2014 - 15 NAIA Division I Men?s Basketball Coaches? Top 25 Poll ? No. 4
By: Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Campbellsville (Ky.) claimed the No. 1 spot for the third-straight week in the 2014 - 15 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Tigers posted all 10 first-place votes and 250 total points in the fourth regular-season installment. Sporting a 19-1 overall record, Campbellsville owns the NAIA’s longest active win streak at 13-straight victories. The Tigers invade No. 17 Georgetown (Ky.) on Thursday with an undefeated 6-0 Mid-South Conference mark on the line.
No. 2 Cal State San Marcos gathered 240 total points. The Cougars, with 16-straight top-five mentions, improved one position. They snap a two-week break in action and next face Northern New Mexico on Saturday.
Third-ranked Pikeville (Ky.) tallied 230 total points. The Bears take their 18-1 record and 12-game win streak to NCCAA member Ohio Christian on Thursday.
With 228 points, No. 4 Hope International (Calif.) dropped two spots this week after suffering its first defeat of the season. The 71-66 loss to then-No. 15 Concordia (Calif.) in the Division I Game of the Week means that there are no NAIA Division I undefeated programs remaining.
No. 5 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) enjoy its second-consecutive week in the top-five. The RedHawks captured 218 total points.
No. 19 Great Falls (Mont.) and No. 25 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) are this week’s rookies. Great Falls has won seven out of its last eight games to improve to 14-4 on the year. The Evangels out of the Sooner Athletic Conference have won four-straight contests, including a 83-64 blowout of then-No. 11 (tie) Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Jan. 15. Mid-America Christian head coach Willie Holley posted his 800th career win on Jan. 17.
Both Texas Wesleyan (No. 17) and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (No. 19) both dropped out of the Top 25. Two weeks ago, Texas Wesleyan was undefeated and boasted a No. 12 ranking.
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 claims the most out of any league: Campbellsville, Pikeville, Georgetown and No. 24 Cumberlands (Ky.). Four other conferences landed three Top 25 teams.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groups. The fifth regular-season Top 25 will be announced on Jan. 27. For more information on the polls, click here.
NOTES: (All information dates back to 2000 – 01 season) Both newcomers this week – No. 19 Great Falls (Mont.) and No. 25 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) – are ranked for the first time since multiple occasions in 2013-14… There have been 37 different teams ranked during the 2014-15 season – last year, 47 different teams found themselves in the Top 25… No. 3 Pikeville (Ky.) has held a top-five ranking in 17-straight polls dating back to first regular-season edition of the 2013-14 season… In five Top 25 polls this year (including Preseason), there have been three different No. 1-ranked programs: Vanguard (Calif.), Cal State San Marcos and Campbellsville (Ky.)… For the fourth-consecutive poll, the Mid-South Conference boasts two teams in the top-five: No. 1 Campbellsville and No. 3 Pikeville… Preseason No. 1-ranked Vanguard maintains status in the “receiving votes” category with three points this week… There have been 31 different teams since 2000 to hold the No. 1 position... Xavier (La.) leads the active group of being ranked with 42-straight mentions, followed by Cal State San Marcos and Pikeville at 30… Former NAIA member Mountain State (W.Va.) leads the all-time charts with 48 all-time No. 1 rankings, followed by NAIA Division II member Robert Morris (Ill.) with 24... Concordia and Georgetown are next with 12, Columbia at nine mentions and Cal State San Marcos with eight No. 1 recognitions… Robert Morris, now a NAIA Division II member in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC), is the only program to start and end a season ranked No. 1, doing so during the 2006 – 07 season.
2014 – 15 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Jan. 20
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2014-15 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Campbellsville (Ky.) (10) | 19-1 | 250 |
| 2 | 3 | Cal State San Marcos | 19-2 | 240 |
| 3 | 4 | Pikeville (Ky.) | 18-1 | 230 |
| 4 | 2 | Hope International (Calif.) | 16-1 | 228 |
| 5 | 5 | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | 17-1 | 218 |
| 6 | 6 | Talladega (Ala.) | 17-3 | 208 |
| 7 | 8 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 15-2 | 194 |
| 8 | 7 | Oklahoma Baptist | 15-3 | 190 |
| 9 | 9 | Montana Western | 15-3 | 183 |
| 9 | 10 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 16-3 | 183 |
| 11 | 11 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 12-1 | 170 |
| 12 | 15 | Concordia (Calif.) | 17-3 | 165 |
| 13 | 14 | Dalton State (Ga.) | 15-2 | 155 |
| 14 | 11 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 15-2 | 148 |
| 15 | 13 | Arizona Christian | 16-4 | 134 |
| 16 | 20 | Columbia (Mo.) | 16-3 | 126 |
| 17 | 18 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 15-3 | 116 |
| 18 | 16 | William Carey (Miss.) | 12-4 | 113 |
| 19 | RV | Great Falls (Mont.) | 14-4 | 98 |
| 20 | 21 | Xavier (La.) | 13-6 | 97 |
| 21 | 22 | Evangel (Mo.) | 11-6 | 86 |
| 22 | 24 | LSU Alexandria | 9-1 | 78 |
| 23 | 23 | Philander Smith (Ark.) | 12-4 | 74 |
| 24 | 25 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 16-4 | 66 |
| 25 | NR | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | 12-6 | 53 |
