Three CCC Teams Debut Ranked, Another Receives Votes in Preseason Top-25 Men’s Basketball Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After winning its first red banner in program history, Spring Arbor (Mich.) begins the 2019 season as the No. 1 team in the 2019 NAIA DII Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Wildcats received 12 of the 12 first-place votes in the initial ballots.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference was well represented with two teams debuting in the top-three of the poll. Last year’s NAIA runner-up Oregon Tech begins the year in the No. 2 spot, while College of Idaho is right behind at No. 3. Southern Oregon University sits at No. 18 in the preseason poll, which has Corban University just on the cusp receiving votes.
2019-2020 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Preseason (Oct. 23)
| RANK |
LAST |
SCHOOL [FIRST PLACE VOTES] |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
7 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) [12] |
30-7 |
312 |
| 2 |
8 |
Oregon Tech |
28-8 |
298 |
| 3 |
5 |
College of Idaho |
31-6 |
288 |
| 4 |
4 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
29-4 |
281 |
| 4 |
1 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
30-6 |
281 |
| 6 |
16 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
23-10 |
235 |
| 7 |
16 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
30-4 |
234 |
| 8 |
13 |
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
27-8 |
232 |
| 9 |
21 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
23-10 |
230 |
| 10 |
22 |
IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
26-8 |
218 |
| 11 |
15 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
23-9 |
209 |
| 12 |
12 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
26-9 |
197 |
| 13 |
6 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
28-5 |
193 |
| 14 |
14 |
Indiana East (Ind.) |
26-9 |
192 |
| 15 |
11 |
Marian (Ind.) |
28-8 |
182 |
| 16 |
10 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
29-6 |
152 |
| 17 |
9 |
Union (Ky.) |
26-7 |
147 |
| 18 |
NR |
Southern Oregon |
21-11 |
138 |
| 19 |
RV |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
20-15 |
112 |
| 20 |
25 |
Voorhees (S.C.) |
24-6 |
109 |
| 21 |
17 |
Warner (Fla.) |
21-11 |
103 |
| 22 |
NR |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
19-14 |
96 |
| 23 |
RV |
Indiana Tech |
22-10 |
76 |
| 24 |
RV |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
16-15 |
58 |
| 25 |
NR |
Dordt (Iowa) |
19-13 |
45 |
| |
|
|
|
|
Receiving Votes: Washington Adventist 44, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 43,
Corban (Ore.) 42, Montreat (N.C.) 35, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 26, WVU Tech 25, Holy Cross (Ind.) 22, Ave Maria (Fla.) 21, Kansas Wesleyan 8, Siena Heights (Mich.) 6, Bethel (Ind.) 6, Milligan (Tenn.) 6, Indiana Northwest 4, Dickinson State (N.D.) 3
Top 25 Highlights
- The No. 1 Cougars finished their championship season with an overall record of 30-7 earning their first 30-win campaign in program history. The Cougars will return all but one player from the starters from the team that played in the championship a year ago. Including NAIA First Team All-American, Paul Marandet.
- Oregon Tech, the No. 2 team in the preseason Top 25 Poll. The Hustlin’ Owls finished as the national runner-up with an overall, 28-8 a year ago.
- The newcomers to the preseason poll, based on the final regular-season poll of 2018-2019, are No. 18 Southern Oregon, No. 19 St. Francis (Ill.), No. 22 Bellevue (Neb.), No. 23 Indiana Tech, No. 24 Saint Francis (Ind.) and No. 25 Dordt (Iowa).
- Indiana Wesleyan holds the longest active streak in the poll with 83-straight appearances. Bethel (Ind.) is next with 72 and then Cornerstone (Mich.) with 62.
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 rating) 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 appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.