Ryan Fiegi and the Owls moved up to No. 4 in the national rankings this week.
OIT, EOU Climb in National Men's Hoop Rankings
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Twenty-four of 25 teams -- including Oregon Tech and Eastern Oregon of the Cascade Conference -- switched places in the ninth regular season edition of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II Men's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Poll, announced today (Feb. 20). The only team to hold a post it has become used to is No. 1 Morningside (Iowa). For the sixth straight week, the Mustangs earn the top spot and this time notch all 17 first-place votes and 510 points.
Two teams from the Cascade Collegiate Conference -- Oregon Tech and Eastern Oregon -- both showed upward movement. The Owls climbed from No. 6 to No. 4, while the Mountaineers moved to ninth from 11th.
Fellow CCC member Evergreen, which moved into the poll at No. 23 last week, dropped to the 27th spot.
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) continues its climb back up, this time jumping to No. 2, after winning seven straight. Current Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) leader, Evangel (Mo.), checks in at No. 3 while No. 4 Oregon Tech and No. 5 Bellevue (Neb.) round out the Top 5. EOU is in the top five for the first time this year while Bellevue is in the Top 10 for the fifth straight week.
One of the biggest jumps was at No. 17 and Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio). The Cougars stand 21-5 and own a five-game winning streak. They took down then-No. 2 Walsh (Ohio) back on Feb. 14. Another team making a jump this week is No. 25 Huntington (Ind.). The Foresters have been receiving votes in each of the last two polls.
Plenty of Top 25 action takes place tonight (Wednesday): No. 11 Northwestern (Iowa) @ No. 1 Morningside (Iowa); No. 18 Grace (Ind.) @ No. 8 Bethel (Ind.); No. 13 Northwood (Fla.) @ No. 15 Embry-Riddle (Fla.).
The 10th and final regular season Top 25 poll is scheduled to be released Wednesday, Feb. 27.
2007-08 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Poll - Feb. 20
|
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL |
2007-08 RECORD* |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Morningside College (Iowa) |
26-1 |
510 |
| 2 |
3 |
MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) |
25-3 |
482 |
| 3 |
4 |
Evangel University (Mo.) |
22-5 |
469 |
| 4 |
6 |
Oregon Institute of Technology |
24-4 |
451 |
| 5 |
7 |
Bellevue University (Neb.) |
25-3 |
436 |
| 6 |
2 |
Walsh University (Ohio) |
22-4 |
435 |
| 7 |
8 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
24-3 |
421 |
| 8 |
10 |
Bethel College (Ind.) |
23-5 |
391 |
| 9 |
11 |
Eastern Oregon University |
22-4 |
377 |
| 10 |
13 |
King College (Tenn.) |
21-7 |
334 |
| 11 |
T18 |
Northwestern College (Iowa) |
22-4 |
324 |
| 12 |
5 |
William Penn University (Iowa) |
24-5 |
296 |
| 13 |
16 |
Northwood University (Fla.) |
22-6 |
294 |
| 14 |
T18 |
Jamestown College (N.D.) |
21-6 |
278 |
| 15 |
17 |
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.) |
24-4 |
250 |
| 16 |
12 |
Aquinas College (Mich.) |
21-7 |
231 |
| 17 |
RV |
Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) |
21-5 |
230 |
| 18 |
14 |
Grace College (Ind.) |
21-7 |
229 |
| 19 |
9 |
Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) |
22-7 |
217 |
| 20 |
25 |
Ottawa University (Kan.) |
20-6 |
163 |
| 21 |
22 |
Cedarville University (Ohio) |
18-7 |
151 |
| 22 |
15 |
Dordt College (Iowa) |
18-8 |
150 |
| 23 |
20 |
Bluefield College (Va.) |
21-6 |
144 |
| 24 |
21 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan University |
23-5 |
136 |
| 25 |
RV |
Huntington University (Ind.) |
20-8 |
123 |
Others Receiving Votes:
Indiana University Southeast 110; Evergreen State College (Wash.) 71; Valley City State University (N.D.)
55; Briar Cliff University (Iowa) 40; Dominican University (Calif.) 40; Malone College (Ohio) 19; Central
Methodist University (Mo.) 16; Menlo College (Calif.) 10; Warner Pacific College (Ore.) 9; Clarke College
(Iowa) 8; Goshen College (Ind.) 2; University of Maine at Fort Kent 1; William Jewell College (Mo.) 1;
Milligan College (Tenn.) 1
* Record through games played Feb. 17