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Carroll College men vault into top 10 of NAIA rankings; Providence 8th

Kurt Paulson
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After last year's runner-up finish, Carroll College has climbed back into the top 10 of the NAIA men's basketball top 25 poll.

The latest rankings, which were released Wednesday, have the Saints at No. 9, up 14 spots from their previous No. 23 ranking. Prior to the release of the rankings, Carroll handed Providence its first loss of the 2019-20 season, which dropped Steve Keller's Argos from seventh to eighth in the poll.

Fellow Frontier Conference team Lewis-Clark State is also ranked at No. 12. No other Frontier teams received votes in the poll.

Including Wednesday night's triple-overtime win at Rocky Mountain College, Carroll is 14-3 overall, having won eight consecutive games under second-year coach Kurt Paulson. The Saints are 5-0 in conference play and return to action Friday against Montana Western.

Providence started the season winning its first 15 games, but the Argos lost to Carroll, 93-88, last Saturday. They'll look to get back on track Thursday night at Montana Tech.

Reigning national champion Georgetown (Ky.) maintained its hold on the No. 1 ranking, but there was some movement in the top five. Mid-America Christian (Okla.) moved up one to second, William Penn (Iowa) climbed two spots to third, Westmont (Calif.) vaulted seven spots to fourth, and LSU Shreveport (La.) climbed one place to fifth. The Master's (Calif.) fell from second to seventh in the poll, which is below.

2019-20 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll 3 (January 15, 2020)

RANKLAST WEEKSCHOOL [1st Place Votes]RECORDFINAL POINTS
11Georgetown (Ky.) [9]15-0219
23Mid-America Christian (Okla.)15-0212
35William Penn (Iowa)14-1204
411Westmont (Calif.)17-1199
56LSU Shreveport (La.)15-2189
619Dalton State (Ga.)15-1185
72The Master's (Calif.)14-3168
87Providence (Mont.)15-1167
923Carroll (Mont.)13-3166
1010John Brown (Ark.)13-2158
1112LSU Alexandria (La.)14-4142
1213Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)15-1141
13RVFaulkner (Ala.)14-3133
144Pikeville (Ky.)15-3132
1514Xavier (La.)13-4122
16RVCumberlands (Ky.)13-4110
178Loyola (La.)13-4102
1815Hope International (Calif.)14-394
1922Texas Wesleyan12-391
2024Talladega (Ala.)14-388
2118Central Baptist (Ark.)11-384
22RVSAGU (Texas)12-269
2321Arizona Christian13-465
24NRWilliam Carey (Miss.)13-559
25NRShawnee State (Ohio)14-555

Dropped from the Top 25: Wayland Baptist (Texas), Tougaloo (Miss.), Stillman (Ala.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Dillard (La.).

Others Receiving Votes: Tougaloo (Miss.) 52, Clarke (Iowa) 22, Stillman (Ala.) 19, Park (Mo.) 15, Dillard (La.) 13, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 11, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 7, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 4, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 3.