CU Men's Basketball Preview - at Rensselaer/Skidmore (12/1-2)

Just four games into the season, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team will begin league play this weekend when the Golden Knights travel to the Capital District to take on Rensselaer and Skidmore.

Live Stats/Live Video - vs. Rensselaer
Live Stats/Live Video - vs. Skidmore

The Series vs. Rensselaer: The two teams have met 109 times since 1945-46, with the Golden Knights trailing in the series 35-73-1. Clarkson split with the Engineers last season, dropping an eight point decision on the road but rebounding for a nine point win at home at the end of January.

The Series vs. Skidmore: The Thoroughbreds lead 27-23 in the matchup and have dominated the series as of late. Clarkson won the second meeting in 2012-13, but besides that win for the Knights, Skidmore has won 15 times since the tail end of 2010.

Key Stats for Clarkson (2-2): The Golden Knights rank 23rd in the country in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 43.2% from the arc, which is also the best figure in the Liberty League. Three players are hitting better than 45% from the 3-point line, including Roburt Welch (58.8%), Liam Ellis (56.3%) and Matthew Hornak (45.8%), with each player having made at least nine 3-pointers so far.

Key Stats for Rensselaer (3-1): Andreas Kontopidis is averaging 19.0 points per game through four contests for the Engineers, with a season-low of 16 and a season-high of 22. Tom Horvat ranks third in free throw shooting (88.9%) and is also kicking in 16.3 points per game, including 20-point outings in each of his last two games. Kevin Davis (8.8 rpg) leads the conference in rebounding, while Marcus Giese (7.3 rpg) is eighth.

Key Stats for Skidmore (4-0): Not surprisingly, Edvinas Rupkus's name is littered all over the Liberty League leaderboard. The junior standout from Lithuania leads the conference in points (23.0 ppg), is tied for the lead in rebounding (8.8 rpg), ranks first in 3-point field goal percentage (61.5%) and also ranks in the top six in assists per game (5.5 apg), free throw percentage (85.7%), and field goal percentage (55.1%). Dakpe Yiljep barely trails Rupkus in a few categories, scoring 19.3 ppg with 7.3 rpg. He is also shooting 54.9% from the floor and 84.2% from the free throw line.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#3 Liam Ellis: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#20 Matthew Hornak: F; 6' 3"; Junior

#21 Roburt Welch: G; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Liam Ellis
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#20 Matthew Hornak
: 6' 3"; Junior
: F

#21 Roburt Welch
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: G

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#3 Liam Ellis

#20 Matthew Hornak

#21 Roburt Welch

Players Mentioned

#3 Liam Ellis

#20 Matthew Hornak

#21 Roburt Welch