Talladega College Men’s Basketball Team is No. 1 in the Nation

By: Matt Cross
EMAIL: mcross@talladega.edu 

 

It’s been a long road but the student athletes of the Men’s Basketball Team at Talladega College now understand hard work and perseverance pays off. They were named the Nations No. 1 basketball team on today by the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Rankings for the very first time in the school’s storied history.

For the first time in school history, Talladega (Ala.) earns the No. 1 position in the eighth edition of the 2014 - 15 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. With a 23-3 overall record (at time of rankings period), the Tornadoes posted seven first-place votes and 248 total points. With the NAIA’s longest active winning streak at 18-straight (Monday’s win not included), Talladega moved up from No. 2 after former top-ranked team Cal State San Marcos dropped an 86-67 decision over the weekend.

Talladega has been on the winning side ever since a 12-point victory over Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) on Nov. 22, 2014. Along the way, the Tornadoes have jumped to first place (11-0) in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) with three regular-season games remaining. Brandon Peters has been the individual star with 19.6 points per game (No. 17 in NAIA) and 2.2 steals (No. 13 in NAIA). On Feb. 23, Talladega is scheduled to face Philander Smith (Ark.).

Talladega has been steadily rising up the ranks this year by going on a 15 game win streak to get positioned in the top 3. After a loss by California State University San Marcos and a win by Talladega, the Tornadoes moved into the number 2 spot. Many of the students on the team are seniors / 4th year players and are elated that they have the opportunity to experience being the No. 1 college basketball team in the Nation.

Last year’s team won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Regular Season Crown and The GCAC Tournament Championship. They finished the regular season ranked 6th in the nation while reaching the “Sweet 16” of The NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City. Coach Cross, who has been the teams’ coach for the last three years, states “I could not be more excited for these young men who all decided to come be a part of something real special here at Talladega College.