Statesmen Strengthen Hold on #1
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team continues to be the top program in the land as the NAIA released its sixth top-25 poll Wednesday.
WPU (24-1, 15-1 Heart), which has won 13 games in a row, is again #1. The squad has upped its point total to 558 and has also garnered three more first-place votes from the last ranking, to currently possess 17 top ballots. It marks the 58th-consecutive time the navy and gold have been in the top 25, the 15th-straight time they have been in the top five, and the seventh time they have been #1.
William Penn is joined in the poll by fellow Heart of America Athletic Conference foes Evangel and Central Methodist. EU is 37th, while CMU is 42nd.
Heading the rest of the NAIA’s top five is #2 Loyola (La.), which has the final three first-place nods. Indiana Wesleyan, William Jessup (Calif.), and Talladega (Ala.) conclude the top five.
William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday to host Graceland in Heart play at 4 p.m.
NAIA Men’s Basketball Rating #6 – February 9, 2021
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
1. William Penn (17)
2. Loyola (La.) (3)
3. Indiana Wesleyan
4. William Jessup (Calif.)
5. Talladega (Ala.)
6. Oklahoma Wesleyan
7. Arizona Christian
8. Thomas More (Ky.)
9. College of Idaho
10. Science & Arts (Okla.)
11. Carroll (Mont.)
12. Georgetown (Ky.)
13. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
14. Montana Tech
15. Saint Francis (Ind.)
16. SAGU (Texas)
17. Marian (Ind.)
18. Faulkner (Ala.)
19. Southeastern (Fla.)
20. Indiana-South Bend
21. Hope International (Calif.)
22. Briar Cliff
23. Texas A&M-Texarkana
24. Bethel (Kan.)
25. Indiana-Kokomo
Receiving Votes: Concordia (Neb.) 72, Florida College 69, LSU Shreveport (La.) 67, Indiana Tech 64, Grace (Ind.) 63, Oregon Tech 58, Stillman (Ala.) 44, Missouri Baptist 31, LSU Alexandria (La.) 27, Southwestern (Kan.) 22, Jamestown (N.D.) 17, Evangel (Mo.) 11, Xavier (La.) 7, Tennessee Southern 7, Texas Wesleyan 5, WVU Tech (W.Va.) 5, Central Methodist (Mo.) 3, Northwestern (Iowa) 3, Alice Lloyd (Ky.) 3.
