KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Defending-champion Indiana Wesleyan remains as the No. 1 team in the first edition of the 2018 NAIA DII Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. However, the Wildcats’ lead shrunk, as their first-place vote total dropped from 11 in the preseason poll to seven.
Top 25 Highlights (dating back to 2000-2001 season)
- Indiana Wesleyan is 9-1 on the early season, with its only loss coming to then-No. 2 IU-East, 85-84.
- There were some major changes at the top of the poll. Oklahoma Wesleyan and Marian (Ind.) entered the top 5 at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. IU-East dropped from No. 2 to seventh, while Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) made a huge leap from No. 15 to No. 6.
- College of Idaho received three first-place votes; Morningside (Iowa) and Oklahoma Wesleyan each received one.
- Six teams jumped into the poll: No. 18 St. Ambrose (Iowa), No. 19 Hastings (Kan.), No. 21 Dordt (Iowa), No. 23 Spring Arbor (Mich.) , No. 24 Voorhees (S.C.) and No. 25 Montreat (N.C.).
- No. 15 Bethel (Ind.) has the most active appearances at No. 1 with 35. Behind Bethel are No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan with 23, No. 8 Cornerstone (Mich.) at 19 and No. 22 Oregon Tech at 15.
- Indiana Wesleyan holds the longest active streak in the poll with 76-straight appearances. Bethel is next with 66. Following those two teams are Saint Francis (Ind.) with 57 and Cornerstone with 55.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and 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 rating) 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 appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
- The frequency of polls occurs 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 Top 25 calendar, click here.
2018-2019 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 1 (Nov. 27, 2018)
Rank | Last Week | School [First-place votes] | Record | Points |
1 | 1 | Indiana Wesleyan [7] | 9-1 | 307 |
2 | 3 | College of Idaho [3] | 11-1 | 297 |
2 | 4 | Morningside (Iowa) [1] | 7-0 | 297 |
4 | 6 | Oklahoma Wesleyan [1] | 8-0 | 282 |
5 | 8 | Marian (Ind.) | 8-0 | 276 |
6 | 15 | Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | 8-0 | 250 |
7 | 2 | Indiana East (Ind.) | 7-3 | 241 |
8 | 10 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 7-1 | 237 |
9 | 7 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 8-3 | 234 |
10 | 9 | Union (Ky.) | 7-2 | 209 |
11 | 11 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 5-1 | 207 |
11 | 13 | WVU Tech | 8-1 | 207 |
13 | 22 | Southern Oregon | 9-1 | 201 |
14 | 18 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 6-0 | 184 |
15 | 23 | Bethel (Ind.) | 9-1 | 182 |
16 | 5 | Indiana Tech | 6-4 | 159 |
17 | 23 | Warner Pacific (Ore.) | 6-2 | 147 |
18 | NR | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | 5-1 | 131 |
19 | NR | Hastings (Neb.) | 7-2 | 127 |
20 | 20 | Indiana Southeast (Ind.) | 5-3 | 116 |
21 | NR | Dordt (Iowa) | 8-2 | 74 |
22 | 12 | Oregon Tech | 8-3 | 69 |
23 | NR | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | 9-1 | 68 |
24 | NR | Voorhees (S.C.) | 8-3 | 66 |
25 | NR | Montreat (N.C.) | 6-0 | 59 |
Dropped out: Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), Warner (Fla.), Bellevue (Neb.), Saint Francis (Ind.), Trinity International (Ill.), St. Thomas (Fla.)
Others receiving votes: Dakota Wesleyan 56, Coastal Georgia 49, UC-Merced 47, Madonna (Mich.) 40, Warner (Fla.) 34, Friends (Kan.) 30, College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 27, Mayville State (N.D.) 23, Bluefield (Va.) 18, Huntington (Ind.) 7, Calumet (Ind.) 4
Championship Information
28th ANNUAL DIVISION II
MEN’S BASKETBALL
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
March 6-12, 2019
Sioux Falls, S.D.
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