It's a pair of 11's for Xavier teams in NAIA top-25 rankings

NEW ORLEANS -- Both Xavier University of Louisiana basketball teams were 11th in the NAIA Division I Coaches' Top 25 polls announced Tuesday afternoon.

Since the start of 2000-01 season -- that's the extent of the poll data in XU's sports information archives -- it's the first time that both the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets were 11th or higher in the same week. It's also the first time during that period that both XU teams possessed the same ranking in a particular week.

There's something else the Rush and Nuggets share: continued appearances in the top 25. For the XU men, it's their 19th consecutive appearance and their 32nd in the last 33 polls. The XU women's staying power is even stronger -- this is their 39th consecutive top-25 appearance, a streak which began in the final week of January 2010.

Xavier is one of three schools with both basketball teams among the NAIA's top 11. The others are Lee (men No. 2, women No. 7) and Westmont (men No. 6, women No. 8). Six other schools -- Westminster (Utah), Bethel (Tenn.), Faulkner, Rogers State, MidAmerica Nazarene and Georgetown (Ky.) -- have both teams in the top 25.

The Gold Nuggets made the biggest upward move, three places, in this week's women's poll. The ranking is their highest in four weeks and the same as their preseason position. The XU men moved up two places to equal their highest ranking of the season; they've improved eight spots since the preseason poll.

Unbeaten Columbia (Mo.) is the top-ranked men's team for the fourth consecutive week. The women of Freed-Hardeman and Oklahoma City share No. 1 and replaced Lubbock Christian, which fell to fourth after its second loss to Oklahoma City this season.

Both XU teams concluded brief home stands Monday. Both will be on the road for the next four games before playing their home finales Feb. 23 against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic at XU's new Convocation Center.

The Gold Rush are 21-4 overall and 8-1 in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference to lead the league by two games. The Gold Nuggets are 19-4 and 7-2 and share second place in the GCAC with Talladega. They trail SUNO by one game.
Xavier's next opponent will be Philander Smith on Saturday in Little Rock, Ark. The Gold Rush will play the 24th-ranked Panthers at noon, and the Gold Nuggets will play the Lady Panthers at 2 p.m. The Nuggets are closing in on a 12th consecutive 20-victory season and their 20th in 21 seasons.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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