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News you can use
Lights host MSU-Billings in a historic home game Friday night
Montana State University-Northern's Corbin Pearson, left, goes in for a layup during a college basketball game against the University of Regina earlier this month in Havre. The Lights are ranked No. 24 in the NAIA Men's Preseason Coaches Poll, and they'll bring that ranking into Friday night's home game against former Frontier Conference rival Montana State-Billings.
Once again, the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team is in the national spotlight. For the third straight season, the Lights begin a new year ranked inside the NAIA Coaches Preseason Poll.
The poll, which was released on Tuesday, has Northern ranked 24th. The Lights are already off to a 5-0 start this season, and have a home game with NCAA Division II Montana State-Billings coming up on Friday night.
After falling in the first round of the 2013 NAIA national tournament last March, the Lights finished the season ranked No. 26, just outside the coaches poll. However, the postseason coaches poll was the only poll during the 2012-13 season that the Lights weren't inside the Top 25, and they rose as high as No. 9 during last year's campaign.
Northern is one of three Frontier teams to be ranked. The UM-Western Bulldogs are ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll, while defending Frontier champion Rocky Mountain College comes in at No. 17.
In the NAIA Women's Preseason Coaches Poll, five-time defending Frontier champion Westminster College is ranked No. 5, while Carroll College is ranked No. 18. Both teams were NAIA national tourney teams a season ago.
NAIA Men's Preseason Poll
Rnk. Prv. 2012-13 Rec. Pts.
1 1 Georgetown (Ky.) (9) 28-8 250
T2 4 LSU Shreveport (La.) (1) 27-7 233
T2 11 Oklahoma Baptist 25-8 233
4 5 Columbia (Mo.) 35-1 225
5 2 SAGU (Texas) 33-5 217
6 20 Concordia (Calif.) 23-11 206
7 15 Pikeville (Ky.) 26-7 205
8 6 Montana Western 24-10 196
9 9 Evangel (Mo.) 26-7 187
T10 3 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 32-5 169
T10 21 William Carey (Miss.) 25-6 169
12 T17 Cal State San Marcos 23-7 164
13 14 Faulkner (Ala.) 29-6 144
14 7 John Brown (Ark.) 28-7 142
15 13 MidAmerica Nazarene 26-10 137
16 RV Arizona Christian 20-10 133
17 RV Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 21-13 121
18 10 Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 26-9 108
19 24 Xavier (La.) 24-8 105
20 25 Emmanuel (Ga.) 28-5 99
21 NR Park (Mo.) 21-9 75
22 16 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 21-10 70
23 RV Life (Ga.) 19-13 63
T24 NR Our Lady of the Lake 18-13 57
T24 RV Montana State-Northern 23-10 57
Others receiving votes: Campbellsville (Ky.) 53; Vanguard (Calif.) 48; Oklahoma City 32; Southern-New Orleans (La.) 22; St. Thomas (Texas) 22; Cumberlands (Ky.) 11; West Virginia Tech 7; Benedictine (Kan.) 5; Biola (Calif.) 5.
NAIA Women's Preseason Poll
Rnk. Prv. 2012-13 Rec. Pts.
1 8 Vanguard (Calif.) (4) 26-4 243
2 5 Oklahoma City (3) 28-4 238
3 1 Westmont (Calif.) 30-4 231
4 13 Georgetown (Ky.) (1) 23-10 223
5 7 Westminster (Utah) 29-4 222
6 3 Freed-Hardeman (2) 34-2 217
7 4 Cumberland (Tenn.) 33-3 205
8 9 MidAmerica Nazarene 30-3 194
9 10 Campbellsville (Ky.) 25-10 186
10 12 The Master's (Calif.) 25-6 181
11 15 Shawnee State (Ohio) 24-10 167
12 11 Benedictine (Kan.) 28-6 164
13 16 Columbia (Mo.) 27-7 154
14 18 Faulkner (Ala.) 26-7 146
15 17 Xavier (La.) 24-6 141
16 24 Bethel (Tenn.) 21-11 124
17 23 Our Lady of the Lake 30-4 110
18 21 Carroll (Mont.) 21-10 109
19 22 William Woods (Mo.) 26-7 106
20 25 Southern Poly (Ga.) 25-6 95
21 RV Cumberlands (Ky.) 18-13 92
22 19 Wiley (Texas) 29-4 81
23 NR Oklahoma Baptist 14-14 71
24 20 Lyon (Ark.) 28-5 68
25 RV LSU Shreveport (La.) 25-6 53
Others receiving votes: Central Methodist (Mo.) 42; San Diego Christian (Calif.) 35; Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) 31; Talladega (Ala.) 29; Biola (Calif.) 21; John Brown (Ark.) 20; Baker (Kan.) 6; Southern New Orleans (La.) 5; Texas Wesleyan 3; Coastal Georgia 3.
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