For the first time in history, Dalton State (Ga.) holds the No. 1 position in the 2014 - 15 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. Coming off their first-ever NAIA National Championship, the Roadrunners claimed all eight first-place votes and 188 total points.
In its first season of championship eligibility, Dalton State claimed the title with a 71-53 win over unseeded Westmont (Calif.) on March 24 from Kansas City.
Earning the No. 6 seed in the event, the Roadrunners finished their season with a 32-4 overall record. Jordan Bowling was the named the Championship MVP after averaging 17.0 points in the five victories. The Roadrunners became the first team playing in its first national championship tournament to hoist the red banner since former member Charleston (S.C.) did it in 1983.
No. 2-ranked Talladega (Ala.) gathered 176 total points to hold its position from the final regular-season edition. The Tornadoes wrapped up the year with a trip to the semifinals.
National runner-up and No. 3 Westmont (Calif.) was one of the biggest surprises of the national championship, one win shy from earning the national title. Coming into the tournament unseeded, the Warriors collected two double-digit wins and advanced past the semifinals for the first time in school history. With 174 points, Westmont improved 18 positions from the March 11 poll.
Former No. 1, Hope International (Calif.) checks in with 174 total points in the fourth-ranked position. The Royals were eliminated in the semifinal round.
No. 5 Cal State San Marcos fell down two positions with 166 points. The national quarterfinalist has now owned a top-five ranking in 24-straight polls dating back to early last season.
No. 20 Missouri Valley earns it first-ever Top 25 ranking in school history with 79 points. The Vikings appeared in its first NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship since 1961. In the championship, Missouri Valley advanced to the second round.
SAGU (Texas) (No. 25) is the lone program to fall out of the Top 25.
Mentioned previously, Westmont was the best improvement from the final regular-season Top 25. Conversely, No. 23 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) fell 10 spots for the biggest drop.
All 10 conferences and Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) are represented in this week's poll. With four ranked teams, the Golden State Athletic Conference claims the most out of any league. The Heart of America Athletic Conference, Mid-South Conference, Sooner Athletic Conference and SSAC landed a trio of Top 25 teams.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groups. For more information on the polls, click here.
NOTES: (All information dates back to 2000 – 01 season) No. 1 Dalton State (Ga.) is the sixth different program this year to hold the No.1 ranking, joining Vanguard (Calif.), Cal State San Marcos, Talladega (Ala.), Campbellsville (Ky.) and Hope International (Calif.)… There were 42 different teams ranked during the 2014-15 season, with 12 of those programs being ranked in all 12 polls (including Preseason) – last year, 47 different teams found themselves in the Top 25… No. 21 Xavier (La.) leads the active group of being ranked with 50-straight mentions, followed by Cal State San Marcos and Pikeville at 38… There have been 35 different teams since 2000 to hold the No. 1 position... Former NAIA member Mountain State (W.Va.) leads the all-time charts with 48 all-time No. 1 rankings, followed by NAIA Division II member Robert Morris (Ill.) with 24... Concordia and Georgetown are next with 12, Cal State San Marcos at 11 and Columbia at nine No. 1 recognitions… Robert Morris, now a NAIA Division II member in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC), is the only program to start and end a season ranked No. 1, doing so during the 2006 – 07 season.