March Madness: 3 takeaways from Hofstra's loss to Alabama in the NCAA Tournament
Hofstra's Preston Edmead celebrates a three-point basket against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Getty Images/Mike Carlson
TAMPA. Fla. — Three takeaways from No. 13 Hofstra’s 90-70 loss to No. 4 Alabama in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday:
1. The Pride showed up, and not just on the court
There were plenty of Hofstra fans among the 17,769 inside Benchmark International Arena, most of whom stood the entire game. And when their team was up by 10 midway through the first half, it was a raucous party for them (plus the non-Alabama fans who were just rooting for a chaotic upset). “We felt like we were the high-major spanking a mid-major,” German Plotnikov said of the atmosphere when Hofstra had its double-digit lead. Added Cruz Davis: “It was great seeing all the fans. There was so much energy in the crowd. It was so loud you couldn’t really hear your coaches talking on the court. It was something different. It was electric out there.”
2. Closer than it seemed
The 20-point loss tied for the most lopsided in Hofstra’s limited NCAA Tournament history (Speedy Claxton’s 2000 team lost its first-round game to Oklahoma State, 86-66), but Hofstra was able to close within five points of the lead four times in the final nine minutes. “We just couldn’t get any stops,” Davis said. “Any time we would score, they would just come right back down and score, and you can’t win like that. We have to get stops there and we couldn’t get one.” After a steal and dunk by Plotnikov made it 64-59, Alabama answered with a three-shot possession that ended with a three-pointer from Labaron Philon Jr. When Davis’ slashing layup made it 71-66 with 4:49 left, Alabama responded with 14 straight points. “I truly believe if we would have got the stop, got the rebound and maybe got a score, it would have changed things,” Claxton said. “I wish we could have seen that.”
3. The final score wasn’t the only thing that turned ugly late
With a little more than two minutes left, Alabama’s Taylor Bol Bowen and Hofstra’s Biggie Patterson wrestled for a rebound off a free throw, and after they tied each other up, Hofstra’s Victory Onuetu body-checked Bowen and knocked him down. Onuetu was called for a technical on the late hit, his fifth and final foul of the game. Alabama coach Nate Oats chalked it up to Hofstra’s disappointment. “They came in expecting to win, and you could tell that,” he said. “So I think they got frustrated a little late.”
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.
