2014 - 15 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – No. 2
COI No. 2, CU NO 13, SOU, NO 16, WPC RV
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Indiana Wesleyan is No. 1 for the fourth-straight release of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Wildcats – the 2014 national champions – took home 374 total points and all 14 first-place votes.
Indiana Wesleyan (11-0) is off to a strong start in its effort to defend the school’s first-ever national crown. The Wildcats displayed dominating defense and explosive offense in the early portion of their schedule, resulting in multiple 30-plus point wins. A Dec. 2 contest with Grace (Ind.) put the undefeated streak to the test, but the top team was able to survive, 85-80. Four days later, the Wildcats exploded to a 79-58 thrashing of then-No. 9 Saint Francis (Ind.).
Jumping up one position to No. 2 is College of Idaho with 361 points. The Coyotes are 13-1 on the season, with their only defeat coming on the road at Concordia (Calif.) on Nov. 29, 79-69. College of Idaho has rebounded nicely since that loss, going 2-0 and averaged 98 points per game in the two wins.
Sliding in at No. 3 is Northwood (Fla.) with 343 points. The Seahawks (4-0) moved up two spots from the Dec. 2 poll. Fourth-ranked Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (11-0) – who rose the most of any school by vaulting into the top five from being tied for fifteenth – collected 324 points following wins over then-11th ranked Morningside (Iowa), 85-68, on Dec. 3, and a 90-74 victory over then-No. 2 Midland (Neb.) on Dec. 6.
Coming in at No. 5 is Bethel (Ind.) who earned 322 points and is 11-1.
No. 22 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) plummeted more than any school in the Top 25, falling from No. 13 and now owns a 6-6 mark. Huntington (Ind.) and Bethany (Kan.) – No. 21 (tie) and No. 24, respectively – dropped out of the rankings entirely.
New to the ratings this week is No. 17 Robert Morris (Ill.), No. 23 Saint Mary (Kan.), No. 24 Briar Cliff (Iowa) and No. 25 College of the Ozarks (Mo.).
Ten conferences/Association of Independent Institutions/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by four teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference and The Sun Conference. Three additional conferences are tied for second with three teams ranked each.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The third regular-season Top 25 will be announced on Jan. 6. 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 fourth-straight and sixth overall No. 1 ranking in school history… In the Dec. 2 release, then-No. 13 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) snapped a streak of 27-straight polls within the top-five dating back to the start of 2012-13 season; the team continues its downward slide to No. 22… 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 82-consecutive mentions (dating back to Feb. 6, 2008) and right behind is Davenport (Mich.) with 66-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. 9)
|
RANK
|
LAST WEEK^
|
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)
|
2014-15 RECORD
|
TOTAL POINTS
|
|
1
|
1
|
Indiana Wesleyan (14)
|
11-0
|
374
|
|
2
|
T3
|
College of Idaho
|
13-1
|
361
|
|
3
|
5
|
Northwood (Fla.)
|
4-0
|
343
|
|
4
|
T15
|
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)
|
11-0
|
324
|
|
5
|
6
|
Bethel (Ind.)
|
11-1
|
322
|
|
6
|
T3
|
Davenport (Mich.)
|
9-2
|
316
|
|
7
|
7
|
Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
|
9-0
|
310
|
|
8
|
2
|
Midland (Neb.)
|
11-2
|
300
|
|
9
|
8
|
Bellevue (Neb.)
|
8-2
|
281
|
|
10
|
9
|
Saint Francis (Ind.)
|
10-2
|
265
|
|
11
|
T11
|
St. Ambrose (Iowa)
|
8-2
|
251
|
|
12
|
14
|
Cornerstone (Mich.)
|
9-3
|
243
|
|
13
|
10
|
Concordia (Ore.)
|
9-2
|
231
|
|
14
|
T11
|
Morningside (Iowa)
|
8-2
|
213
|
|
15
|
19
|
Saint Xavier (Ill.)
|
7-2
|
205
|
|
16
|
T15
|
Southern Oregon
|
10-2
|
190
|
|
17
|
RV
|
Robert Morris (Ill.)
|
9-4
|
166
|
|
18
|
20
|
Indiana East
|
10-2
|
163
|
|
19
|
23
|
Southeastern (Fla.)
|
3-1
|
158
|
|
20
|
T15
|
Thomas (Ga.)
|
9-1
|
125
|
|
21
|
18
|
William Penn (Iowa)
|
10-4
|
124
|
|
22
|
13
|
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
|
6-6
|
106
|
|
23
|
RV
|
Saint Mary (Kan.)
|
8-2
|
94
|
|
24
|
RV
|
Briar Cliff (Iowa)
|
8-3
|
90
|
|
25
|
RV
|
College of the Ozarks (Mo.)
|
6-3
|
64
|
Others receiving votes: Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 62; Warner Pacific (Ore.) 61; Milligan (Tenn.) 55; Warner (Fla.) 51; Union (Ky.) 37; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 36; Jamestown (N.D.) 25; Northwestern Ohio 22; Mount Mercy (Iowa) 13; Dordt (Iowa) 7; Southwestern (Kan.) 5; St. Francis (Ill.) 4; Goshen (Ind.) 3.
^ Ranking from 2014-15 Coaches’ Top 25 Poll (Dec. 2, 2014)