I appreciate what the CAA stands for.
Colonial Athletic Association.
It’s unique. Can’t think of another association out there in college hoops. And it’s Colonial. Back to the roots (but only the good parts of those roots, let’s hope).
The CAA Tournament begins later today, but the star of the show is playing coy and won’t be seen until tomorrow. Yes, Hofstra’s a bit shy these days, and that’s alright. We should get to know them well enough once they come out of their shell.
You may remember Hofstra from last year, when they put a scare into NC State a week before NC State lost to Lipscomb in the Game of the Century™. Yes, Hofstra nearly ruined that for us, but that’s alright too. We’ve removed the man primarily responsible (Justin Wright-Foreman, who’s now on a two-way contract with the Jazz) and had a good talk with head coach Joe Mihalich about foresight (his response, which was valid, was that Hofstra toned NCSU for the game to come [editor’s note: Joe Mihalich was not asked to comment on this matter—we have had no contact with Joe Mihalich, and also Wright-Foreman wasn’t removed he just graduated]). This year, Hofstra’s the Desure Buie show, and no, I don’t know how to pronounce that either.
Hofstra’s NIT chances caught a bad break with Northeastern and Towson playing each other in the first round, across the bracket from the Pride (that’s Hofstra, who used to be the Flying Dutchmen before one of the more unusual cases of political correctness went down twenty years ago). Still, one of those teams will make the semifinals, while Hofstra will have to deal with Delaware or the College of Charleston in their own semi’s. In short, Hofstra’s got chances to lose this.
If they do lose (which our model believes is quite likely), where they land in the bracket is anyone’s guess. It could depend where Rhode Island lands, or if Rhode Island lands in the field at all. It could depend on whether Siena makes an appearance. It could depend on a lot of things, so don’t pencil them in just yet, but remember they’re probably coming, somewhere between the six and the eight-line. Will they nearly ruin another historic contest? That remains to be seen. Will they rename themselves the Flying Dutchmen at our behest? I’m guessing no. But they’ll probably be coming over, so keep ‘em in mind as you plan the next few weeks of your life.
