CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. Rensselaer/Skidmore (11/30-12/1)

By: November 29, 2018

Connor Koehler

Men's Basketball | 11/29/2018 1:15:00 PM

After four games on the road, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team will be glad to be back at Alumni Gymnasium this weekend as the Golden Knights open Liberty League play against Rensselaer and Skidmore on Friday and Saturday.

Live Stats/Live Video

The Series vs. Rensselaer: The two teams have met 111 times over the last several decades, with Clarkson winning 36 times. Each team won at home in 2017-18, the Engineers winning 77-66 in December and Clarkson gaining a 102-92 overtime victory at Alumni Gym in February.

The Series vs. Skidmore: Clarkson has lost 11 straight to the Thoroughbreds, including two double-digit defeats in 2017-18 (77-60, 80-67). Skidmore's streak has allowed the Thoroughbreds to take a 29-23 edge in the all-time series.

Key Stats for Clarkson (0-5): In five games, four different players have led the Golden Knights in scoring. Liam Ellis had 38 of his 46 points in the first two games of the season to lead the Green and Gold, but Matthew Hornak, Matt Higgins, and Chris Hulbert have led Clarkson in the last three games. Higgins is firmly out of his early season slump, having shot 50.0% from the floor over the last two games after opening the season on a 5-for-33 skid. Hulbert scored 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the 3-point line against SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday evening.

Key Stats for Rensselaer (3-2): Opponents are struggling in all facets of offense against Rensselaer so far, shooting just 35.0% from the floor and 24.8% from the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, the Engineers have various options on offense, including senior Tom Horvat (16.6 ppg), senior Andreas Kontopidis (13.8 ppg) and sophomore Patrick Mahoney (13.8 ppg). Horvat is shooting 44.4% (16-for-36) from the 3-point line to rank among the conference leaders. Senior Marcus Giese is also off to a strong start with 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Key Stats for Skidmore (1-2): The Thoroughbreds returned many players from last year's squad and rank among the favorites in the league for 2018-19, but surprisingly just two players are being used as the focal point of the team's offense. Noah Meren and Edvinas Rupkus have taken 84 of the team's 178 total shots and 48 of the team's 76 free throws, but with good reason. The duo is shooting a collective 52.4% from the field as compared to 29.8% for the rest of the team, and 81.3% from the free throw line. Meren is averaging 27.3 points per game, including 39 points against Hartwick in the team's last outing, while Rupkus is the conference's leader in rebounds at 9.7 per game. He also ranks fifth in the conference in scoring at 18 points per contest.

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Players Mentioned

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

#30 Matt Higgins: G; 6' 3"; Junior

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

#12 Chris Hulbert: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#30 Matt Higgins
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

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

#12 Chris Hulbert
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G