Tuesday, October 28, 2014

No. 18 Nuggets to open with 4 straight top-25 opponents


NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana, 18th in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 poll announced Tuesday, will be thoroughly tested by the time the first regular-season poll is announced.

The Gold Nuggets, 24-10 last season, will:

• Open the season with a ranked opponent — No. 5 Campbellsville — for the first time since 2007.

• Open the season with four consecutive ranked opponents: Campbellsville, No. 9 Bethel (Tenn.), No. 22 Mobile and No. 11 Our Lady of the Lake.

• Play consecutive games against top-10 opponents for the first time since November 1999. Xavier will face Campbellsville at 6 p.m. Friday and Bethel at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Bethel Chamber of Commerce Shootout at McKenzie, Tenn.

The Gold Nuggets are in the preseason top 25 for the fifth consecutive year and the 12th time in Bo Browder's 16 seasons as head coach. The gauntlet they'll run extends to last season, when they closed with three consecutive ranked opponents.

The first regular-season poll will be announced Dec. 9. By that time Xavier also will have played No. 6 Wiley and No. 24 Langston (Nov. 27-28 in the Xavier Classic) and Mobile a second time (Dec. 1 at Mobile). Mobile will be the Gold Nuggets' home opener at 7 p.m. on Nov. 12.

Defending champion Oklahoma City is preseason No. 1 after receiving 8-of-10 first-place votes.

    
NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches'
Preseason Top 25 Poll

(first-place votes in parentheses — records from 2013-14 season)

RankTeamRecordPointsLast
1Oklahoma City (8)27-4249 1
2Freed-Hardeman (2)36-2243 2
3Vanguard 27-22293
4Westminster (Utah)26-32264
5Campbellsville32-42225
6Wiley30-52046
7John Brown28-81947
8Oklahoma Baptist29-61929
9Bethel (Tenn.)23-1118816
10Baker27-716311
11-tieLoyola23-1216215
11-tie Our Lady of the Lake27-51628
13Westmont20-1014818
14The Master's24-914212
15Lewis-Clark State27-613017
16MidAmerica Nazarene28-412713
17Georgetown (Ky.)21-912410
18Xavier24-1012319
19Lindsey Wilson19-12109NR
20Columbia (Mo.)26-810514
21Montana State-Northern22-109420
22Mobile23-964RV
23Hope International23-105922
24Langston20-1358RV
25Central Methodist22-946NR

Others receiving votes: Lyon 45, Cumberlands 35, Wayland Baptist 34, Cumberland 29, Shawnee State 28, Martin Methodist 11, William Woods 11, Concordia (Calif.) 10, SUNO 9, Mid-America Christia


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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