CU Men's Basketball Preview - at Hobart/RIT (2/12-13)

Men's Basketball 2/10/2016 10:20:00 AM February 10, 2016

CU Men's Basketball Preview - at Hobart/RIT (2/12-13)

Some separation has occurred in the Liberty League standings, but a rough stretch by the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team has created a situation where the Golden Knights will need a strong run finish if they hope to extend their season into the conference tournament. The Golden Knights will look to get back on track this weekend against a pair of teams in a similar spot as the Green and Gold.

Clarkson, 8-11 overall and 5-7 in the Liberty League, takes on Hobart on Friday evening and then Rochester Institute of Technology on Satuday afternoon. Both teams are also currently outside the top four and each needs a sweep, just like the Knights.

The Golden Knights have lost five of their last six games, and only once in that stretch has Clarkson shot better than 30 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, the one game the Knights won. Clarkson is shooting just 29.7% from beyond the 3-point arc, the first time the team has been below 32 percent since the 2009-10 season. Felix Abongo leads the team in scoring (14.0 points per game) and rebounding (6.8 rebounds per game) to go along with 2.2 assists per contest. Forward Derek Hart is second in the conference in field goal percentag at 56.5% and leads the league in blocked shots with 46. The junior is second on the team in both scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg). Conrad Zampier (10.9 ppg) and Drew Zlogar (8.7 ppg) are also contributing on offense.

Like Clarkson, Hobart (9-12, 5-7) has struggled as of late, dropping four of its past five games. The Statesmen live and die by the 3-pointer, as 38.8% of their scoring comes from beyond the arc and the team takes and makes more 3-pointers than any other team in the conference. Not surprisingly, the Statesmen are last in field goal percentage overall (39.5%) but do rank third in long distance shots (34.4%) in the league. Hobart's top three scorers are all freshmen, and Jamal Lucas is making a case for conference Rookie of the Year honors, averaging 16.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Colin Dougherty chips in 11.7 points per contest and Matt Walsh is averaging 8.1 ppg.

After starting the conference schedule off at 3-0, Clarkson defeated RIT in early January and that seems to have sent the team into a tailspin as the Tigers are now just 10-11 overall and 6-6 in the Liberty League. The Tigers are in a less precarious conference position than Clarkson and Hobart, as they sit just one game out of the top four entering the weekend. AJ Horde is enjoying an excellent sophomore campaign, averaging 20.1 points, 4.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game, with the former two figures leading the conference. Kamron Davis is tossing in 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting 51.0% from the floor, and Mitch Herman is the top 3-point shooter in the conference at 49.1%, averaging 9.2 points per game. The Tigers rank second in the conference in scoring at 74.1 ppg, but are dead last in points allowed at 74.5 ppg.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#42 Derek Hart: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#23 Conrad Zampier: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#21 Drew Zlogar: F; 6' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#14 Felix Abongo
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#42 Derek Hart
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#23 Conrad Zampier
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#21 Drew Zlogar
: 6' 6"; Junior
: F