At the Top

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DI Men's Basketball
Rogers State (Okla.) Becomes Sixth New No. 1 Team in 2008-09 Division I MBB Coaches' Top 25 Poll

Hillcats top-ranked team for first time in school history

	Chris Francis and his Rogers State (Okla.) teammates are No. 1 for the first time in school history

Jan. 26, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the sixth time this season, there is a different top-ranked team. Rogers State (Okla.) tallied 308 points and seven first-place votes to earn the No. 1 distinction in the sixth edition of the 2008-09 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced today (Jan. 26). Standing with a 17-1 overall record, the Hillcats are No. 1 in the country in three-point accuracy (.456). This top ranking is the first in school history for RSU. The Hillcats become the 22^nd team to be ranked No. 1 since 2000 and just the fourth such team from the Sooner Athletic Conference.

RSU moved up one spot thanks to the former No. 1, Westminster (Utah), losing to unranked Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Saturday. Georgetown (Ky.) moves up one spot to No. 2 as the Tigers hold the nation’s longest winning streak at 17 straight. GC nabbed three first-place votes and 301 total points. No. 3 Mountain State (W.Va.) also slides up one slot and receives one first-place vote. Snatching the remaining first-place vote is Westminster, which totaled 276 points and a No. 4 ranking. No. 5 Oklahoma Baptist, the only team to defeat Rogers State, checks in with 273 votes.

Four teams enter the Top 25 after sitting out last week: No. 12 West Virginia Tech, No. 16 Azusa Pacific (Calif.), No. 23 (tie) MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 23 (tie) Illinois-Springfield. The ranking for West Virginia Tech is the first in school history.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The seventh regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Monday, Feb. 2.

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Notes: In seven polls this season (including preseason), there have been six different No. 1 teams (Oklahoma City, California Baptist, Cumberlands (Ky.), Mountain State, Westminster (Utah) and now Rogers State (Okla.)… Besides Rogers State, three other conference teams have been No. 1 since 2000 (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Baptist and Science & Arts (Okla.))… Mountain State (W. Va.) has been No. 1 a total of 39 times since 2000, which marks the highest total of any program in that span – Robert Morris (Ill.) is next in line with 12 No. 1’s… With 20 wins, Georgetown (Ky.) leads the country in total wins… MSU has been in the Top 25 for the last 103 consecutive weeks, which is the longest active streak in Division I – Robert Morris is in second place with 53 straight weeks… Southern Poly (Ga.) (No. 12), Evangel (Mo.) (No. 23, tie) and The Master’s (Calif.) (No. 23, tie) all dropped out of the Top 25 this week… No. 16 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) is ranked for the first time since Dec. 8 (a span of four polls)… No. 23 (tie) Illinois-Springfield sat out the poll last week but has been in six of the seven polls now… No. 23 (tie) MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) jumps into the poll for the first time since the Preseason Top 25 (Oct. 27).

2008-09 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – (Jan. 26)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES)	2008-09 RECORD*	TOTAL POINTS
1	2	Rogers State University (Okla.) (7)	17-1	308
2	3	Georgetown College (Ky.) (3)	20-1	301
3	4	Mountain State University (W.Va.) (1)	16-2	291
4	1	Westminster College (Utah) (1)	19-2	276
5	5	Oklahoma Baptist University	17-2	273
6	6	Fresno Pacific University (Calif.)	16-3	264
7	7	Cumberland University (Tenn.)	17-2	254
8	8	McKendree University (Ill.)	18-4	243
9	10	Union University (Tenn.)	16-4	233
10	11	Robert Morris College (Ill.)	14-3	215
11	13	Carroll College (Mont.)	14-2	195
12	RV	West Virginia Institute of Technology (WV)	15-5	180
13	17	Auburn University Montgomery (Ala.)	16-3	177
14	14	Jarvis Christian College (Texas)	13-4	175
15	21	Oklahoma Christian University	15-4	173
16	RV	Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)	13-6	161
17	9	University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)	15-5	149
18	18	Texas Wesleyan University	15-3	137
19	22	Lee University (Tenn.)	15-4	134
T20	19	Louisiana State University-Shreveport	12-6	115
T20	20	Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.)	15-6	115
22	15	California Baptist University	14-4	114
T23	RV	MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.)	12-6	78
T23	RV	University of Illinois at Springfield	13-4	78
25	16	Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.)	15-3	71

Others receiving votes:

Concordia University (Calif.) 64; Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) 43; Central Methodist University (Mo.) 30; Southern Polytechnic State University (Ga.) 27; Northwestern Oklahoma State University 22; Loyola University (La.) 21; William Jewell College (Mo.) 11; Biola University (Calif.) 7; Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) 7; Brescia University (Ky.) 5; John Brown University (Ark.) 3; Montana State University-Northern 1; Oklahoma City University 1; Lambuth University (Tenn.) 1; Evangel University (Mo.) 1; Tougaloo College (Miss.) 1; Westmont College (Calif.) 1; Xavier University (La.) 1

* Records as submitted by schools and raters