Northwestern College moved up one spot in this week’s edition of the NAIA D-II Men’s Basketball coaches’ poll released earlier today by the national office.
Ranked 20th in the Feb. 7 coaches’ poll, Northwestern moved up to 19th this week and has a 23-6 overall record. They finished in a three-way tie for second place in the GPAC regular season standings along with Midland and Dakota Wesleyan at 13-5 and earned the second seed in the upcoming GPAC Tournament due to tie-break procedures. Northwestern is one of six teams recognized in the Feb. 21 poll, joining Briar Cliff (12), Dakota Wesleyan (14), Midland (17), Morningside (RV) and Concordia (RV).
Union (Ky.) took over the spot in this week’s poll, earning six first place votes and totaling 307 points. The Bulldogs are 27-3 on the season, owning the same record as No. 2 Cornerstone (Mich), who has held the top spot for the previous four ratings, and is second this week. Bethel (Ind.) is third, followed by Rochester (Mich.) and Indiana Wesleyan.
2016-17 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll 6 (Feb. 21)
1 Union (Ky.) (6) 27-3 307
2 Cornerstone (Mich.) (6) 27-3 306
3 Bethel (Ind.) 26-4 290
4 Rochester (Mich.) 28-1 285
5 Indiana Wesleyan 24-6 267
6 Northwest Christian (Ore.) 24-4 264
7 Robert Morris (Ill.) 23-6 238
8 Davenport (Mich.) 23-7 233
9 IU East 23-7 225
10 Warner (Fla.) 24-4 219
11 Trinity International (Ill.) 26-4 215
12 Briar Cliff (Iowa) 24-6 208
13 Eastern Oregon 22-7 185
14 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 22-8 175
15 Saint Francis (Ind.) 21-9 170
16 College of Idaho 22-8 145
17 Midland (Neb.) 21-8 143
18 Indiana Southeast 22-5 130
19 Northwestern (Iowa) 23-6 127
20 WVU Tech 22-7 120
21 Washington Adventist (Md.) 20-6 118
22 Oregon Tech 22-8 102
23 Florida Memorial 17-7 94
24 Tabor (Kan.) 22-8 86
25 Bellevue (Neb.) 19-10 71
Dropped from the rankings: Indiana Tech
Others receiving votes: Taylor (Ind.) 67; York (Neb.) 40; St. Thomas (Fla.) 36; Indiana Tech 33; Cal Maritime 25; Morningside (Iowa) 24; Keiser (Fla.) 10; Concordia (Neb.) 3
