Gold Rush 28th in NAIA Division I preseason coaches rankings

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana was among “others receiving votes” — 28th place with 31 points — when the NAIA announced Wednesday its Division I men’s basketball preseason coaches poll.

XULA was announced last week as the coaches’ No. 2 pick in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.

XULA was 18-14 last season, 8-6 in the GCAC (tied for fourth place) and a semifinalist in the GCAC Tournament. The Gold Rush ranked 15th in NAIA Division I in scoring defense.

The XULA men will open their 81st season at 5 p.m. EDT Friday at Thomas University of Thomasville, Ga., then play Coastal Georgia at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday in Brunswick. The home opener will tip off at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Carver at the Convocation Center.

The Gold Rush have seven games against teams that made the DI preseason top 25: No. 7 William Carey (Nov. 5 home, Nov. 14 away), No. 8 Talladega (Jan. 25 home, Feb. 22 away), No. 17 Loyola of New Orleans (Nov. 26, home, Dec. 14 away) and No. 22 Wiley (Nov. 20 home).

Talladega, 24-8 last season, is the only GCAC team in the top 25. Also receiving votes from the GCAC was city rival Dillard (30th place).

Defending champion Georgetown (Ky.) received all nine first-place votes. The first regular-season rankings will be announced Nov. 27.

2019-20 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records from 2018-19 season)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Georgetown (Ky.) (9) 33-4 219 1
2 The Master’s 27-6 210 tie-4
3 Wayland Baptist 24-8 199 8
4 William Penn 22-12 196 23
5 Pikeville 25-9 191 13
6 LSU-Alexandria 30-4 187 2
7 William Carey 25-10 178 14
8 Talladega 24-8 166 20
9 Benedictine (Kan.) 31-4 155 3
10 Arizona Christian 25-9 153 RV
11 LSU-Shreveport 23-11 152 17
12 Providence (Mont.) 18-12 145 NR
13 Science & Arts 22-11 139 RV
14 Stillman 27-6 133 6
15 Vanguard 25-7 114 10
16 Cumberlands 21-11 113 21
17 Loyola (N.O.) 22-12 109 24
18 Mid-America Christian 21-13 105 RV
19 Montana State-Northern 18-14 87 NR
20 Central Methodist 17-14 82 NR
21 Campbellsville 22-10 76 RV
22 Wiley 24-7 65 12
23 Lewis-Clark State 30-7 59 7
24 Park (Mo.) 20-11 44 NR
25 Peru State 23-11 42 19

Dropped from rankings: No. 4 Tougaloo, No. 9 Missouri Baptist, No. 11 Carroll (Mont.), No. 15 John Brown, No. 16 William Jessup, No. 18 Bethel (Tenn.), No. 22 St. Thomas (Texas), No. 25 Oklahoma City
Others receiving votes: Hope International 36, Bethel (Tenn.) 33, XULA 31, SAGU 22, Dillard 20, Central Baptist 16, Carroll (Mont.) 15, Life 7, Oklahoma City 5