2015-16 Division II Men?s Basketball Coaches? Top 25 Poll ? No. 9 (Feb. 16)
By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Davenport (Mich.) is No. 1 for the sixth-straight week in the ninth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The final regular-season installment will be released on Feb. 23.
Top 25 Highlights (Historical information dates back to 1991):
• Davenport (Mich.) (25-3) remains in the top spot for the sixth-straight week after receiving ten first-place votes and a total of 311 points. This marks 11-straight polls that the Panthers are in the top 5, dating back March 25, 2015.
• No. 2 St. Francis (Ill.) (25-2) received two first-place votes and 303 total points. The Fighting Saints have been ranked in the top five in nine-straight polls, dating back to Dec. 1.
• No. 3 Saint Francis (Ind.) (24-4) (291 points), No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan (25-3) (279 points) and No. 5 Union (Ky.) (24-4) (272 points) round out the top five.
• There are two newcomers in this week’s edition – No. 24 IU East (Ind.) (18-11) (74 points) and No. 25 Rochester (Mich.) (22-5) (53 points).
• No. 13 Bethel (Ind.) (21-7) has the most all-time No. 1 mentions with 35. Former-member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is second with 21.
• There have been 42 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 (Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and Feb. 16).
• Davenport holds the longest active streak of being consecutively ranked with 86-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. 10 Warner (Fla.) cracks the top 10 for the first time since Jan. 12 when it was ranked No. 7.
• There was no movement within the top seven this week. Eight teams are ranked in the same spot as they were last week.
• No. 11 Southern Oregon (23-5) and No. 21 Warner Pacific (Ore.) moved up three spots each highlighting the positive movement.
• No. 12 Northwest Christian (Ore.) (23-5) and No. 19 Robert Morris (Ill.) (21-7) each fell four positions, which was the biggest drop in the Top 25.
• Thirteen teams have been ranked in every poll this year.
• No. 20 Indiana Tech is in the top 20 for the first time since Jan. 5 where it held the same rank.
• Davenport and Indiana Wesleyan are the only teams to be ranked inside the top 5 in each poll this year.
• Eleven of the twelve conference/Association of Independent Institutions are represented in the Top 25.
• The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Crossroads League and Cascade Collegiate Conference leads all leagues with three teams represented.
• Indiana Wesleyan has been ranked in the Top 25 for 54-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. 9 (Feb. 16)
| RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1st place votes) | WON | LOST | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Davenport (Mich.) (10) | 25 | 3 | 311 |
| 2 | 2 | St. Francis (Ill.) (2) | 25 | 2 | 303 |
| 3 | 3 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 24 | 4 | 291 |
| 4 | 4 | Indiana Wesleyan | 25 | 3 | 279 |
| 5 | 5 | Union (Ky.) | 24 | 4 | 272 |
| 6 | 6 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 25 | 3 | 266 |
| 7 | 7 | Tabor (Kan.) | 25 | 3 | 253 |
| 8 | 9 | Keiser (Fla.) | 24 | 3 | 239 |
| 9 | 10 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 22 | 5 | 232 |
| 10 | 12 | Warner (Fla.) | 21 | 5 | 220 |
| 11 | 14 | Southern Oregon | 23 | 5 | 210 |
| 12 | 8 | Northwest Christian (Ore.) | 23 | 5 | 197 |
| 13 | 11 | Bethel (Ind.) | 21 | 7 | 183 |
| 14 | 13 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 23 | 2 | 175 |
| 15 | 16 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 20 | 8 | 173 |
| 16 | 17 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 18 | 7 | 167 |
| 17 | 18 | Mount Mercy (Iowa) | 21 | 6 | 155 |
| 18 | 19 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 24 | 4 | 140 |
| 19 | 15 | Robert Morris (Ill.) | 21 | 7 | 130 |
| 20 | 22 | Indiana Tech | 21 | 7 | 117 |
| 21 | 24 | Warner Pacific (Ore.) | 19 | 8 | 110 |
| 22 | 20 | Valley City State (N.D.) | 19 | 8 | 99 |
| 23 | 23 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 19 | 9 | 96 |
| 24 | RV | Indiana East | 18 | 11 | 74 |
| 25 | RV | Rochester (Mich.) | 22 | 5 | 53 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Cal Maritime (No. 21) and Grace (Ind.) (No. 25)
Others Receiving Votes: Goshen (Ind.) 48; Cal Maritime (Calif.) 48; Nebraska Wesleyan 44; Aquinas (Mich.) 24; Grace (Ind.) 13; Jamestown (N.D.) 11; York (Neb.) 11; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 7; St. Thomas (Fla.) 6; Johnson & Wales (Fla.) 3.
^ Ranking based off the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll No. 8 (Feb. 9)
