Pioneers slip to 21st; Flying Queens approach rankings

The Wayland Baptist Pioneers slipped to No. 21 while the Flying Queens inched closer to entering the rankings when the NAIA Division I Men's and Women's Coaches' Top 25 polls were released today.
 
After last week's No. 9 ranking – the first time since at least the 2000-01 season that the Wayland men have been in the top 10 – the Pioneers fell 12 spots after suffering back-to-back losses for the first time all season. Those losses were to defending national semifinalist St. Gregory's and to now 17^th-ranked Oklahoma Baptist. The Pioneers (17-4, 6-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) got back to their winning ways on Saturday against Science and Arts of Oklahoma, winning 76-68.
 
Elsewhere in the SAC, Mid-America Christian jumped from 17^th to 14^th, OBU went from 20^th to 17^th, and Southwestern Assemblies of God entered the rankings at No. 25.
 
The Pioneers next play Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth on Thursday night before taking on SAGU at 3 p.m. Saturday in Waxahachie. Wayland defeated both of those teams when they met in Plainview, trouncing then-No. 12 Texas Wesleyan, 105-68, and topping then-No. 25 SAGU, 95-72.
 
The Flying Queens (12-8, 7-3 SAC), meanwhile, are the equivalent of 27^th in the women's rankings. Wayland was the equivalent of 29^th last week prior to a 64-56 road loss to then No. 8 OBU, a 71-58 win over USAO and a 63-48 non-conference win over McMurry.
 
Around the SAC, Oklahoma City remained at No. 2, while OBU fell two spots to 10^th. Texas Wesleyan, the team Wayland plays at 6 p.m. Thursday, entered the rankings at No. 25. The Flying Queens topped the Rams, 79-58, when they met previously.
 

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2014-15 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Cal State San Marcos (7)	20-2	248
2	3	Hope International (Calif.) (3)	20-1	244
3	4	Talladega (Ala.)	20-3	229
4	5	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)	19-2	225
5	2	Pikeville (Ky.)	21-2	223
6	6	Campbellsville (Ky.)	20-3	210
7	7	Benedictine (Kan.)	19-4	195
T8	22	Bethel (Tenn.)	18-4	180
T8	T14	Concordia (Calif.)	19-4	180
10	10	Arizona Christian	18-5	165
11	18	Montana Western	17-5	164
12	8	Dalton State (Ga.)	17-3	159
13	T14	Georgetown (Ky.)	19-3	156
14	17	Mid-America Christian (Okla.)	15-7	150
15	13	Columbia (Mo.)	19-4	148
16	T14	Martin Methodist (Tenn.)	19-3	135
17	20	Oklahoma Baptist	17-5	127
18	19	Xavier (La.)	17-6	111
19	25	LSU Alexandria	13-2	108
20	12	Great Falls (Mont.)	16-5	106
21	9	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	17-4	104
22	11	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)	14-4	77
23	21	Evangel (Mo.)	14-8	76
24	23	Cumberlands (Ky.)	18-5	57
25	RV	SAGU (Texas)	16-6	48

Others Receiving Votes: Philander Smith (Ark.) 40; Missouri Valley 39; Westmont (Calif.) 36; William Carey (Miss.) 23; Wiley (Texas) 19; Montana Tech 7; Central Methodist (Mo.) 3; LSU Shreveport (La.) 3.
 

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2014-15 Record	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) (8)	21-1	219
2	2	Oklahoma City (1)	15-1	212
3	3	Campbellsville (Ky.)	21-1	205
4	4	Westminster (Utah)	16-2	198
5	5	Bethel (Tenn.)	20-2	191
6	6	Loyola (La.)	19-1	184
7	7	Langston (Okla.)	19-1	177
8	T8	Concordia (Calif.)	16-4	167
9	12	Vanguard (Calif.)	15-5	162
10	T8	Oklahoma Baptist	15-4	158
11	10	Montana State-Northern	20-3	148
12	11	The Master's (Calif.)	16-6	137
13	15	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	17-5	131
14	14	Wiley (Texas)	15-2	129
15	13	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)	16-5	124
16	17	Westmont (Calif.)	18-5	114
17	19	Carroll (Mont.)	14-6	108
18	20	Lyon (Ark.)	18-4	104
19	21	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	18-5	93
20	22	Great Falls (Mont.)	18-4	86
21	18	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	18-5	77
22	16	Shawnee State (Ohio)	17-7	70
T23	23	Martin Methodist (Tenn.)	19-4	62
T23	25	Benedictine (Kan.)	17-6	62
25	RV	Texas Wesleyan	15-7	48

Others receiving votes: Columbia (Mo.) 38; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 28; Cumberland (Tenn.) 16; Pikeville (Ky.) 15; William Woods (Mo.) 14; Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 8; Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) 7; Southern-New Orleans (La.) 7; Georgetown (Ky.) 6; Baker (Kan.) 3.