NO. 2: OKWU Eagles burst upward in the NAIA basketball rankings
Whoosh!
That fiery blast you felt on the top of you felt was the exhaust of Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s men’s basketball rise in the national rankings.
Bolstered by a 15-1 record, the Eagles rocketed to No. 2 in this week’s NAIA Men’s Basketball Top 25 Poll, released Wednesday.
The Eagles accumulated 539 voting points — including two first-place votes — to challenge College of Idaho (14-1) for the top spot.
College of Idaho came in at No. 1 — jumping up from No. 3 in the previous poll — with 558 voting points, including 17 first-place ballots.
Langston (15-0) rounded out the top three, garnering 520 votes, with one first-place vote.
OKWU advanced all the way from No. 5 in the previous poll, taken prior to Christmas.
The Eagles — who are coached by Donnie Bostwick — are actually 16-1, following Tuesday’s 89-63 win against Tabor (Kan.).
The poll is good news all-around for OKWU and the rest of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Fellow KCAC member Southwestern (Kan.) (15-1) leapt up to No. 4 in the nation. OKWU handed Southwestern its lone loss. Southwestern had been No. 6 in the previous poll.
Another KCAC team cracked into the Top 20 — Kansas Wesleyan University (15-1) at No. 17, up from No. 21.
Evangel (Mo.) (13-2) — the only team to beat OKWU — is ranked No. 18.
Two of OKWU’s victims this year, MidAmerica Nazarene and Science & Arts both landed in the category “Others Receiving Votes,” in the poll.
OKWU faces a major test next Wednesday when it travels to Southwestern for a Top 10 clash.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma Wesleyan men's basketball team soars in national poll
