SEWARD, Neb. – It had been 50 days since the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team tasted defeat. After 12-straight wins, the 13th-ranked Bulldogs were tripped up at No. 16 Northwestern, 87-70, this past Saturday. That contest was the lone outing of the week for Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad, which stands at 19-5 overall (12-4 GPAC). In the second-to-last week of the regular season, Concordia will make a short road trip to Hastings on Wednesday night before hosting Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated both teams in this season’s first meetings.
This Week
Wednesday, Feb. 12 at Hastings (3-20, 2-14 GPAC), 7:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, Feb. 15 vs. Dakota Wesleyan (18-6, 11-5 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· Concordia remained at No. 1 in the NAIA North-Central ARC Ratings released on Feb. 4 (prior to the loss at Northwestern). The rest of the region’s top five were Dordt, Northwestern, Morningside and the University of St. Francis (Ill.). The Bulldogs also landed at No. 13 in the NAIA coaches’ poll unveiled on Jan. 29. A new poll is scheduled to be released on Wednesday. In the latest RPI updated on Monday (Feb. 10), Concordia checked in at No. 14 with a strength of schedule rated 23rd toughest in the nation. Limback’s squad has put itself in prime position to qualify for a national tournament bid for the fourth-straight year and for the fifth time in the past five seasons. Other GPAC teams in or near the RPI top 50 are No. 7 Dordt, No. 21 Northwestern, No. 41 Morningside and No. 51 Dakota Wesleyan.
· As it relates to the Bulldogs’ GPAC regular season title chances, they sorely needed to win at Northwestern. Dordt is the clear frontrunner at 15-2 in league play, positioning itself ahead of three teams with four GPAC losses: Morningside (13-4), Northwestern (13-4) and Concordia (12-4). The Defenders will be idle on Wednesday before heading to Doane on Saturday when they could lock up at least a share of the regular season title. Dordt won a suspenseful rivalry clash last week at home over Northwestern, 81-79, on a Jake Hargens shot at the buzzer. The Defenders will host Morningside on Feb. 19 in another clash with major GPAC standings implications. Lurking just behind the top four is Dakota Wesleyan at 11-5 in league play.
· The game in Orange City, Iowa, represented a departure from the high level the Bulldogs played at throughout the month of January. They shot only 44.1 percent overall and 23.8 percent from 3-point range while being outrebounded, 40-25. The Red Raiders were able to make up for the loss of All-American Alex Van Kalsbeek thanks to standout performances from freshman Jalen Langsy and Jesse Van Kalsbeek (22 points apiece). There were three double-figure scorers for the Bulldogs: Tristan Smith (22), Brooks Kissinger (15) and Noah Schutte (13). Smith also grabbed six rebounds and added five assists and two blocked shots. Northwestern effectively avenged the 85-70 loss it suffered at Friedrich Arena on Jan. 18 and moved to 10-2 at home this season.
· Based on the game statistics this season, Smith has been credited with 44 dunks. Five slams apiece came in matchups with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) and Mount Marty. Smith continues to perform at a GPAC Player of the Year level. Among GPAC players, Smith ranks first in field goal percentage (.700), second in blocks (1.6), fourth in rebounding (7.8), fifth in scoring average (20.1), fifth in assists (4.1) and seventh in steals (1.8). The 22-point outing at Northwestern marked the 11th time this season Smith has reached 20 points in a game. In 103 career games, Smith has tallied 1,382 points, 659 rebounds, 205 assists, 118 blocks and 103 steals.
· The rotation has tightened in recent action out of necessity. Lukas Helms has been sidelined since Jan. 15 and Hayden Frank has missed back-to-back games. In place of Frank, freshman Elijah Gaeth has started two-straight outings. At Northwestern, Limback used eight players for 15 or more minutes with All-America candidates Smith (37) and Schutte (32) leading the way. Four players have started all 24 games: Schutte, Smith, Brad Bennett and Jaxon Stueve. While Schute has pushed his program all-time best scoring total to 2,216 points, Bennett has piled up 915 career points. Schutte (889 career rebounds) needs 11 more rebounds to pass Gage Smith (899) for No. 2 on the program’s all-time list in that category. The school career rebound record is 928 by Matt List (1988-91).
· Among GPC teams, the Bulldogs rank second in rebound margin (+6.6), third in field goal percentage offense (.520), third in field goal percentage defense (.454), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.334), fourth in scoring defense (73.5), fourth in scoring offense (87.4), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage offense (.378) and seventh in free throw percentage (.720). Concordia ranks eighth nationally in offensive efficiency (1.191).
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Brad Bennett, 6-1 (10.3)
G – Elijah Gaeth, 6-4 (4.5)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (8.5)
F – Noah Schutte, 6-4 (16.2)
F – Tristan Smith, 6-5 (20.1)
The opponents
Hastings finished last season at 23-9 overall (15-5 GPAC) and shared the GPAC regular season title with Concordia and Northwestern. The Broncos have slipped this season after replacing the entire starting lineup. Head Coach Todd Raridon’s two GPAC wins have come over Doane and Waldorf. Hastings has lost three in a row to begin February but has been competitive with losses by scores of 90-79 to Dordt, 58-54 to Mount Marty and 69-58 at Morningside. The team’s leading scorer this season has been junior guard DaRon Hall (12.8 ppg), who has been coming off the bench. As a team, the Broncos are averaging 71.3 points while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor while their opponents are averaging 82.1 points and shooting 51.3 percent. Concordia won this season’s first meeting with Hastings, 101-82, in Seward on Dec. 11. The Broncos prevailed in two of three matchups with the Bulldogs during the 2023-24 season.
Hastings Projected Starting Five
G – Maverick Binder, 6-0 (11.9)
G – Ben Boudreau, 6-1 (12.0)
G – Cameron Coraggio, 6-3 (0.8)
G – David Hageman, 6-3 (7.7)
G – Myles Simon, 6-3 (6.1)
Dakota Wesleyan has enjoyed a fine season in the first year of Head Coach Kevin Williamson’s tenure. At 18-6 overall (11-5 GPAC), the Tigers have surpassed their win total from last season (14-15) and are primed for a return to the national tournament. DWU leans heavily upon a starting five paced in the scoring department by senior forward Samuel Aslesen at 15.9 points per game. Williamson brought along guard Tampa Scott IV from his former school, University of Saint Katherine, giving the backcourt a shot in the arm. Senior guard Jakob Dobney earned Second Team All-GPAC accolades last season. DWU will carry a six-game winning streak into its Wednesday home game versus Morningside. As a team, the Tigers are averaging 75.6 points and shooting 48.3 percent while their opponents are averaging 67.5 points and shooting 47.0 percent from the field. Back on Jan. 2, the Bulldogs won at the Corn Palace, 95-84. Concordia has won each of the past three series meetings.
Dakota Wesleyan Projected Starting Five
G – Jakob Dobney, 6-0 (10.3)
G – Randy Rosenquist Jr, 6-0 (10.3)
G – Tampa Scott IV, 5-10 (12.7)
F – Samuel Aslesen, 6-7 (15.9)
F – Blaze Lubbers, 6-3 (9.0)
Next week
It will mark the final week of the regular season as the Bulldogs host Doane on Feb. 19 and then travel to Mount Marty on Feb. 22. Concordia defeated both opponents during the month of January. The senior class will be honored as part of the home game with Doane.