Jan. 24, 2007

OLATHE, Kan. - After spending last week as Division II's No. 2 ranked team and just more than a month after its football team won the NAIA National Championship in Hardin County, Tenn., Sioux Falls (S.D.) is the No. 1 ranked team in NAIA Division II Men's Basketball, making the jump to No. 1 after MidAmerica Nazarene, who fell to No. 2, lost last week at Division I No. 9 Park (Mo.).

 

Warner Pacific (Ore.) moved into the third slot, its highest ranking of the season, while Huntington (Ind.), who had been No. 1 earlier this year, moved up a slot to No. 4. Walsh (Ohio) climbed from No. 8 to round out the top 5, while the Top 10's second half begins with Bellevue (Neb.), followed by Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Point Park (Pa.), Indiana Wesleyan and Albertson (Idaho).

 

Four teams new to the Top 25 end the rating, starting with Bluefield (Va.) at No. 22, followed by Aquinas (Mich.), William Penn (Iowa) and Grace (Ind.).

 

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL	1ST PLACE VOTES	WON	POINTS
1	2	Sioux Falls (S.D.)	13	21-1	506
2	1	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	4	15-1	483
3	4	Warner Pacific (Ore.)		18-2	474
4	5	Huntington (Ind.)		20-3	460
5	8	Walsh (Ohio)		18-3	437
6	6	Bellevue (Neb.)		19-1	433
7	7	Embry-Riddle (Fla.)		19-3	408
8	3	Point Park (Pa.)		20-1	391
9	10	Indiana Wesleyan		20-2	365
10	9	Albertson (Idaho)		15-3	364
11	11	Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio)		17-3	336
12	12	Oregon Tech		20-3	320
13	13	Kansas Wesleyan		16-3	310
14	15	Northwestern (Iowa)		15-6	278
15	16	Cedarville (Ohio)		14-5	238
16	14	Benedictine (Kan.)		14-6	233
16	19	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)		18-4	233
18	17	Eastern Oregon		16-4	221
19	22	Mayville State (N.D.)		14-7	214
20	21	St. Francis (Ind.)		15-8	172
21	18	William Jessup (Calif.)		14-7	150
22	NR	Bluefield (Va.)		15-7	131
23	NR	Aquinas (Mich.)		13-9	97
23	NR	William Penn (Iowa)		15-7	93
25	NR	Grace (Ind.)		16-5	88

 

Others Receiving Votes: Southwestern (Kan.), 78; Calumet St. Joseph (Ind.), 75; Morningside (Iowa), 64; Spalding (Ky.), 44; Cornerstone (Mich.), 41; Milligan (Tenn.), 32; Lindenwood (Mo.), 29; Northwest (Wash.), 26; Mount Mercy (Iowa), 22; Ozarks (Mo.), 15; Dordt (Iowa), 12; Holy Names (Calif.), 11; Warner Southern (Fla.), 9; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), 7; Maine-Machias, 2; Concordia (Mich.), 1; Southern Oregon, 1; Valley City State (N.D.), 1.