March Madness: 3 keys for Hofstra against Alabama at the NCAA Tournament
Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu, right, grabs a rebound during practice at the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
Hofstra, the No. 13 seed in the Midwest Regional, will play No. 4 Alabama on Friday in Tampa. Here are three keys to the game for the Pride:
Keep Alabama under 80
Hofstra needs to find a way to slow down an Alabama offense that averages a scorching 91.7 points per game, tops in the nation. The Crimson Tide being without their second-leading scorer — Aden Hollaway was arrested on felony drug charges earlier this week and is not with the team in Tampa — will help. Holding Alabama to Hofstra’s own stellar defensive average of 66.1 points allowed per game (18th best in the country) seems like a long shot, but if the Pride can at least split the difference and keep Alabama under 80, they should have a shot . . . especially given that Alabama allows 83.5 points per game.
No second chances
Don’t expect many shot clock violations from Alabama. It fires the ball at the rim at a frantic pace. Limiting it to one shot per possession will be critical for Hofstra, and that means the front line of 7-footer Silas Sunday and 6-10 Victory Onuetu will have to rebound (each averages 6.9 per game). “We’ll try to attack the glass,” coach Speedy Claxton said. “We know they are bigger than us, but we’re not going to change our style of play.”
Don’t be overwhelmed
Hofstra hasn’t played in the NCAA Tournament in 25 years and this is the first time here for most of the players. It’ll be easy to be in awe of the surroundings. The Pride will have to fight through that and settle in to treat this as a “normal” game. “Soak everything in,” freshman guard Preston Edmead said on Thursday. “But it all goes away the moment you step on the court. You're just playing basketball.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
