2015 Men’s DII Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 2 (Dec. 8)
SOU No. 10, CI No. 18, CRB RV, NCU RV
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second-straight week, Indiana Wesleyan lands the No. 1 ranking in the second-regular season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The third-regular season edition will be released on Jan. 5, 2016.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1991):
• Indiana Wesleyan (8-1) is No. 1 after receiving all first-place votes and 312 total points.
• Indiana Wesleyan lands its 17th all-time No. 1 ranking, which is good enough for third on the all-time list.
• St. Francis (Ill.) (8-0) is No. 2 after receiving 295 total points. The Fighting Saints’ No. 2 ranking is the highest in school history.
• No. 3 Davenport (Mich.) (11-2) (283 points), No. 4 Marian (Ind.) (11-0) (278 points) No. 5 Cornerstone (Mich.) (9-2) (276 points) round out the top five.
• Four new teams join the Top 25 – No. 19 Valley City State (N.D.), No. 22 Keiser (Fla.), No. 24 Aquinas (Mich.) and No. 25 Indiana East.
• Valley City State is back in the Top 25 for the first time since Feb. 26, 2013. The Vikings (10-1) rank in the top 20 in numerous categories including No. 2 in free throw pct. (0.76) and No. 9 in scoring margin outscoring their opponents by 20.9 points per game.
• Keiser finds itself ranked for the first time since Jan. 27, 2015. The Seahawks (5-0) average a NAIA-best 34 rebounds per game and they grab 52 rebounds per game which also ranks No. 1 in the NAIA. Keiser ranks in the top 5 in eight other statistical categories.
• This is the first time since March 13, 2009 that Aquinas is in the Top 25. The Saints (8-3) have notched wins against then-No. 2 Cornerstone and then-No. 17 Northwestern Ohio.
• Indiana East was ranked in the preseason poll conducted on Oct. 27, 2015. The Red Wolves (7-4) recorded a win against then-No. 3 Davenport on Dec. 1. Indiana East ranks No. 8 in the NAIA in blocks per game (4.7) and No. 9 in total blocks (52).
• No. 7 Bethel (Ind.) (10-1) has the most No. 1 mentions with 35. Former-member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is second with 21.
• Davenport holds the active streak of being consecutively ranked with 79-straight mentions.
• Jamestown (N.D.) (2003-04) and Embry-Riddle (2000-01) are the only Divison II teams to go the entire season ranked No. 1.
• Marian and No. 15 Tabor (Mich.) (10-2) moved up six positions each, which highlighted the positive movement.
• Cornerstone had the biggest fall as it dropped three positions.
• Indiana Wesleyan has been in the Top 25 for 47-straight weeks, dating back to Jan. 30, 2012.
• All 12 conferences are represented in the poll.
• The Crossroads League leads all leagues with four team represented – Indiana Wesleyan, Marian, Bethel and No. 17 Saint Francis (Ind.) (7-3).
• The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference – St. Francis, No. 8 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (6-1) and No. 16 Robert Morris (Ill.) (9-2) – and the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference – Davenport, Cornerstone and Aquinas – each have three teams represented.
• For more information on NAIA Men’s DII Basketball, click here.
• For the complete ratings calendar, click here.
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 Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll - No. 2 (Dec. 8)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2015 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Indiana Wesleyan (12) |
8-1 |
312 |
| 2 |
4 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
8-0 |
295 |
| 3 |
3 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
11-2 |
283 |
| 4 |
10 |
Marian (Ind.) |
11-0 |
278 |
| 5 |
2 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
9-2 |
276 |
| 6 |
6 |
Union (Ky.) |
11-3 |
272 |
| 7 |
5 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
10-1 |
238 |
| 8 |
9 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
6-1 |
237 |
| 9 |
8 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
8-3 |
225 |
| 10 |
13 |
Southern Oregon |
9-2 |
223 |
| 11 |
12 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
9-1 |
217 |
| 12 |
11 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
9-2 |
210 |
| 13 |
16 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
8-4 |
179 |
| 13 |
17 |
Warner (Fla.) |
6-1 |
179 |
| 15 |
21 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
10-2 |
169 |
| 16 |
18 |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
9-2 |
158 |
| 17 |
19 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
7-3 |
144 |
| 18 |
20 |
College of Idaho |
7-4 |
137 |
| 19 |
RV |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
10-1 |
128 |
| 19 |
22 |
WVU Tech |
7-3 |
128 |
| 21 |
24 |
Rochester (Mich.) |
9-0 |
91 |
| 22 |
NR |
Keiser (Fla.) |
5-0 |
82 |
| 23 |
25 |
Cal Maritime |
6-3 |
79 |
| 24 |
RV |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
8-3 |
75 |
| 25 |
RV |
Indiana East |
7-4 |
61 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Oregon Tech (No. 7), Southeastern (Fla.) (No. 14), Waldorf (Iowa) (No. 15) and Hastings (Neb.) (No. 23)
Others Receiving Votes: Corban (Ore.) 55; Jamestown (N.D.) 49; Concordia (Neb.) 44; Tennessee Wesleyan 19; Goshen (Ind.) 16; Dordt (Iowa) 13; Mount Mercy (Iowa) 13; Southeastern (Fla.) 9; Warner Pacific (Ore.) 6; Grace (Ind.) 6; Southwestern (Kan.) 4; Waldorf (Iowa) 4; Northwest Christian (Ore.) 4; Indiana Tech 3; Rio Grande (Ohio) 3.