Chaps Picked 10th in SAC

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 18, 2011) - Two-time defending Sooner Athletic Conference regular season champion Oklahoma Baptist has been picked to win a third consecutive crown by the men's basketball coaches of the conference, who also picked Lubbock Christian University 10th despite never finishing worse than ninth in conference history.

In the preseason coaches' poll released, the Bison received six of 12 first-place votes for 114 points, followed by Rogers State with four first-place votes and 102 points. Southern Nazarene was third with 97 points and one first-place vote, while Oklahoma Christian was fourth with the remaining first-place vote and 85 points.

The middle four teams in the 12-team league, according to the poll, are Northwestern Oklahoma State at 85, John Brown at 83, Oklahoma City at 61 and Science and Arts of Oklahoma in eighth place with 45 points.

Mid-America Christian is rated ninth with 42 points, followed by Lubbock Christian at 39, Wayland Baptist at 25 and St. Gregory's at 12.

The Bison were 17-5 last season, marking last year's OBU men the team with the most SAC losses to ever win the conference crown and giving credence to Bison head coach Doug Tolin’s claim regarding the league's depth.

OBU was 24-9 last season and one of five 20-game winners. Southern Nazarene won 26 games last year, followed by Rogers State, John Brown and Northwestern Oklahoma State with 22 each.  LCU finished in sixth last season, but the league coaches downgraded the Chaps due to the loss of all-time leading scorer Kenny Hewett and the return of just two starters.

The SAC men were 69-21 in games outside the conference last season.

Team (First Place Votes)            Points   2010 Poll 2011 Finish

1. Oklahoma Baptist (6)                         114       2          1

2. Rogers State (4)                    102       7          3

3. Southern Nazarene (1)            97         1          2

4. Oklahoma Christian (1)           87         3          7

5. Northwestern Oklahoma St.    85         8          T-4

6. John Brown                           83         4          T-4

7. Oklahoma City                       61         5          8

8. Science & Arts Oklahoma      45         11         10

9. Mid-America Christian            42         9          9

10. Lubbock Christian                39         6          6

11. Wayland Baptist                  25         10         11

12. St. Gregory's                       12         12         12