2015-16 Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 8 (Feb. 9)
By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Davenport (Mich.) is No. 1 for the fifth-straight week in the eighth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The ninth regular-season installment will be released on Feb. 16.
Top 25 Highlights (Historical information dates back to 1991):
• Davenport (Mich.) (23-3) remains in the top spot for the fifth-straight week after receiving ten first-place votes and a total of 311 points.
• No. 2 St. Francis (Ill.) (23-2) received two first-place votes and 303 total points. The Fighting Saints have been ranked in the top five in eight-straight polls, dating back to Dec. 1.
• No. 3 Saint Francis (Ind.) (22-4) (291 points), No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan (23-3) (279 points) and No. 5 Union (Ky.) (21-4) (272 points) rounds out the top five.
• There are three newcomers in this week’s edition – No. 22 Indiana Tech (19-7) (89 points), No. 24 Warner Pacific (Ore.) (17-8) (69 points) and No. 25 Grace (Ind.) (18-8) (66 points).
• No. 11 Bethel (Ind.) (20-6) has the most all-time No. 1 mentions with 35. Former-member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is second with 21.
• There have been 42 teams ranked this year.
• Three teams have been ranked No. 1 - Cornerstone (Mich.) (Oct. 27), Indiana Wesleyan (Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Jan. 5) and Davenport (Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 2 and Feb. 9).
• Davenport holds the longest active streak of being consecutively ranked with 85-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.
• No. 15 Robert Morris (Ill.) (20-6) cracks the top 15 for the first time since Jan. 19, 2016.
• There was no movement within the top eight this week. Ten teams are ranked in the same spot as they were last week.
• No. 19 Southwestern (Kan.) (22-4) moved up four spots highlighting the positive movement.
• No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (19-8), No. 20 Valley City State (N.D.) (18-7) and No. 23 Bellevue (Neb.) (17-9) each fell three positions, which was the biggest drop in the Top 25.
• Thirteen teams have been ranked in every poll this year.
• No. 18 Mount Mercy (Iowa) is in the top 20 for the first time since the preseason poll conducted on Oct. 27, 2015.
• Davenport and Indiana Wesleyan are the only teams to be ranked inside the top 5 in each poll.
• Eleven of the twelve conference/Association of Independent Institutions are represented in the Top 25.
• The Crossroads League leads all leagues with four teams represented – Saint Francis, Indiana Wesleyan, Bethel and Grace.
• Indiana Wesleyan has been ranked in the Top 25 for 53-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. 8 (Feb. 9)
RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1st Place Votes) |
WON |
LOST |
FINAL POINTS |
1 |
1 |
Davenport (Mich.) (10) |
23 |
3 |
311 |
2 |
2 |
St. Francis (Ill.) (2) |
23 |
2 |
303 |
3 |
3 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
22 |
4 |
291 |
4 |
4 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
23 |
3 |
279 |
5 |
5 |
Union (Ky.) |
21 |
4 |
272 |
6 |
6 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
23 |
3 |
265 |
7 |
7 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
23 |
3 |
251 |
8 |
8 |
Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
22 |
4 |
243 |
9 |
10 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
22 |
3 |
227 |
10 |
11 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
20 |
5 |
216 |
11 |
9 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
20 |
6 |
207 |
12 |
12 |
Warner (Fla.) |
19 |
5 |
205 |
13 |
15 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
21 |
1 |
191 |
14 |
14 |
Southern Oregon |
20 |
5 |
186 |
15 |
16 |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
20 |
6 |
173 |
16 |
13 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
19 |
8 |
156 |
17 |
19 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
16 |
7 |
147 |
18 |
21 |
Mount Mercy (Iowa) |
19 |
6 |
137 |
19 |
23 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
22 |
4 |
130 |
20 |
17 |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
18 |
7 |
123 |
21 |
24 |
Cal Maritime |
18 |
7 |
104 |
22 |
NR |
Indiana Tech |
19 |
7 |
89 |
23 |
20 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
17 |
9 |
74 |
24 |
NR |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
17 |
8 |
69 |
25 |
NR |
Grace (Ind.) |
18 |
8 |
66 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Aquinas (Mich.) (No. 22), Marian (Ind.) (No. 18) and Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) (No. 25)
Others Receiving Votes: Indiana East 63; Aquinas (Mich.) 50; Marian (Ind.) 49; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 26; Johnson & Wales (Fla.) 21; Midland (Neb.) 11; Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) 9; St. Thomas (Fla.) 5;
Oregon Tech 4; Rochester (Mich.) 3.
^ Ranking based off the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll No. 7 (Feb. 2)