2018 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll — No. 5 (Feb. 6)
CI No. 4, WPU No. 13, EOU No. 21, OIT-RV, SOU-RV
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the fourth-straight poll and fifth overall time, Cornerstone (Mich.) is the No. 1 program in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. With eight-of-12 first-place votes, the Golden Eagles collected 309 total points.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1998)
- Since an overtime loss to No. 5 Indiana Tech on Jan. 20, Cornerstone has won four in-a-row by an average margin of 27.5 points.
- With a 23-3 overall record, the Golden Eagles lead the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference by a 1.5-game margin over Indiana Tech.
- As a team, Cornerstone is No. 2 in the NAIA in scoring defense (65.7 ppg) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.396).
- The Golden Eagles now boast 18 all-time No. 1 appearances, which is the fourth-most on the active list.
- With four first-place nods, IU East (Ind.) checks in with the No. 2 ranking. The Red Wolves have been ranked in the top five in four-straight polls.
- Three clubs – No. 23 Jamestown (N.D.), No. 24 Roosevelt (Ill.) and No. 25 Allen (S.C.) – are newcomers this week. Jamestown ranked earlier this year on Nov. 28, 2017 (No. 18).
- Both Roosevelt and Allen boast their first-ever Top 25 ranking in school history. Roosevelt is 21-5 on the year and a winner in nine-of-its-last-10 contests. The Yellow Jackets of Allen own an eight-game win streak, which was sparked by a 103-79 defeat of then-No. 12 Montreat (N.C.) on Jan. 16.
- No. 16 Bethel (Ind.) boasts the most active appearances at No. 1 with 35. Behind Bethel for most No. 1 positions is No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan at 22, Cornerstone at 18 and Oregon Tech at 15.
- Indiana Wesleyan holds the longest active streak in the poll with 72-straight mentions. Bethel is next with 62-consecutive appearances, while Cornerstone is third at 51-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. 5 (February 6)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2017-18 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) (8) |
23-3 |
309 |
| 2 |
2 |
IU East (Ind.) (4) |
24-2 |
305 |
| 3 |
3 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
22-4 |
290 |
| 4 |
7 |
College of Idaho |
21-5 |
279 |
| 5 |
5 |
Indiana Tech |
22-5 |
270 |
| 6 |
8 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
20-6 |
260 |
| 7 |
4 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
22-5 |
259 |
| 8 |
12 |
Stillman (Ala.) |
20-3 |
230 |
| 9 |
10 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
19-6 |
225 |
| T10 |
11 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
20-4 |
216 |
| T10 |
9 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
19-6 |
216 |
| 12 |
6 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
21-5 |
203 |
| T13 |
16 |
Union (Ky.) |
16-8 |
181 |
| T13 |
15 |
Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
18-7 |
181 |
| 15 |
17 |
IU Southeast (Ind.) |
16-7 |
155 |
| 16 |
13 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
19-7 |
149 |
| 17 |
18 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
19-8 |
147 |
| 18 |
24 |
Governors State (Ill.) |
19-7 |
136 |
| 19 |
19 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
18-7 |
131 |
| 20 |
21 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
19-7 |
129 |
| 21 |
20 |
Eastern Oregon |
20-4 |
119 |
| 22 |
14 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
19-7 |
95 |
| 23 |
NR |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
19-7 |
79 |
| 24 |
NR |
Roosevelt (Ill.) |
21-5 |
72 |
| 25 |
NR |
Allen (S.C.) |
19-5 |
55 |
|
Others Receiving Votes: Oregon Tech 48; Southeastern (Fla.) 36; Warner (Fla.) 32; WVU Tech (W.Va.) 26; Bellevue (Neb.) 17; Hastings (Neb.) 11; Southern Oregon 10; Michigan-Dearborn 10; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 9; Marian (Ind.) 8; Trinity International (Ill.) 7; Mayville State (N.D.) 7; Asbury (Ky.) 4.
Dropped Out: No. 22 Mayville State (N.D.); No. 23 Warner (Fla.); No. 25 Montreat (N.C.).
^ Ranking from Jan. 23, 2018 Top 25 Poll