SEWARD, Neb. – The final week of the 2024-25 regular season has arrived. The 12th-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball hopes to close it out strongly while hosting Doane on Wednesday before then traveling to Mount Marty on Saturday. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad earned two wins by comfortable margins last week – 94-71 at Hastings and 91-76 over Dakota Wesleyan. The victories pushed the Bulldogs to 21-5 overall (14-4 GPAC). Concordia is currently tied for second place in the league standings.
This Week
Senior Day – Wednesday, Feb. 19 vs. Doane (9-17, 4-14 GPAC GPAC), 7:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, Feb. 22 at Mount Marty (10-15, 7-12 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Cimpl Arena (Yankton, S.D.)
By the numbers
· Limback’s crew has firmly established itself as a top 25 team in the NAIA. In the NAIA coaches’ poll released on Feb. 12, the Bulldogs landed at No. 12, a one-spot improvement from the previous poll. In addition, Concordia is ranked No. 6 nationally by Massey Ratings and checked in at No. 14 in the official NAIA RPI released on Monday (Feb. 17). The RPI indicated a strength of schedule rating of 35th. As for this week’s opponents, Doane is rated 155th and Mount Marty 139th in the latest RPI. The Bulldogs have climbed as high as No. 9 in the coaches’ poll this season.
· Seventh-ranked Dordt pulled out a 99-93 overtime decision at Doane this past weekend and clinched at least a share of the GPAC regular season title. Dordt sits at 16-2 in conference play and needs just one more win to secure an outright GPAC regular season championship. Concordia and Northwestern (both 14-4 in the GPAC) could still grab a share of the league title but would need to win twice this week and have the Defenders lose twice (versus Morningside and at Dakota Wesleyan). This week will be about jockeying for position amongst the top eight in the GPAC (with the eight GPAC tournament qualifiers having been decided). Doane, Hastings and Waldorf will see their seasons end on Saturday.
· Last week was a dominant one for the Bulldogs, who outscored Hastings and Dakota Wesleyan by a combined total of 185-147. Concordia shot 60.0 percent (69-for-115) for the week while limiting its opponents to 43.3 percent shooting. Three Bulldogs averaged double figures for the week: Tristan Smith (23.5), Noah Schutte (15.5) and Brooks Kissinger (10.5) with Zac Kulus (9.0), Brad Bennett (8.5) and Elijah Gaeth (8.5) not far off. With his 12 rebounds at Hastings, Schutte surpassed former teammate Gage Smith for No. 2 on the program’s all-time rebound list. Schutte (2,247 points and 907 rebounds for his career) needs 22 more rebounds to break the program career rebound record of 928 by Matt List. Schutte turned in a double-double at Hastings and then went for 21 points versus Dakota Wesleyan.
· The Elizabeth, Colo., native Tristan Smith has not slowed down. Smith totaled 47 points last week and just may be the frontrunner for GPAC Player of the Year honors. Among GPAC players, Smith ranks first in field goal percentage (.702), second in blocks (1.6), fourth in rebounds (7.8), sixth in scoring (20.3), sixth in assists (4.0) and eighth in steals (1.7). In 105 career games as a Bulldog, Smith has compiled 1,429 points, 676 rebounds, 212 assists, 122 blocks and 106 steals. On the program’s all-time lists, Smith ranks fifth in blocks, 11th in rebounds, 12th in scoring and 21st in assists.
· Smith headlines a senior class that will be honored prior to tipoff on Wednesday. The senior group also includes varsity contributors in Brad Bennett, Brayson Mueller, Matthew Weismann and Tony Tubrick. Meanwhile, Schutte if a fifth-year (graduate student) who will also be acknowledged on Wednesday. Since the fourth-year seniors arrived prior to the start of the 2021-22 season, the program has put together a combined record of 91-33 with three national tournament berths (and on track for a fourth), two GPAC regular season championships and one GPAC tournament title. Before this season concludes, the Elkhorn, Neb., native Bennett hopes to add his name to the program’s list of 1,000-point scorers. He enters the week having tallied 932 points in 92 career games. Other seniors that will be honored on Wednesday are Riley Hoetfelker and Josh Puelz.
· With the win over Dakota Wesleyan, Concordia moved to 12-1 at home this season. As a program, the Bulldogs have won 55 of their last 60 games played inside Friedrich Arena. As a team in 2024-25, Concordia sports GPAC rankings of second in rebound margin (+6.7), third in field goal percentage offense (.526), third in scoring defense (73.5), third in field goal percentage defense (.452), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.336), fourth in scoring offense (87.8), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage offense (.383) and seventh in free throw percentage (.721). On another note, the Bulldogs have hit the 20-win mark for the fifth time under Limback. The other 20-win campaigns occurred in 2016-17 (21-10), 2019-20 (24-10), 2021-22 (28-7) and 2023-24 (24-8).
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Brad Bennett, 6-1 (10.1)
G – Elijah Gaeth, 6-4 (4.8)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (8.1)
F – Noah Schutte, 6-4 (16.2)
F – Tristan Smith, 6-5 (20.3)
The opponents
Doane has been eliminated from postseason contention and will wrap up its 2024-25 season by visiting Concordia and then hosting Hastings on Saturday. Now in his ninth season as head coach, Ian McKeithen leads a program that has posted one winning season (19-13 in 2021-22) during his tenure. Though the current Tiger squad has dropped eight in a row, several of those contests have been tight, including this past Saturday’s 99-93 overtime loss to No. 7 Dordt. The team’s headlining performer is senior guard Brady Timm, who is averaging 17.3 points per game. The most impressive win this season for Doane was a 64-57 upset of Morningside on Jan. 4. As a team, the Tigers average 68.9 points and shoot 43.9 percent from the floor while their opponents average 75.3 points and shoot 49.9 percent. Concordia defeated Doane in Crete, 81-60, on Jan. 8 and has won six in a row and nine of the past 10 series matchups with the Tigers.
Doane Projected Starting Five
G – Casen Chaney, 6-1 (11.3)
G – Caleb Hrabik, 6-4 (9.4)
G – Glavine McDonald, 6-3 (11.0)
G – Brady Timm, 5-10 (17.3)
F – Jack Wilson, 6-6 (12.2)
Mount Marty has won three of its past five GPAC outings to ensure a spot in the upcoming conference tournament. The Lancers will have Wednesday off before welcoming the Bulldogs to Yankton on Saturday. The brightest star is 6-foot-6 wing Tash Lunday, who is averaging 20.9 points per game. Head Coach Collin Authier’s squad stands at 10-15 overall (7-12 GPAC), marking an improvement from last season when it finished at 6-20 (2-18 GPAC). The Lancers average 72.4 points and shoot 49.5 percent from the field while their opponents average 75.4 points and shoot 47.4 percent. Concordia toppled Mount Marty, 89-62, in the matchup that took place in Seward on Jan. 15. The Bulldogs have won each of the past five meetings with the Lancers. Pending this week’s results, Mount Marty will be either the No. 7 or 8 seed in the GPAC tournament.
Mount Marty Projected Starting Five
G – Jake Jensen, 6-5 (7.0)
G – Damon Opdahl, 6-1 (6.0)
G – Rugby Ryken, 6-1 (4.4)
G/F – Tash Lunday, 6-6 (20.9)
F – Jared Lopez, 6-6 (7.2)
Next week
The GPAC tournament will get started with the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The postseason continues with the conference semifinals on March 1 and the championship game on March 4.