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Providence Argos, MSU-Northern Lights ranked in NAIA men's basketball top 20

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Steve Keller's University of Providence men's basketball team is ranked 12th in the NAIA Division I coaches' top 25 preseason poll, leading three Frontier Conference teams in the rankings, which were released Wednesday.

The Argos weren't ranked at the end of last season when they finished 18-12 in Keller's first year with the program. They were selected to win the Frontier Conference this year, though, and are now the league's highest-ranked team in the national poll. Montana State-Northern and Lewis-Clark State are also in the top 25, while Carroll College is among the other teams to receive votes.

Shawn Huse's Lights are ranked No. 19 after last year's 18-14 campaign, and Lewis-Clark is 23rd. The Warriors were seventh in last season's final rankings after advancing to the semifinal round of the NAIA national tournament.

Carroll College, which is starting Year 2 of the Kurt Paulson era, was the national runner-up last season, but the Fighting Saints graduated key players Match Burnham and Matt Wyman off that squad. Dane Warp, the Frontier Conference's preseason player of the year, will help lead a young Carroll team into the 2019-20 season.

Defending national champion Georgetown (Ky.) received nine first-place votes to top the poll with the No. 1 ranking. The Master's (Calif.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), William Penn (Iowa) and Pikeville (Ky.) complete the top five.

2019-20 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Preseason (Oct. 23, 2019)

RANKLAST WEEKSCHOOL [1st Place Votes]RECORDFINAL POINTS
11Georgetown (Ky.) [9]33-4219
2T4The Master's (Calif.)27-6210
38Wayland Baptist (Texas)24-8199
423William Penn (Iowa)22-12196
513Pikeville (Ky.)25-9191
62LSU Alexandria (La.)30-4187
714William Carey (Miss.)25-10178
820Talladega (Ala.)24-8166
93Benedictine (Kan.)31-4155
10RVArizona Christian25-9153
1117LSU Shreveport (La.)23-11152
12NRProvidence (Mont.)18-12145
13RVScience & Arts (Okla.)22-11139
146Stillman (Ala.)27-6133
1510Vanguard (Calif.)25-7114
1621Cumberlands (Ky.)21-11113
1724Loyola (La.)22-12109
18RVMid-America Christian (Okla.)21-13105
19NRMontana State-Northern18-1487
20NRCentral Methodist (Mo.)17-1482
21RVCampbellsville (Ky.)22-1076
2212Wiley (Texas)24-765
237Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)30-759
24NRPark (Mo.)20-1144
2519Peru State (Neb.)23-1142

Dropped from the Top 25: Tougaloo (Miss.), Missouri Baptist, Carroll (Mont.), John Brown (Ark.), William Jessup (Calif.), Bethel (Tenn.), St. Thomas (Texas), Oklahoma City

Others Receiving Votes: Hope International (Calif.) 36, Bethel (Tenn.) 33, Xavier (La.) 31, SAGU (Texas) 22, Dillard (La.) 20, Central Baptist (Ark.) 16, Carroll (Mont.) 15, Life (Ga.) 7, Oklahoma City 5.