CU Men's Basketball Preview - vs. Skidmore/RPI (2/116-17)

The formula is simple for the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team this weekend: win and you're in. However, the Golden Knights need to win twice to guarantee themselves a spot in the Liberty League Playoffs and they play a pair of teams in a similar predicament in Skidmore and Rensselaer.

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The Series vs. Skidmore: One of the preseason favorites in the conference, Skidmore has struggled to gel as a team this year and owns a record of 7-9 in league play, but one of those victories came against Clarkson back in December. The Thoroughbreds held Clarkson below 40% shooting in the game and allowed the Knights to hit a season-low six 3-pointers, winning 77-60.

The Series vs. Rensselaer: The first time that the Engineers and Knights met back in December, RPI gained a 77-66 victory in Troy, NY. Clarkson turned in an impressive performance from the arc (14-for-28), but committed 14 turnovers while RPI limited its miscues to only nine, taking nine more shots in the game and making six more overall than the Knights.

Key Stats for Clarkson (11-12, 7-9 Liberty League): After struggling from the perimeter for a stretch, the Knights have made 25 of their last 57 3-point attempts (43.9%), including a season-high 15 long-range shots against St. Lawrence on Tuesday. Matt Higgins ranks second in the conference in 3-point field goals made with 65 and Matthew Hornak isn't far behind with 53 makes from outside the arc. He likely won't make it without a strong run in postseason, but Matt Higgins (413) is only 82 points shy of Russ Hall's sophomore standard for points in a season. Hall (495 points, 1966-67) and Pete Ganley (455 points, 1969-70) are the only second-year players that have scored more points in a season than Higgins' total.

Key Stats for Skidmore (11-11, 7-9 Liberty League): Two-time Liberty League First-Team All-Star Edvinas Rupkus is the conference's leading scorer thanks to the second-most field goals (161) and most free throws (122) made in the league. He scores his points efficiently, ranking fourth in the league in field goal percentage (49.1%), second in 3-point field goal percentage (42.3%) and fifth in free throw percentage (83.6%). The Thoroughbreds offense is bolstered by Dakpe Yiljep (13.1 ppg), Noah Meren (9.9 ppg) and Jack Byrne (9.4 ppg).

Key Stats for Rensselaer (12-11, 7-9 Liberty League): The Engineers possess the best scoring tandem in the conference in juniors Tom Horvat and Andreas Kontopidis. Horvat has four 20-point games in just five outings against the Knights, including 25 in the first meeting of 2017-18 when he shot 10-for-18 from the floor. Horvat ranks third in the league in scoring at 19.8 points per game and leads the conference in 3-point field goals with 67. Kontopidis is fourth in Liberty League in scoring at 18.9 ppg.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#30 Matt Higgins

#20 Matthew Hornak

Players Mentioned

#30 Matt Higgins

#20 Matthew Hornak