By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – St. Franics (Ill.) is No. 1 for the first time in school history in the tenth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The final installment will be released on March 2 with the postseason poll released on March 23. Official qualifiers and bracket for the NAIA Division II Men’s National Championship will be announced via live selection show at 6 p.m. CST on March 2.

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

• St. Francis (Ill.) (27-2) is in the top spot for the first time in school history after receiving eight first-place votes and a total of 309 points. This marks the ninth-straight poll that the Fighting Saints are in the top 5.
• No. 2 Saint Francis (Ind.) (26-4) received the final four first-place votes and 305 total points. The Cougars have been ranked in the top five in six-straight polls, dating back to Jan. 5.
• No. 3 Davenport (Mich.) (26-4) (290 points) is out of the No. 1 spot for the first time since Jan. 12.
• No. 4 Briar Cliff (Iowa) (27-3) (280 points) and No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan (26-4) (264 points) round out the top five.
• There are two newcomers in this week’s edition – No. 20 Nebraska Wesleyan (20-6) (119 points) and No. 24 Cal Maritime (Calif.) (21-9) (77 points).
• Nebraska Wesleyan finds itself in the Top 25 for the first time in program history.
• No. 13 Bethel (Ind.) (22-8) has the most all-time No. 1 mentions with 35. Former-member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is second with 21.
• There have been 43 teams ranked this year.
• Four teams have been ranked No. 1 - Cornerstone (Mich.) (Oct. 27), Indiana Wesleyan (Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Jan. 5) Davenport (Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and Feb. 16) and St. Francis (Feb. 23).
• Davenport holds the longest active streak of being consecutively ranked with 87-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. 15 Indiana Tech (22-8) cracks the top 15 for the first time since Jan. 16, 2012, when it held the same ranking.
• No. 15 Warner Pacific (Ore.) (21-8) and Indiana Tech each moved up five spots highlighting the positive movement.
• No. 23 Southwestern (Kan.) (24-6) fell five positions, which was the biggest drop in the Top 25.
• Twelve 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 this year.
• Eleven of the twelve conference/Association of Independent Institutions are represented in the Top 25.
• The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, Great Plains 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 55-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. 10 (Feb. 23)

Dropped from the Top 25: Indiana East (No. 24) and Robert Morris (Ill.) (No. 19)

Others Receiving Votes: Indiana East 69; Robert Morris (Ill.) 64; Oregon Tech 30; St. Thomas (Fla.) 30; Goshen (Ind.) 21; York (Neb.) 14; Aquinas (Mich.) 9; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 5.

^ Ranking based off the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll No. 9 (Feb. 16)