Dalton State's Ladaris Green is one of the NAIA's top rebounders and shot blockers
Kansas City, MO - The Dalton State climbed back in the Top Ten of the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Top 25 released Tuesday. The Roadrunners who improved to 20-3 with Monday’s win over NCAA Division II Erskine College, were 19-3 at the time of the vote.
Dalton State moved from 12th last week to 8th in the country. No. 19 Bethel (Tenn.) tumbled down 11 spots for the largest fall. The Wildcats had their seven-game winning streak stopped Feb. 5 against unranked William Carey (Miss.).
The Roadrunners host two SSAC games at Mashburn Arena this week, each with 7:30 p.m. starts. Dalton State tips-off with conference newcomers Middle Georgia State (9-9, 6-7) on Thursday evening and current conference leader Martin Methodist (21-3, 11-2) on Saturday evening.
With a 22-2 overall record and an eight-game winning streak, Cal State San Marcos continues to be one of the hottest NAIA teams. The victory over Concordia marked the Cougars 25th-straight home win. The Cougars are scheduled to play five more regular-season games prior to the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) tournament March 6-8 in Montgomery, W.Va. The Cougars next face NCAA Division II McMurry (Texas) on Thursday.
Earning the final first-place tally and its highest position in school history, No. 2 Talladega (Ala.) checks in with 237 points. The Tornadoes are tied for the most wins in the NAIA (22) and hold the longest active win streak at 16-straight games – the 17th win in that streak occurred Monday after the weekly rankings process. Talladega ranks No. 5 in the NAIA in scoring margin (+18.8) and in four of its last six contests, the team has won by at least 10 points.
No. 3 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) slides up one position with 231 points. The Lions own a 2.5-game lead in the American Midwest Conference standings with five more contests remaining.
Also improving one spot is No. 4 Pikeville (Ky.) with 230 points. No. 5 Hope International (Calif.) drops down three positions from last week, this time earning 219 points.
No. 14 LSU Alexandria (La.) continues its upward trend as the Generals are the biggest mover up five spots this week. Ranked for the first time in history in the Jan. 13th edition, LSU Alexandria has won six games in-a-row and now holds first place in the Red River Athletic Conference with a 12-2 mark.
No. 23 Oklahoma City earns its first Top 25 mark of the 2014-15 season. The Stars, who are 12-6 on the year and winners in six-straight games, were last ranked on Feb. 25, 2014 in the No. 17 position.
After two losses last week, Oklahoma Baptist (No. 17) drops out of the Top 25. The Bison were ranked in each of the previous seven polls this year.
All 10 conferences and Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) are represented in this week's poll. With four ranked teams, the Mid-South Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference claim the most out of any league. The Golden State Athletic Conference and SSAC each 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. The eighth regular-season Top 25 will be announced on Feb. 17..
2014 – 15 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Feb. 10
|
RANK
|
LAST WEEK
|
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)
|
2014-15 RECORD
|
TOTAL POINTS
|
|
1
|
1
|
Cal State San Marcos (9)
|
22-2
|
250
|
|
2
|
3
|
Talladega (Ala.) (1)
|
22-3
|
237
|
|
3
|
4
|
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
|
21-2
|
231
|
|
4
|
5
|
Pikeville (Ky.)
|
22-2
|
230
|
|
5
|
2
|
Hope International (Calif.)
|
21-2
|
219
|
|
6
|
6
|
Campbellsville (Ky.)
|
22-3
|
212
|
|
7
|
10
|
Arizona Christian
|
20-5
|
196
|
|
8
|
12
|
Dalton State (Ga.)
|
19-3
|
191
|
|
9
|
13
|
Georgetown (Ky.)
|
21-3
|
176
|
|
10
|
8
|
Concordia (Calif.)
|
20-5
|
174
|
|
11
|
7
|
Benedictine (Kan.)
|
19-5
|
171
|
|
T12
|
15
|
Columbia (Mo.)
|
20-4
|
154
|
|
T12
|
16
|
Martin Methodist (Tenn.)
|
21-3
|
154
|
|
14
|
19
|
LSU Alexandria
|
15-2
|
149
|
|
15
|
11
|
Montana Western
|
18-6
|
148
|
|
16
|
14
|
Mid-America Christian (Okla.)
|
16-8
|
130
|
|
17
|
18
|
Xavier (La.)
|
19-6
|
122
|
|
18
|
21
|
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
|
19-4
|
117
|
|
19
|
8
|
Bethel (Tenn.)
|
19-5
|
116
|
|
20
|
20
|
Great Falls (Mont.)
|
17-6
|
98
|
|
21
|
22
|
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)
|
16-4
|
88
|
|
22
|
23
|
Evangel (Mo.)
|
14-8
|
71
|
|
23
|
NR
|
Oklahoma City
|
12-6
|
60
|
|
24
|
25
|
SAGU (Texas)
|
17-7
|
58
|
|
25
|
24
|
Cumberlands (Ky.)
|
18-6
|
55
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Others Receiving Votes: Westmont (Calif.) 53; Philander Smith (Ark.) 37; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 35; William Carey (Miss.) 21; Central Methodist (Mo.) 12; Oklahoma Baptist 11; Missouri Valley 10; Wiley (Texas) 10; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 4.