Bison ranked No. 1 in NAIA

After a 9-1 start and coming off a victory over the preseason top-ranked team, Oklahoma Baptist is No. 1 in the first regular-season NAIA Men’s Division I Basketball Coaches’ Poll, released Tuesday.

“I’m surprised at that,” said Bison coach Doug Tolin. “I don’t think anyone has decided anything yet. There’s a long, long way to go. We saw two good teams (Cal State San Marcos and Concordia) this weekend and there are a lot more out there, I’m sure. This really surprises me.”

OBU was last ranked No. 1 on Feb. 27 of this year.

The Bison collected nine of 11 first-place votes with No. 2 Cumberlands getting one and No. 6 Columbia collecting the other.

Concordia fell out of the poll after it conference failed to turn in a conference rating in time. Cal State San Marcos is ninth.

Also ranked in the poll are No. 4 Rogers State, No. 14 USAO, No. 22 Oklahoma City and No. 25 John Brown. Evangel, whom OBU beat earlier this season, is 16th.

The Bison return to action Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against Central Bible.

The Oklahoma Baptist women got 24 points in the first regular-season NAIA Women’s Division I Basketball Coaches’ Poll, ranking them 28th in the nation.

The Lady Bison are 6-1 on the season with the lone loss being at No. 26 Columbia. Lubbock Christian is ranked No. 1 in the poll with 10 of 11 first-place votes.

Freed-Hardeman, which played in the OBU Classic last month, is ranked second and has the remaining first-place vote.

Also in the poll are No. 8 Oklahoma City and No. 15 Rogers State from the Sooner Athletic Conference. Fourth-ranked Westminster will be playing at OBU later this month.

Next action for the Lady Bison is Dec. 14 against Central Baptist in Shawnee.

Note: Report provided by Ray Fink, OBU sports information director.