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Providence 11th, Carroll College 21st in NAIA men's basketball preseason poll

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The NAIA basketball season is set for its new look this winter, after the organization merged its Division I and Division II levels. Coaches at both former levels agree the last DI champion Georgetown is the team to beat on the men's courts this season.

The Tigers, who defeated Carroll College in the 2019 NAIA Division I men's basketball championship, 68-48, top the first preseason coaches' poll, which was announced on Wednesday. Georgetown collected 12 of 21 first-place votes to lead the way.

Carroll, which finished runner-up in the Frontier Conference tournament a year ago, returns to the poll at No. 21, 10 spots below league foe University of Providence, which is 11th. The Argos were selected as the Frontier Conference preseason favorites, with forward Zaccheus Darko-Kelly earning the league's preseason player of the year honor.

Former Frontier member Lewis-Clark State College, which now competes in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, was fifth in the poll. The Warriors defeated Carroll in the conference championship game last season. College of Idaho, another CCC member that was ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Division II ranks at season's end last year, is No. 8 in the preseason polls. The Yotes are coached by former Montana Western player Colby Blaine.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Association of Independent Institutions. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.

The Frontier Conference will open its league season in early December. Montana Tech hosts Carroll College, while Rocky Mountain College welcomes MSU-Northern on Dec. 5.

The complete preseason coaches' poll can be found below.

2020-21 NAIA men's basketball
Preseason coaches' poll

RANKLAST YEAR (Division)SCHOOL [1st Place Votes]2019-20 RECORDFINAL POINTS
11 (I)Georgetown (Ky.) [12]30-2578
22 (I)Mid-America Christian (Okla.) [3]30-2563
32 (II)Indiana Wesleyan [5]29-4555
45 (I)William Penn (Iowa)30-3512
56 (I)Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) [1]29-3506
63 (I)LSU Shreveport (La.)29-3498
73 (II)Morningside (Iowa)27-3467
81 (II)College of Idaho31-3436
917 (I)Arizona Christian25-8426
109 (I)John Brown (Ark.)28-5407
1116 (I)Providence (Mont.)24-8360
126 (II)Marian (Ind.)25-7328
1313 (I)LSU Alexandria (La.)25-6293
145 (II)Ottawa (Kan.)28-6283
1514 (I)Cumberlands (Ky.)24-8282
1621 (I)Loyola (La.)23-10278
174 (II)Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)30-3268
184 (I)Dalton State (Ga.)30-3257
1919 (I)The Master's (Calif.)23-8231
2010 (I)Xavier (La.)27-6193
2112 (I)Carroll (Mont.)24-9176
2211 (I)SAGU (Texas)25-7161
237 (II)Oregon Tech26-7149
2416 (II)Union (Ky.)24-10138
259 (II)Antelope Valley (Calif.)28-4115

Others Receiving Votes: Thomas More (Ky.) 108, Westmont (Calif.) 107, Southeastern (Fla.) 97, Oklahoma Wesleyan 91, Saint Francis (Ind.) 67, Indiana Tech 55, Central Baptist (Ark.) 43, Washington Adventist (Md.) 39, Holy Cross (Ind.) 39, Faulkner (Ala.) 39, Bellevue (Neb.) 36, Indiana East (Ind.) 36, Park (Mo.) 35, Northwestern (Iowa) 31, Talladega (Ala.) 16, Dillard (La.) 9, Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) 7, Southern Oregon 4, Shawnee State (Ohio) 4, Cornerstone (Mich.) 4, Dordt (Iowa) 4.