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With the college basketball season now less than one month away, the Mount Vernon Nazarene College men's basketball team is in the midst of its preseason practices as the Cougars prepare for what should be one of the most exciting seasons in the program's history.
With all five starters returning from last year's squad that posted a school-record 27-7 overall mark and won the Mid-Ohio Conference title, MVNC is poised for a possible run at the NAIA Division II national title. And, in the opinion of the voters in the 1998-1999 NAIA Division II preseason poll, that title run could be very legitimate.
The preseason poll, which was released on Tuesday afternoon by the NAIA national office, has the Cougars ranked second in the nation. MVNC received three of the 23 first-place votes and 536 out of a possible 575 points. The Cougars finished the 1997-1998 season ranked third and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II national tournament.
Bethel (IN) College, the defending NAIA Division II national champions, were picked as the top team in the preseason poll as the Pilots received the other 20 first-place votes and 565 total points. Oregon Institute of Technology was third, MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) University was fourth, and Warner-Southern (FL) College was fifth.
The rest of the top ten included Briar Cliff (IA) College, William Jewell (MO) College, Mayville State (ND) University, Tri-State (IN) University, and Black Hills State (SD) University.
Walsh University, a member of the American Mideast Conference, is ranked #17, while Malone College, another conference foe, received some votes but did not make the top 25.
In the NAIA Division I preseason poll, Olivet Nazarene (IL) University, one of MVNC's opponents in the Food for the Hungry Holiday Invitational Tournament, was picked #13. Other teams on the Cougars' 1998-1999 schedule that made the top 25 or received votes include the University of Rio Grande (#21), St. Vincent (PA) College, Geneva (PA) College, and Cedarville College.
MVNC will wrap up its preseason with an exhibition game against Athletes in Action on Wednesday, October 28. The Lady Cougars will play the AIA women's team at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.
NAIA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL RATINGS
TOP 25 - PRESEASON RATING
OCTOBER 20, 1998
Rank | 1997-98 | Team | 1st Place Votes | 1997-98 Final Record | Total Points | |||||||||
1 | 1 | Bethel (Ind.) | 20 | 37 | - | 3 | 565 | |||||||
2 | 3 | Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | 3 | 27 | - | 7 | 536 | |||||||
3 | 10 | Oregon Tech | 26 | - | 11 | 483 | ||||||||
4 | NR | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 26 | - | 11 | 465 | ||||||||
5 | 4 | Warner-Southern (Fla.) | 26 | - | 8 | 446 | ||||||||
6 | 14 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 25 | - | 12 | 404 | ||||||||
7 | 2 | William Jewell (Mo.) | 28 | - | 9 | 378 | ||||||||
8 | 6 | Mayville State (N.D.) | 23 | - | 7 | 353 | ||||||||
9 | NR | Tri-State (Ind.) | 20 | - | 12 | 340 | ||||||||
10 | NR | Black Hills State (S.D.) | 21 | - | 9 | 312 | ||||||||
11 | 13 | Viterbo (Wis.) | 22 | - | 9 | 297 | ||||||||
12 | NR | Albertson (Idaho) | 20 | - | 13 | 278 | ||||||||
13 | 21 | Marian (Ind.) | 22 | - | 7 | 269 | ||||||||
14 | NR | Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | 23 | - | 8 | 259 | ||||||||
15 | NR | Northwestern (Iowa) | 17 | - | 11 | 228 | ||||||||
16 | 18 | Caldwell (N.J.) | 23 | - | 7 | 215 | ||||||||
17 | NR | Walsh (Ohio) | 25 | - | 10 | 193 | ||||||||
18 | 7 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 28 | - | 9 | 186 | ||||||||
19 | 11 | Mount Marty (S.D.) | 23 | - | 9 | 172 | ||||||||
20 | NR | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 23 | - | 12 | 148 | ||||||||
21 | NR | Holy Names (Calif.) | 25 | - | 11 | 111 | ||||||||
22 | NR | Tabor (Kan.) | 18 | - | 12 | 101 | ||||||||
23 | 8 | Concordia (Neb.) | 26 | - | 7 | 96 | ||||||||
24 | 9 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 26 | - | 8 | 80 | ||||||||
25 | NR | Milligan (Tenn.) | 22 | - | 11 | 67 | ||||||||
Others Receiving Votes: GrandView (Iowa) 61, Husson (Maine) 54, Robert Morris (Ill.) 37, St.Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) 33, Cornerstone (Mich.) 31, Malone (Ohio)25, Daemen (N.Y.) 23, Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) 23, VirginiaIntermont 23, Green Mountain (Vt.) 22, Felician (N.J.) 20,Concordia (Ore.) 19, Indiana Tech 15, Western Baptist (Ore.) 15,Holy Family (Pa.) 13, Huntington (Ind.) 13, Sciences ofPhiladelphia (Pa.) 12, Jamestown (N.D.) 11, Tennessee Wesleyan10, Berea (Ky.) 9, Minot State (N.D.) 7, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 5,Aquinas (Mich.) 4, Bellevue (Neb.) 4, Hastings (Neb.) 2,California State-Hayward 1, Taylor (Ind.) 1.
This top 25 rating was compiled by the NAIA-Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Association. Points awarded on a 25-24-23-22-21-20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
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