Cascade Conference Makes Big Moves in National Polls
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference made significant moves in the women’s and men’s basketball Div. 2 national polls which were released by the NAIA national office Monday.
In the men’s poll, Oregon Tech (19-2, 8-1) rose from No. 3 to No. 2 in the country. The Owls swept their games at No. 12 Northwest and The Evergreen State College. Northwest (17-2, 7-2) remained No. 12 in the poll with a weekend split. In the NAIA Div. 2 Game of the Week, OIT used a pair of free-throws with 1.4 seconds left in overtime to beat Northwest, 94-93.
Warner Pacific (16-4, 8-1) stayed at No. 8 after winning a pair of contests at Corban and Northwest Christian. Eastern Oregon (13-5, 6-3) returned to the Top 25 at No. 25 after its 80-62 win over The College of Idaho. Southern Oregon (13-7, 6-3) received five votes in the latest poll.
Eastern Oregon remains the top-ranked team from the Cascade Conference on the women’s side. The Mountaineers (15-4, 7-2) moved from No. 11 to No. 10. EOU sits atop the conference standings tied with Oregon Tech and Corban at the halfway mark of the CCC schedule.
Corban University (13-5, 7-2) made the largest leap of any team in NAIA Div. 2 in the Top 25. The Warriors went from No. 21 to No. 15, following a pair of home wins over Warner Pacific and Concordia. Oregon Tech (18-3, 7-2) sits one spot out of the Top 25 with 80 votes, seven votes more than last week and three votes shy of No. 25. The College of Idaho (11-7, 6-3) had nine votes and Warner Pacific College (12-8, 6-3) had eight votes.
Cascade Collegiate Conference action continues this Friday and Saturday with a full slate of games. Weekend highlights include an intriguing night of basketball in Klamath Falls, Friday. The No. 10 EOU women are at Oregon Tech in a battle to stay atop the conference standings, followed by the No. 25 Mountaineer men at No. 2 OIT. Fans can follow the all of the Cascade Conference action with free live video streams on CCC TV. Live stats are also available on cascadeconference.org.