SEWARD, Neb. – Two wins in the final week of the regular season allowed the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team to secure the No. 2 seed in the GPAC tournament. The Bulldogs have won 16 of their last 17 outings following victories last week at home over Doane, 89-59, and on the road over Mount Marty, 88-74. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad will carry a 23-5 overall record (16-4 GPAC) into postseason action. As the second seed, Concordia will welcome seventh-seeded Midland to Friedrich Arena on Wednesday. The winner will advance to play in the GPAC semifinals on Saturday.
This Week
GPAC Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 26 vs. Midland (12-16, 7-13 GPAC), 7 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
GPAC Semifinals – Saturday, March 1 vs. No. 13 Northwestern / Briar Cliff, 3 p.m.
--If win on Wednesday
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Admission: $10 for adults; $3 for students (K-College); GPAC students with ID are admitted free; season passed are not allowed (NAIA issued passes are allowed).
By the numbers
· Limback’s crew opened the 2023-24 season at 0-2 in league play before rallying for a share of the GPAC regular season title. A year later, the Bulldogs dug out of a 1-3 start to conference action on their way to a second-place regular season finish (two games behind GPAC champion Dordt, 18-2). Under Limback, Concordia has placed top three or better in the GPAC regular season standings in four of the past five seasons. During that five-year stretch, the Bulldogs have gone a combined 71-29 in league play. The other quarterfinal host teams for the 2025 GPAC tournament will be No. 1 Dordt, No. 3 Northwestern and No. 4 Morningside. The top five teams in the standings all appear to be locks for the national tournament.
· The Bulldogs were dominant in the second half of both contests last week. They led Doane, 38-34, and trailed Mount Marty, 47-43, at the break before building leads of 20-plus points in both outings. After halftime, Concordia shot 63 percent (17-for-27) versus Doane and 81.8 percent (18-for-22) at Mount Marty. Offensive balance was a theme as five Bulldogs averaged in double figures for the week: Tristan Smith (16.0), Jaxon Stueve (14.0), Brad Bennett (13.0), Brooks Kissinger (12.5) and Zac Kulus (12.0). Smith nearly went for a triple-double at Mount Marty as he totaled 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Kissinger started both games as Noah Schutte was a late scratch this past Wednesday night due to an injury endured during warmups.
· The victory at Mount Marty marked GPAC win No. 16 on the season, which broke the program record for most league victories in a single season. The previous standard of 15 conference wins had been attained by both the 2021-22 and 2023-24 squads that earned shares of the GPAC regular season title. The closest the Bulldogs have come to an undefeated conference regular season came in 1994-95 when then Head Coach Grant Schmidt’s squad went 11-1 in Nebraska-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action. The league schedule expanded when the GPAC era began in 2000-01.
· The GPAC annually announces all-conference basketball awards the day after the GPAC tournament championship game is played. Schutte and Smith are virtual locks to be named to the league’s first team. The Elizabeth, Colo., native Smith appears to also be the frontrunner to be tabbed GPAC Player of the Year. Among conference players, Smith ranks first in field goal percentage (.701), second in blocks (1.6), third in assists (4.2), fourth in rebounding (7.9), seventh in scoring average (20.0) and eighth in steals (1.6). Smith is vying to become the program’s first conference player of the year since Rick Dietze in 2003-04. Named an NAIA Third Team All-American last season, Schutte is likely to be honored as a First Team All-GPAC selection for the third time in his career.
· Limback’s crew will attempt to add to the program’s four all-time GPAC tournament championships. Those titles occurred in 2003, 2005, 2020 and 2022. During the era of the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference, Concordia also won conference tournaments in 1995, 1997 and 1998. Under Limback, the Bulldogs celebrated the 2020 GPAC tournament title when they edged Dakota Wesleyan, 68-66, in the Corn Palace. Two years later, Concordia had the privilege of hosting the championship game and knocked off Jamestown, 77-70. In both 2023 and 2024, the Bulldogs earned quarterfinal wins before bowing out in the semifinals.
· Concordia posted a 13-1 home record during the regular season. As a program, the Bulldogs have triumphed in 56 of their last 61 home games (dating back to the 2021-22 season). In this season’s 14 home games, Concordia has outscored its opponents, on average, 89.5 to 70.8, and has outshot them, 52.9 to 42.8 percent. Senior Brad Bennett has especially enjoyed Friedrich Arena, where he is shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range.
· Bennett enters this week having tallied 958 career points while draining 196 treys during a stellar Concordia career. Currently, there are 36 players in the program’s 1,000-point club, which is led by Schutte with 2,247 points. With Schutte missing last week’s two games, his pursuit of the program’s all-time rebound record was put on hold. Schutte’s 907 career rebounds rank behind only Matt List (928) in school history. Meanwhile, Smith (1,461 points) has a shot to reach 1,500 career points.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Brad Bennett, 6-1 (10.3)
G – Elijah Gaeth, 6-4 (5.0)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (8.5)
F – Noah Schutte, 6-4 (16.2)
F – Tristan Smith, 6-5 (20.0)
GPAC quarterfinal opponent
Midland will make its way to Friedrich Arena for the first time since prior to Thanksgiving. The Bulldogs won this season’s two regular season meetings: 89-78 in Seward and 98-73 in Fremont. Concordia has won each of the past 13 series matchups. Head Coach Tyler Erwin’s squad will attempt to end that streak while bringing to town a team that features star guard Jake Orr. The junior from Omaha leads the team with an average of 17.4 points per game. The Warriors appeared poised to bring a three-game win streak into the postseason before having their senior night spoiled by Hastings, 69-68, to close the regular season. The best win on the resume for Midland was an 84-81 road upset of then 14th-ranked Morningside in January. As a team, the Warriors are averaging 78.3 points and shooting 50.1 percent while their opponents average 79.7 points and shoot 46.6 percent. Midland owns a 6-7 road record on the season.
Midland Projected Starting Five
G – Rece Kissinger, 6-0 (6.7)
G – Ryan Larsen, 6-3 (10.3)
G – Trey McCain, 6-0 (10.6)
G – Jake Orr, 6-2 (17.4)
F – Jeff Rozelle III, 6-6 (11.3)
Head Coach: Tyler Erwin (3rd season at Midland)
2025 GPAC Men’s Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 26
(8) Mount Marty at (1) Dordt, 8 p.m.
(5) Dakota Wesleyan at (4) Morningside, 7 p.m.
(6) Briar Cliff at (3) Northwestern, 7 p.m.
(7) Midland at (2) Concordia, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, March 1
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, time TBA
2/7 winner vs. 3/6 winner, time TBA
Championship – Tuesday, March 4
Semifinal winners, time TBA