Delaware has a national leader in the NCAA basketball stats.
That would be Christian Bliss, the point guard whose 38.6 minutes per game top the list in NCAA Division I.
The Blue Hens also have an assistant coach with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.
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With Delaware’s roster short-handed due to injuries, coaches have had to step into practice for 5-on-5 drills. That’s where first-year UD assistant Antoni Wyche, who is head coach Martin Ingelsby’s former Notre Dame teammate, joined the injured list last week with his torn Achilles.
Those two facts are vivid examples of what the Blue Hens have gone through as the college basketball conference season heats up in January.
Delaware Hens forward Tyler Houser (44) dribbles the ball during the game against Missouri State at The Bob Carpenter Center on Dec. 29, 2025.
Delaware still managed to score a thorough and satisfying 67-52 victory over Kennesaw State, its first in a Conference USA game, on Dec. 4 at the Carpenter Center. That followed a brutal 61-43 loss to Missouri State in the CUSA opener Dec. 29 and a very competitive down-to-the-wire setback against Jacksonville State 67-64 on Jan. 2.
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The Jax State and Kennesaw State games were played with Delaware having just seven of its 13 scholarship players available due to injuries, meaning the Hens had just nine in uniform with their two walk-ons.
Now the Blue Hens (5-9 overall, 1-2 CUSA) embark on a stretch in which 10 of their next 15 games are on the road, none of them nearby, beginning at Sam Houston in Texas Jan. 8 and Louisiana Tech Jan. 10.
As the Blue Hens visit new destinations, learn about a different set of foes and play games officiated by unfamiliar referees while still short-handed, it’ll be an immense challenge.
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Delaware’s Christian Bliss pushes between Saint Peter’s Shaedon Simpson (left) and Jack Ewing in the first half of the Blue Hens’ 81-70 win at the Bob Carpenter Center, Nov. 18, 2025.
Hens blissful about new point guard
Christian Bliss red-shirted as a freshman at Virginia in 2023-24 and then missed all of last season with an ankle injury.
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So he wasn’t on the court for a game for two years. After transferring to Delaware, he can’t get off the court.
That’s fine with the 6-foot-4 Bliss, who is from Queens in New York City but graduated from the George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where he was recruited by Delaware. He was non-PIAA Player of the Year after averaging 20 points, five rebounds and five assists his final year.
He has played every minute in seven of Delaware’s 14 games, including all 45 in the OT loss at Delaware State.
Delaware Hens guard Christian Bliss (00) shoots over Missouri State defenders during the game against Missouri State at The Bob Carpenter Center on Dec. 29, 2025.
“I’m lucky, honestly,” he said. “I don’t see it as a bad thing. I see it as a blessing.
“The team is relying on me to play well. At the end of the day, all I care about is winning.”
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Bliss had a career-high 27 points against Missouri State and 19 versus Kennesaw State while also grabbing eight rebounds and dealing seven assists.
“He came here to run the show,” Ingelsby said. “I think we’re probably asking him to do too much. He’s got so much on his shoulders. He’s trying to balance running a team, directing the offense and get guys involved. He doesn’t have a whole lot of help out there at times.”
Bliss is first in CUSA in free-throw shooting (88.4 percent), second in assists (6.3 per game), eighth in scoring (15.1) and 21st in rebounding (5.7), giving Delaware a complete and multi-talented floor leader.
“The most fun thing,” he said, “is just competing with your boys. When you really like your teammates, it means something.”
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Injuries undermine ability to practice
Delaware did not have freshman guard Mason Ellison (broken thumb), senior guard Cavan Reilly (hamstring), senior forward Houston Emory (concussion), senior forward Nnanna Njoku (knee), sophomore guard Lance Piper (lower leg) or senior guard Jameel Brown (lower leg) for the Jax State or Kennesaw State games.
Njoku, the oft-injured Villanova transfer out of Sanford who has seen action in just two games, and Emory did both play in the Dec. 29 game, so may be closer to returning. At this point, only Piper is a potential season-long absence. He hasn’t played in a game all year and Reilly only appeared in the season opener.
Delaware Hens guard Jayden Taylor (11) moves past Missouri State Guard Kobi Williams (0) during the game against Missouri State at The Bob Carpenter Center on Dec. 29, 2025.
Jayden Taylor, the freshman out of Sanford School, started the last two games.
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“The biggest thing that’s hurt us all year is we can’t practice,” said Ingelsby, mentioning how Wyche got hurt.
“You grow as a team, you develop some chemistry, you continue to build,” Ingelsby added about the benefit of practice. “We just have not been able to do that with a core group of guys at all, to the point where I want to reach out to the football team and see if any of these seniors want to come and just be practice bodies.”
Kennesaw State win encouraging
Sunday’s win in the first meeting against the Owls was quite an accomplishment as they arrived among the CUSA leaders in several categories, including No. 1 in rebound margin and scoring offense.
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But Kennesaw State’s 52 points were the fewest scored against Delaware this season and nearly 50 below the Owls’ per-game average. The Hens blocked a season-high eight shots and limited Kennesaw State to season-low 28.3-percent shooting, including 7-for-35 on 3-pointers.
Tyler Houser’s 19 points on 7-for-9 aim keyed the Hens.
“It’s a testament to our hard work and sticking together,” Houser said.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Bliss has been a blessing as injury-riddled Hens begin tough stretch
