XU Rush ranked 19th in preseason, open at home Friday

NEW ORLEANS -- It's a familiar spot for Xavier University of Louisiana in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Gold Rush are 19th for the second straight year and in the preseason top 25 for the fourth consecutive season.

Coach Dannton Jackson's Gold Rush are in the top 25 for the 25th consecutive time dating to December 2011. Only Oklahoma Baptist and Lindsey Wilson have a longer active poll streak than Xavier. The Rush have appeared in the top 25 in 38 of the last 39 polls.

Xavier -- 24-8 in 2012-13 and seeking a third consecutive Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship and fourth consecutive berth in the national tournament -- will open its season at 7 p.m. Friday at the Convocation Center against Carver College of Atlanta. The second game will be the Gold Rush's only exhibition, 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 at LSU. This is Jackson's 11th season as head coach.

Defending champion Georgetown (Ky.) Is No. 1, followed by LSU-Shreveport and Oklahoma Baptist in a tie for second.

Xavier was one of two GCAC teams to receive votes. SUNO was tied for 29th with 22 points.

The first regular-season poll will be announced Dec. 10. William Carey, which is tied for 10th, will visit Xavier in a 7 p.m. game Dec. 3.

The preseason top 25:

1. Georgetown (Ky.)
2. (tie) LSU-Shreveport
2. (tie) Oklahoma Baptist
4. Columbia (Mo.)
5. Southwestern Assemblies of God
6. Concordia (Calif.)
7. Pikeville
8. Montana Western
9. Evangel
10. (tie) Lindsey Wilson
10. (tie) William Carey
12. Cal State San Marcos
13. Faulkner
14. John Brown
15. MidAmerica Nazarene
16. Arizona Christian
17. Rocky Mountain
18. Culver-Stockton
19. Xavier
20. Emmanuel (Ga.)
21. Park
22. Martin Methodist
23. Life
24. (tie) Our Lady of the Lake
25. (tie) Montana State Northern

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