HAAC Athletic News
Men's Basketball - Tue, Oct. 23, 2012
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - MidAmerica Nazarene and Evangel each claimed a place in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll on Tuesday afternoon.
The Pioneers moved up three spots from the 2012 postseason ranking to #16 in the initial 2012-13 offering. MNU, led by HAAC Player of the Year Rustin Dowd, returns all five starters from a team that won the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and was picked to repeat as champion in the conference's preseason poll.
Evangel comes into 2012-13 off a Sweet Sixteen appearance at the national tournament last season with a preseason ranking of 21, up one spot from the end of last season. The Crusaders return a trio of starters, including 1st-team all-HAAC selection Stephen Cotten, from a 24-10 team that was the regular season runner-up in 2011-12.
First-year head coach Sean Dooley and Baker were included among the teams garnering votes just outside the top 25. The Wildcats were the third HAAC team to qualify for the national tournament last season after a runner-up finish in the conference tournament and will open their season on Saturday, November 3 against Hastings (Neb.).
Defending national champion Concordia (Calif.) tops the preseason poll, receiving nine of ten first place votes. Oklahoma Baptist, last season's runner-up, is second after taking the remaining first place vote while Georgetown (Ky.), Robert Morris (Ill.) and Rogers State (Okla.) round out the top five.
| Rank | Last Poll | School (First Place Votes) | 2012 Record | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Concordia (Calif.) (9) | 31-7 | 250 |
| 2 | 2 | Oklahoma Baptist (1) | 32-5 | 242 |
| 3 | 5 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 26-9 | 231 |
| 4 | 10 | Robert Morris (Ill.) | 27-5 | 230 |
| 5 | 8 | Rogers State (Okla.) | 24-9 | 211 |
| 6 | 11 | Southern Poly (Ga.) | 25-7 | 208 |
| 7 | 12 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 27-8 | 206 |
| 8 | RV | Westmont (Calif.) | 19-9 | 195 |
| 9 | RV | Pikeville (Ky.) | 17-12 | 188 |
| 10 | 13 | Columbia (Mo.) | 27-7 | 170 |
| 11 | 14 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 21-10 | 153 |
| 12 | RV | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 21-11 | 145 |
| T13 | 6 | Biola (Calif.) | 27-9 | 139 |
| T13 | NR | Westminster (Utah) | 21-11 | 139 |
| 15 | 18 | Lee (Tenn.) | 20-9 | 135 |
| 16 | 19 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 25-9 | 132 |
| T17 | 17 | John Brown (Ark.) | 24-9 | 128 |
| T17 | 23 | Texas Wesleyan | 25-8 | 128 |
| 19 | 24 | Xavier (La.) | 23-9 | 119 |
| 20 | NR | Cal State San Marcos | 19-12 | 107 |
| 21 | 22 | Evangel | 24-10 | 80 |
| 22 | 9 | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | 28-7 | 72 |
| 23 | 21 | Montana State-Northern | 27-7 | 68 |
| 24 | 20 | Southern-New Orleans | 17-14 | 61 |
| 25 | RV | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 20-12 | 50 |
Others receiving votes: SAGU (Texas) 34, Montana Western 29, Loyola (La.) 24, Lubbock Christian (Texas) 21, Life (Ga.) 20, Tougaloo (Miss.) 15, Campbellsville (Ky.) 9, Missouri Baptist 8, West Virginia Tech 7, LSU Shreveport (La.) 6, Baker 3, Oklahoma City 3
.png "photo")
