CU Men's Basketball Preview - at Plattsburgh State (1/4)

By: January 2, 2020

Men's Basketball | 1/2/2020 8:02:00 AM

After a three-week layoff, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team will return to action on Saturday for its final non-league contest of the year when the team travels to take on Plattsburgh State.

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The Series: Plattsburgh has controlled the matchup dating back to the 2003-04 campaign when the Cardinals began a stretch of 11 wins in 12 meetings, but the two teams are very close overall, with the Knights winning 23 of 50 games. Last season, the two teams combined for 200 points with Plattsburgh coming away with a 105-95 win. Clarkson had six players in double figures but the Cardinals saw three players eclipse 20.

Key Stats for Clarkson (3-6): The 95 points which Clarkson scored against the Cardinals last year were the most the team produced in a regulation loss since the 2004-05 season-opener against MCLA. On the positive side, the 95 points Clarkson tallied also were the most the team produced in a regulation game since the final game of the 2011-12 season. Senior Matt Higgins will be seeking his 1000th career point on Saturday as he currently sits at 999. He almost reached the figure in 2019 with a career-best 30 points against Utica on December 14, and Higgins is averaging 13.6 points per game. Higgins is one of three players averaging double figures for the Knights along with sophomores Chris Hulbert (17.4 ppg) and Reese Swedberg (13.0 ppg). Swedberg leads the team in rebounding (8.2 rpg) by a wide margin, but the second-place player is Barryn Shark (4.0 rpg). The senior point guard is also chipping in 4.2 points per game and ranks second in the Liberty League with 5.1 assists per contest.

Key Stats for Plattsburgh State (3-4): The Cardinals have essentially rolled with the same rotation throughout the 2019-20 season, with six players averaging 24 minutes per game and no other player gaining more than eight minutes of regular playing time. They have pushed to an eight-player rotation in the past few games, though two of those contests were decided by 20 points or more. Not surprisingly, the offensive numbers are divided among those six with Travis Cox leading the team in both scoring (18.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rig). Nick DeAngelis, who scored 23 points in just 25 minutes last year against the Knights, is second with 15.3 points per game while Axel Rodriguez (9.7 ppg), Cameron Ness (9.6 ppg) and Jeremy Eisenman (9.0 ppg) also add to the team's offense. Ness is due for a big game; he averaged 14.0 ppg in the first four contests of the season and only 3.7 ppg in the last three for the Cardinals.

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Players Mentioned

#30 Matt Higgins: G; 6' 4"; Senior

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

#10 Barryn Shark: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#25 Reese Swedberg: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#30 Matt Higgins
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

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

#10 Barryn Shark
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#25 Reese Swedberg
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F