Dalton State (16-2 overall, 7-1 SSAC) is the highest ranked of three Southern States Athletic Conference teams in this week’s National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Top-25 Men’s D-I Basketball Poll.
The Roadrunners moved up to eighth in this week’s coach’s poll with 196 points, compared to 155 last week. Last Thursday’s 68-67 win over then fifth ranked Martin Methodist (Tenn.) helped to propel Coach Tony Ingle’s team into the top ten. The Roadrunners have now won six straight games going into Thursday night’s game against Blue Mountain (Miss.) at Mashburn Arena.
Martin Methodist lost two games last week. The Redhawks fell to Bethel (Tenn.), the Roadrunner’s Saturday homecoming opponent, on Jan. 24, 74-71. The two losses sent Martin Methodist to a three-way tie for 14th with Concordia (Calif.) and Georgetown (KY). Bethel moved into the Top 25 for the first time since February 26, 2013. The Wildcats are now 22nd and they are riding a five-game win streak.
“We are excited and humbled to be considered among the best NAIA programs in the country, but we not naïve enough to think we did it by ourselves,” said Coach Ingle. “There is no way we could have achieved this without a supportive administration, booster club and fans to go along with a good basketball team.”
The coach is perfectly aware that things can change in a hurry. “Now, we must work hard to stay or move up in the rankings because, as we have just witnessed, it does not take long to go down and every opponent will be bringing their ‘A’ game.”
William Carey was the lone team to drop out of the Top 25. The Crusaders had been in 30-straight polls dating back to December 4, 2012.
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RANK
|
LAST WEEK
|
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)
|
2014-15 RECORD
|
TOTAL POINTS
|
|
1
|
2
|
Cal State San Marcos (5)
|
20-2
|
246
|
|
2
|
3
|
Pikeville (Ky.) (2)
|
20-1
|
241
|
|
3
|
4
|
Hope International (Calif.) (3)
|
18-1
|
238
|
|
4
|
6
|
Talladega (Ala.)
|
17-3
|
224
|
|
5
|
7
|
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
|
17-2
|
216
|
|
6
|
1
|
Campbellsville (Ky.)
|
19-3
|
205
|
|
7
|
T9
|
Benedictine (Kan.)
|
18-3
|
204
|
|
8
|
13
|
Dalton State (Ga.)
|
16-2
|
196
|
|
9
|
14
|
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
|
16-2
|
185
|
|
10
|
15
|
Arizona Christian
|
17-4
|
165
|
|
11
|
11
|
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)
|
14-2
|
164
|
|
12
|
19
|
Great Falls (Mont.)
|
17-4
|
161
|
|
13
|
16
|
Columbia (Mo.)
|
18-3
|
153
|
|
T14
|
12
|
Concordia (Calif.)
|
17-4
|
142
|
|
T14
|
5
|
Martin Methodist (Tenn.)
|
17-3
|
142
|
|
T14
|
17
|
Georgetown (Ky.)
|
17-3
|
142
|
|
17
|
25
|
Mid-America Christian (Okla.)
|
14-6
|
112
|
|
18
|
T9
|
Montana Western
|
15-5
|
108
|
|
19
|
20
|
Xavier (La.)
|
15-6
|
105
|
|
20
|
8
|
Oklahoma Baptist
|
15-5
|
98
|
|
21
|
21
|
Evangel (Mo.)
|
13-7
|
89
|
|
22
|
RV
|
Bethel (Tenn.)
|
16-4
|
88
|
|
23
|
24
|
Cumberlands (Ky.)
|
17-4
|
71
|
|
24
|
23
|
Philander Smith (Ark.)
|
13-5
|
60
|
|
25
|
22
|
LSU Alexandria
|
11-2
|
57
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Others Receiving Votes: William Carey (Miss.) 51; Westmont (Calif.) 37; Montana Tech 33; Missouri Valley 14; SAGU (Texas) 14; Vanguard (Calif.) 8; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 4; Central Methodist (Mo.) 3.
Thursday – 7:30 p.m. ET – Blue Mountain (Miss.) at Dalton State
Saturday – 5:00 p.m. – Bethel (Tenn.) at Dalton State
Home games are at Mashburn Arena at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center.