Saturday, March 12, 2016

XU to play LC State in 6th straight trip to nationals

NEW ORLEANS — For the sixth consecutive season, Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball is headed to the national tournament.
    
The Gold Rush (21-12) received an at-large bid Wednesday to the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship. Xavier will play Lewis-Clark State (28-4) at 8 p.m. March 17 — the second day of first-round games — at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
    
Xavier, Georgetown (Ky.) (25), LSU-Shreveport (12) and Columbia (Mo.) (6) have the longest active streaks of consecutive appearances at nationals.
    
Xavier is one of four teams seeded eighth. Lewis-Clark State is a No. 1 seed.
    
The meeting of Xavier and Lewis-Clark State will be their first. The Warriors, from Lewiston, Idaho, won Frontier Conference regular-season and tournament championships.
    
Xavier maintained its No. 29 ranking in this week's coaches poll after a 94-92 double-overtime victory against Tougaloo — the Rush trailed by 17 points in both halves — and a 75-67 victory against two-time defending champion and then-fourth ranked Talladega at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.
    
Lewis-Clark State is ranked fourth.
    
The GCAC has three teams at nationals for the third consecutive year and the 10th time in 15 seasons. Talladega, which dropped to No. 6 nationally, is in the tournament for the third consecutive year. Dillard qualified for the first time since 2003, but the Bleu Devils fell out of the top 25 despite an 84-71 victory Sunday at Xavier in the GCAC Tournament final.
    
Second-round games will be played March 18, followed by quarterfinals March 19, semifinals March 21 and the championship game March 22. The Xavier-LC winner will play Freed-Hardeman or Our Lady of the Lake at 9:45 p.m. March 18.

NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through March 8)

 
RankTeamRecordPointsLast
1Georgetown (Ky.) (8) 28-3219 2
2LSU-Alexandria (1)28-32111
3Biola29-32063
4Lewis-Clark State 28-41966
5Pikeville25-51885
6Talladega 23-51804
7Columbia (Mo.) 28-51769
8Hope International26-51757
9William Penn27-616210
10Texas Wesleyan24-71548
11Langston25-615113
12MidAmerica Nazarene25-8141tie-11
13Freed-Hardeman 25-7138 tie-11
14Mid-America Christian23-912514
15Peru State 22-1011316
16Arizona Christian 22-810815
17William Carey20-1110317
18Our Lady of the Lake20-89918
19Carroll (Mont.)21-99520
20Park20-99219
21Cumberlands22-117821
22Montana Western19-125623
23Campbellsville22-1054RV
24Oklahoma City15-105222
25Westmont21-1045RV

      

Dropped from rankings:  No. 24 William Jessup, No. 25 Dillard
      

Others receiving votes:  Dillard 43, LSU-Shreveport 35, William Jessup 31, Xavier 26, Southwestern Assemblies of God 22, Dalton State 13, William Woods 3, Avila 3


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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