2016-17 Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Poll 2 (Dec. 13)
NCU No. 7, NU No. 13, EOU No. 16, CI No. 24
By Spencer Scheve, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Cornerstone (Mich.) claims the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Golden Eagles earned nineof the 12 first-place votes and 310 total points to receive the top ranking. The third regular-season poll will be released Tuesday, Jan. 10.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- After losing its season opener, Cornerstone (Mich.) went on an 11-game winning streak to claim the No. 1 ranking in this week’s edition. The last time the Golden Eagles were ranked No.1 was on Oct. 27, 2015.
- Coming in at No. 2 is Saint Francis (Ind.) earning three first-place votes and 304 points. The Cougars are 12-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
- Rounding out the top five is Indiana Wesleyan at No. 3 with 291 points, Northwestern (Iowa) at No. 4 with 281 points and Warner (Fla.) at No. 5 with 273 points.
- Four teams entered the top 10 this week – No. 6 Union (Ky.), No. 7 Northwest Christian (Ore.), No. 7 Taylor (Ind.) and No. 9 Rochester (Mich.).
- Two notable movements in the Top 25 are St. Thomas (Fla.) falling 17 spots from No. 4 to No. 21 and College of Idaho dropping 16 spots form No. 8 to No. 24.
- Four programs join the Top 25 – No. 16 Eastern Oregon, No. 17 Washington Adventist (Md.), No. 22 Florida Memorial and No. 25 Northwestern Ohio.
- The last time Eastern Oregon was ranked was on March 20, 2013, when the Mountaineers where ranked No. 20.
- Washington Adventist earns its first-ever Top 25 ranking in school history.
- The last time Florida Memorial was ranked was Oct. 31, 2007, when the Lions were ranked No. 9.
- Northwestern Ohio earns its frist ranking since Oct. 27, 2015, when the Racers were ranked No. 17
- There are four teams that dropped out of the newest rankings: Morningside (Iowa), Briar Cliff (Iowa), Viterbo (Wis.) and Saint Mary (Kan.).
- Overall, 10 of the 12 conferences are represented in this edition of the poll. The Crossroads League, The Sun Conference and the Cascade Collegiate Conference are tied for most schools represented. Each conference boast four teams.
- 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 92-straight mentions.
- Jamestown (N.D.) (2003-04) and Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (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.
2016-17 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll 2 (Dec. 13)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
2 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) (9) |
12-1 |
310 |
| 2 |
1 |
St. Francis (Ind.) (3) |
12-1 |
304 |
| 3 |
3 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
11-1 |
291 |
| 4 |
6 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
14-1 |
281 |
| 5 |
9 |
Warner (Fla.) |
11-1 |
273 |
| 6 |
11 |
Union (Ky.) |
12-3 |
242 |
| 7 |
13 |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
8-1 |
238 |
| 7 |
12 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
11-1 |
238 |
| 9 |
14 |
Rochester (Mich.) |
15-1 |
237 |
| 10 |
5 |
Indiana East |
10-3 |
229 |
| 11 |
7 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
10-4 |
223 |
| 12 |
10 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
10-3 |
197 |
| 13 |
22 |
Northwest (Wash.) |
11-0 |
182 |
| 14 |
17 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
10-2 |
178 |
| 15 |
15 |
York (Neb.) |
9-3 |
171 |
| 16 |
NR |
Eastern Oregon |
9-2 |
135 |
| 17 |
NR |
Washington Adventist (Md.) |
10-0 |
134 |
| 18 |
19 |
Indiana Southeast |
8-2 |
127 |
| 19 |
18 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
6-4 |
123 |
| 20 |
16 |
Midland (Neb.) |
9-3 |
120 |
| 21 |
4 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
7-2 |
115 |
| 22 |
NR |
Florida Memorial |
5-3 |
98 |
| 23 |
20 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
6-2 |
77 |
| 24 |
8 |
College of Idaho |
8-4 |
74 |
| 25 |
NR |
Northwestern Ohio |
8-3 |
68 |
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Dropped from the rankings: Morningside (Iowa), Briar Cliff (Iowa), Viterbo (Wis.) and Saint Mary (Kan.).
Others receiving votes: Morningside (Iowa) 67; Trinity International (Ill.) 65; Dickinson State (N.D.) 59; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 30; Robert Morris (Ill.) 22; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 19; Pacific Union (Calif.) 17; Tennessee Wesleyan 17; Tabor (Kan.) 7