2015-16 Men’s DII Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 3 (Jan. 5)
SOU No. 11, NCU No. 19, WPC No. 24, COI RV
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third-straight week, Indiana Wesleyan holds the top spot in the third regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The fourth regular-season installment will be released on Jan. 12.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1991):
• Indiana Wesleyan (15-1) is No. 1 after receiving 11 first-place votes and 312 points.
• Indiana Wesleyan lands its 18th all-time No. 1 ranking, which is good enough for third on the all-time list.
• Saint Francis (Ill.) (13-1) comes in at No. 2 for the second-straight edition. The Fighting Saints received the final first-place vote and 299 total points.
• No. 3 Marian (Ind.) (15-1) (288 points), No. 4 Union (Ky.) (13-3) (283 points) and No. 5 Davenport (Mich.) (13-3) (266 points) round out the top 5.
• Five new teams join the Top 25 – No. 18 Hastings (Neb.) (11-4), No. 19 Northwest Christian (Ore.) (11-4), No. 20 Indiana Tech (12-4), No. 23 Rio Grande (Ohio) (12-4) and No. 24 Warner Pacific (Ore.) (9-5).
• Northwest Christian and Warner Pacific are back in the Top 25 for the first time since the Preseason Coaches’ Top 25 occured on Oct. 27, 2015. Northwest Christian ranks No. 8 in the NAIA in turnover margin (4.8). Warner Pacific is No. 4 nationally in field goal percentage (51 percent) and No. 8 in three-point field goal percentage (40 percent).
• Hastings finds itself ranked for the first time since Dec. 1, 2015. The Broncos rank 22nd in the NAIA in scoring offense per game, averaging 86.8 point per game.
• This is the first time since Jan. 1, 2009 that Rio Grande is in the Top 25. The RedStorm rank in the top 10 nationally in six categories – No. 2 in total assists (327), No. 3 in assists per game (20.4) No. 3 in defensive rebounds per game (31.8), No. 7 in total rebound margin (9.1), No. 8 in total rebound offense (695) and No. 9 in field goal percentage (49 percent).
• Indiana Tech is ranked for the first time since Jan. 8, 2013. The Warriors lead the NAIA in total blocks with 102. They also rank No. 2 in block per game (6.3), No. 7 in scoring defense per game (65.3) and No. 9 in field goal percentage defense (39 percent).
• No. 12 Bethel (Ind.) (12-3) has the most all-time No. 1 mentions with 35. Former-member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is second with 21.
• Davenport holds the active streak of being consecutively ranked with 80-straight mentions, dating back to Feb. 22, 2010.
• Jamestown (N.D.) (2003-04) and Embry-Riddle (2000-01) are the only Division II teams to go the entire season ranked No. 1.
• Saint Francis (Ind.) (13-3) jumped up nine spots from No. 17 to No. 8, which highlighted the positive movement. No. 14 Keiser (Fla.) (14-1) moved up eight spots, while No. 6 Briar Cliff (Iowa) (15-2) jumped six spots.
• Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (7-5) had the biggest drop in the Top 25, as it fell nine positions from No. 8 to No. 17. Bellevue (Neb.) (12-7) plunged eight spots to No. 21.
• Eleven of the 12 conferences/Association of Independent Institutions are represented in the Top 25.
• The Crossroads League and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference lead all leagues with four teams represented.
• The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference and Cascade Collegiate Conference has three teams represented each.
• Indiana Wesleyan had been in the Top 25 for 48-straight weeks, dating back to Jan. 30, 2012.
• 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. 3 (Jan. 5)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL |
WON |
LOST |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Indiana Wesleyan (11) |
15 |
1 |
312 |
| 2 |
2 |
St. Francis (Ill.) (1) |
13 |
1 |
299 |
| 3 |
4 |
Marian (Ind.) |
15 |
1 |
288 |
| 4 |
6 |
Union (Ky.) |
13 |
3 |
283 |
| 5 |
3 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
13 |
3 |
266 |
| 6 |
12 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
15 |
2 |
256 |
| 7 |
5 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
12 |
3 |
253 |
| 8 |
17 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
13 |
3 |
234 |
| 9 |
11 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
11 |
1 |
233 |
| 10 |
T13 |
Warner (Fla.) |
10 |
3 |
227 |
| 11 |
10 |
Southern Oregon |
13 |
3 |
213 |
| 12 |
7 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
12 |
3 |
196 |
| 13 |
9 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
12 |
5 |
185 |
| 14 |
22 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
14 |
1 |
180 |
| 15 |
15 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
14 |
3 |
175 |
| 16 |
T19 |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
13 |
3 |
163 |
| 17 |
8 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
7 |
5 |
134 |
| 18 |
NR |
Hastings (Neb.) |
11 |
4 |
131 |
| 19 |
RV |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
11 |
4 |
123 |
| 20 |
RV |
Indiana Tech |
12 |
4 |
113 |
| T21 |
T13 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
12 |
7 |
112 |
| T21 |
16 |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
12 |
4 |
112 |
| 23 |
RV |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
12 |
4 |
77 |
| 24 |
RV |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
9 |
5 |
57 |
| 25 |
24 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
11 |
5 |
54 |
Dropped from the Top 25: College of Idaho (No. 18), WVU Tech (No. 19), Rochester (Mich.) (No. 21), Cal Maritime (No. 23) and Indiana East (No. 25).
Others Receiving Votes: Grace (Ind.) 49; Rochester (Mich.) 42; Tennessee Wesleyan 42; Southwestern (Kan.) 37; Cal Maritime 26; Southeastern (Fla.) 24; Dordt (Iowa) 21; Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) 16; College of Idaho 7; Jamestown (N.D.) 7.
^ Ranking based off the NAIA Men’s Division II Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll No. 2 (Dec. 8)