2016 Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Poll 1 (Nov. 29)
CI No. 8, NCU No. 13, NU No. 22, EOU RV, SOU RV
By Spencer Scheve, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – St. Francis (Ind.) claims the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll for a second-straight poll. The Cougars earned all 12 first-place votes and 312 total points to receive the top ranking. The second regular-season poll will be released Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- Saint Francis (Ind.) is on a 10-game winning streak, including 4-0 at home, 2-0 away and 4-0 on a neutral court. The Cougars are tied for 15th all-time No. 1 rankings with six.
- Cornerstone (Mich.) climbs eight spots in this edition as the Golden Eagles earn the No. 2 ranking, claiming 299 points. This is Cornerstone’s first time in the top five since Dec. 8, 2015.
- Rounding out the top five is Indiana Wesleyan at No. 3 with 294 points, St. Thomas (Fla.) at No. 4 with 270 points and Indiana East at No. 5 with 265 points.
- There was plenty of shifting in the week’s edition. Four notable movements are Briar Cliff (Iowa) dropping 21 spots from No. 4 to No. 25, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) climbing 15 spots from No. 25 to No. 10, Keiser (Fla.) falling 14 spots from No. 6 to No. 20 and St. Francis (Ill.) dropping 13 spots from No. 5 to No. 18.
- Seven programs join the Top 25 – No. 6 Northwestern (Iowa), No. 12 Taylor (Ind.), No. 19 Indiana Southeast, No. 21 Viterbo (Wis.), No. 22 Northwest (Wash.), No. 23 Morningside (Iowa) and No. 24 Saint Mary (Kan.).
- Seven teams dropped out of the newest rankings: Tabor (Kan.) Indiana Tech, Bellevue (Neb.), Saint Xavier (Ill.), Warner Pacific (Ore.), Robert Morris (Ill.) and Dakota State (S.D.).
- Overall, 11 of the 12 conferences are represented in this edition of the poll. The Great Plains Athletic Conference leads the way with five teams represented – Northwestern (Iowa), Dakota Wesleyan, Midland (Neb.), Morningside (Iowa) and Briar Cliff.
- 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 91-straight mentions.
- 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 Men's Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll 1 (Nov. 29)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
Record |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) (12) |
10-0 |
312 |
| 2 |
8 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
8-1 |
299 |
| 3 |
2 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
7-1 |
294 |
| 4 |
15 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
7-0 |
270 |
| 5 |
9 |
Indiana East |
7-1 |
265 |
| 6 |
NR |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
10-1 |
264 |
| 7 |
3 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
7-2 |
260 |
| 8 |
7 |
College of Idaho |
7-2 |
239 |
| 9 |
19 |
Warner (Fla.) |
7-1 |
228 |
| 10 |
25 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
7-2 |
205 |
| 11 |
11 |
Union (Ky.) |
8-3 |
203 |
| 12 |
NR |
Taylor (Ind.) |
8-0 |
198 |
| 13 |
12 |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
5-1 |
188 |
| 14 |
23 |
Rochester (Mich.) |
12-1 |
187 |
| 15 |
17 |
York (Neb.) |
6-2 |
162 |
| 16 |
21 |
Midland (Neb.) |
7-2 |
151 |
| 17 |
16 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
7-2 |
130 |
| 18 |
5 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
2-3 |
118 |
| 19 |
NR |
Indiana Southeast |
5-1 |
117 |
| 20 |
6 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
3-2 |
115 |
| 21 |
NR |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
5-2 |
114 |
| 22 |
NR |
Northwest (Wash.) |
9-0 |
101 |
| 23 |
NR |
Morningside (Iowa) |
7-2 |
96 |
| 24 |
NR |
Saint Mary (Kan.) |
9-1 |
95 |
| 25 |
4 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
6-3 |
73 |
| |
|
|
|
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Dropped from the rankings: Tabor (Kan.) Indiana Tech, Bellevue (Neb.), Saint Xavier (Ill.), Warner Pacific (Ore.), Robert Morris (Ill.) and Dakota State (S.D.).
Others receiving votes: Eastern Oregon 53; Washington Adventist (Md.) 53; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 37; Tennessee Wesleyan 29; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 27; Northwestern Ohio 27; Southeastern (Fla.) 22; Pacific Union (Calif.) 8; Tabor (Kan.) 7;
Southern Oregon 5; Michigan-Dearborn 5