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Tom Pecora isn’t much into crunching numbers. The Hofstra coach knows his team has a legitimate shot at an at-large NCAA Tournament bid for the simple facts that the Pride are 22-5, 14-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association and have an RPI of 37.

How all that relates and calculates to the selection process? Don’t ask.

“I’m not that smart. I didn’t pay enough attention in math class,” said Pecora, whose team will open the CAA Tournament Saturday in Richmond against either Virginia Commonwealth or William & Mary. “There truly is a formula out there and I’ll just leave it to the bracketology guys.

“That being said, I think the word is out that we’re pretty good.”

Especially at home. The Pride – who concluded the regular season with a 70-68 win over Drexel in Hempstead Saturday – have the nation’s second-longest home winning streak at 20. On Thursday, they recorded their first-ever win over a ranked team, a 77-66 decision over George Mason, which was No. 25 in the coaches poll at the time.

But where will all of this get them?

“I have no idea,” said Pecora, who was an assistant under Jay Wright when Hofstra last made the NCAA Tournament in 2001 after winning the America East title.

“You can think of 100 different scenarios. Some people say that the smaller conferences will get two or three teams in, but in the past, the power conferences have gotten the lion’s share of the bids. We just have to stress the importance of each game and know that winning will take care of everything.”

Three more wins, to be exact. Hofstra – the CAA’s No. 3 seed who has a bye into the quarterfinals – can eliminate all bubble talk and grab the league’s automatic bid if it racks up three tourney victories in 72 hours.

“Right now we are trying to win the CAA,” senior center Adrian Uter said. “You don’t play for an at-large bid.”

But they’ll certainly take it.

“If we get to the [CAA] championship game,” Pecora projected, “that’ll be two more wins. And with our RPI, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape.”

His math may be quite sharp after all.

HOFSTRA RESUME

OVERALL: 22-5

CAA: 14-4

*RPI: 37

SOS: 158

VS. TOP 50: 2-1

LAST 10: 9-1

COACH: Tom Pecora

* – Through Saturday.

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