Oct. 31, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Defending national champion Oklahoma City is listed as the preseason No. 1 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Basketball Division I Top 25 Coaches' Poll, announced today (Oct. 31). The Stars, who received 327 total points and nine of the 11 first-place votes, out-lasted Concordia (Calif.) in last year's national championship. The Stars return NAIA Tournament MVP Kameron Gray and senior Willie Irick, who paced OCU with a 15.9 scoring average and made NAIA Honorable-Mention All-America status last year.
Concordia begins 2007-08 at No. 2 after CU went 31-7 a year ago. No. 3 Crichton (Tenn.), No. 4 Faulkner (Ala.) and No. 5 Mountain State (W. V.) round out the Top 5. Crichton and Faulkner advanced to the national quarterfinal round last year while Mountain State went 27-6 overall.
The other Final Four participant, Robert Morris starts at No. 7 in the poll.
The first regular season Top 25 poll is scheduled to be released Dec. 5.
2007 NAIA Men's Basketball Preseason Division I Top 25 Coaches' Poll - Oct. 31 (Preseason)
|
RANK |
LAST YEAR* |
SCHOOL |
1st PLACE VOTES |
2006-07 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
2 |
Oklahoma City |
9 |
35-2 |
327 |
|
2 |
5 |
Concordia (Calif.) |
2 |
31-7 |
318 |
|
3 |
9 |
Crichton (Tenn.) |
|
29-7 |
299 |
|
4 |
22 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
|
24-11 |
293 |
|
5 |
6 |
Mountain State (W.Va.) |
|
27-6 |
290 |
|
6 |
3 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
|
29-4 |
268 |
|
7 |
1 |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
|
0-29 |
260 |
|
8 |
10 |
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) |
|
29-7 |
251 |
|
9 |
4 |
Southern Nazarene (Okla.) |
|
28-7 |
239 |
|
10 |
NR |
Xavier (La.) |
|
22-10 |
225 |
|
11 |
20 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
|
27-7 |
220 |
|
12 |
18 |
Lambuth (Tenn.) |
|
25-8 |
196 |
|
T13 |
17 |
Illinois-Springfield |
|
24-9 |
168 |
|
T13 |
15 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
|
26-7 |
168 |
|
15 |
16 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
|
22-10 |
166 |
|
16 |
7 |
Park (Mo.) |
|
25-7 |
157 |
|
17 |
23 |
LSU-Shreveport (La.) |
|
25-8 |
146 |
|
18 |
NR |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
|
19-10 |
116 |
|
19 |
12 |
Union (Tenn.) |
|
25-10 |
114 |
|
19 |
NR |
Wiley (Texas) |
|
18-9 |
111 |
|
21 |
NR |
Lee (Tenn.) |
|
22-10 |
109 |
|
22 |
NR |
Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) |
|
19-13 |
108 |
|
23 |
NR |
McKendree (Ill.) |
|
23-12 |
104 |
|
24 |
19 |
Northwestern Oklahoma |
|
22-12 |
71 |
|
25 |
NR |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
|
19-12 |
67 |
Others Receiving Votes:
Westminster (Utah) 63; Mobile (Ala.) 48; Texas Wesleyan 44; Biola (Calif.) 29; Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) 28; Cumberlands (Ky.) 20; Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) 17; St. Xavier (Ill.) 14; California Baptist 12; Carroll (Mont.) 12; Southern Polytechnic (Ga.) 11; Fresno Pacific (Calif.) 7; Voorhees (S.C.) 6; Jarvis Christian (Texas) 5; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 3; Tougaloo (Miss.) 3; Langston (Okla.) 1; Pikeville (Ky.) 1
* Final seeding heading into the Division I Championship
