OKLAHOMA CITY – Sooner Athletic Conference announced today its preseason men's basketball poll. Texas Wesleyan was picked fourth with 91 points and a No. 1 vote
The Rams finished fifth in the standings last season at 6-4. The team went 10-6 overall and were selected as an At-Large bid into the NAIA National Tournament opening round, falling to Carroll College (Mont.). It was the fifth time in the last six years the Men's Basketball program made it to the NAIA national tournament, 12th all-time. In 2020-21, TXWES averaged 83.8 points per game, shot 44.7 percent from the field. 36.8 from deep and 67.3 from the free throw line. They ranked No. 12 in the NAIA in steals per game at 9.2 a contest.
The Rams open the season at home on Oct. 30, honoring the 2006 & 2017 NAIA National Championship teams. Read more on the opener, a part of Texas Wesleyan homecoming weekend, here.
Southwestern Assemblies of God became the top choice among conference coaches, nabbing 116 points as well as nine No. 1 votes in the poll. The Lions captured the SAC regular-season championship last season.
In 2020-21, Southwestern Assemblies of God reached the NAIA Championship Tournament Fab Four for the second time in program history. The Lions ended the season 13-3. Three SAC squads advanced into national-tournament play last season – Mid-America Christian, Science & Arts and SAGU.
Science & Arts landed the second spot in the preseason SAC poll with 106 points and one first-place vote. The Drovers won the SAC Tournament championship with a 69-50 victory over Mid-America Christian on March 2 in Chickasha, Okla.
Mid-America Christian grabbed third place with 96 points. John Brown came in fifth at 90 points while taking the other top nod.
Wayland Baptist notched 59 points to be sixth, while Southwestern Christian held the seventh spot with 57 points. Oklahoma City University reeled in 54 points to be eighth.
Central Christian racked up 44 points to sit in ninth with Panhandle State pulled in 42 points for 10th. Langston (22 points) and North Texas Dallas (15 points) rounded out the poll. UNT Dallas enters 2021-22 as a full member of the conference after spending the previous season as an associate member of the SAC.
The SAC Tournament will be Feb. 24-March 1 with the quarterfinals taking place on campus sites Feb. 24. The Gaulke Activity Center on the campus of Mid-America Christian in Oklahoma City will be the site of the semifinals Feb. 28 and the championship March 1. The NAIA Championship Opening Round occurs March 11-12 with those winning teams advancing to the final site March 17-22 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
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2021-22 Sooner Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
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|
No.
|
Team
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
Pts.
|
|
1.
|
SW Assemblies of God
|
9
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
116
|
|
2.
|
Science & Arts
|
1
|
7
|
2
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
106
|
|
3.
|
Mid-America Christian
|
|
3
|
5
|
2
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
96
|
|
4.
|
Texas Wesleyan
|
1
|
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
91
|
|
5.
|
John Brown
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
90
|
|
6.
|
Wayland Baptist
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
59
|
|
7.
|
Southwestern Christian
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
|
57
|
|
8.
|
Oklahoma City
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
|
|
54
|
|
9.
|
Central Christian
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
|
44
|
|
10.
|
Panhandle State
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
|
|
42
|
|
11.
|
Langston
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
6
|
4
|
22
|
|
12.
|
North Texas Dallas
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
7
|
15
|
– SAC –
