SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Capital District basketball heats up this weekend as the Skidmore College men's basketball team heads to RPI and Union to begin the new year. The Thoroughbreds begin the short road swing with a trip to RPI on Friday at 7 p.m. and wrap the weekend with a visit to Union on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Skidmore (5-3, 3-0 Liberty League) is one of two unbeaten teams in Liberty League action this season, joining an improved Bard squad. In Skidmore's last game back on Dec. 12, the Thoroughbreds led wire-to-wire in a resounding 94-54 victory against Vassar in the Williamson Sports Center. The 94 points was a season-best scoring effort for the Thoroughbreds and the 40-point blowout is the largest margin of victory since 2014.
Skidmore sports two of the Liberty League's leading scorers in
Noah Meren and
Edvinas Rupkus. Meren leads the league in scoring at 24.6 points per game. He's also among the league leaders in field goal percentage (.507), free throw percentage (.797). Rupkus, Skidmore's all-time scoring leader (1,784 points) is seventh in the league with 16.1 points per game. He's among the league leaders in 3-point percentage (.432) and free throw percentage (.909). He's also among the leaders in rebounding (7.0 rebounds per game).
Chase Ta leads the league in assist to turnover ratio (2.8) and is third in assists per game (4.1). The Thoroughbreds sport five players (Rupkus, Meren, Ta,
Pat Gallagher, and
Ryan Murunge) that shoot 40 percent or more from 3-point range.
The RPI (6-3, 1-1 Liberty League) matchup on Friday features two of the stingiest defenses in the league. Both are top two in scoring defense, as RPI allows a league-best 64.8 points per game, with Skidmore right behind at 68.8 points per game. Both are also top-two in field goal defense. RPI allows a league-best .369 clip from the field, while Skidmore's opponents shoot the rock at a .388 clip from the field. RPI is also stingy in defending the arc, leading the league in opponent 3-point shooting percentage (.246).
The Engineers enter the new year after closing 2018 with consecutive victories against MCLA and SUNY Cobleskill. RPI has a balanced offense led by Patrick Mahoney and his 16.1 points per game. Tom Horvat is right behind with 15.7 points per game, with Andreas Kontopidis (14.0 points) and Marcus Giese (10.8) rounding out the double-digit scorers. Mahoney, Horvat, and Kontopidis are all capable 3-point shooters as well. Giese leads the team in both rebounds (6.5) and assists (3.2) per game.
Skidmore and RPI have split the season series in each of the last three seasons. The home team won each game last season.
Skidmore and Union (4-3, 1-1 Liberty League), winners of the last four Liberty League titles, will meet for the first time since the 2018 Liberty League Championship game. Unlike RPI, Union comes into 2019 on a two-game losing streak, with a regulation loss to No. 2 Williams and a surprise overtime loss to MCLA. The Dutchmen will begin the new year hosting Ithaca on Friday before Skidmore comes to town on Saturday.
Union is fourth in the league in scoring (75.9 points) but is one of the most efficient offenses in the league. The Dutchmen leads the conference in field goal percentage (.461) and 3-point percentage (.396). Individually, Union sports three double-digit scorers in Jackson Mannix, Mike Concannon, and Brendan Laing. Mannix leads with 16.1 points per game and has shot an impressive .512 (21-for-41) from 3-point range. Concannon is second with 13.1 points per game and leads the team with 4.4 assists. Laing rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.9 points per game.
Last season, Skidmore and Union split the regular season matchup before making deep tournament runs. Ultimately, it was the Dutchmen who topped the Thoroughbreds in the aforementioned league title game to take the season series. Skidmore won the previous eight games between the teams prior to last season.
