SEWARD, Neb. – The final week of the regular season has arrived for NAIA basketball. The Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team has yet to discover the consistency they have sought, however, this week provides two opportunities to build momentum heading into the postseason. The Bulldogs will honor four seniors while hosting Mount Marty on Wednesday night. They will then close the regular season with a Saturday road trip to Hastings. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad stands at 16-10 overall (10-8 GPAC) following this past week’s 80-72 loss at Briar Cliff.
This Week
Wednesday, Feb. 18 vs. Mount Marty (14-10, 12-7 GPAC), 7:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--SENIOR DAY
Saturday, Feb. 21 at Hastings (7-19, 6-12 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Lynn Farrell Arena (Hastings, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The RPI for Concordia has held steady in the 60s in recent weeks. The Bulldogs landed at No. 67 in the latest NAIA RPI released on Monday (Feb. 16). Their strength of schedule is rated 78th among the 223 NAIA men’s basketball programs. In its latest bracketology, NAIA Hoops Report listed Concordia as a team currently on the wrong side of the bubble. One of the strongest pros for the Bulldogs is their two wins over Northwestern, which has skyrocketed to No. 19 in the RPI. This week’s opponents, Mount Marty and Hastings, sport respective RPIs of 103 and 156.
· An eight-game series win streak over Briar Cliff fell by the wayside this past weekend at the Newman Flanagan Center. The Bulldogs dug a 15-point halftime hole (46-31) and never fully recovered. Concordia did mount a rally that saw it climb within two points at the 6:52 mark (61-59) when Zac Kulus drained a trey. The Chargers (13-13, 10-9 GPAC) shot 55.3 percent (26-for-47) in the process of celebrating a senior day win. Blake Sindelar led his side with a double-double (20 points / 11 rebounds). Five Briar Cliff double-figure scorers were enough to overcome 18 turnovers and a 32-point outing from Brooks Kissinger (13-for-21 from the floor). Jacob Duitsman (10 points) was the only other Bulldog to hit double figures. Concordia shot 45.0 percent (27-for-60) from the field and went 7-for-26 (.269) from 3-point range.
· The Ashland, Neb., native Kissinger is a no-doubt First Team All-GPAC honoree and an All-American candidate. Kissinger has reached 20 points in 19 of 25 games played in his junior season. He has ramped up his scoring over the past four games, averaging 30.3 points during that stretch. Kissinger recorded a triple-double (32 points / 10 rebounds / 10 assists) in the double overtime loss to Morningside on Feb. 7. Among GPAC players, Kissinger ranks third in scoring average (22.5), fifth in rebounds per game (6.6), sixth in field goal percentage (.584) and 13th in assists per game (3.6). Kissinger stands a chance at reaching 1,000 career points before season’s end. He enters the week with 926 career points in 90 games as a Bulldog.
· Prior to tipoff on Wednesday night, Concordia will honor its seniors: MJ Coffey, Tyler Harre, Zac Kulus and Logan Wilson. It should be noted that Harre and Wilson have another year of eligibility remaining (should they choose to use it). Of the seniors, Kulus has taken on the largest on-court role over the past four seasons. The Bennington, Neb., native has tallied career totals of 634 points, 167 rebounds, 119 assists and 71 steals in 109 games. He’s a career 43.1 percent (152-for-353) shooter from 3-point range. Kulus and company have played for national tournament qualifying teams each season and were part of the 2023-24 squad that shared the GPAC regular season title. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Concordia has gone a combined 84-38.
· Ben Limback, now in his 13th season at the helm of his alma mater, sits two wins shy of 250 as a Bulldog. Limback also won 115 games over nine seasons as head coach at Concordia University Ann Arbor, giving him 363 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 (.348), fourth in scoring offense (85.3), fourth in field goal percentage offense (.502), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.374), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.474), fifth in scoring defense (78.7), seventh in rebound margin (-0.7) and eighth in free throw percentage (.716). The Bulldogs have slipped a spot to No. 4 among GPAC teams in net efficiency, behind Northwestern, Morningside and Dordt.
· Morningside (17-2 GPAC) has clinched the GPAC regular season title and an automatic bid to the national tournament. In this final week of the regular season, jockeying for GPAC tournament seeding will continue. Mathematically, Concordia could be seeded as high as third or as low as sixth. A top-four seed comes with the benefit of hosting a GPAC quarterfinal game. Limback’s teams have had the honor of hosting in the quarterfinals in five of the previous six seasons. The Bulldogs won GPAC tournament titles in 2020 and 2022 and placed as the postseason runner up in 2025.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Dane Jacobsen, 6-3 (12.6)
G – Brooks Kissinger, 6-3 (22.5)
G – Zac Kulus, 6-0 (10.1)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (11.7)
F – Logan Wilson, 6-7 (6.8)
Head Coach Ben Limback, 13th season (248-151 at CUNE)
The opponents
After tying for seventh place in the GPAC last season (10-17, 7-13 GPAC in 2024-25), Mount Marty has the opportunity to lock up third place in the 2025-26 conference standings. The Lancers have won six of their past eight conference games as part of their breakthrough season. Head Coach Collin Authier’s squad has a win over Northwestern to its credit. On the season, Mount Marty has averaged 77.6 points while shooting 48.0 percent from the field as a team. Its opponents have averaged 74.5 points to go with a 49.2 field goal percentage. Three Lancer players are scoring in double figures: Sutton Arend (17.2), Jake Jensen (12.9) and Deegan Williams (11.7). Mount Marty has been strong in the turnover category with a plus-3.0 average margin per game. The Lancers will attempt to avenge the 84-75 defeat it was handed by Concordia in Yankton, S.D., on Nov. 25. The Bulldogs have won five straight series meetings.
Mount Marty Projected Starting Five
G – Sutton Arend, 6-4 (17.2)
G – Damon Opdahl, 6-1 (9.1)
G – Deegan Williams, 6-2 (11.7)
F – Jake Jensen, 6-5 (12.9)
F – Tyler Sandoval, 6-9 (7.4)
Head Coach: Collin Authier, 5th season
Pre-New Year’s, Hastings sat at 2-13 overall. Since then, the Broncos have gone 5-6 while putting themselves in the running for a potential GPAC tournament bid. Hastings blitzed Concordia inside Friedrich Arena by a 75-57 final score on Jan. 14. Head Coach Todd Raridon’s squad is led by a solid backcourt featuring the likes of Maverick Binder, Ben Boudreau and DaRon Hall, the team’s top three scorers. Hall averages a team-high 18.5 points per game. The Broncos average 75.2 points per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor. Their opponents are averaging 80.7 points on the strength of 50.7 percent shooting. Hastings enters this week tied for ninth place in the GPAC standings. It is one game behind Midland for the eighth and final spot in the GPAC tournament. The Broncos will host Doane on Wednesday before welcoming the Bulldogs to town on Saturday. The regular season finale will be senior day for Hastings.
Hastings Projected Starting Five
G – Maverick Binder, 6-0 (12.3)
G – Ben Boudreau, 6-0 (14.0)
G – DaRon Hall, 5-10 (18.5)
F – Micah Hinrichs, 6-4 (11.0)
F – Myles Simon, 6-3 (5.9)
Head Coach: Todd Raridon, 4th season
Next week
The GPAC tournament will get underway with the quarterfinal round on Feb. 25. The conference postseason will continue with the semifinals on Feb. 28 and the championship game on March 3. Pairings will be released by the GPAC on Saturday night once all regular season games have concluded.