SEWARD, Neb. – Before ringing in the new year, the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team will welcome Heart of America Athletic Conference member MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) to Friedrich Arena on Saturday. Admission will be free in appreciation of the Seward community. The contest will mark the first home appearance for Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad since returning from two matchups with Golden State Athletic Conference opponents this past weekend. The Bulldogs are now 8-4 overall after a 73-65 loss at No. 4 Arizona Christian University and a 94-72 win at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
This Week
Saturday, Dec. 28 vs. MidAmerica Nazarene (5-8), 3 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Free Admission | Seward Community Appreciation
By the numbers
· From a rankings perspective, Concordia faced its most challenging task yet in going on the road to play No. 4 Arizona Christian on Dec. 20. The Firestorm had recently been ranked No. 1 in the NAIA. The contest featured a dramatic reversal as a 21-8 Bulldog lead gave way to a 57-34 deficit early in the second half. Behind Noah Schutte (18 points and 15 rebounds) and Zac Kulus (14 second-half points), Concordia fought back to within seven points before being defeated. The Firestorm shot 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the floor. The next day, the Bulldogs ventured from Glendale to Prescott and turned a tight first half into a blowout win at Embry-Riddle. Tristan Smith (29 points and seven rebounds) and Schutte (24 points and 11 rebounds) combined for 53 points as Concordia shot 58.7 percent (37-for-63) from the field. Jaxon Stueve also added 15 points.
· An impressive week for Schutte (two double-doubles) helped push him to No. 2 on the program’s all-time scoring list with 2,043 career points. As part of the matchup with Arizona Christian, Schutte surpassed Tom Raabe (2,016), an Arizona native who is in attendance for the game. Schutte now stands behind only Concordia Athletics Hall of Famer Jon Ziegler (2,099 points) as the program’s all-time leading scorer. For comparison’s sake, Ziegler played in 128 career games, Raabe played in 101 contests (started all of them) and Schutte reached 2,000 points in game No. 125. In his Bulldog career, Schutte has also totaled 816 rebounds, 228 assists and 86 steals. On the program’s all-time rebound list, Schutte ranks behind only Matt List (928), Gage Smith (899) and Chandler Folkerts (868).
· About the only thing that can slow down the Elizabeth, Colo., native Smith is foul trouble. He’s now had four games this season of 29 points or more with a career-high of 35 coming at Waldorf. Smith has twice been named the GPAC Offensive Player of the Week this season. Among GPAC players, Smith ranks second in blocks (1.3), third in field goal percentage (.664), fourth in rebounding (7.5), fifth in steals (2.2), sixth in assists (3.6) and seventh in scoring (19.8). In his collegiate career, Smith has piled up 1,138 points and 562 rebounds in 91 games.
· Concordia has played five of its eight nonconference regular season games on the 2024-25 slate. The Bulldogs are 4-1 in those games with wins over NCAA Division III opponents Central College (Iowa) and Nebraska Wesleyan University and NAIA foes Bethel College (Kan.) and Embry-Riddle. The contests versus D-3 foes do not count towards the official NAIA RPI rankings. A new version of the RPI was released most recently on Dec. 16 and showed Concordia at No. 65. The remaining nonconference foes include MidAmerica Nazarene, Concordia University Chicago and either Concordia University Ann Arbor or Concordia University Wisconsin as part of the 72nd Concordia Invitational Tournament.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Brad Bennett, 6-1 (10.6)
G – Hayden Frank, 6-2 (7.8)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (7.8)
F – Noah Schutte, 6-4 (18.0)
F – Tristan Smith, 6-5 (19.8)
The opponent
MidAmerica Nazarene landed at No. 139 in the most recent NAIA RPI. Pioneers alum Adam Hepker is in his third season as head coach of the program, which is coming off a 25-6 record and NAIA national tournament appearance this past season. MNU has been a perennially strong program with 21 all-time national tournament appearances to its credit. Through 13 games in 2024-25, the Pioneers are 5-8 and are averaging 73.8 points while allowing 75.5 points per outing. A 6-foot-5 freshman forward, Joe Buchanan leads the team with an average of 15.2 points per game. By the time MNU visits Seward on Saturday, it will have been idle since a 67-61 loss at William Penn University (Iowa) on Dec. 16. In the most recent meeting between the two programs, the Pioneers defeated the Bulldogs, 65-60, in a game that took place in Hawaii in December 2019.
MidAmerica Nazarene Projected Starting Five
G – Malachi Bryant, 6-2 (10.5)
G – Isaiah Cull, 6-4 (3.5)
G – Brooks Langrehr, 6-3 (10.7)
F – Joe Buchanan, 6-5 (15.2)
F – Caden Kaberline, 6-7 (4.8)
Next week
Conference play will return as the calendar flips to 2025. The Bulldogs will play Dakota Wesleyan at the Corn Palace on Jan. 2 before coming back home to host No. 11 Dordt on Jan. 4.