirates.

Hofstra concluded the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the CAA, having won four of their last five games and eight of their last 10. During that stretch, CAA Player of the Year Tyler Thomas averaged 24.1 points per game, including a 34-point performance in a loss at Drexel University.

Outside of Thomas, point guard Jaquan Carlos continues to be a steady hand for head coach Speedy Claxton’s team. Carlos has facilitated throughout all areas of the court all season long, leading the team in assists with 6.4 per game, good for 13th amongst all Division I players.

Delaware may face a more difficult path in reaching the CAA championship than the Pride, but the Blue Hens’ dominant 30-point win over Hampton was the most points Delaware has scored in a game this season since Feb. 3.

Delaware’s 80-point outing was highlighted by a cutthroat first-half performance, outscoring Hampton 51-16.c

Guard Gerald Drumgoole Jr. led the Blue Hens with 17 points in only 16 minutes of action, as Delaware went deep into their bench after the game became out of reach in quick fashion. Forward Jyare Davis, Delaware’s leading scorer this season with 17.5 points per game, put up only nine points in the victory.

Despite the slow start, Davis has been a double-double threat since opening day in November, tallying eight this season, most recently in the season finale at Stony Brook University with 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Off the bench, guard Jalun Trent added 12 points and seven rebounds, up from his typical eight-point and three-rebound averages.

It may be win or go home for most teams in March, but for mid-major conference tournaments across the country, the unlikeliness of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament provides an even bigger do-or-die approach for alike teams. Hofstra and Delaware are no different.

For Hofstra, this is their first step in trying to reach the Big Dance since 2001, a team that coincidentally was led by Claxton. Delaware’s last NCAA appearance was in 2022.

Tip-off from the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., is set for 8:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco