KANSAS CITY, Missouri – For the third-consecutive season, Dillard is ranked in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday.
The Bleu Devils tied as the No. 11 ranked team in the country and is one of two teams represented from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. Xavier (La.) is ranked No. 23.
Dillard returns four letter winners from a team that finished last season 21-10 overall and ranked No. 18 in the final NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll (March 7, 2018). Dillard has won 20-plus games the past three seasons.
Under Head Coach Mike Newell, Dillard is 68-29 (.701) with a 39-8 (.823) mark at Dent Hall and have reached the NAIA Tournament in each of his three years at the helm. The Bleu Devils have won two straight GCAC regular season titles and three-consecutive tournament titles.
The Bleu Devils were ranked No. 15 in last year's preseason poll and No. 12 for the 2016-17 season.
Dillard opens the season against Loyola (La.) in Dent Hall on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. CT.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bleu Devils by following Dillard Athletics on Twitter at @GeauxDU, Facebook at Facebook.com/dillardbleudevils/ and Instagram at Instagram.com/dillardbleudevils/.
2018-19 NAIA Division I Men's Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll – Oct. 23
Rank
|
Last Ranking
|
School
|
Record
|
Total Points
|
1
|
1
|
The Master's (Calif.) [4]
|
29-3
|
212
|
2
|
4
|
William Penn (Iowa) [3]
|
30-5
|
210
|
2
|
14
|
LSU Alexandria (La.) [2]
|
29-8
|
210
|
4
|
9
|
Georgetown (Ky.)
|
27-7
|
203
|
5
|
8
|
Oklahoma City
|
24-9
|
191
|
6
|
6
|
Columbia (Mo.)
|
27-4
|
182
|
7
|
3
|
LSU Shreveport (La.)
|
30-5
|
174
|
8
|
2
|
Pikeville (Ky.)
|
28-5
|
172
|
9
|
11
|
Hope International (Calif.)
|
25-6
|
150
|
10
|
10
|
William Carey (Miss.)
|
25-6
|
147
|
11
|
7
|
Central Methodist (Mo.)
|
27-6
|
144
|
11
|
18
|
Dillard (La.)
|
21-10
|
144
|
11
|
15
|
Texas Wesleyan
|
22-11
|
144
|
14
|
NR
|
Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
|
18-14
|
140
|
15
|
16
|
Dalton State (Ga.)
|
25-9
|
118
|
16
|
17
|
Cumberlands (Ky.)
|
21-10
|
106
|
17
|
20
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
|
23-10
|
104
|
18
|
22
|
SAGU (Texas)
|
24-10
|
96
|
19
|
NR
|
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
|
16-15
|
79
|
20
|
RV
|
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
|
25-10
|
73
|
21
|
NR
|
Menlo (Calif.)
|
20-11
|
68
|
22
|
5
|
Carroll (Mont.)
|
28-6
|
63
|
23
|
25
|
Xavier (La.)
|
24-9
|
57
|
23
|
13
|
Westmont (Calif.)
|
24-8
|
57
|
25
|
RV
|
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
|
24-9
|
49
|
DILLARD UNIVERSITY BLEU DEVILS SPORTS INFORMATION