Indiana Wesleyan, who finished the 2013-14 campaign with a 31-6 overall record and its first-ever national title, has rolled through the early part of its schedule. Ranked third in the NAIA in scoring margin (+25.3), the Wildcats recently defeated then-No. 6 Bethel (Ind.), 78-73, on Nov. 25. Prior to that, Indiana Wesleyan won four of its games by 30-or-more points. The Wildcats take their 9-0 record into a contest against Grace (Ind.) on Tuesday.
With 330 points, Midland (Neb.) holds the No. 2 position with 330 points. The Warriors have gone 10-1 thus far on the season, with the only setback against then-No. 11 St. Ambrose (Iowa), 76-82, on Nov. 7.
No. 3 (tie) College of Idaho jumps up four spots with 312 points. The Coyotes, who recorded 312 points, have rattled off an 11-1 record.
Tied at No. 3 is Davenport (Mich.), who held the fourth position in the Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Panthers rebounded from their only loss of the year to Jamestown (N.D.) on Nov. 24 with a 71-57 victory over Indiana Tech the following day.
No. 5 Northwood (Fla.), out of The Sun Conference, locks down the same spot from last time. With 308 points, the Seahawks stand 3-0 on the year.
No. 10 Concordia (Ore.) vaults up 15 positions from the Preseason Top 25, which is the largest jump within the poll. Conversely, No. 23 Southeastern (Fla.) falls the farthest tumbling down from a No. 9 preseason position.
The following teams are newcomers in the first regular-season installment: No. 15 (tie) Thomas (Ga.), No. 15 (tie) Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), No. 20 Indiana East, No. 21 (tie) Huntington (Ind.), No. 24 Bethany (Kan.) and No. 25 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.).
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The second regular-season Top 25 will be announced on Dec. 9. For more information on the polls, click here.
NOTES: (All information dates back to 1991 – 1992 season, which is the start of Division II) Top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan earns its fifth overall No. 1 ranking in school history… The tumble outside of the top 10 for No. 13 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) snaps a streak of 27-straight polls within the top-five dating back to the start of 2012-13 season…Last year, there were three different No. 1 teams – Indiana Wesleyan, Cardinal Stritch and Embry-Riddle (Fla.)… There were 45 different teams ranked last year... Bethel's (Ind.) 35 all-time No. 1 mentions tops the list, followed by 21 by Embry-Riddle (Fla.), 15 by Oregon Tech and 14 by former Division II member MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)... Northwood (Fla.) holds the longest active streak of being ranked with 81-consecutive mentions (dating back to Feb. 6, 2008) and right behind is Davenport (Mich.) with 65-straight... There have been 36 teams to be ranked No. 1 all-time... Jamestown and Embry-Riddle are the only Division II programs to last the entire season ranked in the No. 1 position -- Jamestown did it during the 2003-04 campaign (11 polls) and Embry-Riddle's run was during 2000-01 (nine polls).
2014 – 15 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll - (Dec. 2)
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2014-15 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Indiana Wesleyan (13) |
9-0 |
343 |
|
2 |
T2 |
Midland (Neb.) |
10-1 |
330 |
|
T3 |
7 |
College of Idaho |
11-1 |
312 |
|
T3 |
4 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
8-1 |
312 |
|
5 |
5 |
Northwood (Fla.) |
3-0 |
308 |
|
6 |
10 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
9-1 |
279 |
|
7 |
13 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
8-0 |
277 |
|
8 |
6 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
7-2 |
271 |
|
9 |
15 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
9-1 |
251 |
|
10 |
25 |
Concordia (Ore.) |
8-1 |
235 |
|
T11 |
12 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
7-1 |
227 |
|
T11 |
14 |
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
7-2 |
227 |
|
13 |
T2 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
6-4 |
193 |
|
14 |
11 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
7-3 |
188 |
|
T15 |
NR |
Thomas (Ga.) |
9-0 |
187 |
|
T15 |
RV |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
9-0 |
187 |
|
T15 |
17 |
Southern Oregon |
9-1 |
187 |
|
18 |
18 |
William Penn (Iowa) |
9-3 |
125 |
|
19 |
23 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
5-2 |
119 |
|
20 |
RV |
Indiana East |
8-2 |
117 |
|
T21 |
RV |
Huntington (Ind.) |
9-1 |
109 |
|
T21 |
16 |
Union (Ky.) |
7-2 |
109 |
|
23 |
9 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
2-1 |
81 |
|
24 |
NR |
Bethany (Kan.) |
5-2 |
73 |
|
25 |
RV |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
5-3 |
57 |
|
|
Others receiving votes: Northwest (Wash.) 53; Warner (Fla.) 52; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 48; Grace (Ind.) 47; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 42; Robert Morris (Ill.) 33; Bryan (Tenn.) 31; Saint Mary (Kan.) 8; Jamestown (N.D.) 8; Dordt (Iowa) 5; Mount Mercy (Iowa) 4; St. Francis (Ill.) 3; Aquinas (Mich.) 3.
^ Ranking from 2014-15 Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll (Oct. 28, 2014)