SEWARD, Neb. – It was a solid past week of play for Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball. However, heartache came from not slamming the door shut on Morningside in what ended in a 123-115 double overtime loss to the GPAC regular season champions this past Saturday. The Bulldogs hope a bye in the middle of the week helps bring them closer to full strength as the stretch run of the regular season arrives. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad will attempt to string some wins together and enhance its national tournament profile. Concordia enters this week with a 16-9 overall record (10-7 GPAC).
This Week
Saturday, Feb. 14 at Briar Cliff (12-12, 9-8 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Newman Flanagan Center (Sioux City, Iowa)
By the numbers
· In the NAIA RPI ratings released on Monday (Feb. 9), the Bulldogs remained relatively steady, moving up one spot to 63rd. Concordia’s strength of schedule landed at 88th. Saturday’s opponent, Briar Cliff, is rated 102nd (SS of 101st) in the RPI. The top GPAC teams in the RPI are No. 20 Morningside and No. 32 Northwestern. In the NAIA ARC ratings publicized on Feb. 3, the Bulldogs were placed at No. 14 in the Midwest Region. The Midwest Region includes teams from the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
· From an offensive perspective, the Bulldogs could not have been much better last week. In combining the numbers from Concordia’s 85-69 win at Doane and 123-115 double OT loss to Morningside, it shot 52.8 percent (66-for-125) from the floor and 42.6 percent (26-for-61) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs netted 20 treys (including seven from Dane Jacobsen) in the loss to the Mustangs. That total was three of the school record of 23 achieved earlier this season versus Clarke University (Iowa). The team’s double-figure scorers in the win at Doane were each of the five starters: Brooks Kissinger (28), Zac Kulus (12), Tate Odvody (12), Jaxon Stueve (12) and Jacobsen (10). In the home clash with Morningside, Kissinger finished with a career-high 33 points. Others with 10-plus were Jacobsen (25), Odvody (17), Jacob Duitsman (11) and Hayden Frank (10).
· The Ashland, Neb., native Kissinger reserves a weekly bullet point thanks to his remarkable consistency. This past week, he recorded his 17th and 18th games of the season with at least 20 points. It took double overtime, but Kissinger notched a rare triple-double as he totaled 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists versus Morningside. He is the first Bulldog with a triple-double since Gage Smith accomplished that feat at Morningside on Nov. 30, 2022. Ben Limback also turned in a triple-double during his fine career that spanned the 1995-99 seasons. As for Kissinger, he sports GPAC rankings of third in scoring average (22.1), fourth in rebounds per game (6.7), seventh in field goal percentage (.582) and 14th in assists per game (3.7). Kissinger attempts 8.8 free throws per game – second most in the league behind Northwestern’s Jesse Van Kalsbeek.
· Concordia has regularly dealt with key players going in and out of the lineup this season. This past week, Jaxon Stueve left both games early due to injury. Others who have missed time this season include Hayden Frank, Dane Jacobsen, Brooks Kissinger, Zac Kulus, Tate Odvody and Logan Wilson. A transfer from Colorado Christian University, Odvody has played in each of the past three games after sitting out nine straight contests due to injury. Jacobsen and Stueve have both started all 25 games while battling their way through aches and pains. Kissinger has played in 24 games (after missing the season opener).
· The result at Doane marked win No. 248 for Ben Limback, now in his 13th season at the helm of his alma mater. 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 was in attendance this past Saturday as the Bulldogs celebrated their all-time All-America award winners.
· Among GPAC squads, Concordia sports team rankings of first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.344), third in field goal percentage defense (.471), fourth in scoring offense (85.9), fourth in field goal percentage offense (.504), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage offense (.504), fifth in scoring defense (78.6), sixth in rebound margin (-0.2) and seventh in free throw percentage (.716). The Bulldogs continue to rank third in the GPAC in net efficiency behind only Northwestern and Morningside.
· The race for the GPAC regular season title has ended. Morningside clinched the outright league title with its double overtime survival inside Friedrich Arena. Concordia remains in the mix for a top three seed in the conference and is currently tied with Mount Marty for third place. Northwestern (12-5 GPAC) stands two games in front of both Concordia and Mount Marty for second place. The Mustangs will have another challenging road trip on Wednesday as they head to Orange City for a matchup with the Red Raiders. From a national tournament perspective, Morningside has clinched a bid while Northwestern appears in good shape for an at-large. Based on the RPI, the Bulldogs have work to do to solidify a potential at-large bid. However, the GPAC tournament provides another opportunity for an auto bid.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Dane Jacobsen, 6-3 (12.8)
G – Brooks Kissinger, 6-3 (22.1)
G – Zac Kulus, 6-0 (10.3)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (11.8)
F – Logan Wilson, 6-7 (6.9)
Head Coach Ben Limback, 13th season (248-150 at CUNE)
The opponent
The season for Briar Cliff has been representative of much of the GPAC. The Chargers have been up and down at 12-12 overall (9-8 GPAC). With three regular season games remaining, a top four seed and a GPAC quarterfinal home game remain possibilities for Head Coach Mark Svagera’s squad. Before hosting Concordia, Briar Cliff will play at Dordt on Wednesday. The Chargers trot out two likely All-GPAC honorees in senior guard Blake Sindelar (20.6 ppg) and sophomore forward Jaxson Wingert (17.7 ppg). Sindelar paced Briar Cliff with 18 points in the team’s 72-64 loss at Concordia back on Jan. 10. As a team, the Chargers average 76.7 points and shoot 47.6 percent from the floor. Their opponents average 77.3 points while shooting 47.8 percent. Briar Cliff has gone 7-5 this season on its home court, the Newman Flanagan Center. The Bulldogs have won eight in a row in the series (with two of those victories coming in overtime).
Briar Cliff Projected Starting Five
G – Wil Lugar, 6-5 (7.4)
G – Blake Sindelar, 6-4 (20.6)
F – Colby Collison, 6-4 (9.0)
F – Ryan Kleppe, 6-3 (5.8)
F – Jaxson Wingert, 6-7 (17.7)
Head Coach: Mark Svagera, 9th season
Next week
Next week will be the final one of the 2025-26 regular season. The Bulldogs will close it out by hosting Mount Marty (senior day) on Feb. 18 before then venturing to Hastings on Feb. 21.