SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team will spend the final week of the semester break on the road. The Bulldogs are set to take a five-game GPAC win streak into road clashes with Doane (Wednesday) and Briar Cliff (Saturday). Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad hopes it has found its groove following its most impressive outing of the 2024-25 season to date – a 99-72 trouncing of 11th-ranked and previously unbeaten Dordt. Concordia also picked up a 95-84 road win over Dakota Wesleyan as part of last week’s action and now stand at 11-4 overall (6-3 GPAC).
This Week
Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Doane (8-8, 3-5 GPAC), 7:45 p.m.
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Saturday, Jan. 11 at Briar Cliff (9-7, 4-4 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
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By the numbers
· Limback’s squad is beginning to establish itself as a top-four team in the GPAC once again. The current top four in the league standings are Northwestern (8-0), Dordt (7-1), Concordia (6-3) and Morningside (6-3). The Red Raiders remain unbeaten overall (16-0) after winning twice last week by single digits: 95-86 over Hastings and 74-71 at Midland. Based on the standings and NAIA national poll, the biggest surprise of the weekend occurred in Crete, where Doane upset No. 14 Morningside, 64-57. The current fifth through eighth place teams are Dakota Wesleyan (4-3), Briar Cliff (4-4), Mount Marty (4-5) and Doane (3-5). From a national rankings perspective, the next NAIA coaches’ poll is scheduled to be released on Jan. 15. Notably, four of the top six teams in the NAIA in offensive efficiency are GPAC squads: No. 1 Dordt (1.266), No. 2 Northwestern (1.265), No. 3 Morningside (1.224) and No. 6 Concordia (1.210).
· Last week was a definite step forward for the Bulldogs, who won twice by double digits. In the victory at the Corn Palace, sophomore Jaxon Stueve went a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor (5-for-5 from 3-point range) on his way to a career-high 23 points. Meanwhile, Tristan Smith tallied 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Lukas Helms (16) and Noah Schutte (15) also reached double figures in scoring. In the quick turnaround versus Dordt, Brad Bennett torched the nets for 26 points on 8-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Other double-figure scorers were Smith (21), Helms (12) and Schutte (11). Smith’s stat line included 13 rebounds and six assists. The passing of Smith has been a major development. He is averaging a team high 4.0 assists per game (sixth most among GPAC players).
· The Noah Schutte scoring watch continues. The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge High School alum has pushed his career scoring total to 2,081 points, 18 shy of tying the Concordia Men’s Basketball all-time record of 2,099 points owned by Concordia Athletics Hall of Famer Jon Ziegler. Schutte, Ziegler and Tom Raabe (2,016) are the lone three players in school history to hit the 2,000-point plateau. While Schutte has had an extra season to add to his stats, he ranks as the most efficient scoring in program history when examining his shooting percentages. In his career, Schutte sports shooting percentages of 55.3 (732-for-1,324) from the field, 40.1 (125-for-312) from 3-point range and 78.5 (492-for-627) from the foul line. Meanwhile, Ziegler shot 45.4 percent (717-for-1,578) from the floor, 31.2 percent (173-for-554) from 3-point range and 68.4 percent (492-for-719) from the foul line.
· With his eight 3-point field goals in the rout of Dordt, Bennett came up one shy of the program’s single game record held by Schutte. In one of the greatest single outings in the history of Concordia Men’s Basketball, Schutte (then a junior) burned Northwestern for 38 points and 18 rebounds while netting 9-of-11 attempts from 3-point range. The Bulldogs won that game (GPAC quarterfinals) by a score of 90-77 on Feb. 22, 2023. Bennett has twice made eight treys having also made 8-of-9 from the perimeter in a win over Ottawa University (Kan.) on Nov. 5, 2022. Other players in school history to have drained exactly eight 3-point field goals in a game are Josh Dahlke, John Puelz, Ryan Shrum and Bret Walter. The 26 points for Bennett equaled a career high. In 81 career games, Bennett has made 168-of-414 (.406) 3-point attempts and has tallied 841 points.
· Friedrich Arena has been good to the Bulldogs. They are now 8-1 at home and are averaging 89.1 points and allowing 73.4 points in those nine contests. The shooting percentages at home have also been impressive – 51.5 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from 3-point range (compared to 43.9 percent and 31.3 percent, respectively, for their opponents). With his outburst last week, Bennett is now shooting 53.4 percent (31-for-58) from beyond the arc in home games. Dating back to late in the 2020-21 season, the Bulldogs have won 51 of their last 56 home games. That stretch included a 23-game home win streak.
· In pummeling Dordt, Concordia got the signature win it had been searching for. So far this season, the Bulldogs have played three games against teams that were ranked at the time of tipoff. Before downing the Defenders, Concordia fell by an 82-69 score at No. 23 Morningside on Dec. 4 and lost at No. 4 Arizona Christian University, 73-65, on Dec. 20. The next big matchup with a ranked foe will be on Jan. 18 versus No. 7 Northwestern. During last season’s run to the national tournament, the Bulldogs defeated three top 25 foes (at the time games were played): No. 19 Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.), No. 19 Morningside and No. 12 Northwestern.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Brad Bennett, 6-1 (11.5)
G – Hayden Frank, 6-2 (7.5)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (8.9)
F – Noah Schutte, 6-4 (16.9)
F – Tristan Smith, 6-5 (19.5)
The opponents
Doane enters the week fresh off a 64-57 home upset of No. 14 Morningside. The Tigers managed to limit the Mustangs to 36.5 percent shooting (and a 5-for-31 effort from 3-point range). The result was a reversal of recent action that saw Doane get blown out by four-straight opponents. With eight victories on the season, the Tigers have surpassed their win total from 2023-24 when they went 7-21. In the first nine seasons of Head Coach Ian McKeithen’s tenure, Doane has had one winning season, going 19-13 in 2021-22. The current squad is averaging 69.5 points while allowing 74.5 per game. The Tigers are led by senior guard Brady Timm, who has accumulated 1,479 points in his career. The starting five includes a couple of newcomers in freshman guard Glavine McDonald and transfer guard Casen Chaney. Doane has dropped five-straight and eight of the past nine in the series with Concordia.
Doane Projected Starting Five
G – Casen Chaney, 6-1 (11.1)
G – Caleb Hrabik, 6-4 (8.3)
G – Glavine McDonald, 6-3 (11.2)
G – Brady Timm, 5-10 (15.6)
F – Jack Wilson, 6-6 (12.6)
Briar Cliff brings a four-game winning streak into the week. That stretch includes wins over Ottawa University (Ariz.), 78-73, Park University Gilbert (Ariz.), 74-72, Mount Marty, 83-75, and Hastings, 103-91. Head Coach Mark Svagera (eighth season) has taken the program to the national tournament three times (2018, 2019 and 2022). The 2024-25 Chargers have the ability to fill it up from the perimeter thanks to the presence of the likes of Matthew Stilwill, Jamison Helmers and Blake Sindelar, the team’s top three scorers. Now in his fifth season in the program, Stilwill has tallied 1,334 points in 95 career games. He was a contributor on the 2021-22 team that shared the GPAC regular season title with Concordia. Briar Cliff is averaging 79.3 points while allowing 81.0 points per game. The Chargers will attempt to avenge the 87-74 defeat they were handed by the Bulldogs in Seward on Dec. 7. Concordia has won each of the past six series meetings with Briar Cliff.
Briar Cliff Projected Starting Five
G – Jamison Helmers, 6-0 (13.6)
G – Wil Lugar, 6-5 (7.4)
G – Blake Sindelar, 6-4 (12.3)
G – Matthew Stilwill, 6-2 (20.7)
F – Jaxson Wingert, 6-7 (10.9)
Next week
After two this week on the road, the Bulldogs will come back home to host Mount Marty (Jan. 15) and No. 7 Northwestern (Jan. 18) in next week’s action. Concordia has yet to face the Lancers or Red Raiders this season.