KANSAS CITY, Mo. –Cornerstone (Mich.) holds the No. 1 ranking for a fifth-straight NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Golden Eagles claimed nine first-place votes and 310 total points.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1998)
• Cornerstone won five-straight to close the regular-season with a 27-3 overall record and 19-1 mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC).
• The Golden Eagles have now won back-to-back WHAC regular-season titles and will be the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.
• Cornerstone returns to the court Wednesday against Concordia (Mich.).
• The Golden Eagles now boast 19 all-time No. 1 appearances, which is the fourth-most on the active list.
• IU East (Ind.) checks in at No. 2 and claimed the other three first-place votes.
• Four newcomers joined the Top 25 this week: No. 21 Oregon Tech, No. 22 Bellevue (Neb.), No. 24 Marian (Ind.) and No. 25 WVU Tech.
• Marian is ranked for the first time since the 2015-16 season, while WVU Tech has not received Top 25 recognition since March 1, 2017. Oregon Tech and Bellevue were both ranked previously this year.
• No. 15 Bethel (Ind.) boasts the most active appearances at No. 1 with 35. Behind Bethel for most No. 1 positions is No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan at 22, Cornerstone at 19 and Oregon Tech at 15.
• Indiana Wesleyan holds the longest active streak in the poll with 73-straight mentions. Bethel is next with 63-consecutive appearances, while Saint Francis (Ind.) is next with 54-straight following by Cornerstone at 52-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 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 Top 25 calendar, click here.
2017-18 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 6 (Feb. 20)
| RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2017-18 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Cornerstone (Mich.) (9) | 27-3 | 310 |
| 2 | 2 | IU East (Ind.) (3) | 28-2 | 304 |
| 3 | 5 | Indiana Tech | 25-5 | 283 |
| 4 | 4 | College of Idaho | 24-6 | 281 |
| 5 | 6 | Indiana Wesleyan | 23-7 | 274 |
| 6 | 10 | Morningside (Iowa) | 23-6 | 260 |
| 7 | 9 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 22-6 | 252 |
| 8 | 3 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 23-7 | 240 |
| 9 | 7 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 24-6 | 233 |
| 10 | 13 | Union (Ky.) | 20-7 | 214 |
| 11 | 10 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 23-5 | 211 |
| 12 | 12 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 24-6 | 192 |
| T13 | T13 | Warner Pacific (Ore.) | 21-8 | 181 |
| T13 | 15 | IU Southeast (Ind.) | 21-7 | 181 |
| 15 | 16 | Bethel (Ind.) | 22-8 | 171 |
| 16 | 18 | Governors State (Ill.) | 22-8 | 159 |
| 17 | 8 | Stillman (Ala.) | 24-4 | 153 |
| 18 | 17 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 21-9 | 144 |
| 19 | 20 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 22-8 | 142 |
| 20 | 24 | Roosevelt (Ill.) | 24-6 | 108 |
| 21 | RV | Oregon Tech | 21-9 | 106 |
| 22 | RV | Bellevue (Neb.) | 20-10 | 104 |
| 23 | 19 | Keiser (Fla.) | 19-9 | 103 |
| 24 | RV | Marian (Ind.) | 20-10 | 64 |
| 25 | RV | WVU Tech | 19-10 | 57 |
Others Receiving Votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 47; Trinity International (Ill.) 46; Jamestown (N.D.) 42; Hastings (Neb.) 39; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 23; Warner (Fla.) 23; Michigan-Dearborn 13; Southern Oregon 4; Milligan (Tenn.) 3; Eastern Oregon 3.
Dropped Out: Eastern Oregon (No. 21); Spring Arbor (Mich.) (No. 22); Jamestown (N.D.) (No. 23); Allen (S.C.) (No. 25)
^ Ranking from Feb. 6, 2018 Top 25 Poll