NAIA DII Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll — No. 4
Cornerstone grabs No. 1 ranking for fourth time this season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Despite having its 19-game winning streak snapped over the weekend in an overtime thriller, Cornerstone (Mich.) held on to the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Golden Eagles claimed six first-place votes and 276 points en route to their third-straight top-billing.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1998)
• Cornerstone (19-3) leads the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference by 0.5-game over No. 5 Indiana Tech. The Warriors handed Cornerstone its first loss since October 28, 74-67, in the previously mentioned overtime thriller.
• The Golden Eagles now boast 17 all-time No. 1 appearances, which is the fourth-most on the active list.
• Cornerstone returns to the court on Wednesday against Lourdes (Ohio).
• No. 2 IU East (Ind.) claimed the edition’s other five first-place votes. The Red Wolves are 19-2 and travel to River States Conference rival Brescia (Ky.) tonight.
• Four newcomers join the Top 25 this week: No. 20 Eastern Oregon, No. 21 Oklahoma Wesleyan, No. 23 Warner (Fla.) and No. 24 Governors State (Ill.). Oklahoma Wesleyan and Warner were both ranked previously this season, while Eastern Oregon was ranked multiple times last season.
• Governors State, which is in its third season of NAIA competition, finds itself in the Top 25 for the first time in program history. The Jaguars have won six-straight en route to a 15-7 overall record. The club currently rests atop the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings at 11-1.
• No. 13 Bethel (Ind.) boasts the most active appearances at No. 1 with 35. Behind Bethel for most No. 1 positions is No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan at 22, Cornerstone 17 and Oregon Tech at 15.
• Indiana Wesleyan holds the longest active streak in the poll with 71-straight mentions. Bethel is next with 61-consecutive appearances, while Cornerstone is third at 50-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 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.
2017-18 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 4 (January 23)
| RANK | LAST TIME^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2017-18 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Cornerstone (Mich.) (6) | 19-3 | 276 |
| 2 | 3 | IU East (Ind.) (5) | 19-2 | 271 |
| 3 | 2 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 19-3 | 268 |
| 4 | 4 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 20-3 | 248 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Tech | 19-4 | 242 |
| 6 | 6 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 20-2 | 236 |
| 7 | 8 | College of Idaho | 16-5 | 233 |
| 8 | 7 | Indiana Wesleyan | 16-6 | 217 |
| 9 | 9 | Morningside (Iowa) | 17-4 | 211 |
| 10 | 14 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 16-5 | 194 |
| 11 | 10 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 17-4 | 185 |
| 12 | 17 | Stillman (Ala.) | 17-3 | 178 |
| 13 | 11 | Bethel (Ind.) | 17-5 | 174 |
| 14 | 13 | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | 18-4 | 159 |
| 15 | 16 | Warner Pacific (Ore.) | 15-6 | 149 |
| 16 | 24 | Union (Ky.) | 13-7 | 135 |
| 17 | 21 | IU Southeast (Ind.) | 13-6 | 127 |
| 18 | 19 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 17-7 | 118 |
| 19 | 25 | Keiser (Fla.) | 14-6 | 116 |
| 20 | RV | Eastern Oregon | 18-3 | 113 |
| 21 | NR | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 16-6 | 99 |
| 22 | 22 | Mayville State (N.D.) | 14-5 | 88 |
| 23 | RV | Warner (Fla.) | 15-7 | 76 |
| 24 | RV | Governors State (Ill.) | 15-7 | 75 |
| 25 | 12 | Montreat (N.C.) | 15-5 | 55 |
Others Receiving Votes: Roosevelt (Ill.) 47; Southern Oregon 45; Antelope Valley (Calif.); Southeastern (Fla.) 17; Oregon Tech 13; Dickinson State (N.D.) 13; WVU Tech 11; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 9; Allen (S.C.) 8; Michigan-Dearborn 7; Concordia (Neb.) 4; Asbury (Ky.) 3; Hastings (Neb.) 3.
Dropped Out: Southeastern (Fla.) (No. 15); Trinity International (Ill.) (No. 18); Oregon Tech (No. 20); Southern Oregon (No. 23)
^ Ranking from Jan. 9, 2017 Top 25 Poll