KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Seven new teams entered the first in-season edition of the NAIA men's basketball coaches' poll, which was released on Wednesday, and despite not playing a game, the University of Providence men are ranked No. 14 in the rankings. The Argos are the lone Frontier Conference representative in the poll.
Providence, which hasn't played a game and isn't scheduled to take the court until January, was No. 11 in the NAIA preseason poll, but a serious shift in the rankings forced the Argos to 14th. Only one team, Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) kept its ranking from the preseason poll, with nine teams in this week's top 25 dropping from their previous ranking.
Steve Keller and the Argos will open their season on Jan. 4, 2021 at Montana Tech.
The Carroll College men were among those teams to fall, as the Saints dropped out of the top 25 entirely. Carroll was No. 21 in the preseason poll, and is off to a 2-1 start entering Wednesday's Frontier Conference-opening game at Montana Tech. Kurt Paulson and the Saints have seen their previous five games canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, and haven't taken the court for a game since Nov. 20.
RELATED: CARROLL COLLEGE WOMEN VAULT TO NO. 6 IN LATEST POLL
Indiana Wesleyan holds the top spot in the men's basketball poll, thanks to a perfect 13-0 start to the season. Former Frontier Conference member Lewis-Clark State College is ranked No. 7, while the College of Idaho sits 15th in the poll, which can be found below.
2020-21 NAIA men's basketball coaches' poll
Week of Dec. 16, 2021
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 3 | Indiana Wesleyan [18] | 13-0 | 589 |
| 2 | 4 | William Penn (Iowa) [2] | 10-0 | 569 |
| 3 | 2 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) [1] | 4-0 | 537 |
| 4 | 6 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 8-0 | 534 |
| 5 | 9 | Arizona Christian | 6-0 | 504 |
| 6 | 1 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 5-1 | 498 |
| 7 | 5 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 2-0 | 494 |
| 8 | 7 | Morningside (Iowa) | 10-1 | 437 |
| 9 | 16 | Loyola (La.) | 4-0 | 405 |
| 10 | 12 | Marian (Ind.) | 5-1 | 404 |
| 11 | 15 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 7-1 | 396 |
| 12 | 19 | The Master's (Calif.) | 4-0 | 350 |
| 13 | 10 | John Brown (Ark.) | 0-0 | 341 |
| 14 | 11 | Providence (Mont.) | 0-0 | 322 |
| 15 | 8 | College of Idaho | 1-3 | 312 |
| 16 | NR | Faulkner (Ala.) | 8-0 | 311 |
| 17 | NR | Talladega (Ala.) | 8-1 | 241 |
| 18 | NR | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 9-1 | 236 |
| 19 | 13 | LSU Alexandria (La.) | 7-2 | 216 |
| 20 | NR | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 6-1 | 182 |
| 21 | NR | Texas A&M Texarkana | 5-0 | 164 |
| 22 | 22 | SAGU (Texas) | 1-0 | 161 |
| 23 | 20 | Xavier (La.) | 2-1 | 115 |
| 24 | NR | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | 6-1 | 114 |
| 25 | NR | Bethel (Kan.) | 9-3 | 109 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Ottawa (Kan.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Oregon Tech, Carroll (Mont.), Antelope Valley (Calif.), Union (Ky.), Dalton State (Ga.)
Others Receiving Votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 96, Oregon Tech 89, Oklahoma Wesleyan 83, Benedictine (Kan.) 82, Carroll (Mont.) 76, Indiana Tech 60, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 56, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 56, Westmont (Calif.) 45, Bethel (Ind.) 30, Texas Wesleyan 28, Central Baptist (Ark.) 27, Union (Ky.) 15, Holy Cross (Ind.) 14, Valley City State (N.D.) 10, Dillard (La.) 9, Dalton State (Ga.) 7, Northwestern (Iowa) 6, Science & Arts (Okla.) 4, Evangel (Mo.) 3, Cornerstone (Mich.) 3.
