Feb. 7, 2007

OLATHE, Kan. - Bellevue (Neb.) earned 10 of the NAIA's 17 first-place votes to take over as the No. 1 ranked team in Division II Men's Basketball, topping MidAmerica Nazarene's (Kan.) five and Indiana Wesleyan's two first-place nods in the eighth Top 25 poll of the season.

 

Walsh (Ohio) dropped two spots to No. 4 this week, while Warner Pacific (Ore.) is down one to round out the top five. Point Park (Pa.) stayed at No. 6, Oregon Tech remained No. 7 and Huntington (Ind.) stayed at No. 8, and in the No. 9 position, Kansas Wesleyan equaled its highest-ever mark in the Top 25 by climbing a spot in this week's poll.

 

Northwestern (Iowa) rounds out the Top 10 after falling a spot, and Holy Names (Calif.) is the only new representative to the Top 25, checking at No. 25 this week. The poll marked the fifth poll this year to feature a new No. 1. Previous No. 1's have included Ozarks (Mo.), Huntington, MidAmerica Nazarene and Sioux Falls (S.D.).

 

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL	1ST PLACE VOTES	RECORD	POINTS
1	3	Bellevue (Neb.)	10	23-1	499
2	1	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	5	20-2	491
3	5	Indiana Wesleyan	2	23-2	477
4	2	Walsh (Ohio)		21-4	460
5	4	Warner Pacific (Ore.)		21-4	437
6	6	Point Park (Pa.)		24-1	424
7	7	Oregon Tech		23-3	397
8	8	Huntington (Ind.)		22-4	378
9	10	Kansas Wesleyan		20-3	375
10	9	Northwestern (Iowa)		18-6	366
11	11	Sioux Falls (S.D.)		22-3	335
12	12	Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio)		20-4	329
13	12	Albertson (Idaho)		18-4	316
14	15	St. Francis (Ind.)		19-8	265
15	17	Cedarville (Ohio)		17-6	242
16	14	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)		21-5	235
17	16	Warner Southern (Fla.)		16-7	232
18	19	Benedictine (Kan.)		16-7	225
19	20	Aquinas (Mich.)		16-9	203
20	18	Mayville State (N.D.)		17-8	171
21	23	William Penn (Iowa)		19-7	167
22	25	Ozarks (Mo.)		16-8	131
23	22	Eastern Oregon		19-6	123
23	23	Bluefield (Va.)		18-8	119
25	NR	Holy Names (Calif.)		15-11	89

 

Others Receiving Votes: Evangel (Mo.), 80; Calumet St. Joseph (Ind.), 60; Asbury (Ky.), 59; Northwest (Wash.), 54; Grace (Ind.), 51; Cornerstone (Mich.), 27; Dordt (Iowa), 19; Tennessee Wesleyan, 18; Edward Waters (Fla.), 10; Friends (Kan.), 9; William Jessup (Calif.), 9; Maine-Machias, 6; Mount Mercy (Iowa), 4; Jamestown (N.D.), 3; Northwood (Fla.), 3; William Jewell (Mo.), 3; Embry-Riddle (Fla.), 2; Indiana Southeast, 1; Morningside (Iowa), 1.