KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The IU Southeast men's basketball program moved up one spot, earning the No. 3 ranking in the 2009-10 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll as announced Monday by the NAIA national office. The Grenadiers are 21-3 overall and 10-0 in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC). The Grenadier men's basketball team has earned the highest NAIA national ranking ever achieved by an athletic team in IU Southeast school history.

Three of the top-10 teams changed spots in the ninth edition of the NAIA Division II Coaches' Top 25 poll.

No. 1 Walsh (Ohio) is the top team for the second straight week and, along with No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan and No. 9 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), were the only three teams in the top 10 to hold from last week's poll. The 10^th and final regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Feb. 22.

Walsh has won 15 of its last 16 games to improve to a NAIA-best 25-2 this year. The Cavs garnered 436 total points and 15 of the possible 16 first-place votes. With the 80-63 win over Shawnee State (Ohio) on Feb. 13, Walsh improved to 13-1 in the conference. The Cavs will go for their 34^th straight home win in Tuesday's game against Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio). The regular season is capped off by a home date on Saturday versus Notre Dame (Ohio).

Oregon Tech moves up one spot at No. 2 for its highest ranking this season. The Hustin' Owls notched the remaining first-place vote and totaled 416 total points. On Feb. 13, Oregon Tech handed coach Danny Miles his 900^th career win, in a 101-76 rout of Southern Oregon. That game also set a school-record with 35 straight home wins. The Hustin' Owls have won 13 of their last 14 games and bring their 24-4 record into two road tilts this weekend. They first visit Concordia (Ore.) on Friday, followed by Warner Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday in the regular-season finale.

No. 3 Indiana University Southeast enjoys its highest ranking this year after owning the No. 4 slot for each of the past four polls. With 404 total points this week, the Grenadiers own a 13-game winning streak, which is the second-longest active stretch in the NAIA. IU Southeast is 21-3 overall after a 101-67 victory of Asbury (Ky.) on Feb. 13 to remain undefeated at 10-0 in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Grenadiers have three games this week starting with Alice Lloyd (Ky.) on Tuesday.

Dropping to its lowest spot this year, No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan totaled 395 points. The Eagles lost their third game, 74-71, at Central Christian (Kan.) on Feb. 12 to fall to 24-3 overall. It was their third loss in five games after starting the year 21-0 and a No. 1 ranking for a majority of the season. Oklahoma Wesleyan closes out the regular season with home games against Peru State (Neb.) on Friday and York (Neb.) on Saturday.

For the fourth straight time, No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan remains in the same position, this week earning 371 points. The Wildcats tallied an 80-75 win over Marian (Ind.) on Feb. 13 to improve to 23-5 overall. The win came after an 80-76 loss to then-No. 7 St. Francis (Ind.) on Feb. 9. With one more week remaining in the regular season, the Wildcats hold a one-game lead over St. Francis and No. 12 Bethel (Ind.) in the Mid-Central College Conference standings. Left on the schedule is Grace (Ind.) on Tuesday and Taylor (Ind.) on Saturday.

The Mid-Central College Conference (MCCC) and Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) each place four teams in the Top 25 - from the MCCC: Indiana Wesleyan, No. 10 Saint Francis (Ind.), No. 12 Bethel (Ind.) and No. 19 Spring Arbor (Mich.). The CCC has Oregon Tech, No. 15 Eastern Oregon, No. 20 Warner Pacific (Ore.) and No. 24 Evergreen State (Wash.).

No. 23 Friends (Kan.) hops into the Top 25 for the first time this season and the first ranking since the 2007-08 Preseason Top 25. The Falcons were last ranked No. 20 on Oct. 31, 2007. At 20-6 overall, the Falcons have won 13 of their last 14 games.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents.

For more information on NAIA men's basketball, please click here.

NOTES: Prior to the No. 1 ranking this year, Walsh (Ohio) was ranked first on only one other occasion (in available records) which was Dec. 7, 1997… No. 9 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) holds the nation's longest active winning streak at 16 games… No. 3 IU Southeast is 21-0 against NAIA Division II competition with the three setbacks coming against NAIA Division I and NCAA teams… Minot State (N.D.) was the only team to drop out this week - the Beavers were at No. 19 and have lost three of their last five games… No. 1 Walsh (Ohio) holds the most wins in Division II with 25… No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan has been ranked No. 1 on 12 occasions, which is tied with Oregon Tech for the second-highest total since 2000 trailing only Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (17)… No. 3 Oregon Tech and Walsh (Ohio) own the Division II active streak for longest run in the Top 25 at 61 straight weeks -- the last time either was not ranked was Jan. 11, 2005… No. 12 Bethel (Ind.) is the next in line with 31 consecutive rankings followed by No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan with 29 straight.

2009-2010 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - (Rating #9 - Feb. 15)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES)	2009-10 RECORD*
1	1	Walsh University (Ohio) (15)	25-2
2	3	Oregon Institute of Technology (1)	24-4
3	4	Indiana University Southeast	21-3
4	2	Oklahoma Wesleyan University	24-3
5	5	Indiana Wesleyan University	23-5
6	11	Bellevue University (Neb.)	21-7
7	10	Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.)	22-5
8	6	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.)	23-5
9	9	Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.)	24-4
10	7	University of Saint Francis (Ind.)	22-6
11	12	Cornerstone University (Mich.)	23-5
12	8	Bethel College (Ind.)	23-5
13	14	Northwood University (Fla.)	23-5
14	16	Grand View University (Iowa)	22-6
15	13	Eastern Oregon University	19-7
16	18	Cedarville University (Ohio)	19-8
17	20	Hastings College (Neb.)	22-5
18	14	Davenport University (Mich.)	21-7
19	22	Spring Arbor University (Mich.)	21-8
20	23	Warner Pacific College (Ore.)	19-7
21	16	University of Sioux Falls (S.D.)	21-8
22	25	Black Hills State University (S.D.)	18-8
23	RV	Friends University (Kan.)	20-6
24	21	Evergreen State College (Wash.)	18-8
25	23	Warner University (Fla.)	18-8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Records as submitted by schools and raters