SEWARD, Neb. – The Bulldogs are soon to be bound for the beach – Dayton Beach, Fla., to be exact. The Concordia University Men’s Basketball team will carry a fresh NAIA national ranking to the southeast where it will take on NAIA nonconference opponents William Jessup University (Calif.) and Rochester University (Mich.) as part of the Daytona Beach Shootout (Dec. 19, 21). Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will serve as the host of the event. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad owns an overall record of 11-2 (6-2 GPAC).
Daytona Beach Shootout
Location: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | Daytona Beach, Fla.
Dec. 19 vs. No. 8 William Jessup (12-1), 6 p.m. CST / 7 p.m. EST
--Live Webcast | Live Stats
Dec. 21 vs. Rochester (7-4), 1 p.m. CST / 2 p.m. EST
--Live Webcast | Live Stats
By the numbers
· The Bulldogs have cracked the NAIA top 25 for the first time since the 2010-11 season, landing at No. 23 in the coaches’ poll released on Wednesday (Dec. 15). They are also rated second in the GPAC. Under Limback, Concordia has had past squads that hovered near the top 25 in the receiving votes category of the poll. The 2019-20 team that won the GPAC tournament title and qualified for the national tournament received votes to conclude the season. So too did the 2016-17 squad that finished 21-10 overall while led by Chandler Folkerts. During the GPAC era (2000-present), Concordia has been rated as high as No. 4, a ranking achieved during the 2004-05 national runner-up campaign. The 2010-11 team was ranked 20th in NAIA Division II at one point that season.
· At 11-2, the Bulldogs have achieved their best 13-game start to a season since the 2004-05 squad raced out to a 13-0 mark. Not only that, Concordia is currently situated atop the GPAC with a 6-2 conference mark (three other conference teams have exactly two GPAC losses). There’s a long way to go, but the Bulldogs have hopes of vying for the program’s first conference regular season championship during the GPAC era (2000-present). However, the program has captured three GPAC tournament titles, which occurred in 2003, 2005 and 2020. The 2020-21 squad equaled a program record for GPAC wins in a single season while going 14-6 in league play.
· Offensive efficiency has been key to putting the Bulldogs on the map with some national respect. Among NAIA teams, Concordia ranks 10th in free throw percentage (.775), 12th in fewest turnovers per game (9.8) and 19th in field goal percentage (.496). A streak of six-straight games with a field goal percentage north of 50 ended last week when the Bulldogs ‘only’ shot 47.0 percent from the floor in the 81-66 win at Hastings. Over the past five outings, Concordia has made 71-of-78 (.910) attempts from the foul line.
· It’s safe to say that Crete High School product Carter Kent is playing the best ball of his career. Consider what he’s done over the last four games: combined totals of 96 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals while making 34-of-64 shots from the floor, including 15-for-34 shooting from beyond the arc. On the season, Kent is averaging 17.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game and shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from 3-point range. Kent has pushed his career scoring total to 1,375 (13th most in program history). Those numbers don’t indicate Kent’s play on the defensive end, which has been similarly stellar.
· The starting five has been extremely productive with each of them averaging 9.7 points or more per game. In addition, four starters are shooting better than 48 percent from the field: Noah Schutte (.565), Gage Smith (.559), Justin Wiersema (.520) and Kent (.483). Following Kent, the team’s top scorers are Schutte (14.1), Smith (13.6) and Wiersema (13.6). Smith put forth a noteworthy performance in last week’s win over Mount Marty when he totaled 25 points and 11 rebounds. Gage’s younger brother Tristan wowed the crowd at Hastings with an emphatic one-handed slam in transition.
The opponents
A national tournament qualifier in 2019, William Jessup is looking to get back to that stage. Now in his ninth season leading the program, Head Coach Lance Von Vogt has the Warriors out to a 12-1 start that includes two wins over then 13th-ranked Oregon Tech. The Warriors have a top-notch backcourt starring Myles Corey (15.6 ppg) and Cashemin Williams (15.3 ppg). William Jessup has averaged 82.5 points, is shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and holding opponents to an average of 71.5 points and shooting percentage of 41.7. Located in Rocklin, Calif., the Warriors competed as a member of the Golden State Athletic Conference. They vaulted from 23rd all the way to No. 8 in this week’s NAIA coaches’ poll.
Rochester is a member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, also home to Concordia-Ann Arbor. Eleventh-year Head Coach Klint Pleasant has won 231 games during his successful tenure leading the Warriors. Currently 7-4 overall, Rochester has been stronger on the defensive end as compared to the other end. The Warriors have held opponents to 71.0 points per game and 40.5 percent shooting from the floor. In recent weeks, Rochester has benefitted from the return to the court of Virgil Walker Jr., a returning NAIA Honorable Mention All-American who averaged 17.7 points last season. Rochester raised eyebrows with its 78-51 upset of then seventh-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University on Dec. 8.
Returning home
After returning from Florida, Concordia will play one more nonconference game: Dec. 29 at Ottawa University (Kan.). The Bulldogs will be back inside Friedrich Arena on New Year's Day when it is set to host Doane.