SEWARD, Neb. – The winning streak has grown to seven following a pair of blowout home wins last week for Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball. The 24th-ranked Bulldogs cruised past both Doane, 90-59, and Dakota Wesleyan, 103-71, while maintaining their perch atop the early GPAC standings. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad will put its unblemished 5-0 conference record (8-2 overall) on the line in a pair of road trips this week. Before dipping back out of conference, Concordia will play at Midland on Wednesday and at Dordt on Saturday.
This Week
Wednesday, Dec. 10 at Midland (5-5, 3-2 GPAC), 7:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Wikert Event Center (Fremont, Neb.)
Saturday, Dec. 13 at Dordt (5-6, 2-3 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: De Witt Gymnasium (Sioux Center, Iowa)
By the numbers
· It would be knit picking to find negatives in the Bulldogs’ performances last week. Concordia outscored Doane and Dakota Wesleyan by a combined score of 193-130 while outshooting the two opponents, by percentage, 55.7 to 41.3. In the pummeling of Doane, Brooks Kissinger led all scorers with 24 points. He was backed by two teammates in double figures: Tate Odvody (14 points and six rebounds) and Jaxon Stueve (12 points and three assists). Off the bench, Hayden Frank made his return from injury and chipped in with six points. Three days later, the entire starting five reached double figures: Kissinger (20), Zac Kulus (19), Stueve (15), Dane Jacobsen (12) and Logan Wilson (11). Kulus also notched four steals and four assists while jumping back into the starting lineup. The 103-point outburst marked the second time this season that Concordia has reached the century mark (put up 107 versus Clarke University).
· Dating back to last season, the Bulldogs have won nine straight GPAC regular season games. Over the first five GPAC regular season contests of this season, Concordia has outscored its opponents by an average of 90.0 to 69.0. The GPAC has struggled to handle Kissinger, who is averaging 21.4 points on 63.3 percent shooting versus league foes. As a program, the Bulldogs have gone a combined 88-37 in GPAC regular season games since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. Both the 2021-22 and 2023-24 squads shared conference regular season championships.
· The Ashland, Neb., native Kissinger has been remarkably consistent in his rise to stardom as a junior. Since the calendar flipped to November, Kissinger has posted respective game-by-game scoring totals of 17, 31, 18, 22, 21, 20, 24 and 20 points. His 31 points in the Cattle Classic win over Oklahoma City University are a career high. The aforementioned stretch does not include the 26 Kissinger scored in the exhibition game at NCAA Division I University of Nebraska Omaha. Among GPAC players, Kissinger ranks third in scoring average (19.6), fourth in field goal percentage (.627), fifth in rebounding (6.9) and 16th in assists (3.4).
· During a fine run for the program in recent years, the Bulldogs have rarely tasted defeat at home. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Concordia has gone a combined 71-7 inside Friedrich Arena. The 2021-22 national quarterfinalist team went a perfect 16-0 at home. On another note, the Bulldogs made a major leap in the new NAIA Hoops Report top 25, which placed Concordia at No. 16. In the official NAIA coaches’ poll (released on Nov. 26), the Bulldogs landed at No. 24. Limback’s teams have appeared in the NAIA top 25 for a fifth consecutive season.
· Among GPAC squads, Concordia sports team rankings of first in scoring defense (70.3), first in field goal percentage defense (.424), first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.287), third in rebound margin (+2.8), fourth in scoring offense (87.0), fifth in field goal percentage offense (.500), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage offense (.387) and seventh in free throw percentage (.710). The Bulldogs rank as the most efficient team in the GPAC in terms of net efficiency, which measures offensive and defensive statistical success (.222).
· Entering the week, every GPAC team has played at least four conference games. Concordia leads the pack at 5-0 and is followed by Morningside (4-1), Briar Cliff (3-2), Midland (3-2) and Mount Marty (3-2). GPAC preseason favorite Northwestern (2-3) has already endured three conference defeats despite boasting the nation’s top two scorers. This week, Morningside will play at Briar Cliff before hosting Doane.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Dane Jacobsen, 6-3 (12.5)
G – Brooks Kissinger, 6-3 (19.6)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (12.1)
F – Tate Odvody, 6-4 (11.1)
F – Logan Wilson, 6-7 (8.0)
The opponents
Midland finished the 2024-25 season at 12-17 (7-13 GPAC) and was pegged fifth in the GPAC preseason coaches’ poll. The headlining returner from last season is senior guard Jake Orr, who earned Second Team All-GPAC accolades last season. Head Coach Tyler Erwin’s program also brought back 6-foot-7 post Jeff Rozelle III (13.7 points / 7.9 rebounds per game) while brining in freshman guard Amari Rahaman, an immediate starter. Junior guard Butch Lordeus leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game. The Warriors will carry a three-game winning streak into Wednesday’s contest having defeated Clarke, Hastings and Waldorf in succession. Midland also owns a league win over Morningside. The GPAC defeats came at the hands of Mount Marty and Dakota Wesleyan. Concordia has won each of the past 14 meetings with the Warriors.
Midland Projected Starting Five
G – Butch Lordeus, 6-4 (14.1)
G – Jake Orr, 6-2 (11.2)
G – Amari Rahaman, 6-1 (8.4)
F – Nick Dolezal, 6-6 (11.9)
F – Jeff Rozelle III, 6-7 (13.7)
Head Coach: Tyler Erwin, 4th season
The reigning GPAC regular season champion, Dordt experienced an offseason roster makeover after graduating many of its star players from last season’s squad that went 28-4 overall and reached the second round of the national tournament. Gone are four first/second all-conference players, including first teamers Lucas Lorenzen and Luke Rankin and second teamers Bryce Coppock and Ben Fairclough. Despite the personnel departures, the Defenders continue to score at a high clip, ranking second in the GPAC in scoring average (88.3). Junior guard Jake Hargens had been leading the team in scoring (17.2) before missing the past five outings. That leaves junior guard Connor Millikan as the team’s most experienced backcourt player. Head Coach Brian Van Haaften’s team will host Dakota Wesleyan on Wednesday night while looking to bounce back from a 79-77 loss at Doane this past Saturday. Dordt’s GPAC wins this season have come over Hastings and Briar Cliff.
Dordt Projected Starting Five
G – Connor Millikan, 6-0 (16.3)
G – Steven Poulicek, 6-1 (7.0)
G – Jake Proctor, 6-3 (10.8)
F – Judson Henkel, 6-9 (10.7)
F – Ty Van Essen, 6-5 (14.2)
Head Coach: Brian Van Haaften, 8th season
Next week
A string of three nonconference games in a row will begin on Friday, Dec. 19 when the Bulldogs make a visit to MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.). Tipoff from Olathe is slated for 6 p.m. CT on that date.