RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- After a postponed midweek match up against Edgewood College, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars are well rested and ready to head to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the 68th Annual Concordia Invitational Tournament this weekend. 

Follow along at cucougars.com/coverage for updates on all CIT events this weekend, and to see who the Cougars will face on Saturday. 

Last Time Out... The Cougars are coming off back-to-back losses heading into tomorrow night's contest. Last weekend, CUC fell 85-110 to NACC opponent MSOE despite junior Hassan Basbous having a career-best night with 24 points. He is now averaging 9.1 points per game and five rebounds per game since joining the starting lineup on Jan. 3 at Aurora.

A Look at the Hosts... Concordia Ann Arbor will play host to this year's CIT as well as hosting the Cougars for tomorrow night's primetime showdown. CUC and CUAA will tip off at approximately 8:15 p.m. The NAIA Cardinals are 5-18 on the year thus far and 4-11 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Key contributors for the Cardinals are Jalen Thompson and Jared McDaniel averaging 15.9 and 12.1 points per game, respectively. In addition to Thompson and McDaniel, CUAA has four other players averaging at least 8.0 points per game.

What's at Stake... A win against Concordia Ann Arbor tomorrow night would advance Concordia-Chicago into the championship game of CIT for the first time since 2011. CUC has not won the first game of CIT since the 2010-11 season when the Cougars defeated Concordia Nebraska on Friday night and went on to win the championship against host team, Concordia Ann Arbor on Saturday.

CUW or CUNE... Pending the outcomes of tomorrow night's games will determine who the Cougars face on Saturday. If taking on NACC rival Concordia Wisconsin, it will be the third time this season that the two foes will go head-to-head, with CUW already having routed the Cougars twice this season. On the flip side, the Bulldogs of Concordia Nebraska have asserted historic dominance over the tournament, winning an event-record 27 titles. CUNE's Brevin Sloup is the biggest threat to CUC, with a 16.2 points per game average and shooting 42.8 percent from the field on the season. 

Gentle Giant... Chicago native and freshman Landen Gladney has made his presence known across the country through 16 games this year. With the hot start to his college career, he has recorded double-digit rebounds in 15 games and has 14 double-doubles on the season. Gladney is ranked second in the nation for total double-doubles and sixth for rebounds per game (12.9). He is also eighth in the country with 207 total boards, seventh for offensive rebounds per game (4.56) and 10th in defensive rebounds per game (8.38).

The stats don't lie. Freshman Landen Gladney now leads all of Division III in double doubles and ranks among the top 10 in two other categories. #RestoreTheRoar pic.twitter.com/aVUj9CwgEK

— CUC Athletics (@CUChicagoSports) January 18, 2019

A Meeks Matter... As the team's third leading scorer, sophomore Jalen Meeks is a key part of the Cougars' lineup. Averaging 16.9 points per game, Meeks leads CUC in total steals with 29 as well as ranking second in the conference for averaging 2.1 steals per game. He is also second on the team in assists (22) and blocks (9).

Pelissier's Point... Former NACC Athlete of the Week and senior guard Mitch Pelissier has left his mark on the CUC basketball program, as he moved into fourth place on the Concordia-Chicago all-time scoring list last week, now with 1,626 career points. Averaging 21.7 points per game, he is currently second in the NACC and ranks 33rd nationally among Division III basketball.