2018 NAIA DII Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll — No. 1

by | Nov 27, 2018 | Headlines, RRSN News | 0 comments

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

NAIA DII Men's Basketball Championship

Sports Rules - Basketball DII (M)

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