Gold Rush knocking on door of national top 25

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana moved closer Tuesday to a spot in the NAIA Division I men's basketball top 25 when the Gold Rush topped the list of "others receiving votes."

The Gold Rush (11-4) collected 34 points from the nine voters and are 13 points behind Cumberlands and William Carey, which tied for 24th. The national rank is XULA's highest since it was 25th in the preseason poll of Oct. 25, 2016. XULA tied for 33rd in the previous rankings Dec. 5.
Boosting the Gold Rush was a 5-0 December — XULA's first perfect record during that month since 2003.

Georgetown (Ky.) received eight first-place votes and remained No. 1.



The next XULA game will be the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener — 7:30 p.m. EST Monday against Edward Waters in Jacksonville, Fla. The next rankings will be announced Jan. 16.
2017-18 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – No. 2 (Jan. 2, 2018)

RANK PRVS^ SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) 2017-18 RECORD TOTAL POINTS
1 1 Georgetown (Ky.) (8) 15-0 219
2 4 Carroll (Mont.) (1) 14-0 209
3 3 William Penn (Iowa) 12-1 202
4 2 LSU Shreveport (La.) 12-1 195
5 5 The Master's (Calif.) 14-1 189
6 8 Pikeville (Ky.) 15-0 185
7 6 Columbia (Mo.) 14-1 181
8 9 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 14-0 171
9 10 Hope International (Calif.) 14-1 163
10 11 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 13-1 149
11 12 Faulkner (Ala.) 12-1 143
T12 20 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 9-2 140
T12 16 Central Methodist (Mo.) 13-1 140
14 23 Oklahoma City 9-2 122
15 21 Campbellsville (Ky.) 15-1 120
16 17 Montana Western 12-2 106
17 14 LSU Alexandria (La.) 10-4 103
18 13 Dalton State (Ga.) 10-3 102
19 18 Missouri Baptist 13-2 100
20 7 Science & Arts (Okla.) 10-2 84
21 15 Wayland Baptist (Texas) 10-2 77
22 NR William Jessup (Calif.) 14-2 66
23 NR Arizona Christian 12-2 65
T24 RV Cumberlands (Ky.) 12-2 47
T24 RV William Carey (Miss.) 9-3 47
Others Receiving Votes: Xavier (La.) 34; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 30; Graceland (Iowa) 27; Menlo (Calif.) 17; Life (Ga.) 17; Langston (Okla.) 17; Montana State-Northern 13; Central Baptist (Ark.) 8; Grand View (Iowa) 5.

Dropped Out: MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (No. 19); Vanguard (Calif.) (No. 22); Langston (Okla.) (No. 24); Life (Ga.) (No. 25).

^ Previous ranking occurred Dec. 5, 2017 (Poll No. 1)

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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