2025–26 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team

2025–26 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball
ConferenceNortheast Conference
Record7–25 (5–13 NEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ben Mandelbaum
  • Torrence Johnson
  • Adam Schwartz
Home arenaJones Convocation Center
2025–26 NEC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
LIU † 15 – 3   .833 24 – 11   .686
Central Connecticut 12 – 6   .667 18 – 12   .600
Mercyhurst * 10 – 8   .556 17 – 17   .500
Le Moyne * 10 – 8   .556 15 – 17   .469
New Haven ** 9 – 9   .500 14 – 17   .452
Stonehill 8 – 10   .444 12 – 21   .364
Fairleigh Dickinson 8 – 10   .444 11 – 21   .344
Wagner 8 – 10   .444 14 – 17   .452
Chicago State 5 – 13   .278 7 – 25   .219
Saint Francis 5 – 13   .278 7 – 24   .226
† 2026 NEC tournament winner
* ineligible for the 2026 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
** ineligible for both the 2026 NEC tournament and the 2026 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II

The 2025–26 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team represented Chicago State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by first-year head coach Landon Bussie, played their home games at the Jones Convocation Center located in Chicago, Illinois, as second-year members of the Northeast Conference.

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2024–25 season 4–28, 4–12 in NEC play, to finish in a tie for eighth (last) place.[1] They were defeated by LIU in the NEC tournament.[2]

On March 7, 2025, the school announced that they would be firing head coach Scott Spinelli, after just one season at the helm.[3] On March 20, the school announced that they would be hiring Alcorn State head coach Landon Bussie as the team's new head coach.[4]

Preseason

On October 27, 2025, the NEC released their preseason coaches poll. Chicago State was picked to finish sixth in the conference.[5]

Preseason rankings

NEC Preseason Poll
Place Team
1 LIU*
2 Central Connecticut
3 Stonehill
4 Mercyhurst
5 Fairleigh Dickinson
6 Chicago State
7 Saint Francis
8 Wagner
9 Le Moyne
10 New Haven
(*) Unanimous selection

Source:[5]

Preseason All-NEC Team

No players were named to the All-NEC Preseason Team.[6]

Roster

2025–26 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Greg Spate 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr West Oaks Academy Lauderhill, Florida
G 1 Deshawn Jean-Charles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Miramar High School Miami, Florida
G 3 Doyel Cockrill III 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Jr Fisk Nashville, Tennessee
G 4 Marcus Tankersley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Alcorn State Chattanooga, Tennessee
G 5 Chauncey Gibson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Prairie View A&M Dallas, Texas
F 6 Daniel Zatsepin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Jr East Central Community College Moscow, Russia
F 8 Stephen Byard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) GS Rider Atlantic City, New Jersey
G 9 Malek Robinson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Liberty Magnet High School Baton Rouge, Louisiana
G 10 Corey Sands 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Talladega College Nassau, Bahamas
G 11 Lionel Larvadain III 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Delgado Community College New Orleans, Louisiana
G 12 DaJuan Bates 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Moberly Area Community College Chicago, Illinois
F 15 Joseph Owens 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Virginia State DeKalb, Illinois
F 20 CJ Delancy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr LIU Jonesboro, Arkansas
G 21 Braelon Bush 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) GS Prairie View A&M Silsbee, Texas
F 22 Dailliss Cox 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Christian Brothers Louisville, Kentucky
F 23 CJ Ray 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Southern Arkansas Four Oaks, North Carolina
G 25 Dakari Thomas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Alcorn State Amityville, New York
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 18, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at DePaul L 62–92  0–1
  16 – 2 tied   9 – Tankersley   3 – 2 tied  Wintrust Arena (3,495)
Chicago, IL
November 6, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Saint Louis L 86–108  0–2
  19 – Cox   8 – Cox   3 – Bush  Chaifetz Arena (3,522)
St. Louis, MO
November 11, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Butler L 66–98  0–3
  24 – Tankersley   4 – Tankersley   2 – 3 tied  Hinkle Fieldhouse (6,159)
Indianapolis, IN
November 15, 2025*
1:00 pm, NECFR 		UIC L 63–67  0–4
  15 – Bush   6 – Byard   3 – 2 tied  Jones Convocation Center (712)
Chicago, IL
November 18, 2025*
7:00 pm, B1G+ 		at Minnesota
Acrisure Series on-campus game 		L 54–66  0–5
  16 – Tankersley   5 – Gibson   3 – Bush  Williams Arena (6,774)
Minneapolis, MN
November 20, 2025*
6:00 pm, B1G+ 		at Iowa
Acrisure Series on-campus game 		L 54–93  0–6
  19 – Tankersley   7 – Byard   3 – Tankersley  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,265)
Iowa City, IA
November 25, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Purdue Fort Wayne
Acrisure Series on-campus game 		L 77–90  0–7
  18 – Tankersley   4 – Cox   2 – 3 tied  Memorial Coliseum (1,613)
Fort Wayne, IN
November 28, 2025*
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Youngstown State L 64–87  0–8
  14 – 2 tied   5 – Zatsepin   5 – Cockrill III  Beeghly Center (1,356)
Youngstown, OH
December 1, 2025*
11:00 am, NECFR 		Saint Xavier
Education Day 		W 85–62  1–8
  21 – Cockrill III   11 – Cox   3 – Tankersley  Jones Convocation Center (3,707)
Chicago, IL
December 6, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Illinois State L 53–95  1–9
  13 – Cockrill III   8 – Ray   1 – 5 tied  CEFCU Arena (3,881)
Normal, IL
December 14, 2025*
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Loyola Chicago W 84–75  2–9
  22 – Cockrill III   9 – Ray   6 – Tankersley  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,972)
Chicago, IL
December 16, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Bowling Green L 55–76  2–10
  19 – Cockrill III   7 – Byard   2 – 2 tied  Stroh Center (1,715)
Bowling Green, OH
December 20, 2025*
12:00 pm, B1G+ 		at Indiana L 58–78  2–11
  12 – Larvadain   4 – 4 tied   1 – 7 tied  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (12,549)
Bloomington, IN
Conference regular season
January 2, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		Wagner L 72–79  2–12
(0–1) 		 13 – Ray   6 – 2 tied   5 – Bush  Jones Convocation Center (114)
Chicago, IL
January 4, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR 		LIU L 55–74  2–13
(0–2) 		 10 – 3 tied   6 – 2 tied   3 – Bush  Jones Convocation Center (272)
Chicago, IL
January 8, 2026
4:00 pm, NECFR 		at Fairleigh Dickinson L 63–70  2–14
(0–3) 		 15 – 2 tied   8 – Byard   2 – 2 tied  Bogota Savings Bank Center (329)
Hackensack, NJ
January 10, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR 		at Stonehill L 82–85 OT 2–15
(0–4) 		 27 – Ray   7 – Owens   7 – Bush  Merkert Gymnasium (137)
Easton, MA
January 17, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR 		Le Moyne L 57–72  2–16
(0–5) 		 20 – Tankersley   7 – Bush   10 – Bush  Jones Convocation Center (119)
Chicago, IL
January 19, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		New Haven L 56–62  2–17
(0–6) 		 17 – Ray   6 – Cox   4 – Tankersley  Jones Convocation Center (71)
Chicago, IL
January 23, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		at Saint Francis L 60–81  2–18
(0–7) 		 21 – Ray   7 – Sands   3 – Gibson  DeGol Arena (703)
Loretto, PA
January 25, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR 		at Mercyhurst L 59–61  2–19
(0–8) 		 13 – Tied   9 – Cox   3 – Robinson  Owen McCormick Court (356)
Erie, PA
January 31, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR 		Mercyhurst W 78–74  3–19
(1–8) 		 37 – Ray   10 – Ray   Bush – 5  Jones Convocation Center (141)
Chicago, IL
February 5, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		at Central Connecticut L 67–78  3–20
(1–9) 		 22 – Ray   6 – Ray   5 – Bush  William H. Detrick Gymnasium (914)
New Britain, CT
February 7, 2026
12:00 pm, NECFR 		at New Haven W 63–57  4–20
(2–9) 		 19 – Tankersley   9 – Cockrill III   4 – Tankersley  Hazell Center (590)
West Haven, CT
February 9, 2026
4:00 pm, NECFR 		Saint Francis W 80–75  5–20
(3–9) 		 19 – Tied   9 – Cockrill III   4 – Tankersley  Jones Convocation Center (27)
Chicago, IL
February 12, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		Stonehill W 68–55  6–20
(4–9) 		 18 – Ray   8 – Cox   6 – Tankersley  Jones Convocation Center (183)
Chicago, IL
February 14, 2026
12:00 pm, NECFR 		at Le Moyne L 63–81  6–21
(4–10) 		 15 – Ray   10 – Ray   4 – Tied  Ted Grant Court (586)
DeWitt, NY
February 19, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		Fairleigh Dickinson L 59–60  6–22
(4–11) 		 17 – Cockrill III   8 – Byard   5 – Cockrill III  Jones Convocation Center (456)
Chicago, IL
February 21, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR 		Central Connecticut W 70–51  7–22
(5–11) 		 15 – Ray   9 – Ray   7 – Tankersley  Jones Convocation Center (272)
Chicago, IL
February 26, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		at LIU L 56–73  7–23
(5–12) 		 17 – Byard   8 – Byard   4 – Byard  Steinberg Wellness Center 
Brooklyn, NY
February 28, 2026
12:00 pm, NECFR 		at Wagner L 61–80  7–24
(5–13) 		 19 – Tankersley   5 – Byard   4 – Bush  Spiro Sports Center (571)
Staten Island, NY
Conference Tournament
March 4, 2026
6:00 pm, NECFR 		(8) at (1) LIU
Quarterfinals 		L 75–79  7–25
  22 – Byard   12 – Byard   5 – Ray  Steinberg Wellness Center (886)
Brooklyn, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[8][9]

References

  1. ^ "2025 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Field Set". NEC. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "Davis scores 35 as LIU takes down Chicago State 68-57 in Northeast Conference Tournament". FOX Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  3. ^ "Chicago State fires Scott Spinelli after 1 season as head coach". Busting Brackets. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  4. ^ "Former HBCU Head Basketball Coach Takes Charge At Chicago State University". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Shark Hunt Begins: LIU Unanimously Named 2025-26 NEC Preseason Men's Basketball Favorite". NEC. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  6. ^ "LIU All-Star Duo Highlights 2025-26 Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team". NEC. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  7. ^ Nunn, Joshua (December 1, 2025). "South Carolina State vs Chicago State Predictions, Picks, Odds for Monday, December 1". Action Network Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  8. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Chicago State University Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  9. ^ "Chicago State Cougars 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
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