SEWARD, Neb. – The first seven games of conference play have not gone as scripted, but the Concordia University men’s basketball team could turn his fortunes around this Saturday with a win at the Corn Palace. After polishing off finals week, the Bulldogs will head to Mitchell, S.D., for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff at 18th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan.
Game Info
Concordia (7-6, 1-6) at No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan (9-3, 5-3)
Saturday, Dec. 15 | 6 p.m. CST
Mitchell, S.D. | Corn Palace
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Tyler Cavalli)
Webcast: Stretch Internet
Sixth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad will have had a week off from game action by the time it takes the court on Saturday. In its most recent action, Concordia suffered heart break when Colby Johnson’s buzzer beating trey allowed Mount Marty to leave Walz Arena with a 70-69 victory. The Bulldogs will head into the weekend having dropped four GPAC games in a row since a 92-87 overtime victory over Hastings. The trick now is to revive a struggling offense that sports GPAC rankings of ninth in scoring (74.8) and ninth in field goal percentage (.453).
Junior point guard Brevin Sloup kept Concordia afloat offensively last week in losses to Doane and Mount Marty. Sloup notched eight points during a 10-0 second half run that got the Bulldogs within striking distance at Doane. He also put up 17 of his game high 24 points in the second half of the Mount Marty contest. Meanwhile, Tanner Shuck followed a three-game hot stretch that included 22 points or more in each outing by going 8-for-30 from the floor (5-for-22 from 3-point range) last week. Those types of performances are unlikely to continue for the career 40.4 percent 3-point shooter.
Concordia’s most recent win over Dakota Wesleyan was a 109-106 overtime classic at the Corn Palace on Feb. 12, 2017. All-American Chandler Folkerts enjoyed a monster performance, going for 37 points and 14 rebounds. Since then, the Tigers have won each of the last three meetings between the two sides. The Bulldogs have dropped their first three road games of the season in GPAC play. However, they do own a nonconference victory over Peru State College, currently ranked 17th at the NAIA Division I level.
Head coach Matt Wilber’s Tigers jumped back into the top 25 this week on the heels of road wins over Mount Marty and Doane. Dakota Wesleyan remains a high-powered offensive team led by junior guard Ty Hoglund, named the GPAC Player of the Week on Tuesday. Hoglund is averaging 23.8 points per game for a squad that ranks seventh nationally in 3-point field goals per game (12.0) and 21st in scoring offense (89.6). Concordia has not had much success creating turnovers and now goes up against a Tiger team that turns the ball over just 9.5 times per game.
After Saturday’s contest, the Bulldogs will wait until their trip to Phoenix, Ariz., (Dec. 28-29) for a return to the hardwood. Conference play will resume after New Year’s Day.
Projected lineups
(Scoring average in parentheses)
Concordia (7-4, 1-4 GPAC)
G – Brevin Sloup, Jr., 5-9 (16.2)
G – Carter Kent, Fr., 6-2 (8.5)
F – Tanner Shuck, Jr., 6-4 (16.9)
F – Chuol Biel, Jr. 6-8 (7.2)
F – Ryan Holt, So., 6-5 (6.2)
Dakota Wesleyan (9-3, 5-3 GPAC)
G – Aaron Ahmadu, Sr., 5-10 (9.1)
G – Nick Harden, Jr., 5-10 (16.8)
G – Ty Hoglund, Jr., 6-3 (23.8)
F – Collin Kramer, Jr., 6-7 (7.8)
F – Samuel McCloud, Jr., 6-8 (12.1)