Loyola men’s basketball team drops to No. 3 in latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Loyola Wolf Pack continues to be ranked as one of the best men’s basketball teams in the NAIA, checking in at No. 3 with three first-place votes in Wednesday’s NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Loyola was No. 1 in the last two polls, but it suffered its first loss of the season in between the January 12 rankings and Wednesday’s poll.

Monday marks the 20th consecutive poll the Wolf Pack has been ranked as well.

The Wolf Pack split the two games between Top 25s, falling to now-No. 21 Faulkner on the road last Monday before rebounding with a dominant 91-64 victory over William Carey in The Den on Saturday.

Loyola holds a 17-1 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the Southern States Athletic Conference, a half a game behind first-place No. 2 Talladega (7-0). The two teams are scheduled to play at least once this season, but the first meeting, which was postponed, is in the works to be rescheduled before the end of the regular season. Loyola, Talladega and Faulkner are the only SSAC teams ranked, but Stillman is receiving votes to make it four programs being nationally recognized.

Senior Zach Wrightsil, who was named SSAC Player of the Week Monday, leads the team in scoring with a 16.2 points-per-game clip, and Brandon Davis (15.2), Myles Burns (12.5) and Andrew Fava (11.2) are also scoring in double figures. Burns and Wrightsil are the Top 2 rebounders on the team, too, averaging 8.6 and 8.0 per game, respectively, and Davis and Burns are the assisting leaders on the Pack each with a 3.5 assist-per-game average.

As a team, Loyola leads the NAIA in steals per game (14), ranks second in points per game (88.1), third in offensive rebounds per game (17.1), and fifth in assists per game (18.3).

The Wolf Pack has a pair of home games on the slate this weekend, hosting Middle Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Brewton-Parker at 2 p.m. on Saturday, two teams they’ve already beaten on the road this season. Fans can now listen to all home games live on the radio on Catholic Community Radio WQNO 690 AM.

You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com