The Wayland Baptist Pioneers picked up votes in the NAIA Division I Men's Top 25 Basketball Poll, although not quite enough to get them ranked.
The Pioneers (19-9, 10-8 Sooner Athletic Conference) are the equivalent of 28
th in this week's poll as they prepare to play their final two games of the regular season. It's the first time Wayland has been mentioned in the Top 25 poll since Jan. 14 when the Pioneers were No. 24. WBU dropped its next three games, however, and did not receive Top 25 votes again until this week.
Like the past several weeks, the SAC still has three teams in the Top 25, although not the same as in the past. Southwestern Assemblies of God University (24-4, 15-3) fell from fourth to fifth after losing to Wayland on Saturday, 98-91 in overtime. It was SAGU's second loss of the season to Wayland, which previously downed the Lions when they were No. 1, 89-82.
Also still ranked is St. Gregory's (20-7, 11-7), which jumped from 23
rd to 20
th. The other ranked SAC team, meanwhile, is Oklahoma City (16-9, 12-6) at No. 17. The Stars, making their first appearance in the poll this season, replaced Mid-America Christian (14-10, 10-8), which went from 17th to not receiving any votes on the heels of five losses in a row.
Wayland wraps up the regular-season with a pair of home games against Science and Arts of Oklahoma (12-13, 9-9) at 8 p.m. Thursday and against Texas Wesleyan (15-13, 8-10) at 3 p.m. Saturday. Wayland will be looking to avenge road losses to both the Rams (75-71) and Drovers (82-81, OT).
Depending on outcomes this week, the Pioneers could finish anywhere from second to ninth in the SAC regular-season, which determines seeds for the SAC Tournament to be played March 5-8 at Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee. The top five teams in the 11-team field earn first-round byes.
NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Feb. 25
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2013-14 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Cal State San Marcos (9) |
27-1 |
250 |
|
2 |
2 |
Pikeville (Ky.) (1) |
25-2 |
242 |
|
3 |
3 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
22-2 |
234 |
|
4 |
7 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
26-2 |
225 |
|
5 |
4 |
SAGU (Texas) |
23-4 |
217 |
|
6 |
5 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
24-3 |
208 |
|
7 |
8 |
Emmanuel (Ga.) |
24-2 |
200 |
|
8 |
6 |
Talladega (Ala.) |
23-5 |
191 |
|
9 |
11 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
20-6 |
183 |
|
10 |
9 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
22-5 |
179 |
|
11 |
10 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
21-7 |
174 |
|
12 |
13 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
19-6 |
160 |
|
13 |
14 |
Xavier (La.) |
20-7 |
153 |
|
14 |
16 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
20-8 |
140 |
|
15 |
12 |
Culver-Stockton (Mo.) |
20-6 |
136 |
|
16 |
25 |
Arizona Christian |
21-6 |
131 |
|
17 |
RV |
Oklahoma City |
16-9 |
105 |
|
18 |
18 |
Montana State-Northern |
23-7 |
104 |
|
19 |
RV |
Evangel (Mo.) |
20-8 |
102 |
|
20 |
23 |
St. Gregory's (Okla.) |
20-7 |
100 |
|
21 |
21 |
Westminster (Utah) |
18-11 |
93 |
|
22 |
RV |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
19-8 |
90 |
|
23 |
RV |
St. Catharine (Ky.) |
17-9 |
65 |
|
24 |
RV |
Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) |
20-7 |
64 |
|
25 |
RV |
Biola (Calif.) |
16-12 |
63 |
Others Receiving Votes: Concordia (Calif.) 42; Wiley (Texas) 39;
Wayland Baptist (Texas) 28; Edward Waters (Fla.) 18; Belhaven (Miss.) 11; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 10; Campbellsville (Ky.) 9; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 7; St. Thomas (Texas) 6; Life (Ga.) 3.
