Led by star guard Cruz Davis, Hofstra basketball hopes to become the true Cinderella of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
If you look back at Hofstra’s non-conference slate, you’d probably be shocked to find out they only went 12-6 in the CAA. The Pride took down Pitt and Syracuse on the road and were within range of knocking off UCF, a 10-seed in this very tournament.
But CAA play turned out to have a very rough patch, as Hofstra dropped five games in a row from Jan. 15-29. They’ve only lost once since, and now seem like the same team that handled a few Power Conference teams back in the early part of the season.
How they got there:
Of course, to make it to March Madness, Hofstra basketball had to win a few games in the CAA Tournament. They obliterated 6-seed William & Mary by 31 points, followed by a much closer overtime win against Towson. In the finals, the Pride got past 4-seed Monmouth, capturing their first NCAA Tournament bid since Jay Wright was the head coach.
General information:
Team: Hofstra
Location: Hempstead, N.Y.
Record: 24-10 (12-6)
Head Coach: Speedy Claxton (5th season overall, all at Hofstra)
What to know about Hofstra basketball:
Cruz Davis isn’t just Hofstra’s best player, but one of the best mid-major players in the country. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.6 assists, and shot a tick below 40% from three during the season. Now, he’s looking to explode against an Alabama team also known for putting the ball in the bucket.
The Pride also found a star freshman in Preston Edmead. The 6-foot-1 guard is like a second coming of Davis, second on the team in PPG and APG, and also a deadly three-point shooter. Together, the guard duo for Hofstra can go off on any given night.
Forward play isn’t as big a part of their offense, but Silas Sunday and Victory Onuetu are both solid rebounders, helping Hofstra rank 29th in the country in RPG.
Defensively, Hofstra also gets after it, only allowing 66.1 PPG on the year. They’ll need every ounce of that to take down Bama.
NCAA Tournament prediction for Hofstra basketball: Sweet 16 exit
Seed: 13
So can Hofstra put together a game and take down the Crimson Tide? I’m loving their chances.
Not only do they have the makeup to keep pace with Alabama’s scoring show, but with Aden Holloway out due to being arrested for weed possession, that leaves one less very key contributor to worry about.
If Hofstra’s defense can show up and honestly keep the Crimson Tide below 85 points, they’ll have a good chance.
And past that, in a draw with Akron and Texas Tech, I actually like them to move on to the second weekend.
We gotta have one Cinderella!