KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Montana Tech's men's basketball team checked into the latest NAIA men's basketball coaches' top 25 poll at No. 19, the national office announced Wednesday.
The Orediggers hold a 10-3 record headed into the holidays, including a 4-3 mark in Frontier Conference play. Tech won both its conference matchup last weekend, beating both Mayville State and Valley City State by double digits.
Montana Tech has appeared in 23 consecutive top 25 polls dating back to January 2022, the fourth-longest streak in the country.
The four-time defending Frontier Conference champions rank 10th in the NAIA in field goal percentage (51.3) and 25th in both defensive rebounding average (28.4) and blocked shots per game (4.2).
The Orediggers were joined by No. 15 Carroll in the week's poll, while Montana Western and Rocky Mountain received votes.
Montana Tech will take a break from Frontier Conference play for the remainder of 2025, but the Orediggers have a pair of exhibition games lined up for this week. Tech heads to the University of Montana tonight for a 7 p.m. tip against the Grizzlies, and the team will head to Fort Benton High School for a 6 p.m. ballgame against Northwestern Polytechnic on Friday.
| RANK |
LAST TIME |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Grace (Ind.) [16] |
11-0 |
508 |
| 2 |
3 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) [2] |
13-1 |
493 |
| 3 |
9 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
13-0 |
466 |
| 4 |
2 |
Arizona Christian |
10-2 |
457 |
| 5 |
5 |
Langston (Okla.) |
10-2 |
441 |
| 6 |
10 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
10-2 |
399 |
| 7 |
11 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
10-1 |
394 |
| 8 |
8 |
Ave Maria (Fla.) |
12-1 |
391 |
| 9 |
14 |
Indiana Tech |
10-1 |
363 |
| 10 |
6 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
9-2 |
302 |
| 11 |
15 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
8-1 |
301 |
| 12 |
18 |
Nelson (Texas) |
10-2 |
286 |
| 13 |
19 |
Hope International (Calif.) |
9-1 |
284 |
| 14 |
21 |
Friends (Kan.) |
9-2 |
257 |
| 15 |
NR |
Carroll (Mont.) |
8-1 |
244 |
| 16 |
13 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
11-3 |
236 |
| 17 |
16 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
12-3 |
228 |
| 18 |
7 |
Life (Ga.) |
11-3 |
204 |
| 19 |
4 |
Montana Tech |
10-3 |
168 |
| 20 |
22 |
Oregon Tech |
7-3 |
143 |
| 21 |
RV |
Pikeville (Ky.) |
11-2 |
128 |
| 22 |
NR |
Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) |
13-0 |
99 |
| 22 |
RV |
Graceland (Iowa) |
12-2 |
99 |
| 24 |
25 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
10-3 |
91 |
| 25 |
NR |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
8-3 |
76 |
| Dropped from Top 25: Concordia (Neb.); Dalton State (Ga.); Bethel (Kan.); College of Idaho; Montana Western |
| Receiving Votes: Bethel (Kan.) 73; Lourdes (Ohio) 68; College of Idaho 55; Columbia (Mo.) 52; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 50; Bellevue (Neb.) 43; Huntington (Ind.) 32; Southeastern (Fla.) 32; Missouri Baptist 22; Montana Western 19; IU Southeast 11; Shawnee State (Ohio) 10; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 9; Loyola (La.) 8; Morningside (Iowa) 4; Taylor (Ind.) 3 |
Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X and Instagram at @DiggerAthletics.
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