2016 Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Preseason (Oct. 25)
CI No. 7, NCU No. 12, WPC No. 17, EOU RV
By Nikki Sherrill, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After falling just short in 2016’s NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship game, Saint Francis (Ind.) starts the new season as the preseason favorite coming in at No. 1 in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Cougars earned 10 first-place votes and 311 total points to receive the top ranking. The first regular-season poll will be released Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- Saint Francis (Ind.) gathered 10 of the 12 first-place votes and 311 total points to begin the season. Last year, the Cougars met up with Crossroads league foe, Indiana Wesleyan, in the NAIA Men’s Division II Basketball National Championship game where they fell short in a 69-66 loss.
- Indiana Wesleyan, the 2016 national champion, starts off the new season with a No. 2 ranking and earned one first-place vote. No. 3 Davenport (Mich.) captured the final first-place vote for the preseason.
- Saint Francis brings back Bryce Leinhoop who was a Third Team All-American last season. Indiana Wesleyan also returns All-American material in Lane Mahurin.
- No. 13 Robert Morris (Ill.) made the biggest improvement in this edition, as it climbed up nine spots from last year. No. 1 Saint Francis, No. 5 St. Francis (Ill.), No. 8 Cornerstone (Mich.) and No. 20 Indiana Tech each saw minimal adjustments forward.
- Nine teams managed to stay within the rankings, but found themselves dropping spots. No. 19 Warner (Fla.) fell back 11 spots in this edition, while No. 25 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) secured its place in the rankings for another week after shifting back seven spots.
- Seven programs have found their way into the rankings this season – No. 7 College of Idaho, No. 14 Dakota State (S.D.), No. 15 St. Thomas (Fla.), No. 21 Midland (Neb.), No. 22 Saint Xavier (Ill.), No. 23 Rochester (Mich.) and No. 24 Bellevue (Neb.).
- Four teams ranked in the Top 25 last season dropped out in the preseason with Cal Maritime, Tennessee Wesleyan, Valley City State (N.D.) and Southern Oregon all receiving votes to start the season.
- Overall, 11 of the 12 conferences are represented in this edition of the poll. Five conferences lead the way with three teams appearing on the poll – Crossroads League, Great Plains Athletic Conference, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, The Sun Conference and the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
- Bethel (Ind.) has been ranked No. 1 the most times in history, coming in with 35 appearances.
- Davenport (Mich.) holds the active-streak of being ranked consecutively with 77-straight mentions. The Panthers were ranked No. 1 last season four times.
- Jamestown (N.D.) (2003-04) and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) (2000-01) are the only teams to go the entire season ranked No. 1.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
- 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”
- Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
- For the complete ratings calendar, click here.
2016 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll - Preseason (Oct. 25)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2016 Record |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
2 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) (10) |
33-5 |
311 |
| 2 |
1 |
Indiana Wesleyan (1) |
33-5 |
299 |
| 3 |
3 |
Davenport (Mich.) (1) |
32-5 |
292 |
| 4 |
4 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
32-4 |
274 |
| 5 |
7 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
28-4 |
265 |
| 6 |
5 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
28-4 |
260 |
| 7 |
NR |
College of Idaho |
17-13 |
245 |
| 8 |
12 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
27-7 |
238 |
| 9 |
6 |
IU East |
27-8 |
221 |
| 10 |
9 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
30-4 |
214 |
| 11 |
11 |
Union (Ky.) |
28-7 |
211 |
| 12 |
10 |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
28-7 |
199 |
| 13 |
24 |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
24-10 |
189 |
| 14 |
NR |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
19-14 |
172 |
| 15 |
RV |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
18-10 |
163 |
| 16 |
13 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
24-10 |
159 |
| T17 |
17 |
York (Neb.) |
25-10 |
144 |
| T17 |
15 |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
24-10 |
144 |
| 19 |
8 |
Warner (Fla.) |
23-6 |
123 |
| 20 |
23 |
Indiana Tech |
23-10 |
117 |
| 21 |
NR |
Midland (Neb.) |
16-14 |
112 |
| 22 |
RV |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
19-13 |
104 |
| 23 |
RV |
Rochester (Mich.) |
24-7 |
99 |
| 24 |
RV |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
20-12 |
93 |
| 25 |
18 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
23-11 |
55 |
Dropped from the rankings: No. 14 Mount Mercy (Iowa); No. 16 Nebraska Wesleyan; No. 19 Tennessee Wesleyan; No. 20 Cal Maritime; No. 21 Valley City State (N.D.); No. 25 Southwestern (Kan.)
Others receiving votes: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) 50; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 39; Ohio Christian 38; Bluefield (Va.) 19; Cal Maritime 17; Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) 13; Central Christian (Kan.) 11; Marian (Ind.) 10; Dordt (Iowa) 7; Saint Mary (Kan.) 7; Southeastern (Fla.) 6; Eastern Oregon 6; Jamestown (N.D.) 4; Tennessee Wesleyan 3.
^Reflects ranking in 2015-16 postseason poll