Nuggets, Rush extend poll streaks, face Dillard Saturday

NEW ORLEANS — For the 41st consecutive time on the women's side and the 21st consecutive time on the men's, Xavier University of Louisiana basketball teams are in the NAIA Division I Coaches' Top 25 polls.

The Gold Nuggets are in 10th place for the second consecutive week, and the Gold Rush are 16th after dropping from 14th. The polls, the 10th of 13 this season, were announced Tuesday afternoon. Voting was based on games through Sunday.

Next for both XU teams is the Crosstown Classic against longtime rival Dillard at XU's new Convocation Center. The Nuggets and Lady Bleu Devils will play at 3 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Rush and Bleu Devils at 5 p.m. Reserved tickets are available to the public for $5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Thursday at the Convocation Center box office. Tickets the day of the game will cost $10.
    
The Crosstown Classic is the regular-season finale for both schools. The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for women and men will begin Feb. 28 in Little Rock, Ark.

The XU women maintained their top-10 status after road victories against Fisk and SUNO. The Nuggets clinched no worse than a share of their third consecutive GCAC regular-season championship on Monday when they won 71-61 at Tougaloo. They'll win the championship outright with a victory against Dillard or a Talladega loss to Edward Waters.

The Gold Rush dropped for the second consecutive week after splitting a pair of two-point decisions, a 77-75 loss at Fisk and a 68-66 victory at SUNO. Xavier and Philander Smith — 23rd this week after two consecutive times out of the top 25 — share first place in the GCAC. Philander Smith will play host to Fisk on Saturday in its finale. A Xavier victory against Dillard would assure the Rush of a piece of the GCAC regular-season championship; the Rush would win the title outright if Fisk beats Philander Smith, too.

The Crosstown Classic also will be Rush/Nuggets Alumni Weekend, and all former XU athletes attending the doubleheader are asked to sign in as they enter the Convocation Center. The athletics department will usher all former XU athletes to the court for introduction to the fans during timeouts, and special recognition will be given to former men's basketball standouts and NBA players Bruce Seals and Donald "Slick" Watts, both of whom will attend the doubleheader.

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Feb. 17) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Freed-Hardeman (6) 26-1 277 1 2 Oklahoma City (5) 22-2 276 2 3 Westminster (Utah) 24-2 263 4 4 Westmont 22-3 252 6 5 Lubbock Christian 24-3 246 3 6 Cumberland 25-2 229 5 7-tie Lee (Tenn.) 24-2 226 tie-7 7-tie Vanguard 20-2 226 tie-7 9 MidAmerica Nazarene 25-2 210 9 10 Xavier 22-4 200 10 11 The Master's 23-4 187 11 12 Benedictine (Kan.) 24-4 180 13 13 Rogers State 21-7 173 12 14 Shawnee State 20-7 165 14 15 Columbia (Mo.) 22-6 151 15 16 Campbellsville 20-7 146 18 17 Lyon 25-3 132 20 18 Georgetown (Ky.) 18-8 130 19 19 Faulkner 23-5 120 16 20 Wiley 22-3 115 21 21 Our Lady of the Lake 26-2 103 22 22 William Woods 22-4 82 23 23 Bethel (Tenn.) 18-9 76 17 24 Southern Poly 22-3 72 24 25 LSU-Shreveport 20-4 54 RV Others receiving votes: Carroll (Mont.) 49, St. Catharine (Ky.) 48, Auburn Montgomery 47, Baker 28, Cumberlands 14, Central Methodist 6, Talladega 5, Coastal Georgia 5, San Diego Christian 3.

NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Feb. 17) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Columbia (Mo.) (11) 28-0 281 1 2 Lee (Tenn.) 25-1 272 2 3 John Brown 24-4 258 4 4 Lindsey Wilson 24-3 249 3 5 Lewis-Clark State 25-3 248 5 6 Cal State San Marcos 22-4 241 7 7 Southwestern Assemblies of God 24-3 225 8 8 Westmont 23-5 216 6 9 Oklahoma Baptist 22-6 206 10 10 Evangel 21-5 195 11 11 William Carey 22-4 189 19 12 Pikeville 21-5 170 17 13-tie Montana State Northern 22-6 167 12 13-tie Georgetown (Ky.) 20-6 167 13 15 Bethel (Tenn.) 24-4 156 16 16 Xavier 22-6 151 14 17 Emmanuel (Ga.) 25-3 150 15 18 Hope International 23-5 126 21 19 LSU-Shreveport 19-5 103 20 20 MidAmerica Nazarene 21-7 101 22 21 Faulkner 23-5 99 9 22 Montana Western 19-8 87 RV 23 Philander Smith 19-8 75 RV 24 Martin Methodist 17-9 68 RV 25 Culver-Stockton 21-7 65 tie-23 Others receiving votes: Arizona Christian 56, St. Thomas (Texas) 38, Mid-America Christian 38, Rogers State 20, Park 20, Shawnee State 14, Westminster (Utah) 12, Our Lady of the Lake 4, West Virginia Tech 4, Texas College 3, Campbellsville 3.

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