SEWARD, Neb. – Back in Seward with the CIT trophy in possession, the Concordia Bulldogs Men’s Basketball team now focuses on the stretch run of the GPAC regular season. A monumental week of conference action will feature the Bulldogs up against the two highest rated GPAC teams in the NAIA coaches’ poll: No. 20 Morningside on Wednesday (away) and No. 14 Northwestern on Saturday (home). Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad rides a four-game win streak into this week and stands at 15-5 overall (8-4 GPAC). A hectic CIT week included wins over Mount Marty, 92-63, Concordia Ann Arbor, 80-75, and Concordia Wisconsin, 75-69.
As part of Saturday’s home game, the Bulldogs will celebrate 100-plus years of the program’s existence. More details about the special event can be found HERE.
This Week
Wednesday, Jan. 31 at No. 20 Morningside (14-5, 9-3 GPAC), 7:45 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center (Sioux City, Iowa)
Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. No. 14 Northwestern (17-4, 10-3 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Program 100-year celebration
By the numbers
· The gap is paper thin between the current top five in the GPAC standings: Northwestern (10-3), Hastings (9-3), Morningside (9-3), Concordia (8-4) and Dordt (8-4). The Broncos started out 6-0 in league play but have come back to the pack after falling twice over the weekend – 79-71 at Northwestern and 73-65 at Briar Cliff. The results give the Bulldogs a realistic shot at competing for a conference regular season title with eight games left on the slate. Concordia shared the 2021-22 GPAC regular season title as part of one of the greatest campaigns in the history of the program. Based on the official RPI rankings released last week, the GPAC stands out as one of the NAIA’s best leagues. The top five of the standings each reside in the top 30 of the RPI: No. 9 Hastings, No. 14 Morningside, No. 16 Northwestern, No. 20 Concordia and No. 27 Dordt.
· The Bulldogs are now champions of the Concordia Invitational Tournament for the 30th time in program history. It did not come easy. A slower pace of play and CUAA’s zone made for a tight clash with the Cardinals on day one of CIT. Freshman Hayden Frank stepped up off the bench with a team high 17 points on the strength of 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. A 14-2 run in the second half was the big difference in the Bulldogs’ 80-75 win. The next day, CUNE took on the host school and triumphed while faced with a hyper-charged atmosphere. Noah Schutte took home CIT MVP honors after going for 22 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game. The Bulldogs overcame a 41-38 halftime deficit with a 14-4 spurt in the second half. That run included a series of thunderous dunks from the likes of Schutte and Tristan Smith. As part of a monster week, Smith posted three triple doubles. In his Bulldog tenure, Limback has won six CIT titles and has been part of 11 CIT championships in his career (two as CUAA head coach and three as a player at CUNE).
· For the second year in a row, Schutte took CIT MVP honors. He collected 15 points, three rebounds and three assists in the win over CUAA and then came back and put up 22 points and 12 rebounds while making 8-of-11 shots from the floor in the victory over CUW. On the season, Schutte is averaging 20.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and sports shooting percentages of .584 from the floor, .364 from 3-point range and .817 from the foul line. As a Bulldog, Schutte has played in 103 career games and has tallied 1,562 points and 621 rebounds. On the program’s all-time lists, he ranks 10th in scoring and 11th in rebounding. He recently passed Glen Snodgrass (607) on the rebound list.
· The Elizabeth, Colo., native Smith has become a double-double machine. He turned in three of them last week: 18 points and 12 rebounds versus Mount Marty, 16 points and 16 rebounds versus CUAA and 16 points and 12 rebounds versus CUW. He was named to the CIT all-tournament team along with Schutte. Schutte and Smith just might be the best frontcourt duo in the entire league. Through 20 games this season, Smith is averaging 17.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Among GPAC players, Smith ranks second in rebounding, fourth in field goal percentage (.603) and 10th in scoring.
· The analytics released by the NAIA are a more accurate reflection of where Concordia stands currently than the human polls. The Bulldogs debuted at No. 20 in the official NAIA RPI that was released last week. They also boast the 29th best strength of schedule in the nation. Concordia is also ranked No. 20 by Massey Ratings. As a contrast, the Bulldogs have yet to receive votes in the NAIA coaches’ poll this season and were tagged a surprisingly low seed (13 seed) by a recent bracketology projection linked here: https://twitter.com/RedBannerRB/status/1749909058537013577. A win or two this week would go a long way towards bringing more respect to Concordia.
· The Bulldog Men’s Basketball program will be celebrating 100 years of existence as part of this weekend’s home matchup with Northwestern. There will be festivities held both Friday and Saturday in conjunction with the celebration. A dinner and social will take place at Harvest Hall on Friday. Coach Limback and the program are expecting to welcome back a large number of men’s basketball alums. Those alums will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s game.
· While Schutte and Smith often grab headlines, Concordia has gotten to 15-5 with the help of its entire varsity roster. Brad Bennett and Lukas Helms have started all 20 games alongside Schutte and Smith while freshman Jaxon Stueve has gotten the nod in the first five in each of the past four outings. Stueve is one of a group of freshmen with bright futures. That class has also featured Frank, Tyler Harre, Brooks Kissinger and Brandt Van Dyke. The scoring averages for the freshmen stand at 6.6 for Helms, 5.8 for Frank, 5.6 for Stueve and 5.6 for Kissinger.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Brad Bennett, 6-1 (10.4)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (5.6)
F – Lukas Helms, 6-6 (6.6)
F – Noah Schutte, 6-4 (20.3)
F – Tristan Smith, 6-5 (17.9)
The opponents
Morningside shared the GPAC regular season title with Jamestown last season and is in the hunt once again under the direction of Head Coach Trent Miller. The 2023-24 Mustangs were 7-0 at home before being clipped, 88-83, by Jamestown last week. In the NAIA RPI, Morningside checks in at No. 14 while having played the nation’s 44th most challenging schedule. Miller’s squad is led by two stars in particular in senior center Ely Doble and senior guard Joey Skoff. Both rank inside the top five of the GPAC in scoring with Skoff at 21.6 and Doble at 21.1 points per game. In the month of January, the Mustangs have gone 5-2 with a road win over Hastings and a home victory over top 25 Northwestern. Morningside averaged 88.7 points per game and shoots 52.8 percent from the floor. The Mustangs have won each of the past three series meetings over the Bulldogs.
Morningside Projected Starting Five
G – Jack Dotzler, 5-10 (11.1)
G – Joey Skoff, 6-3 (21.6)
G – Aidan Vanderloo, 6-1 (9.8)
F – Brendan Buckley, 6-4 (7.5)
C – Ely Doble, 6-6 (21.1)
Northwestern has enjoyed a mostly successful January while rebounding from a stunning upset loss at the buzzer to Mount Marty on Jan. 6. The Red Raiders have gone 5-1 since then with a home win over Hastings. Red Raider opponents must always be aware of Alex Van Kalsbeek, a 6-foot-6 star in the post. He’s averaging 20.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and recently put up 52 points in a win over Midland. Meanwhile, Dillon Carlson and Craig Sterk are returning Honorable Mention All-Americans for a well-rounded squad. The program is on track to reach the national tournament for the 19th time under the direction of Head Coach Kris Korver, who has led Northwestern to more than 500 wins during his tenure. In the NAIA RPI, Northwestern is rated 16th while sporting the nation’s No. 38 strength of schedule. Concordia won two of three matchups last season with the Red Raiders before Northwestern took this season’s first meeting, 80-76, in Orange City.
Northwestern Projected Starting Five
G – Kaleb Booth, 6-0 (7.0)
G – Dillon Carlson, 6-2 (13.1)
F – Zach LaFave, 6-5 (11.1)
F – Keyton Moser, 6-2 (8.5)
F – Alex Van Kalsbeek, 6-6 (20.7)
Next Week
The layout of next week will be unique as the Bulldogs will host Dordt in a makeup game on Monday, Feb. 5. They will then wait until Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 11) to venture to Mitchell, S.D., for a matchup with Dakota Wesleyan. By the end of that stretch, there will be only four games remaining in the regular season.