One game does not a season make.
But being overmatched against Hofstra in its Colonial Athletic Association basketball opener was not a happy harbinger for Delaware on Thursday night at the Carpenter Center.
Fortunately for the Blue Hens, they have 17 more chances — the first back at home Saturday afternoon — to alter a disappointing first impression.
Hofstra never trailed in the 100th meeting between the long-time rivals, buttressing its 87-73 victory with 59-percent shooting.
Aaron Estrada, the 2022 CAA Player of the Year, came with a reputation and left with 31 points, while getting plenty of complementary support. Delaware has allowed 95 and now 87 points its last two games.
BOX SCORE: Hofstra 87, Delaware 73
“We just let them get too comfortable and confident on the offensive end,” Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said. “Obviously they’re a very talented team that can score the ball in bunches and they did kinda at will tonight against us.”
So what does this foretell for Delaware? Certainly, the Blue Hens will have to start stronger, play better, defend more passionately and get more out of their reserves, who provided all of four points. Despite its apparent faults, impressive nonconference wins over foes such as Colgate, Davidson and Princeton would appear to give Delaware top-five CAA potential. But it’ll be a challenge.
Two questions come naturally as the CAA men’s hoops schedule commences: Who are all these teams and can anyone stop Charleston?
Last year’s football-driven departure of James Madison for the Sun Belt Conference led to the expansion of the CAA from 10 schools to 13. North to south, Stony Brook, Monmouth, Hampton and North Carolina A & T are the newcomers.
That has created an imbalanced schedule where teams do not all play each other twice anymore. Everyone’s goal will be to place in the top four, which ensures having to win just three games to secure the title at the CAA Tournament March 3-7 at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.
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It also has created, it appears, a wider competitive gap than is typical in the CAA between top and bottom teams. The first five league games were each decided by 12 points or more.
Towson, rightfully, was a near unanimous favorite for the CAA title in the league’s preseason poll, with Delaware third. But someone else sits atop our re-adjusted prediction of how the CAA might look when March rolls around:
1-Charleston (13-1, 1-0)
Charleston was No. 53 nationally in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) computer rankings Thursday, and for good reason. The Cougars’ only loss is to North Carolina and they’ve beaten five 2022 NCAA tourney teams and three defending conference champions, including Virginia Tech. They are just the third CAA team to open 12-1 or better. Prolific 3-point shooting and rebounding have sparked the Cougars, who are thriving in coach Pat Kelsey’s fast-paced style and blitzed Hampton 89-61 Thursday. It’s truly been a team effort, with leading scorer Dalton Bolon at 12.8 ppg.
2-Towson (8-5, 0-0)
The Tigers deservedly had three preseason first-team All-CAA picks in Cam Holden, Charles Thompson and Nicolas Timberlake. Sure enough, Holden and Timberlake are both scoring more than 15 points per game and Thompson is at 13 ppg and 7.4 rebounds per game. Towson does have a win over UMass and tested Clemson. But going into Saturday’s CAA opener against visiting Charleston, Towson has lost in succession to Navy, Northern Iowa and Bryant.
3-UNCW (11-3, 1-0)
The Seahawks kicked off the league schedule Wednesday night prevailing 68-55 at Monmouth, their 10th win in a row. Coach Takayo Siddle has worked some magic with a roster featuring Trazarien White, the team leader in scoring (13.7) and rebounding (5.7), and sparkplug Shykeim Phillips and has benefitted from superior depth. Senior guard Maleeck Hardenm-Hayes recently scored 22 off the bench.
4-Hofstra (8-6, 1-0)
Estrada is having another banner year. He arrived at the Carpenter Center Thursday averaging a league-best 21.6 ppg, No. 9 nationally, while shooting 52 percent overall and 42.6 percent on 3-pointers and then outdid all those numbers. Hofstra does have the other 3-point threats it needs to complement him in its perimeter-oriented game, with Darlinstone Dunbar shooting 44.7 percent beyond the arc and Tyler Thomas scoring 20 against Delaware.
5-DELAWARE (8-6, 0-1)
The Blue Hens have two of the CAA’s best players in guard Jameer Nelson Jr. and forward Jyare Davis, the Sanford graduate who was 2022 league Rookie of the Year. They scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, against Hofstra. La Salle transfer Christian Ray has provided a major boost, especially as a rebounder. But Delaware’s lack of size and depth puts pressure on those three, and fellow starters L.J. Owens and Ebby Aasamoah, to perform well offensively and defensively, including on the boards. A top-four finish would be a worthy accomplishment but the Blue Hens are a long shot to repeat as CAA tourney winners.
6-Northeastern (5-7, 1-0)
The Huskies, who topped North Carolina A & T 88-76 Thursday, have rebounded and blocked shots better than they’ve made shots, with turnovers also a problem. Under coach Bill Coen, Northeastern is prone to improve. Jahmyl Telfort remains among the CAA’s better backcourt men, Alexander Nwagha is an imposing post presence and Chris Doherty’s return from an injury makes Northeastern better. He had 19 points Thursday. The Huskies need other contributors to step up, as freshman swingman Jared Turner has of late.
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7-Drexel (7-6, 1-0)
Defense has keyed the Dragons, as their 62.2 points allowed per game was 44th best nationally entering Thursday. Then they beat Elon 62-50. Amari Williams has proven to be a reliable scorer and rebounder inside, leading Drexel in both categories. To crack the CAA’s upper half, Drexel needs Coletrane Washington and its other perimeter players to flourish.
8-William & Mary (5-8, 0-0)
Grad transfer Anders Nelson has provided a spark, leading the CAA with 5.2 assists per game and scoring a team-high 11.0 ppg. Noah Collier is among the league’s leading rebounders at 8.6 while he’s also scoring 9.3. Ben Wight (10.5 ppg) is among the CAA’s more reliable short-range shooters. The Tribe could be a spoiler, though not a title contender.
9-North Carolina A & T (5-9, 0-1)
The Aggies have fared better than some may have expected after an August coaching change. They’ve banked on defense and 3-point shooting but remain a long shot to beat the league’s better teams. North Carolina A & T does have two of the league’s top dozen scorers and percentage shooters in Kam Woods (17.3) and Marcus Watson (14.0).
10-Stony Brook (4-9, 0-0)
Stony Brook features the CAA’s leading rebounder in Frankie Policelli (10.0), who has also made 24 3-pointers. Tyler Stephenson-Moore (14.9 ppg) warrants defensive attention, though don’t foul him as his 89.4 free-throw percentage leads the league. But difficulty scoring has been part of the Seawolves’ troubles.
11-Hampton (3-10, 0-1)
The Pirates have been very good at getting to the foul line, though success there and other areas eludes them. Jordan Nesbitt is among the league leaders in both scoring (15.3) and rebounding (7.7).
12-Monmouth (1-13, 0-1)
The Hawks continue to struggle with their revamped lineup under veteran coach King Rice, who steered them to three MAAC regular-season titles the last seven years and 21 wins last season. Monmouth has lost most of its games in lopsided fashion while shooting and defending poorly and not getting many rebounds either.
13-Elon (2-12, 0-1)
The Phoenix, who visit Delaware on Saturday afternoon, take a lot of 3-point shots but don’t make very many (29.5 percent), which is just one of their problems under first-year coach Billy Taylor, a former head coach at Lehigh and Ball State who’ll need some time.
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.
