Griffins are ranked No. 12 in NAIA hoops poll

SALT LAKE CITY — Westminster has been a fixture in the NAIA Top 25 men's basketball poll the past two seasons. The Griffins will begin a new season once again numbered among the small college elite.

Westminster was ranked No. 12 overall in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll released on Monday. The Griffins finished the 2009-10 season with a No. 4 ranking and advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament, where they lost to eventual national runner-up Azusa Pacific (Calif.).

Azusa Pacific returns as the No. 1 overall team in the NAIA coaches poll. No. 2 Southern Nazarene (Okla.), No. 3 Mountain State (W.Va.), No. 4 Robert Morris (Ill.) and No. 5 Concordia (Calif.) round out the top-five spots.

Westminster returns nine players from a team that went 27-6 overall and won a third consecutive Frontier Conference championship. The Griffins are the preseason favorite to repeat as conference champions.

The Westminster men's team isn't the only one earning some national notice. The Griffins' women's basketball team is ranked No. 10 in the first weekly national NAIA poll.

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