KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Behind 10-straight wins, Eastern Oregon remains at No. 1 in the seventh regular-season edition of the 2012 - 13 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The Mountaineers stick on top for the fourth-consecutive poll as they earned 12 first-place nods to go along with 343 points.
With the most wins in the NAIA at 24-1, Eastern Oregon was victorious in the NAIA Game of the Week Jan. 26 against then-No. 15 Northwest (Wash.). The Mountaineers rank in the top-10 nationally in 10 different statistical categories, including seventh in 3-pointers made per game (9.2). Holding a 2.5-game lead in the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings, Eastern Oregon battles Corban (Ore.) on Friday and Northwest Christian (Ore.) on Saturday.
For the second-straight week, No. 2 William Penn (Iowa) collected the remaining first-place vote and 332 points. The Statesmen are No. 1 in nine different team categories, including scoring offense (97.2) and scoring margin (23.5).
No. 3 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) continues its dominance in the top five moving up two spots. The Wolves have owned a top five ranking in each of the eight polls this season. With a loss to then-No. 20 Grace (Ind.) on Jan. 22, Indiana Wesleyan slips one spot to No. 4. Holding the No. 5 spot with 292 points is Northwestern (Iowa).
No. 12 Saint Xavier (Ill.) is the biggest positive mover this week, up four positions. Winners of nine-straight, the Cougars are 1.5 games behind Cardinal Stritch in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
No. 14 Warner Pacific (Ore.), one week after a No. 6 ranking, falls the farthest of any team within the poll. The Knights dropped two decisions last weekend to a pair of unranked foes.
No. 25 Tennessee Wesleyan breaks an absence that dates back to the Preseason Top 25 poll on Oct. 23, 2012 when it was No. 17. After a 7-7 start to the season, the Bulldogs have won nine straight contests.
Hastings (Neb.) (No. 25), one week after its first ranking since 2010, falls out.
The Sun Conference lands four Top 25 programs, which is the most of any conference or independent. The Cascade Collegiate Conference, Crossroads League and Great Plains Athletic Conference each place a triplet of teams on the list. Overall, 12 of the 13 conferences and independents are represented this week in the poll.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The eighth regular-season Coaches' Top 25 Poll will be announced on Feb. 5. For more information on the polls, click here.
NOTES: (All information dates back to 1991 - 1992 season, which is the start of Division II) With four-straight mentions at No. 1, Eastern Oregon holds the longest stretch at No. 1 since former member Walsh (Ohio) went eight-consecutive posts during 2010 - 11 season... Three different teams have been ranked No. 1 this year: Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), Eastern Oregon and Northwood (Fla.)... There have been 41 different teams to be listed in the Top 25 this year... Northwood holds the longest active streak of being ranked with 61-consecutive mentions (dating back to Feb. 6, 2008) and right behind is Davenport (Mich.) with 45-straight, followed by Indiana-Southwest (39), Grace (Ind.) (33) and Northwestern (Iowa) (29)... There have been 35 teams all-time to be ranked No. 1, with nine programs earning at least 10 top mentions... Bethel boasts the most all-time No. 1's with 35, followed by Embry-Riddle (Fla.) with 17, Oregon Tech at 15, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (currently a member in NAIA Division I) and former member Northern State (S.D.) with 14, Oklahoma Wesleyan and former member Walsh (Ohio) at 13, Northwood (Fla.) at 12 and Jamestown (N.D.) at 11 - no other school has more than 10 mentions at No. 1... Oregon Tech had its streak of 90-consecutive polls snapped (dating back to Jan. 11, 2005) in the Nov. 27, 2012 poll as the Hustlin' Owls were in the "receiving votes" category.
2012 - 13 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Rating No. 7
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2012 – 13 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Eastern Oregon (12) |
24-1 |
343 |
|
2 |
2 |
William Penn (Iowa) (1) |
23-1 |
332 |
|
3 |
5 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
22-3 |
317 |
|
4 |
3 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
21-3 |
310 |
|
5 |
8 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
17-5 |
292 |
|
6 |
7 |
Northwood (Fla.) |
21-2 |
286 |
|
7 |
4 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
17-5 |
274 |
|
8 |
9 |
Mount Mercy (Iowa) |
21-3 |
268 |
|
9 |
10 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
19-4 |
262 |
|
10 |
11 |
Indiana Southeast |
18-3 |
242 |
|
11 |
14 |
Rochester (Mich.) |
15-3 |
218 |
|
12 |
16 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
20-4 |
211 |
|
13 |
12 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
19-5 |
210 |
|
14 |
6 |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
18-6 |
205 |
|
15 |
18 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
19-5 |
201 |
|
16 |
12 |
Doane (Neb.) |
21-4 |
180 |
|
17 |
20 |
Grace (Ind.) |
17-6 |
161 |
|
18 |
19 |
Ave Maria (Fla.) |
18-3 |
160 |
|
19 |
22 |
York (Neb.) |
18-4 |
139 |
|
20 |
15 |
Northwest (Wash.) |
19-6 |
119 |
|
21 |
23 |
Saint Mary (Kan.) |
17-5 |
112 |
|
22 |
24 |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
17-5 |
109 |
|
23 |
21 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
18-6 |
81 |
|
24 |
17 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
16-7 |
80 |
|
25 |
RV |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
16-7 |
58 |
Others receiving votes: Cal Maritime 55; Oklahoma Wesleyan 50; Taylor (Ind.) 39; Hastings (Neb.) 36; Bellevue (Neb.) 25; Indiana East 13; Southern Oregon 12; Sterling (Kan.) 12; Indiana Tech 7; Dakota State (S.D.) 5; Midland (Neb.) 4.