KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Indiana Wesleyan moved to the top spot with a perfect 13-0 record in the first regular season edition of the Top 25 released on Wednesday. The Wildcats received 18 of the 21 first-place votes. William Penn (Iowa) followed with an undefeated 10-0 record to claim the No. 2 slot while Mid-America Christian (Okla.), LSU Shreveport (La.) and Arizona Christian rounded-out the top five in order.
The Northwestern College men’s basketball team continues to receive votes in the latest edition of the NAIA Coaches’ poll released earlier today by the national office.
The Raiders accumulated six votes and join two other teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan, in the first installment of the unified NAIA Men’s Baskteball Coaches’ poll (the NAIA moved to just one division this season). Morningside is ranked eighth and DWU moved up to 18th after not being ranked in the preseason poll.
Indiana Wesleyan moved into the top spot in the Dec. 16 edition of the poll after being ranked third in the preseason. The Wildcats are a perfect 13-0 on the year and received 18 first place votes. William Penn, also unbeaten (10-0) is second and earned two first place votes. Mid-America Christian (Okla.), LSU Shreveport and Arizona Christian round out the top five. Preseason #1 Georgetown (Ky.) dropped all the way down to sixth.
2020-21 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll No. 1 (December 16, 2020)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 3 | Indiana Wesleyan [18] | 13-0 | 589 |
| 2 | 4 | William Penn (Iowa) [2] | 10-0 | 569 |
| 3 | 2 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) [1] | 4-0 | 537 |
| 4 | 6 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 8-0 | 534 |
| 5 | 9 | Arizona Christian | 6-0 | 504 |
| 6 | 1 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 5-1 | 498 |
| 7 | 5 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 2-0 | 494 |
| 8 | 7 | Morningside (Iowa) | 10-1 | 437 |
| 9 | 16 | Loyola (La.) | 4-0 | 405 |
| 10 | 12 | Marian (Ind.) | 5-1 | 404 |
| 11 | 15 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 7-1 | 396 |
| 12 | 19 | The Master’s (Calif.) | 4-0 | 350 |
| 13 | 10 | John Brown (Ark.) | 0-0 | 341 |
| 14 | 11 | Providence (Mont.) | 0-0 | 322 |
| 15 | 8 | College of Idaho | 1-3 | 312 |
| 16 | NR | Faulkner (Ala.) | 8-0 | 311 |
| 17 | NR | Talladega (Ala.) | 8-1 | 241 |
| 18 | NR | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 9-1 | 236 |
| 19 | 13 | LSU Alexandria (La.) | 7-2 | 216 |
| 20 | NR | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 6-1 | 182 |
| 21 | NR | Texas A&M Texarkana | 5-0 | 164 |
| 22 | 22 | SAGU (Texas) | 1-0 | 161 |
| 23 | 20 | Xavier (La.) | 2-1 | 115 |
| 24 | NR | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | 6-1 | 114 |
| 25 | NR | Bethel (Kan.) | 9-3 | 109 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Ottawa (Kan.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Oregon Tech, Carroll (Mont.), Antelope Valley (Calif.), Union (Ky.), Dalton State (Ga.)
Others Receiving Votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 96, Oregon Tech 89, Oklahoma Wesleyan 83, Benedictine (Kan.) 82, Carroll (Mont.) 76, Indiana Tech 60, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 56, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 56, Westmont (Calif.) 45, Bethel (Ind.) 30, Texas Wesleyan 28, Central Baptist (Ark.) 27, Union (Ky.) 15, Holy Cross (Ind.) 14, Valley City State (N.D.) 10, Dillard (La.) 9, Dalton State (Ga.) 7, Northwestern (Iowa) 6, Science & Arts (Okla.) 4, Evangel (Mo.) 3, Cornerstone (Mich.) 3.
