2014 - 15 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – No. 4
COI No. 4, SOU No.10, CU No. 14, WPC No. 21, NCU RV
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With nine first-place votes and 340 points, Indiana Wesleyan sits on top of the fourth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Wildcats have now been the No. 1-ranked team for six-straight polls, dating back to last year. The defending national champions are 17-1 on the season.
Since a loss to then-unranked Marian (Ind.) on Jan. 3, Indiana Wesleyan have won a pair of contests by 39 and 15 points, respectively. Jonny Martin is the backcourt leader as he ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in assists per game (7.8) and chips in 13.1 points per contest. The Wildcats next face Taylor (Ind.) Tuesday and Spring Arbor (Mich.) Saturday.
The next two teams, No. 2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and No. 3 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), hold their status from last week. The Eagles have soared out to a perfect 15-0 mark and stand as the only remaining undefeated team in NAIA Division II. Embry-Riddle recorded the final four first-place votes to tally 332 points. Dakota Wesleyan, with 325 total points, checks in with an 18-1 record.
No. 4 College of Idaho moved up one position with 347 total points. The Coyotes, who have been in the top 10 in all five polls this year, are currently one-half game behind Cascade Collegiate Conference leader No. 10 Southern Oregon. The two teams will meet on Jan. 23.
Fifth-ranked Davenport is back in the top five again after a No. 6 position the past two weeks. With 303 total points, the Panthers carry a 15-3 record into a Wednesday contest against Lourdes (Ohio).
No. 19 (tie) Marian (Ind.) climbs up four positions for the best upward swing this week. The Knights improved to 12-6 on the year with a 90-85 win over then-7 No. Bethel (Ind.) on Jan. 10.
On the flip side, No. 24 Southeastern (Fla.) slid down seven spots for the worst fall. The Fire looks to snap a two-game skid with an affair at Ave Maria (Fla.) on Thursday.
With a 13-5 overall record, No. 22 Northwestern Ohio lands its first-ever Top 25 mention in school history. After a 4-4 start to the season, the Racers enter their game on Wednesday against Madonna (Mich.) with a 9-1 mark in their last 10 games. Northwestern Ohio is currently tied for third-place in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings.
This week featured two other newcomers – No. 21 Warner Pacific (Ore.) and No. 23 Warner (Fla.). Warner Pacific is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 29, 2013 (No. 12). Warner breaks an absence in the rankings of over two years, with the last coming Nov. 27, 2012 (No. 12).
These three teams dropped out the Top 25: Thomas (Ga.) (No. 20), Northwest Christian (Ore.) (No. 24) and Saint Mary (Kan.) (No. 25).
Nine of the 13 conferences/Association of Independent Institutions/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by four teams each from the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Crossroads League, Great Plains Athletic Conference and The Sun Conference. The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference is next with three Top 25 programs.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The fifth regular-season Top 25 will be announced on Jan. 20. For more information on the polls, click here.
NOTES (All information dates back to 1991 – 1992 season, which is the start of Division II) Through five polls (including Preseason Top 25), 40 different teams have been ranked this season – there were 45 different programs last year… Fifteen teams have held a position in all five polls this year… Top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan earns its eighth 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… Last year, there were three different No. 1 teams – Indiana Wesleyan, Cardinal Stritch and Embry-Riddle (Fla.)… 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 84-consecutive mentions (dating back to Feb. 6, 2008) and right behind is Davenport (Mich.) with 68-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 – (Jan. 13)
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2014-15 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Indiana Wesleyan (9) |
17-1 |
340 |
|
2 |
2 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (4) |
15-0 |
332 |
|
3 |
3 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
18-1 |
325 |
|
4 |
5 |
College of Idaho |
16-3 |
306 |
|
5 |
6 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
15-3 |
303 |
|
6 |
4 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
14-3 |
283 |
|
7 |
10 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
14-4 |
272 |
|
8 |
7 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
15-3 |
267 |
|
9 |
8 |
Midland (Neb.) |
14-4 |
259 |
|
10 |
11 |
Southern Oregon |
16-3 |
242 |
|
11 |
9 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
14-4 |
228 |
|
12 |
15 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
11-3 |
208 |
|
12 |
12 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
14-3 |
208 |
|
14 |
14 |
Concordia (Ore.) |
14-3 |
207 |
|
15 |
16 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
12-6 |
196 |
|
16 |
18 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
16-4 |
183 |
|
17 |
13 |
Northwood (Fla.) |
9-4 |
168 |
|
18 |
19 |
Mount Mercy (Iowa) |
13-3 |
162 |
|
19 |
22 |
Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) |
12-5 |
121 |
|
19 |
23 |
Marian (Ind.) |
12-6 |
121 |
|
21 |
RV |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
15-4 |
114 |
|
22 |
RV |
Northwestern Ohio |
13-5 |
100 |
|
23 |
RV |
Warner (Fla.) |
11-2 |
90 |
|
24 |
17 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
8-5 |
83 |
|
25 |
21 |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
11-7 |
73 |
|
|
Others receiving votes: Jamestown (N.D.) 67; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 63; Union (Ky.) 56; Indiana East 29; Dordt (Iowa) 15; Grace (Ind.) 15; Thomas (Ga.) 14; Northwest Christian (Ore.) 10; Milligan (Tenn.) 9.