Rush climb again, this time to 20th, in NAIA rankings

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana climbed for the second straight week in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25.

The Gold Rush (14-6 overall, 3-1 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) moved from 21st to 20th Tuesday. It is the highest rank for the XU men since the preseason poll, when they were 13th.

It is the 42nd consecutive appearance in the top 25 for the Gold Rush, and it's the longest active streak among NAIA DI men's teams. The XU men appeared in 55 of the last 56 top-25s.

For the fifth time in as many polls this season, the GCAC has three top-25 men's teams. Talladega is sixth and Philander Smith is 23rd, same as a week ago. Talladega leads the GCAC with a 4-0 conference record, and Xavier is tied for second place and one game behind.

Campbellsville is No. 1 for the third consecutive week. The Tigers received all 10 first-place votes after collecting six last week and five two weeks ago.

Xavier won 60-52 at home Monday against SUNO and will play at 5 p.m. EST Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla., against Edward Waters. The next XU home game will be Feb. 2.

NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through Jan. 18) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Campbellsville (10) 19-1 250 1 2 Cal State San Marcos 19-2 240 3 3 Pikeville 18-1 230 4 4 Hope International 16-1 228 2 5 Martin Methodist 17-1 218 5 6 Talladega 17-3 208 6 7 Freed-Hardeman 15-2 194 8 8 Oklahoma Baptist 15-3 190 7 9-tie Montana Western 15-3 183 9 9-tie Benedictine (Kan.) 16-3 183 10 11 Our Lady of the Lake 12-1 170 tie-11 12 Concordia (Calif.) 17-3 165 15 13 Dalton State 15-2 155 14 14 Wayland Baptist 15-2 148 tie-11 15 Arizona Christian 16-4 134 13 16 Columbia (Mo.) 16-3 126 20 17 Georgetown (Ky.) 15-3 116 18 18 William Carey 12-4 113 16 19 Great Falls 14-4 98 RV 20 Xavier 13-6 97 21 21 Evangel 11-6 86 22 22 LSU-Alexandria 9-1 78 24 23 Philander Smith 12-4 74 23 24 Cumberlands 16-4 66 25 25 Mid-America Christian 12-6 53 NR Others receiving votes: Westmont 47, Montana Tech 24, Missouri Valley 22, Central Methodist 19, Bethel 15, St. Gregory's 15, Lewis-Clark State 13, Southwestern Assemblies of God 5, Vanguard 3

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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