The Hobart College basketball team will begin its quest for the 2022 Liberty League Men's Basketball Championship in Poughkeepsie, New York, Tuesday, Feb. 22. The Statesmen, who are the No. 6 seed, will take on third-seeded Vassar at 7 p.m. in the AFC Gymnasium.
 
Spectators are required to be vaccinated and wear a mask to be admitted to the game. Those unable to make the trip to Poughkeepsie, can track the game online with live video and live stats on vassarathletics.com.
 
Hobart (12-13, 9-9) won three of its final four regular season games to earn the final spot in the tournament. Junior forward Jackson Meshanic leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg). He's shooting a team-leading .559 from the floor, including .340 from 3-point range, and .761 at the free throw line. First-year guard Aidan Rodgers adds 11.0 ppg and a team-high 2.7 apg.
 
Vassar (15-8, 11-6) is led by Zach Johnson's double-double. He's logging team-highs of 14.7 ppg, 11.7 rpg and 3.1 apg. Avni Mustafaj is right behind him, scoring 13.9 ppg.
 
The Statesmen finished the season third in the Liberty League in scoring offense, averaging 73.5 ppg while the Brewers are third in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 65.3 ppg.
 
The team's split their home-and-home series this season with Vassar winning 68-65 on its home court on Dec. 4, 2021, and Hobart holding serve in Bristol Gym, 73-68 on Feb. 18. The Statesmen lead the overall series 37-7 and are 15-6 in games played in AFC Gymnasium.
 
This will be the third meeting between the two teams in the Liberty League Tournament. The previous two times Hobart won the Liberty League Championship. The Statesmen opened the 2001 tournament with a 78-55 win over the Brewers in the quarterfinals. Hobart went on to knock off Hamilton in the semifinals and RPI in the title game to claim their first league title. In 2014, the teams met in Bristol Gym in the championship game and played an epic double overtime game that saw the Statesmen eke out a 75-74 victory to claim its second consecutive title.
 
 The winner of Tuesday's game will advance to the semifinals and face No. 2 Ithaca (17-8, 13-5) in Troy, New York, on Saturday, Feb. 26.