Xavier Gold Rush picked to finish 2nd in RRAC

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana men’s basketball was picked second in the 12-team Red River Athletic Conference 2023-24 preseason poll of the league’s head coaches.

The RRAC announced the results Tuesday.

XULA received 130 points and two first-place votes. LSU-Shreveport was first with eight first-place votes and 140 points, and Texas A&M-Texarkana ranked third with 118 points and one first-place vote.

The other first-place vote went to LSU-Alexandria, fourth in the poll with 94 points.

XULA’s returning players from last season include:

• Lance Williams, a 6-foot-1 junior guard who averaged 10.3 points per game in 2022-23.
• Cory Wells, a 6-7 senior forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds.
• Jeremy Lindsey, a 5-11 senior guard who averaged eight points per game.
• TJ Jones, a 5-8 fifth-year guard who averaged 7.8 points and 3.5 assists. A four-year starter at the point, Jones is No. 5 at XULA with 446 career assists.
• Jathen Ross, a 6-1 junior guard who in February broke the XULA game record for made 3-pointers twice — he made nine in one game, then made three weeks later he made 10.

XULA will open the season Saturday at 6 p.m. at longtime HBCU and city rival Dillard. The first home game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 4 — one week from Saturday, and it’ll be homecoming — against College of Biblical Studies at XULA’s Convocation Center.

The Gold Rush last season were 23-9 and won the RRAC Tournament. XULA’s men are the only Louisiana college basketball team to win at NAIA or NCAA nationals each of the last three years.

Red River Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball 2023-24 Coaches Poll
1. LSU-Shreveport . . . 140 points, eight first-place votes
2. XULA . . . 130 points, two first-place votes
3. Texas A&M-Texarkana . . . 118 points, one first-place vote
4. LSU-Alexandria . . . 94 points, one first-place vote
5. Our Lady of the Lake . . . 85 points
6. Louisiana Christian . . . 84 points
7. Southwest (N.M.) . . . 73 points
8. Paul Quinn . . . 61 points
9. Huston-Tillotson . . . 51 points
10. Jarvis Christian . . . 42 points
11. North American . . . 30 points
12. Texas College . . . 28 points