KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The College of Idaho continued their streak of Top-10 appearances in the NAIA Men's Basketball Top-25 Poll, as the Yotes will begin the 2020-21 season ranked No. 8, as the preseason ranking was released this morning by the national office.
It marks the first combined national poll since the conclusion of the 1990-91 season – when the NAIA split into two divisions. All 231 men's basketball playing institutions will compete under one umbrella – with a 64-team Opening Round tournament beginning on 16 campus sites in March, with the 16 winners heading the Kansas City, Mo., for the NAIA National Championships.
The Coyotes received 436 voter points from the 21 national raters – the third-highest total from a team that played last season in the Division II (No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 7 Morningside).
Georgetown (Ky.) received 12 first-place votes and earn top billing, followed by Mid-America Christian (Okla.), Indiana Wesleyan, William Penn (Iowa) and Cascade Conference newcomer, Lewis-Clark State. Oregon Tech was the only other CCC team in the poll, beginning the year ranked No. 23.
It is the 29th-straight national poll that the Yotes have been ranked in the Top-25.
C of I last appeared in a stand-alone NAIA Top-25 poll in the final tabulation of the 1990-91 season, earning a No. 10 ranking. The Coyotes went on to advance to the second-round of the tournament in Kansas City and began the 1991-92 season ranked No. 1 in the first-ever Division II Top-25 poll. The team made eight trips to the NAIA Championships prior to the divisional split and made 15 trips to the Division II tournament – including each of the last four seasons, advancing to the national semifinals in 2018 and 2019 and finishing last season ranked No. 1 heading into the tournament before CoVID-19 cancelled the event.
The Yotes open up their 2020-21 season Thanksgiving Weekend, hosting the 34th Annual Taco Bell Shootout, welcoming Lewis-Clark State, Montana Western and Montana Tech in the Activities Center.
2020-21 NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Preseason (October 14, 2020)
| RANK |
LAST YEAR (Division) |
SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] |
2019-20 RECORD |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 (I) |
Georgetown (Ky.) [12] |
30-2 |
578 |
| 2 |
2 (I) |
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) [3] |
30-2 |
563 |
| 3 |
2 (II) |
Indiana Wesleyan [5] |
29-4 |
555 |
| 4 |
5 (I) |
William Penn (Iowa) |
30-3 |
512 |
| 5 |
6 (I) |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) [1] |
29-3 |
506 |
| 6 |
3 (I) |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
29-3 |
498 |
| 7 |
3 (II) |
Morningside (Iowa) |
27-3 |
467 |
| 8 |
1 (II) |
College of Idaho |
31-3 |
436 |
| 9 |
17 (I) |
Arizona Christian |
25-8 |
426 |
| 10 |
9 (I) |
John Brown (Ark.) |
28-5 |
407 |
| 11 |
16 (I) |
Providence (Mont.) |
24-8 |
360 |
| 12 |
6 (II) |
Marian (Ind.) |
25-7 |
328 |
| 13 |
13 (I) |
LSU Alexandria (La.) |
25-6 |
293 |
| 14 |
5 (II) |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
28-6 |
283 |
| 15 |
14 (I) |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
24-8 |
282 |
| 16 |
21 (I) |
Loyola (La.) |
23-10 |
278 |
| 17 |
4 (II) |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
30-3 |
268 |
| 18 |
4 (I) |
Dalton State (Ga.) |
30-3 |
257 |
| 19 |
19 (I) |
The Master's (Calif.) |
23-8 |
231 |
| 20 |
10 (I) |
Xavier (La.) |
27-6 |
193 |
| 21 |
12 (I) |
Carroll (Mont.) |
24-9 |
176 |
| 22 |
11 (I) |
SAGU (Texas) |
25-7 |
161 |
| 23 |
7 (II) |
Oregon Tech |
26-7 |
149 |
| 24 |
16 (II) |
Union (Ky.) |
24-10 |
138 |
| 25 |
9 (II) |
Antelope Valley (Calif.) |
28-4 |
115 |
Others Receiving Votes: Thomas More (Ky.) 108, Westmont (Calif.) 107, Southeastern (Fla.) 97, Oklahoma Wesleyan 91, Saint Francis (Ind.) 67, Indiana Tech 55, Central Baptist (Ark.) 43, Washington Adventist (Md.) 39, Holy Cross (Ind.) 39, Faulkner (Ala.) 39, Bellevue (Neb.) 36, Indiana East (Ind.) 36, Park (Mo.) 35, Northwestern (Iowa) 31, Talladega (Ala.) 16, Dillard (La.) 9, Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) 7, Southern Oregon 4, Shawnee State (Ohio) 4, Cornerstone (Mich.) 4, Dordt (Iowa) 4.
