RIVER FOREST, ILL. — The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team has begun their season with a historic start by going 7-0 so far. This has been marked as the best start in CUC basketball history since the 1978-79 season. This Cougar squad is currently receiving votes for the d3hoops.com Top 25 National List with 13 votes.
The Season So Far
Opening up their season with a non-conference matchup, the Cougars defeated Loras College 98-88. This was capitalized by a season high for Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) with 29 points and five rebounds. Coming back for the home opener, they defeated Knox College with a score of 97-65. Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) led offensively that day with 21 points.
Starting off their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play, CUC defeated the sister school, Concordia Wisconsin, in a score of 87-85. Four different Cougars were able to score in double digits on this night, which has been a season best so far. Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) led them all with 18 points while going four-for-six from the free throw line. They then had another win against Carroll University with a win of 73-67. This first marked their best start in school history since the 1978-79 season, who started off 8-0. Matthews again took the lead with 18 points and five steals.
Continuing their NACC domination, they defeated Edgewood on the road with a nail-biter of 79-78. Three more Cougars were in double digit numbers again with Matthews, Collicott, and Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.). They then brought the energy back to Geiseman and defeated the Illinois Institute of Technology with a score of 57-42. Matthews had his first double-double of the year with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
After this scorching start, the CUC men's basketball team first began receiving votes on the d3hoops.com Top 25 National List. Hosting Marian in a men's and women's basketball double-header, they started off the afternoon with a 95-87 win over the Sabres. Wilson had a career high of 26 points, where he shot 70 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) had six rebounds, seven points, and two assists on the night and Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) had a season high six assists for the team.
As the Cougars continue this trail, they look this weekend to beat Benedictine and bring their record to 8-0. If they do so, this will tie the best start to a season since 1978-79. If they keep it up, this could be the best start in all of CUC history for men's basketball.
Top Numbers
Currently, the Cougars men's basketball team is only one of 15 Division III teams that have remained undefeated so far in the 2022-23 season. As a team, they currently rank eleventh in the country for steals per game with 11.9 steals a game. With some more notable individual statistics, Greenlee ranks number seven in the country in steals per game with 3.14 steals a game. Collicott also ranks sixth in the nation for free throw percentage while making 20 out of 21 with a 95.24 percent.
Category Leaders
JRock's Game
Matthews also surpassed his 1,000 career points mark between his two universities as a transfer student, currently sitting at 730 at Concordia. As a main contributor to the Concordia offense, it is clear that he has marked himself into the CUC men's basketball history books. Last year, he stood as a NACC Player of the Week, d3hoops.com Team of the Week honoree, a NACC All-Conference First Team honoree and d3hoops.com Third Team All-Region.
As the fifth year continues to dominate in his craft, he currently stands as one of the most dynamic CUC men's basketball players. He is now averaging 17.7 points per game and leads heads and shoulders above in his three point average of 34.2 percent. As the Cougars basketball team dominates, Matthews finds himself as a catalyst for their success.
What Is To Come?
The Cougars have a lot more of the season ahead of them. Coming up this Saturday, they travel to Benedictine for a 2 p.m. tipoff. If they win this game, it puts this as one of the best CUC men's basketball teams in school history and the opportunity to break into the d3hoops.com Top 25 List.
For coverage of all of our sports, head to cucougars.com/coverage.
