By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third-straight week, Indiana Wesleyan holds the top spot in the third regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The fourth regular-season installment will be released on Jan. 12.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1991):

• Indiana Wesleyan (15-1) is No. 1 after receiving 11 first-place votes and 312 points.
• Indiana Wesleyan lands its 18th all-time No. 1 ranking, which is good enough for third on the all-time list.
• Saint Francis (Ill.) (13-1) comes in at No. 2 for the second-straight edition. The Fighting Saints received the final first-place vote and 299 total points.
• No. 3 Marian (Ind.) (15-1) (288 points), No. 4 Union (Ky.) (13-3) (283 points) and No. 5 Davenport (Mich.) (13-3) (266 points) round out the top 5.
• Five new teams join the Top 25 – No. 18 Hastings (Neb.) (11-4), No. 19 Northwest Christian (Ore.) (11-4), No. 20 Indiana Tech (12-4), No. 23 Rio Grande (Ohio) (12-4) and No. 24 Warner Pacific (Ore.) (9-5).
• Northwest Christian and Warner Pacific are back in the Top 25 for the first time since the Preseason Coaches’ Top 25 occured on Oct. 27, 2015. Northwest Christian ranks No. 8 in the NAIA in turnover margin (4.8). Warner Pacific is No. 4 nationally in field goal percentage (51 percent) and No. 8 in three-point field goal percentage (40 percent).
• Hastings finds itself ranked for the first time since Dec. 1, 2015. The Broncos rank 22nd in the NAIA in scoring offense per game, averaging 86.8 point per game.
• This is the first time since Jan. 1, 2009 that Rio Grande is in the Top 25. The RedStorm rank in the top 10 nationally in six categories – No. 2 in total assists (327), No. 3 in assists per game (20.4) No. 3 in defensive rebounds per game (31.8), No. 7 in total rebound margin (9.1), No. 8 in total rebound offense (695) and No. 9 in field goal percentage (49 percent).
• Indiana Tech is ranked for the first time since Jan. 8, 2013. The Warriors lead the NAIA in total blocks with 102. They also rank No. 2 in block per game (6.3), No. 7 in scoring defense per game (65.3) and No. 9 in field goal percentage defense (39 percent).
• No. 12 Bethel (Ind.) (12-3) has the most all-time No. 1 mentions with 35. Former-member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is second with 21.
• Davenport holds the active streak of being consecutively ranked with 80-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.
• Saint Francis (Ind.) (13-3) jumped up nine spots from No. 17 to No. 8, which highlighted the positive movement. No. 14 Keiser (Fla.) (14-1) moved up eight spots, while No. 6 Briar Cliff (Iowa) (15-2) jumped six spots.
• Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (7-5) had the biggest drop in the Top 25, as it fell nine positions from No. 8 to No. 17. Bellevue (Neb.) (12-7) plunged eight spots to No. 21.
• Eleven of the 12 conferences/Association of Independent Institutions are represented in the Top 25.
• The Crossroads League and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference lead all leagues with four teams represented.
• The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference and Cascade Collegiate Conference has three teams represented each.
• Indiana Wesleyan had been in the Top 25 for 48-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. 3 (Jan. 5)

Dropped from the Top 25: College of Idaho (No. 18), WVU Tech (No. 19), Rochester (Mich.) (No. 21), Cal Maritime (No. 23) and Indiana East (No. 25).

Others Receiving Votes: Grace (Ind.) 49; Rochester (Mich.) 42; Tennessee Wesleyan 42; Southwestern (Kan.) 37; Cal Maritime 26; Southeastern (Fla.) 24; Dordt (Iowa) 21; Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) 16; College of Idaho 7; Jamestown (N.D.) 7.

^ Ranking based off the NAIA Men’s Division II Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll No. 2 (Dec. 8)