By Alan Grosbach, Associate Director of Athletic Communications and Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the fourth-straight poll and fifth overall time, Cornerstone (Mich.) is the No. 1 program in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. With eight-of-12 first-place votes, the Golden Eagles collected 309 total points.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1998)
- Since an overtime loss to No. 5 Indiana Tech on Jan. 20, Cornerstone has won four in-a-row by an average margin of 27.5 points.
- With a 23-3 overall record, the Golden Eagles lead the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference by a 1.5-game margin over Indiana Tech.
- As a team, Cornerstone is No. 2 in the NAIA in scoring defense (65.7 ppg) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.396).
- The Golden Eagles now boast 18 all-time No. 1 appearances, which is the fourth-most on the active list.
- With four first-place nods, IU East (Ind.) checks in with the No. 2 ranking. The Red Wolves have been ranked in the top five in four-straight polls.
- Three clubs – No. 23 Jamestown (N.D.), No. 24 Roosevelt (Ill.) and No. 25 Allen (S.C.) – are newcomers this week. Jamestown ranked earlier this year on Nov. 28, 2017 (No. 18).
- Both Roosevelt and Allen boast their first-ever Top 25 ranking in school history. Roosevelt is 21-5 on the year and a winner in nine-of-its-last-10 contests. The Yellow Jackets of Allen own an eight-game win streak, which was sparked by a 103-79 defeat of then-No. 12 Montreat (N.C.) on Jan. 16.
- No. 16 Bethel (Ind.) boasts the most active appearances at No. 1 with 35. Behind Bethel for most No. 1 positions is No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan at 22, Cornerstone at 18 and Oregon Tech at 15.
- Indiana Wesleyan holds the longest active streak in the poll with 72-straight mentions. Bethel is next with 62-consecutive appearances, while Cornerstone is third at 51-straight.
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 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.
2017-18 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 5 (February 6)
| RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2017-18 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Cornerstone (Mich.) (8) | 23-3 | 309 |
| 2 | 2 | IU East (Ind.) (4) | 24-2 | 305 |
| 3 | 3 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 22-4 | 290 |
| 4 | 7 | College of Idaho | 21-5 | 279 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Tech | 22-5 | 270 |
| 6 | 8 | Indiana Wesleyan | 20-6 | 260 |
| 7 | 4 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 22-5 | 259 |
| 8 | 12 | Stillman (Ala.) | 20-3 | 230 |
| 9 | 10 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 19-6 | 225 |
| T10 | 11 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 20-4 | 216 |
| T10 | 9 | Morningside (Iowa) | 19-6 | 216 |
| 12 | 6 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 21-5 | 203 |
| T13 | 16 | Union (Ky.) | 16-8 | 181 |
| T13 | 15 | Warner Pacific (Ore.) | 18-7 | 181 |
| 15 | 17 | IU Southeast (Ind.) | 16-7 | 155 |
| 16 | 13 | Bethel (Ind.) | 19-7 | 149 |
| 17 | 18 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 19-8 | 147 |
| 18 | 24 | Governors State (Ill.) | 19-7 | 136 |
| 19 | 19 | Keiser (Fla.) | 18-7 | 131 |
| 20 | 21 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 19-7 | 129 |
| 21 | 20 | Eastern Oregon | 20-4 | 119 |
| 22 | 14 | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | 19-7 | 95 |
| 23 | NR | Jamestown (N.D.) | 19-7 | 79 |
| 24 | NR | Roosevelt (Ill.) | 21-5 | 72 |
| 25 | NR | Allen (S.C.) | 19-5 | 55 |
Others Receiving Votes: Oregon Tech 48; Southeastern (Fla.) 36; Warner (Fla.) 32; WVU Tech (W.Va.) 26; Bellevue (Neb.) 17; Hastings (Neb.) 11; Southern Oregon 10; Michigan-Dearborn 10; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 9; Marian (Ind.) 8; Trinity International (Ill.) 7; Mayville State (N.D.) 7; Asbury (Ky.) 4.
Dropped Out: No. 22 Mayville State (N.D.); No. 23 Warner (Fla.); No. 25 Montreat (N.C.).
^ Ranking from Jan. 23, 2018 Top 25 Poll