Men Inch Up to No. 2, Women Just Out of Top 25
01.16.2012
Head Coach Dan Miles will lead the No. 2 ranked Hustlin' Owls into CCC play at home this week versus No. 25 Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho. (photo by Kelly Caleb)  |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a pair of Cascade Conference road wins, including an overtime win at No. 12 Northwest, the Oregon Tech men moved up one spot to the No. 2 position in the fifth edition of the NAIA D II Men’s Coaches Polls released Monday by the national office. The Oregon Tech women, also picking up a pair of road wins on the weekend, remain at the No. 26 spot this week.
Men For the third-consecutive poll, Northwood (Fla.) is the No. 1-ranked team in Division II. The Seahawks are the only one-loss team in NAIA Division II and recorded all 13 first-place votes to tally 343 points. A 90-66 victory over Johnson & Wales (Fla.) on Jan. 14 was Northwood’s 15th-straight on the season.
Oregon Tech, a 94-93 overtime winner against No. 12 Northwest (Wash.) on Jan. 13 in the NAIA Game of the Week, checks in with the No. 2 ranking and 331 points. Also sliding up one spot is No. 3 Davenport (Mich.) with 317 points. No. 4 Grace (Ind.) is the third team in the top four to push up one position as the Lancers posted 313 points. After a 76-71 loss to unranked Midland (Neb.) on Jan. 14, Dordt (Iowa) falls from second to fifth with 300 points.
Four Cascade Conference team's are ranked in this week's poll, with Warner Pacific remaining at No. 8, Northwest at No. 12 and Eastern Oregon back in the poll this week at No. 25.
No. 2 Oregon Tech has spent 14-straight polls ranked in the top five – this is the highest ranking for the Hustlin’ Owls since the final poll during the 2009 –10 season. Embry-Riddle (Fla.) owns the most No. 1 rankings since 2000 with 17; Oregon Tech, Oklahoma Wesleyan and former NAIA member Walsh (Ohio) have posted 12 mentions at No. 1. Oregon Tech is listed with the longest active streak in the Top 25 at 81-straight weeks – the last time the Hustlin’ Owls were not ranked was on Jan. 11, 2005.
Oregon Tech's Karissa Dixon. (photo by Kelly Caleb)  |
Women - Indiana Wesleyan continues to roll as this week marks the fifth-straight poll to place the Wildcats as a unanimous No. 1 selection in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Indiana Wesleyan garnered all 14 first-place votes and 374 points.
The next three teams remain the same as last week. Briar Cliff holds at No. 2, with Davenport (Mich.) holding on to No. 3 with 352 points and No. 4 College of the Ozarks (Mo.) with 338 points.
Eastern Oregon sits at No. 10 this week, while No. 15 Corban (Ore.) makes the biggest move up the poll among ranked teams with a six-spot jump from a week ago. The ranking is the highest for the Warriors since coming in at No. 12 in the Nov. 28 poll. Corban has won nine of 10, including an impressive 73-59 road win over then-No. 9 Eastern Oregon on Jan. 7. Oregon Tech, ranked 26th this week and in a three way tie atop the CCC standings with Eastern Oregon and Corban, has a chance to crack the top-25 for the first time since 2005, as the Owls host Eastern Oregon this Friday and College of Idaho Saturday to begin the second half of conference action.
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