By Spencer Scheve, Communications and Sports Information Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – St. Francis (Ind.) claims the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll for a second-straight poll. The Cougars earned all 12 first-place votes and 312 total points to receive the top ranking. The second regular-season poll will be released Tuesday, Dec. 13.   

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):

• Saint Francis (Ind.) is on a 10-game winning streak, including 4-0 at home, 2-0 away and 4-0 on a neutral court.  The Cougars are tied for 15^th all-time No. 1 rankings with six.
• Cornerstone (Mich.) climbs eight spots in this edition as the Golden Eagles earn the No. 2 ranking, claiming 299 points.  This is Cornerstone’s first time in the top five since Dec. 8, 2015.
• Rounding out the top five is Indiana Wesleyan at No. 3 with 294 points, St. Thomas (Fla.) at No. 4 with 270 points and Indiana East at No. 5 with 265 points.
• There was plenty of shifting in the week’s edition. Four notable movements are Briar Cliff (Iowa) dropping 21 spots from No. 4 to No. 25, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) climbing 15 spots from No. 25 to No. 10, Keiser (Fla.) falling 14 spots from No. 6 to No. 20 and St. Francis (Ill.) dropping 13 spots from No. 5 to No. 18.
• Seven programs join the Top 25 – No. 6 Northwestern (Iowa), No. 12 Taylor (Ind.), No. 19 Indiana Southeast, No. 21 Viterbo (Wis.), No. 22 Northwest (Wash.), No. 23 Morningside (Iowa) and No. 24 Saint Mary (Kan.).
• Seven teams dropped out of the newest rankings: Tabor (Kan.) Indiana Tech, Bellevue (Neb.), Saint Xavier (Ill.), Warner Pacific (Ore.), Robert Morris (Ill.) and Dakota State (S.D.).
• Overall, 11 of the 12 conferences are represented in this edition of the poll. The Great Plains Athletic Conference leads the way with five teams represented – Northwestern (Iowa), Dakota Wesleyan, Midland (Neb.), Morningside (Iowa) and Briar Cliff.
• Bethel (Ind.) has been ranked No. 1 the most times in history, coming in with 35 appearances.
• Davenport (Mich.) holds the active streak of being ranked consecutively with 91-straight mentions.
• Jamestown (N.D.) (2003-04) and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) (2000-01) are the only teams to go the entire season ranked No. 1. 

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 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”
• Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
• For the complete ratings calendar, click here.

2016 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll 1 (Nov. 29)

Dropped from the rankings: Tabor (Kan.) Indiana Tech, Bellevue (Neb.), Saint Xavier (Ill.), Warner Pacific (Ore.), Robert Morris (Ill.) and Dakota State (S.D.).

Others receiving votes: Eastern Oregon 53; Washington Adventist (Md.) 53; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 37; Tennessee Wesleyan 29; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 27; Northwestern Ohio 27; Southeastern (Fla.) 22; Pacific Union (Calif.) 8; Tabor (Kan.) 7; Southern Oregon 5; Michigan-Dearborn 5