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Providence Argos down 3 in NAIA men's basketball poll; Carroll slides out of top 25

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Posted at 11:25 AM, Dec 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-16 18:40:34-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Seven new teams entered the first in-season edition of the NAIA men's basketball coaches' poll, which was released on Wednesday, and despite not playing a game, the University of Providence men are ranked No. 14 in the rankings. The Argos are the lone Frontier Conference representative in the poll.

Providence, which hasn't played a game and isn't scheduled to take the court until January, was No. 11 in the NAIA preseason poll, but a serious shift in the rankings forced the Argos to 14th. Only one team, Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) kept its ranking from the preseason poll, with nine teams in this week's top 25 dropping from their previous ranking.

Steve Keller and the Argos will open their season on Jan. 4, 2021 at Montana Tech.

The Carroll College men were among those teams to fall, as the Saints dropped out of the top 25 entirely. Carroll was No. 21 in the preseason poll, and is off to a 2-1 start entering Wednesday's Frontier Conference-opening game at Montana Tech. Kurt Paulson and the Saints have seen their previous five games canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, and haven't taken the court for a game since Nov. 20.

RELATED: CARROLL COLLEGE WOMEN VAULT TO NO. 6 IN LATEST POLL

Indiana Wesleyan holds the top spot in the men's basketball poll, thanks to a perfect 13-0 start to the season. Former Frontier Conference member Lewis-Clark State College is ranked No. 7, while the College of Idaho sits 15th in the poll, which can be found below.

2020-21 NAIA men's basketball coaches' poll
Week of Dec. 16, 2021

RANKLAST WEEKSCHOOL [1st Place Votes]RECORDFINAL POINTS
13Indiana Wesleyan [18]13-0589
24William Penn (Iowa) [2]10-0569
32Mid-America Christian (Okla.) [1]4-0537
46LSU Shreveport (La.)8-0534
59Arizona Christian6-0504
61Georgetown (Ky.)5-1498
75Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)2-0494
87Morningside (Iowa)10-1437
916Loyola (La.)4-0405
1012Marian (Ind.)5-1404
1115Cumberlands (Ky.)7-1396
1219The Master's (Calif.)4-0350
1310John Brown (Ark.)0-0341
1411Providence (Mont.)0-0322
158College of Idaho1-3312
16NRFaulkner (Ala.)8-0311
17NRTalladega (Ala.)8-1241
18NRDakota Wesleyan (S.D.)9-1236
1913LSU Alexandria (La.)7-2216
20NRSaint Francis (Ind.)6-1182
21NRTexas A&M Texarkana5-0164
2222SAGU (Texas)1-0161
2320Xavier (La.)2-1115
24NRMartin Methodist (Tenn.)6-1114
25NRBethel (Kan.)9-3109

Dropped from the Top 25: Ottawa (Kan.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Oregon Tech, Carroll (Mont.), Antelope Valley (Calif.), Union (Ky.), Dalton State (Ga.)

Others Receiving Votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 96, Oregon Tech 89, Oklahoma Wesleyan 83, Benedictine (Kan.) 82, Carroll (Mont.) 76, Indiana Tech 60, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 56, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 56, Westmont (Calif.) 45, Bethel (Ind.) 30, Texas Wesleyan 28, Central Baptist (Ark.) 27, Union (Ky.) 15, Holy Cross (Ind.) 14, Valley City State (N.D.) 10, Dillard (La.) 9, Dalton State (Ga.) 7, Northwestern (Iowa) 6, Science & Arts (Okla.) 4, Evangel (Mo.) 3, Cornerstone (Mich.) 3.