SEWARD, Neb. – The regular season has ended and postseason play has arrived throughout the NAIA basketball landscape. A hair-raising win in the regular season finale at Hastings has given the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team at least one more opportunity to play inside Friedrich Arena this season. As the league’s No. 4 seed, the Bulldogs will host fifth-seeded Dordt at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday in the GPAC quarterfinals. The winner will advance to play in the semifinals on Saturday. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad will carry an overall record of 17-13 (11-9 GPAC) into the conference tournament.
This Week
GPAC Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 25 vs. Dordt (16-12, 11-9 GPAC), 8 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
GPAC Semifinals – Saturday, Feb. 28 vs. No. 21 Morningside/Hastings, time TBA
--Admission: $10 for adults; $3 for students (K-College); GPAC students with ID are admitted free; season passed are not allowed (NAIA issued passes are allowed).
By the numbers
· In the official NAIA RPI released on Monday (Feb. 23), Concordia appeared at No. 70 while sporting a strength of schedule ranking of 84th (among 223 NAIA men’s basketball programs). In the latest bracketology from NAIA Hoops Report, the Bulldogs were listed as a bubble team currently outside the field of 64. Morningside (auto bid) and Northwestern are projected into the field from the GPAC. Concordia’s GPAC quarterfinal opponent, Dordt, is listed at No. 88 in the RPI (SOS of 115).
· Limback’s crew began last week knowing it had the chance to rise as high as the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament. However, Mount Marty spoiled senior day by winning inside Friedrich Arena, 83-72, on Feb. 18. The Lancers shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the field and managed to limit Brooks Kissinger to 10 points (3-for-7 from the field). Mount Marty sewed up the league’s No. 3 seed with a 13-7 conference mark. Three days later, the Bulldogs regained their offensive groove and eventually found a way to win at Hastings, 82-79. Kissinger’s driving basket in the final seconds propelled Concordia to victory after it had relinquished a 15-point second-half lead. Dane Jacobsen starred as he collected 24 points on the strength of 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. Kissinger finished with 18 points and four assists and Zac Kulus added 15 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Jacob Duitsman made his first career start and dished out six assists. The Bulldogs shot 56.9 percent overall and made 11-of-22 shots from 3-point range. The result was a departure from Concordia’s recent road struggles (lost six of previous seven GPAC road games).
· GPAC All-Conference awards are traditionally announced the day after the GPAC tournament championship game. Based on the 28-game regular season, the Bulldogs boast several strong candidates. Four regulars are averaging in double figures in scoring: Brooks Kissinger (21.9), Dane Jacobsen (13.1), Jaxon Stueve (11.6) and Zac Kulus (10.4). Kissinger appears to be an obvious choice for first team accolades. The Ashland, Neb., native sports GPAC rankings of third in scoring average (21.9), sixth in rebounds per game (6.4), sixth in field goal percentage (.585) and 14th in assists per game (3.5). A sharpshooter, Jacobsen owns GPAC rankings of fourth in free throw percentage (.851) and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.469). Worth noting, Kissinger has moved his career point total to 954.
· Concordia has placed in the top four of the final GPAC standings for the sixth time in seven seasons. During that stretch, the program has celebrated GPAC tournament titles in 2020 and 2022. The Bulldogs also finished as the conference tournament runner up in 2025 when they hosted Morningside for the title game. Concordia has reached at least the conference semifinals in each of the previous four seasons. Prior to Limback’s tenure (2013-14 to the present), the Bulldogs also won GPAC tournament championships in 2003 and 2005. During the 1990s, Concordia seized NIAC tournament titles in 1995, 1997 and 1998. Limback owns a career GPAC tournament record of 10-9. The program has qualified for the conference tournament for the 12th straight season.
· Ben Limback, now in his 13th season at the helm of his alma mater, sits one win shy of 250 as a Bulldog. Limback also won 115 games over nine seasons as head coach at Concordia University Ann Arbor, giving him 364 total victories in 22 seasons at the collegiate level. Limback owns the second most wins in CUNE Men’s Basketball program history, behind only Grant Schmidt, who went 445-276 across 23 seasons. Schmidt and Limback have combined to oversee all 14 of the program’s national tournament appearances (with the first one coming in 1991).
· Among GPAC squads, Concordia sports team rankings of first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.349), fourth in scoring offense (84.8), fourth in field goal percentage offense (.502), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage offense (.375), fifth in scoring defense (78.9), fifth in field goal percentage defense (.475), sixth in rebound margin (-0.2) and eighth in free throw percentage (.717). In addition, the Bulldogs rank fourth among GPAC teams in net efficiency, behind Northwestern, Morningside and Dordt.
· Morningside has clinched a bid to the national tournament as the GPAC’s regular season champion. The Mustangs will face eighth-seeded Hastings in the GPAC quarterfinals as they look to defend their 2025 conference tournament championship. In other quarterfinal matchups, third-seeded Mount Marty will host No. 6 seed Briar Cliff and No. 2 Northwestern will host No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan. Meanwhile, Doane, Midland and Waldorf missed the GPAC tournament and have finished their seasons. Heading into the postseason, Northwestern is a projected national tournament team while the rest of the league has work to do.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Dane Jacobsen, 6-3 (13.1)
G – Brooks Kissinger, 6-3 (21.9)
G – Zac Kulus, 6-0 (10.4)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (11.6)
F – Logan Wilson, 6-7 (6.4)
Head Coach Ben Limback, 13th season (249-152 at CUNE)
The opponent
Dordt made a late move up the GPAC standings as it finished the regular season with four straight wins. Though the Defenders retooled their lineup after winning the 2024-25 GPAC regular season title, they have remained a high-scoring, up-tempo team. Dordt is averaging 87.7 points per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor. The star of the show is junior guard Connor Millikan, who has tallied 1,114 points over his three seasons at Dordt. Head Coach Brian Van Haaften has led Dordt to four consecutive national tournament appearances. In order to extend that streak, the Defenders likely need to win the GPAC tournament. In their 2025-26 regular season matchups, Dordt defeated Concordia in Sioux Center, 84-71, and then fell in Seward, 94-88. The Defenders also traveled to Seward for the GPAC quarterfinals in 2024 (87-83 Bulldog win). Dordt won the GPAC tournament as recently as 2023 – with the title game victory coming at Jamestown. Van Haaften is in his eighth season at Dordt following more than two decades as head coach at NCAA Division III Buena Vista University (Iowa).
Dordt Projected Starting Five
G – Connor Millikan, 6-0 (18.3)
G – Steven Poulicek, 6-1 (7.9)
G – Jake Proctor, 6-3 (11.7)
F – Judson Henkel, 6-9 (12.0)
F – Ty Van Essen, 6-5 (14.3)
Head Coach: Brian Van Haaften, 8th season
2026 GPAC Tournament
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 25
(8) Hastings at (1) Morningside, 7 p.m.
(5) Dordt at (4) Concordia, 8 p.m.
(6) Briar Cliff at (3) Mount Marty, 7 p.m.
(7) Dakota Wesleyan at (2) Northwestern, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, Feb. 28
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, time TBA
2/7 winner vs. 3/6 winner, time TBA
Championship – Tuesday, March 3
Semifinal winners, time TBA