Jan. 23, 2020 - This is the weekend when memories are made for those connected with the Concordias of Chicago, Ann Arbor, Nebraska or Wisconsin. The 69th Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT) is here, and this year is the return of this long-running basketball tournament (second to only the NIT) to River Forest - or, as the CUC crowd is putting it, "Our House."

For the home team, the CUC Cougars (6-9, 5-6 NACC) have been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride in January. They began the month with a two-point loss at Rockford but then came home for a 3-0 week in River Forest - wins over Aurora and Maranatha Baptist, followed by a blowout win down the street at Dominican. However, the recent road swing was unkind, with losses at Concordia Wisconsin, Illinois Tech and Benedictine. The latter, coming just two nights ago, saw the Cougars battle to the final 30 seconds in a 69-66 loss. 

The Cougar men will now look to go on a roll, and with CIT beginning a five-game home stand, this would seem to be the perfect time for it. Raushaun Amos is having a solid first season with the Cougars, bringing a 14.6 scoring average into tonight's game. Landen Gladney, last year's NACC Freshman of the Year, recently made his return to the lineup after an injury took him out for a few weeks, and his 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game are very much welcome. Interesting stat of note: The Cougars are 4-1 at home this season, averaging 91 points and eclipsing the 100-point mark twice.

Concordia Wisconsin (9-6, 8-3 NACC) will provide the opposition Friday night, and as has been the case in recent years when these two meet up in the first round, the result will count in the conference standings. The Falcons are the defending CIT men's champions, defeating Nebraska and Ann Arbor last year in Michigan to win their fourth CIT title - all under 13th year head coach Shawn Cassidy. 

Jordan Johnson will draw much attention when he's in the game. The junior was MVP of CIT last year, and he recently scored his 1,000th career point against Marian. Johnson scored a game-high 27 points when CUW knocked off CUC 83-67 nine days ago, so holding him down should be a big part of CUC's game plan. Providing inside strength for the Falcons is 6'7" Brandon Keller with 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds. 

In Friday's earlier first-round men's game at 3:15, the Cardinals of Concordia Ann Arbor meet the Bulldogs of Concordia Nebraska. Ann Arbor is the "newest" member of the tournament, joining in 2002 after Concordia St. Paul left the year before, having become NCAA Division II. The Cardinals have fared well, however, having won four titles in their 18 years. They are an NAIA program, a member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.

Ann Arbor is 6-14 on the season, 3-9 in conference. They are led in scoring by senior guard Jerald Booker with 13.8 points per game, and Booker can do it all as he also leads the Cardinals in assists and steals. The man in the middle for CUAA is 6' 9" Paul Zysk, an excellent rebounder who was also among the NAIA II national leaders in blocked shots last year.

Nebraska is coached by Ben Limback, whose CIT history is most interesting. He is the only coach to have led two men's teams to CIT titles, having coached at Ann Arbor when they won in 2006 and 2007. He then returned to his alma mater, where he won in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Bulldogs lead the men's field with 27 CIT wins.

The Bulldogs come to River Forest with a 14-6 record, 7-4 in the NAIA's Great Plains Athletics Conference. They had a seven-game winning streak snapped at home Wednesday night by top-ranked Morningside College 85-72. CUNE is led in scoring by a trio of guards in Brevin Sloup (15.4), Carter Kent (14.3) and Tanner Shuck (12.1).

For all fans who will not be in River Forest this weekend, go to www.cucougars.com/coverage for live stats and video. The official host page for the tournament can be found at www.cucougars.com/cit.