(UP Argos Media Release)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the first Top 25 Poll of the season, the University of Providence men's basketball team was ranked No. 8 overall. The ranking is the highest ranking the Argo men's basketball team has ever recorded. Previously, the highest they had achieved was No. 12 in 2014-2015.
"We're excited about it," head coach Steve Keller said. "We're in new territory here with that ranking. But we know it also doesn't mean anything at this point. We have to back that up. We're proud to be that high and we're going to work hard to try and maintain it."
The Argos (5-0) are the highest ranked team in the Frontier Conference. Lewis-Clark State is ranked No. 14 and Montana State-Northern is ranked No. 17. Carroll received votes, but ultimately wasn't ranked.
Despite the historic ranking, Keller said there wasn't any added pressure for the team to perform as they begin conference play.
"We won't discuss it with them much," he said. "They'll be reminded what got them to this point and that we have to continue to get better. It's early in the year."
Keller, who is in his second year with the Argos, hopes to maintain the ranking throughout the year as he continues to work towards his goal of building the Argos into a national contender.
"I think we're on the right path," Keller said. "We're the number one team in our league right now but we haven't started conference yet. That starts next week. We have to take care of business and then be ready to go next week."
The Argos next game is against Yellowstone Christian, Saturday in Havre.
2019-20 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll 1 (Nov. 27, 2019)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st place votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Georgetown (Ky.) [9] | 8-0 | 219 |
| 2 | 2 | The Master's (Calif.) | 6-0 | 208 |
| T3 | 18 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | 9-0 | 198 |
| T3 | 17 | Loyola (La.) | 10-0 | 198 |
| 5 | 5 | Pikeville (Ky.) | 10-0 | 195 |
| 6 | 4 | William Penn (Iowa) | 8-1 | 186 |
| 7 | 11 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 6-1 | 178 |
| 8 | 12 | Providence (Mont.) (Mont.) | 5-0 | 171 |
| 9 | 3 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 6-1 | 164 |
| 10 | 10 | Arizona Christian | 5-1 | 153 |
| 11 | 6 | LSU Alexandria (La.) | 5-2 | 146 |
| 12 | NR | John Brown (Ark.) | 8-0 | 145 |
| 13 | 8 | Talladega (Ala.) | 8-1 | 123 |
| 14 | 23 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 8-0 | 118 |
| 15 | RV | Hope International (Calif.) | 8-0 | 111 |
| 16 | RV | Xavier (La.) | 9-3 | 110 |
| 17 | 19 | Montana State-Northern | 4-0 | 109 |
| 18 | NR | Life (Ga.) | 8-0 | 105 |
| 19 | 14 | Stillman (Ala.) | 7-2 | 101 |
| 20 | 24 | Park (Mo.) | 5-1 | 88 |
| 21 | NR | Dalton State (Ga.) | 7-1 | 85 |
| 22 | NR | Westmont (Calif.) | 7-0 | 64 |
| 23 | NR | Thomas More (Ky.) | 8-0 | 58 |
| 24 | RV | Dillard (La.) | 7-4 | 52 |
| 25 | NR | Tougaloo (Miss.) | 7-1 | 46 |
Dropped from the Top 25: William Carey (Miss.), Vanguard (Calif.), Central Methodist (Mo.), Benedictine (Kan.), Wiley (Texas), Campbellsville (Ky.), Science & Arts (Okla.), Peru State (Neb.), Cumberlands (Ky.)
Others Receiving Votes: SAGU (Texas) 33, Lyon (Ark.) 25, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 22, Science & Arts (Okla.) 17, Carroll (Mont.) 17, Peru State (Neb.) 17, Texas College 14, Central Baptist (Ark.) 12, Bethel (Tenn.) 7, Shawnee State (Ohio) 6.
