2017 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Postseason (March 22)
Two-time national champion Marian ends season at No. 1
Nikki Sherrill, Athletic Communications and Media Intern
KANSAS CITY, MO. – After repeating as national champion at the 2017 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship in Sioux City earlier this month, Marian (Ind.) is the No. 1 program for the postseason edition of the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Knights earned all 12 first-place votes and 312 total points to end their historic season on top of the ratings.
Top 25 Highlights
• The Knights of Marian (Ind.) take over the No. 1 spot in the Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll after repeating as national champion earlier this month in Sioux City, Iowa. Marian swept all first-place votes and earned 312 total points to reclaim its position as the top program in the country.
• Marian, who came in at No. 4 in the final edition, earned a No. 1 seed in the championship. In their quest for a repeat, the Knights defeated No. 8 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), No. 5 IU East (Ind.), No. 2 and previously undefeated Southeastern (Fla.) and ultimately knocked off the overall No. 1 in St. Francis (Ill.) to make it back to the title game. The Knights met up with another No. 1 seed in Saint Xavier (Ill.) in the final and took the red banner for the second-consecutive season after defeating the Cougars 66-52.
• Making history itself is Saint Xavier who comes in at No. 2 in the postseason ratings. The Cougars made their deepest run in the national championship even though they fell short. Saint Xavier ended the season with a 34-3 overall record and was led throughout the event by junior Kara Krolicki who was named the 2017 NAIA National Player of the Year.
• The remainder of the top five includes the rest of the national semifinalists in No. 3 Concordia (Neb.) and No. 4 St. Francis (Ill.). Southeastern comes in at No. 5 and ends the year with only one loss at 28-1.
• Northwestern (Iowa) made a poll-best six-point jump after winnings its first national championship game since 2014. The Red Raiders shocked the 2016 national runner-up in Southern Oregon in the first-round this year, but fell to Southeastern in the second-round.
• IU East (Ind.) showed the next-best improvement after advancing into the second-round of the National Championship. IU East jumped five spots forward to end the season at No. 15. Cardinal Stritch, who was also bounded in the second-round, improved five spots as well to No. 13. Seven other programs who qualified also saw slight advancement on the poll this postseason.
• No teams saw their rating drop out in this installment, but 13 programs moved backwards after their showing in Sioux City. No. 10 Davenport (Mich.), who saw its season end in the second-round to Jamestown (N.D.), and No. 19 Purdue Northwest (Ind.) who exited after the first-round both slid back four places.
• Overall, 11 of the conferences are represented in the poll. The GPAC and CCAC lead the way with four each.
• Morningside (Iowa) has the most No. 1 rankings in NAIA history with 38, while Indiana Wesleyan is second with 33.
• Morningside holds the active streak of being ranked in the Top 25 (164). Saint Xavier is second with 151-straight, including its time in Division I.
• College of the Ozarks (2007-08), Morningside (2008-09) and Saint Francis (Ind.) (1999-00) 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 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.
2016-17 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - Postseason (March 22)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
Season Record |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
4 |
Marian (Ind.) (12) |
35-3 |
312 |
| 2 |
3 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
34-3 |
302 |
| 3 |
2 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
34-3 |
288 |
| 4 |
1 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
34-2 |
286 |
| 5 |
5 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
28-1 |
272 |
| 6 |
7 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
28-5 |
255 |
| 7 |
9 |
Eastern Oregon |
30-5 |
253 |
| 8 |
10 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
27-6 |
246 |
| 9 |
8 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
27-7 |
231 |
| 10 |
6 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
31-4 |
225 |
| 11 |
11 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
24-9 |
212 |
| 12 |
13 |
Friends (Kan.) |
28-6 |
196 |
| 13 |
18 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
26-6 |
188 |
| 14 |
17 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
27-7 |
184 |
| T15 |
12 |
Southern Oregon |
27-5 |
165 |
| T15 |
20 |
IU East (Ind.) |
29-6 |
165 |
| 17 |
16 |
Indiana Tech |
25-8 |
134 |
| 18 |
24 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
25-7 |
133 |
| T19 |
15 |
IU Northwest (Ind.) |
25-7 |
129 |
| T19 |
14 |
Purdue Northwest (Ind.) |
24-9 |
129 |
| 21 |
19 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
22-10 |
127 |
| 22 |
21 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
23-8 |
102 |
| 23 |
22 |
Siena Heights (Mich.) |
24-10 |
86 |
| 24 |
23 |
Oregon Tech |
24-9 |
79 |
| 25 |
24 |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
23-10 |
70 |
Dropped from Rankings: None
Others Receiving Votes: UC Merced (Calif.) 52; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 49; Valley City State (N.D.) 46; Reinhardt (Ga.) 37; Saint Francis (Ind.) 36; IU Kokomo (Ind.) 8
^Reflects ranking in postseason poll (March 1)