2015-16 Division II Men?s Basketball Coaches? Top 25 Poll ? No. 6 (Jan. 26)
By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Davenport (Mich.) is No. 1 for the third-straight week in the sixth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The seventh regular-season installment will be released on Feb. 2.
Top 25 Highlights (Historical information dates back to 1991):
• Davenport (Mich.) (19-3) remains in the top spot for the third-straight week after receiving ten first-place votes and a total of 311 points.
• No. 2 St. Francis (Ill.) (19-2) received one first-place vote and 302 total points. The Fighting Saints have been ranked in the top five in six-straight polls, dating back to Dec. 1.
• No. 3 Briar Cliff (Iowa) (21-2) received the final first-place vote and 291 total points.
• Two new teams join the Top 25 – No. 24 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (12-7) (80 points) and No. 25 Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) (15-4) (62 points).
• Olivet Nazarene has been ranked in five of the six polls this year.
• Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) is ranked for the fourth time in school history and the first time since Jan. 20, 2015.
• No. 10 Bethel (Ind.) (16-5) has the most all-time No. 1 mentions with 35. Former-member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is second with 21.
• There have been 41 teams ranked this year.
• Three teams have been ranked No. 1 - Cornerstone (Mich.) (Oct. 27), Indiana Wesleyan (Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Jan. 5) and Davenport (Mich.) (Jan. 12, Jan. 19 and Jan. 26).
• Davenport holds the longest active streak of being consecutively ranked with 83-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.
• No. 13 Cornerstone (16-5) and No. 15 Southern Oregon (17-5) moved up three spots highlighting the positive movement.
• Valley City State (N.D.) (16-6) had the biggest drop in the Top 25, as it fell nine spots from No. 12 to No. 21.
• Thirteen teams have been ranked in every poll this year.
• Davenport and Indiana Wesleyan are the only teams to be ranked inside the top 5 in each poll.
• For the second-straight week, all twelve conference/Association of Independent Institutions are represented in the Top 25.
• The Crossroads League leads all leagues with five teams represented – No. 4 Saint Francis (Ind.) (18-4), No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan (19-3), Bethel (Ind.), No. 12 Marian (Ind.) (19-3) and No. 22 Grace (Ind.) (17-5).
• Indiana Wesleyan has been ranked in the Top 25 for 51-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. 6 (Jan. 26)
| RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL | WON | LOST | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Davenport (Mich.) (10) | 19 | 3 | 311 |
| 2 | 2 | St. Francis (Ill.) (1) | 19 | 2 | 302 |
| 3 | 4 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) (1) | 21 | 2 | 291 |
| 4 | 3 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 18 | 4 | 279 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 19 | 3 | 271 |
| 6 | 6 | Union (Ky.) | 16 | 4 | 267 |
| 7 | 8 | Tabor (Kan.) | 20 | 3 | 246 |
| 8 | 10 | Northwest Christian (Ore.) | 18 | 4 | 236 |
| 9 | 7 | Keiser (Fla.) | 19 | 2 | 231 |
| 10 | 9 | Bethel (Ind.) | 16 | 5 | 222 |
| 11 | 11 | Warner (Fla.) | 14 | 5 | 207 |
| 12 | 13 | Marian (Ind.) | 19 | 3 | 196 |
| 13 | 16 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 16 | 5 | 189 |
| 14 | 14 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 16 | 7 | 176 |
| 15 | 18 | Southern Oregon | 17 | 5 | 166 |
| 16 | 15 | Robert Morris (Ill.) | 18 | 5 | 162 |
| 17 | 19 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 16 | 1 | 160 |
| 18 | 20 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 17 | 7 | 148 |
| 19 | 17 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 16 | 6 | 116 |
| 20 | 22 | Mount Mercy (Iowa) | 17 | 5 | 115 |
| 21 | 12 | Valley City State (N.D.) | 16 | 6 | 109 |
| 22 | 21 | Grace (Ind.) | 17 | 5 | 106 |
| 23 | 23 | Cal Maritime | 15 | 6 | 89 |
| 24 | NR | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 12 | 7 | 80 |
| 25 | NR | Cincinnati Christian (Ohio) | 15 | 4 | 62 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Southeastern (Fla.) (No. 24) and WVU Tech (W. Va.) (No. 25)
Others Receiving Votes: Warner Pacific (Ore.) 61; Southwestern (Kan.) 43; Indiana Tech 17; Johnson & Wales (Fla.) 16; Rochester (Mich.) 14; College of Idaho 12; Dordt (Iowa) 11; Indiana East 8; WVU Tech 7; Southeastern (Fla.) 6; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 3; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 3.
^ Ranking based off the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll No. 5 (Jan. 19)
