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2025–26 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team

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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 in Chicago, Illinois as second-year members of the Northeast Conference (NEC).

ConferenceNortheast Conference
Record7–25 (5–13 NEC)
Headcoach
Assistant coaches
  • Ben Mandelbaum
  • Torrence Johnson
  • Adam Schwartz
Quick facts Chicago State Cougars men's basketball, Conference ...
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
Seasons
← 2024–25
2026–27 →
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More information Conf., Overall ...
2025–26 NEC men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
LIU †15–3 .83324–11  .686
Central Connecticut12–6 .66718–12  .600
Mercyhurst *10–8 .55617–17  .500
Le Moyne *10–8 .55615–17  .469
New Haven **9–9 .50014–17  .452
Stonehill8–10 .44412–21  .364
Fairleigh Dickinson8–10 .44411–21  .344
Wagner8–10 .44414–17  .452
Chicago State5–13 .2787–25  .219
Saint Francis5–13 .2787–24  .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
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The Cougars finished the season 7–25, 5–13 in NEC play, to finish in a tie for ninth (last) place. They were defeated by LIU in the NEC tournament[1] for the second consecutive year.

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.[2] They were defeated by LIU in the NEC tournament.[3]

On March 7, 2025, the school announced that they would be firing head coach Scott Spinelli, after just one season at the helm.[4] On March 20, the school announced that they would be hiring Alcorn State head coach Landon Bussie as the team's new head coach.[5]

Preseason

On October 27, 2025, the NEC released their preseason coaches poll. Chicago State was picked to finish sixth in the conference.[6]

Preseason rankings

More information Place, Team ...
NEC preseason poll
Place Team
1LIU*
2Central Connecticut
3Stonehill
4Mercyhurst
5Fairleigh Dickinson
6Chicago State
7Saint Francis
8Wagner
9Le Moyne
10New Haven
(*) Unanimous selection
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Source:[6]

Preseason All-NEC Team

No players were named to the All-NEC Preseason Team.[7]

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2025–26 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Greg Spate 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrWest Oaks Academy Lauderhill, FL
G 1 Deshawn Jean-Charles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrMiramar High School Miami, FL
G 3 Doyel III Cockrill 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)196 lb (89 kg) JrFisk Nashville, TN
G 4 Marcus Tankersley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrAlcorn State Chattanooga, TN
G 5 Chauncey Gibson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrPrairie View A&M Dallas, TX
F 6 Daniel Zatsepin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)213 lb (97 kg) JrEast Central Community College Moscow, Russia
F 8 Stephen Byard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)218 lb (99 kg) GSRider Atlantic City, NJ
G 9 Malek Robinson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)155 lb (70 kg) FrLiberty Magnet High School Baton Rouge, LA
G 10 Corey Sands 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) GSTalladega College Nassau, the Bahamas
G 11 Lionel III Larvadain 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoDelgado Community College New Orleans, LA
G 12 DaJuan Bates 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrMoberly Area Community College Chicago, IL
F 15 Joseph Owens 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) GSVirginia State DeKalb, IL
F 20 CJ Delancy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrLIU Jonesboro, AR
G 21 Braelon Bush 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)155 lb (70 kg) GSPrairie View A&M Silsbee, TX
F 22 Dailliss Cox 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrChristian Brothers Louisville, KY
F 23 CJ Ray 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrSouthern Arkansas Four Oaks, NC
G 25 Dakari Thomas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoAlcorn State Amityville, NY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 18, 2025

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Schedule and results

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 a.m., NECFR		 South Carolina State Game cancelled – South Carolina State
unable to travel due to inclement weather[8]		 Jones Convocation Center 
Chicago, IL
December 1, 2025*
11:00 a.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., B1G+		 at Indiana L 58–78  2–11
  12 – Larvadain  4 – 4 tied  1 – 7 tied  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (12,549)
Bloomington, IN
NEC regular season
January 2, 2026
6:00 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., NECFR		 at Mercyhurst L 59–61  2–19
(0–8)		  13 – 2 tied  9 – Cox  3 – Robinson  Owen McCormick Court (356)
Erie, PA
January 31, 2026
1:00 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., NECFR		 Saint Francis W 80–75  5–20
(3–9)		  19 – 2 tied  9 – Cockrill III  4 – Tankersley  Jones Convocation Center (27)
Chicago, IL
February 12, 2026
6:00 p.m., 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 p.m., NECFR		 at Le Moyne L 63–81  6–21
(4–10)		  15 – Ray  10 – Ray  4 – 2 tied  Ted Grant Court (586)
DeWitt, NY
February 19, 2026
6:00 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., NECFR		 at Wagner L 61–80  7–24
(5–13)		  19 – Tankersley  5 – Byard  4 – Bush  Spiro Sports Center (571)
Staten Island, NY
NEC tournament
March 4, 2026
6:00 p.m., 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.
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Sources:[9][10]

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