2015 Women’s Division II Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Preseason (Oct. 27)
By Colbi Howser, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY Mo. – Defending national champion Morningside (Iowa) is the top-ranked team in the 2015 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced on Tuesday. The first regular-season installment will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Top 25 Highlights
• Morningside (Iowa) claims the No. 1 spot in this week’s preseason poll with 281 points. Morningside also received all 11 first-place votes. Behind with 264 points is No. 2 Davenport (Mich.).
• No. 22 Asbury (Ky.) made their way into the Top 25 poll after being out since Jan. 13 of last season. Newcomers No. 24 Mayville State (N.D.) also found a spot after not seeing Top 25 action since Jan. 20 of last season.
• The top five spots have not changed since last season’s postseason Top 25 poll.
• Last season, only two teams had one loss on the year including Morningside (37-1) and Davenport (32-1).
• Davenport has been in the top five for the last two seasons never falling lower than the No. 4 ranked position.
• No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan has the most No. 1 rankings in NAIA history with 33. Morningside is right behind with 22.
• Eleven of the 12 conferences are represented in the Top 25 poll. The Chicago Collegiate Athletic Conference, Crossroads League and Great Plains Athletic Conference each have four teams represented.
• Morningside has the most active Top 25 appearances with 114. College of the Ozarks (Mo.) is just seven behind with 107.
• College of the Ozarks, Morningside and Saint Francis (Ind.) are the only teams to be ranked No. 1 for an entire season. College of the Ozarks in 2007-08 season, Morningside in 2008-09 and Saint Francis in 1999-2000.
Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2015-16 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (Oct. 27)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2014-15 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Morningside (Iowa) (11) |
37-1 |
281 |
| 2 |
3 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
32-1 |
264 |
| 3 |
4 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
31-4 |
262 |
| 4 |
2 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
35-3 |
259 |
| 5 |
T7 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
27-6 |
243 |
| 6 |
T7 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
26-7 |
239 |
| 7 |
10 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
26-10 |
218 |
| 8 |
11 |
College of the Ozarks |
24-9 |
203 |
| T9 |
16 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
21-13 |
202 |
| T9 |
14 |
Marian (Ind.) |
28-6 |
202 |
| T11 |
6 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
28-5 |
192 |
| T11 |
RV |
Purdue Calumet (Ind.) |
21-8 |
192 |
| 13 |
15 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
27-7 |
176 |
| 14 |
18 |
Easter Oregon |
26-7 |
160 |
| 15 |
17 |
College of Saint Mary (Neb.) |
27-7 |
147 |
| 16 |
13 |
Southern Oregon |
25-5 |
143 |
| 17 |
20 |
Huntington (Ind.) |
22-10 |
132 |
| 18 |
24 |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
21-7 |
116 |
| 19 |
RV |
Union (Ky.) |
19-9 |
98 |
| 20 |
9 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
25-10 |
91 |
| 21 |
RV |
Madonna (Mich.) |
19-11 |
87 |
| 22 |
NR |
Asbury (Ky.) |
26-7 |
82 |
| 23 |
12 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
29-4 |
73 |
| 24 |
NR |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
18-8 |
62 |
| 25 |
23 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
27-5 |
50 |
| |
|
|
|
|
Dropped from Top 25: none
Other receiving votes: Northwestern (Iowa) 43, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 41, Hastings (Neb.) 29, Cornerstone (Mich.) 26, Kansas Wesleyan23, Rio Grande (Ohio) 23, Indiana Northwest22,
Oregon Tech 14, Siena Heights (Mich.) 13, Bryan (Tenn.) 11, Valley City State (N.D.) 8, Southeastern (Fla.) 5, Friends (Kan.) 3