2014 - 15 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – No. 5

1/20/2015 5:34:59 PM

COI No. 4, SOU No.10, CU No. 12, WPC No. 18, NCU RV

By Chad Waller, Director of Communications and Sports Information

 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Indiana Wesleyan sits in the No. 1 position for the seventh-straight time in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Wildcats claimed eight first-place votes and 339 total points in the fifth regular-season edition. The defending national champs have now won four in-a-row and stand 19-1 on the year.
Indiana Wesleyan ranks in the top-10 statistically in seven different categories, including No. 3 in scoring margin (19.5) and No. 5 in field goal percentage (.511). Fifteen of the Wildcats 19 wins this season have been by more than 10 points. The Wildcats take on Goshen (Ind.) tonight before a top-10 showdown with No. 8 Bethel (Ind.). Indiana Wesleyan will look to make it a season-sweep of Bethel on Saturday in Marion, Ind.
With the remaining five first-place nods and 334 total points, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) captured the No. 2 spot for the third-straight week. The Eagles, sporting a 17-0 record, is the last remaining undefeated NAIA Division II men’s basketball program. Embry-Riddle faces Thomas (Ga.) on Tuesday before traveling to No. 22 Southeastern (Fla.) for a top-two showdown in The Sun Conference.
No. 3 Dakota Wesleyan posted 323 total points this week. The Tigers hold the top spot currently in the Great Plains Athletic Conference standings with a 20-1 overall record. Dakota Wesleyan is scheduled to take on No. 14 Briar Cliff (Iowa) Wednesday and No. 9 Midland (Neb.) Saturday.
No. 4 College of Idaho (308 points) and No. 5 Davenport (Mich.) (301 points) hold point in the same spots for the second-consecutive week. The Coyotes host No. 10 Southern Oregon Friday, while Davenport tangles with Siena Heights (Mich.) Wednesday and No. 7 Cornerstone (Mich.) Saturday.
No. 18 Warner Pacific (Ore.) held the largest improvement within the poll with a three-spot jump. On the flip side, No. 19 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) tumbled down four positions.
No. 23 Grace (Ind.), No. 24 St. Francis (Ill.) and No. 25 Jamestown (N.D.) landed in the poll this week as newcomers. Grace was previously listed in the 2013-14 campaign, while Jamestown was last recognized on March 19, 2012 (No. 11). St. Francis is mentioned in the Division II Top 25 for the first time in history – the Saints were previously members of NAIA Division I and held a spot in the 2010 – 11 Division I Top 25 Poll.
Marian (Ind.) (tie - No. 19), Warner (Fla.) (No. 23) and Robert Morris (Ill.) (No. 25) all dropped out this week.
Ten 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 and Great Plains Athletic Conference. The Sun Conference and 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 sixth regular-season Top 25 will be announced on Jan. 27. For more information on the polls, click here.

NOTES (All information dates back to 1991 – 1992 season, which is the start of Division II) The six-straight No. 1 rankings to start the year for Indiana Wesleyan marks the longest such streak since Oklahoma Wesleyan opened up the 2009 – 10 campaign with nine-consecutive top mentions… The top 10 teams held their position from the Jan. 13 edition… No. 25 Jamestown (N.D.) gives the North Star Athletic Association its first ranked team this year… Through six polls (including Preseason Top 25), 43 different teams have been ranked this season – there were 45 different programs last year… Fifteen teams have held a position in all six polls this year… Top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan earns its ninth 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 85-consecutive mentions (dating back to Feb. 6, 2008) and right behind is Davenport (Mich.) with 69-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. 20)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2014-15 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Indiana Wesleyan (8)	19-1	339
2	2	Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (5)	17-0	334
3	3	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	20-1	323
4	4	College of Idaho	18-3	308
5	5	Davenport (Mich.)	17-3	301
6	6	Bellevue (Neb.)	16-3	285
7	7	Cornerstone (Mich.)	16-4	275
8	8	Bethel (Ind.)	17-3	268
9	9	Midland (Neb.)	16-4	256
10	10	Southern Oregon	17-3	246
11	T12	Morningside (Iowa)	16-3	232
12	14	Concordia (Ore.)	16-3	215
13	11	Saint Francis (Ind.)	15-5	207
14	16	Briar Cliff (Iowa)	17-4	203
15	T12	College of the Ozarks (Mo.)	12-4	180
16	18	Mount Mercy (Iowa)	15-3	178
17	T19	Cincinnati Christian (Ohio)	14-5	147
18	21	Warner Pacific (Ore.)	17-4	144
19	15	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	13-7	141
20	17	Northwood (Fla.)	10-5	133
21	22	Northwestern Ohio	15-5	106
22	24	Southeastern (Fla.)	10-5	100
23	RV	Grace (Ind.)	15-5	96
24	RV	St. Francis (Ill.)	15-5	91
25	RV	Jamestown (N.D.)	12-5	72

Others receiving votes: Warner (Fla.) 68; Indiana East 67; Union (Ky.) 67; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 48; Marian (Ind.) 34; Northwest Christian (Ore.) 18; Milligan (Tenn.) 8; Dordt (Iowa) 6.