CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. RPI/Union (2/21-22)

By: February 19, 2020

Men's Basketball | 2/19/2020 8:20:00 AM

Still chasing a playoff spot in the upcoming Liberty League playoffs, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team will celebrate its senior class of 2020 while taking on a pair of playoff-bound opponents in Rensselaer and Union this weekend.

Live Stats/Live Video

The Series vs. RPI: The two teams have met 114 times since 1945, with Clarkson winning 36 times. Rensselaer has won three straight, all by double figures.

The Series vs. Union: Clarkson trails in the all-time series against Union, 29-43. The teams have split in each of the last three seasons and the Dutchmen won the previous game against the Knights back in December.

Key Stats for Clarkson (8-15, 6-10 Liberty League): In a four-way tie for fifth place in the Liberty League entering the final weekend of the year, one win against RPI or Union would go a long way to clinching a playoff spot for the Golden Knights. Clarkson will have its hands full, however, as the Green and Gold suffered a pair of double-digit defeats in early December. The Knight put together decent production for 20 minutes, but failed to produce consistency against either RPI or Union. The Engineers held Clarkson to 23.1% shooting in the first half and a season-low 50 points. Clarkson led against Union through 20 minutes, but the Dutchmen dropped 45 in the second half as the Knights shot just 22.9% down the stretch.

Key Stats for RPI (20-3, 15-1 Liberty League): Having already clinched a first-round bye, the Engineers are seeking further momentum for the upcoming playoffs. The league has begun to catch up somewhat to RPI, however, as its first eight conference wins came by double figures but five of the last eight have been decided by single digits, including a narrow two-point loss to Ithaca. RPI forces more turnovers per game (17.1 tpg) than any other team in the conference, helping limit teams to 59.3 points per game, which ranks third in the country. Patrick Mahoney leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game, producing 20 points or more in four of his last six games. The Engineers lead the league in shooting percentage by a large margin with a success rate of 47.2%.

Key Stats for Union (13-9, 10-6 Liberty League): The Dutchmen are locked into the fourth sport in the Liberty League Tournament, four games ahead of fifth place and three games behind third. Union has as much depth as anyone in the conference as only four players average more than 20 minutes per game and no one plays even 28 minutes per contest. Seven players are scoring seven points or more per game and only Mike Concannon averages double figures (12.2 ppg). Andrew Laub produced a game-high 23 points against Clarkson in the first meeting, well above his 7.6 ppg. The Dutchmen take care of the basketball, having committed 261 turnovers, the second fewest in the Liberty League.

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