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Hofstra
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
The Pride entered the NCAA Tournament as the answer to a trivia question in many newspapers around the country: "Who has the longest current winning streak in the nation?" Yep, it was Hofstra – 18 in a row. Hofstra beat Delaware for the second straight season in the America East title game. And, once again, it followed the lead of the conference player of the year, Norman Richardson, who scored 20 points in a 68-64 victory over the Blue Hens. The title game win came on the Pride's home court where they have won 36 of 37 games. But Hofstra won a nation-best 12 games on the road this season, including wins over Rutgers and St. John's. After losing Speedy Claxton to the NBA as a first-round draft pick of the 76ers, the team formerly known as the "Flying Dutchmen" changed its name but not its title: American East champions. This was Hofstra's second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Pride put up a good fight against UCLA in Round 1, but a late run by the Bruins ended the nation's longest winning streak. Player to Watch Norman Richardson was asked to fill the void left with Speedy Claxton's departure. The 6-5 forward plays a different game, but was just as much a leader for the Pride in earning America East player of the year honors. Richardson scored a team-high 16.7 points a game and added six rebounds per night. He scored in double figures in 27 of 30 games.With the Ball The Pride will struggle at times to score, but look to push the ball and run their offense through Richardson. Tournament teams will keep at least one man on the Pride's go-to guy, so look for the backcourt of sophomore Rick Apodaca (12.0 ppg) and Jason Hernandez (12.3 ppg) to get open shots from the perimeter. Both can shoot and be effective in the offense. But if the Pride is going to pull off an upset in the first round, Richardson is going to have to be the point man. Defending the Ball The Pride, well, prides itself on playing tight man-to-man defense, but will go to a matchup zone. The switch to zone held Delaware scoreless over three late minutes in the title game. Hofstra led the America East in field-goal defense, holding teams to under 40-percent shooting on the season.Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed None. Playing to Expecations Falling Short None. BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: 1.000 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report1985-2000: Hofstra makes its second straight appearance in the tournament and just the fourth in school history. The Pride were one-and-done a year ago, and were also winless as representatives of the East Coast Conference in 1977 and 1978. The NCAA did not begin seeding the entire bracket until 1979. In addition, no Patriot League representative has won an NCAA game (0-9).Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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