Led by No. 1 OIT, 6 CCC Hoop Teams Ranked Among NAIA's Top 25
NAIA Men’s Top 25 Poll
NAIA Women’s Top 25 Poll
KANSAS CITY – Led by the top-ranked Oregon Tech men’s team, six Cascade Collegiate Conference basketball programs are ranked in the NAIA’s first regular season men’s and women’s basketball Top 25 polls, the national office announced.
On the men’s side, defending NAIA champion Oregon Tech, off to a 10-0 start entering the start of CCC action this weekend, maintained the No. 1 ranking it earned in the preseason poll in late October. The Hustlin’ Owls, under the guidance of veteran coach Dan Miles, have won 15 consecutive games dating to last year, when they went 5-0 at the national tournament in Branson, Mo., to win their second national crown in five years.
Eastern Oregon, which won the CCC’s regular season title last season and advanced to the national tournament for the first time in school history, is ranked No. 5 nationally. EOU is 8-1, including victories over Lewis-Clark State and NCAA Division III opponent Willamette.
Warner Pacific, which is aiming for its fourth consecutive trip to the national tournament, jumped from 24th in the preseason ranking to the No. 16 slot in this week’s listing. The Knights are 4-1, including road wins over Hawaii-Hilo and Hawaii Pacific.
Evergreen, which is led by CCC Preseason Player of the Year Nathan Menefee, currently the NAIA’s No. 2 scorer at 23.3 points per game, is ranked 20th.
On the women’s side, the CCC has two programs ranked among the Top 25 – No. 16 Southern Oregon, which is off to a 6-0 start, and No. 23 College of Idaho, which has won eight of its first nine games. Two other CCC programs – Concordia and Oregon Tech – received votes in the first regular season poll.
The CCC’s 17th season of league action gets underway Friday night with five games on both the men’s and women’s sides.