2017 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll — No. 2 (Dec. 12)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hopping back into the No. 1 slot, top-ranked Cornerstone (Mich.) gathered 11-of-12 first-place votes and 312 votes in the second regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Golden Eagles were the preseason No. 1 team and previously held the No. 2 position last time.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1998)
- After dropping its first two games of the year, No. 1 Cornerstone (Mich.) has won 12-straight to stand 12-2 overall. One of those recent wins came against then-No. 5 Indiana Tech on Dec. 2.
- The Golden Eagles stand No. 2 in scoring defense (66.2) and is led by Sam Vander Sluis, who is 2nd in the NAIA individually in rebounding (12.1) and sixth in blocks per game (1.9).
- The 12 wins by Cornerstone is tied with four other programs for the NAIA high.
- Cornerstone now boasts 15 all-time No. 1 appearances, which is tied for fourth most on the active list.
- No. 2 Saint Francis (Ind.) jumps up one spot and grabbed the remaining first-place vote.
- Northwestern (Iowa), the previous No. 1 in the first regular-season edition, fell down to the No. 11 spot.
- Three newcomers enter the Top 25 this week: No. 20 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), No. 21 Stillman (Ala.) and No. 23 Michigan-Dearborn. Dakota Wesleyan was ranked in the 2017-18 Preseason Top 25. Both Stillman and the Wolverines are nationally recognized for the first time in school history. Stillman is in its second year of being an NAIA-member institution.
- No. 14 Bethel (Ind.) boasts the most actives appearances at No. 1 with 35. Behind Bethel for most No. 1 positions is Indiana Wesleyan at 22, former member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) at 21, Cornerstone and Oregon Tech at 15.
- No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan holds the longest active streak in the poll with 69-straight mentions. Bethel is next with 59-consecutive appearances, while Cornerstone is third at 48-straight.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and 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”
- 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 Top 25 calendar, click here.
2017-18 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 2 (December 12)
| RANK |
LAST TIME^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2017-18 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
2 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) (11) |
12-2 |
312 |
| 2 |
3 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) (1) |
10-2 |
302 |
| 3 |
6 |
Indiana East |
10-2 |
283 |
| 4 |
4 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
11-2 |
278 |
| 5 |
9 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
12-2 |
267 |
| 6 |
5 |
Indiana Tech |
10-2 |
258 |
| 7 |
11 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
10-1 |
249 |
| 8 |
8 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
12-1 |
233 |
| 9 |
13 |
Southern Oregon |
7-3 |
227 |
| 10 |
15 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
8-2 |
220 |
| 11 |
1 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
11-2 |
211 |
| 12 |
7 |
College of Idaho |
7-4 |
207 |
| 13 |
10 |
Trinity International (Ill.) |
10-3 |
193 |
| 14 |
16 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
10-2 |
188 |
| 15 |
14 |
Union (Ky.) |
8-5 |
180 |
| 16 |
21 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
12-2 |
157 |
| 17 |
19 |
Montreat (N.C.) |
12-1 |
147 |
| 18 |
22 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
7-3 |
134 |
| 19 |
22 |
Oregon Tech |
8-4 |
113 |
| 20 |
NR |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
10-4 |
105 |
| 21 |
NR |
Stillman (Ala.) |
7-1 |
93 |
| 22 |
17 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
9-2 |
92 |
| 23 |
NR |
Michigan-Dearborn |
10-4 |
91 |
| 24 |
12 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
9-3 |
78 |
| 25 |
NR |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
8-3 |
55 |
Others Receiving Votes: Dakota State (S.D.) 53; Keiser (Fla.) 53; Asbury (Ky.) 46; Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 26; Warner (Fla.) 26; Concordia (Neb.) 22; WVU Tech (W. Va.) 18; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 11; Jamestown (N.D.) 11; Governors State (Ill.) 9; Alice Lloyd (Ky.) 3; Corban (Ore.) 3.
Dropped Out: No. 18 Jamestown (N.D.); No. 24 Warner (Fla.); No. 25 IU Southeast (Ind.).
^ Ranking from Nov. 28, 2017 Top 25 Poll