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Hofstra Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Pride

By Jason Burgess

BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 07: Flags of the schools line the wall during the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship college basketball game tournament between the North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks and the Hofstra Pride at Royal Farms Arena on March 7, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MARCH 07: Flags of the schools line the wall during the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship college basketball game tournament between the North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks and the Hofstra Pride at Royal Farms Arena on March 7, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Season Outlook for Hofstra

As I’ve said, Hofstra is the third best team in the CAA behind Northeastern and Charleston, but the distance separating the top three teams is not that great. Over the past three seasons, the Pride has played .500 against those two teams, but a closer examination shows that the record is a tale of two different teams. One version has gone 5-1 against Northeastern in that time while going 1-5 against Charleston, and not having beat the Cougars since February of 2016. Despite the 1-5 record, however, the last four meetings have been decided by an average of 4.25 points.

While Mihalich’s squad will have to take care of business against the rest of the conference, like they did last season, going 11-3, their success in 2018 will likely come down to three of key factors. The first is whether or not they can tighten the reigns defensively to help their potent offense.

Next. Preseason Top-25 for 2018-19. dark

Second, will the rotation be any deeper than last season, potentially taking some pressure off the starters, and in particular the backcourt of Wright-Foreman and Pemberton. Lastly, how they fare against Charleston and Northeastern will indicate whether the Pride is ready to join them at the top or if a top-two finish is still a hurdle they can’t quite overcome.